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How much to charge for fish?


Alec
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I have quite a few molly fry that I am going to sell to my local fish store. I have talked with the owner a while back and she said she would buy some from me once they were ready. How much should I charge for them? I bought them from Petco for $4.49 a each. Is there a minimum I should take for them?

I am feeding them Easy Fry Food and Crushed Xtreme Krill flakes so they are getting a good diet. Not only are they receiving a good diet, but they are now also accustom to my local water, which I would think would increase their value a little. 

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The way it normally works is the store will tell you how much they will pay. You can sell them to individuals but as to how much it depends on a number of factor including size, type, market value (how much stores charge), and how much people are willing to pay.

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I generally guess 30-40% of retail price from a LFS but Im normally happy to move them on and take whatever is offered. Less expenses and more room for the next batch or project has value to me in addition to whatever the store pays/trades/credits me for them.

I dont believe the store is trying to get rich off me any more than I am trying to get rich off them.

Anything within the range of 25%-50% of their local retail pricing for the species and size I bring them seems fair to me.

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I think the breeding for "profit" series said something like 33% of retail.  IME I got 25% of retail as credit for my shrimp.  It was disappointing at first but I realized at that price its hopefully helping support my LFS and I'm not really trying to get rich.  And i got some fun stuff with the credit ;). 

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I get between 20-25% of retail in store credit for fish or plants from my local.  I usually can get about 75% of retail from a private sale.  I got about 1/3 of that when I sold to a wholesaler (he paid me the same as what he would have paid for my Jack Dempsey fry).

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On 2/16/2022 at 2:29 PM, Alec said:

I have quite a few molly fry that I am going to sell to my local fish store. I have talked with the owner a while back and she said she would buy some from me once they were ready. How much should I charge for them? I bought them from Petco for $4.49 a each. Is there a minimum I should take for them?

I am feeding them Easy Fry Food and Crushed Xtreme Krill flakes so they are getting a good diet. Not only are they receiving a good diet, but they are now also accustom to my local water, which I would think would increase their value a little. 

One thing to consider, that a lot of people are unaware of:

When we sell fish to a LFS, the LFS needs to make sufficient profit to pay the rent for the space, the gas, electric and water bills, and employee salaries. 

Cory has touched on this in some of his livestreams, and while his employees are not 'co-operative owners' in the truest sense of the word, he takes his responsibility to take good care of his employees, and pay a living wage with benefits that employees can actually afford to use, more seriously than most co-op boards do....

Which is a long explanation for one method of determining costs/purchase prices of fish:

1. Know that many of the wholesalers, unless things have drastically changed, charge pennies on the dollar and aim for bulk ordering to make the momey. They also plan for up to 10% to 20% shrink (losses)

2. Being a local supplier, and having fish already acclimated to the *stores* water parameters greatly reduces shrink (I know my LFS doesn't lose any of the fish I bring in, and I don't believe the Co-op ever loses any of Dean's fish) which allows the LFS to pay a little more for local fish than the wholesalers can be paid.

3. There's software that can help identify the costs of creating/raising/transporting your product (fish) to break even. Depending on local business customs, knowing the break even point helps identify where to start bargaining from. (Depending on customs, start at 1.25 to 1.5x the price you want)

However, in other areas, bargaining is seen as rude... so know the audience. 

I typically have taken in my first batch of fish (when I move, or when store ownership changes and I need to forge new relationships) and asked them to get back in touch with me after the 30 days they guarantee fish health and let me know what they decide my fish are worth.

It gives each of us 30 days to evaluate and negotiate the most sustainable relationship moving forward.

It also gives them a chance to see how hardy my fish are, and how that alone will save them money. 

I know that doesn't explain what the "going rate" is... because that rate is fluid. I have worked with a store that marked my fish up 200% (I got 33% of the selling price), and that was perfectly acceptable for everyone. 

I sold to one LFS for far less profit on my end, on the condition of employees being properly taken care of... and I have worked with LFS where we worked out a solid working relationship, where I was allowed to purchase at cost in exchange for breeding what the LFS needed.

Think about short term, plus long term. And congratulations!

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I love clown loaches, but I didn’t have a large enough tank for them. What I did was have 6-8 and keep them until they were about 6 inches or so, then take them to my LFS, get 2 dollars per each store credit and another school of their small ones. I had my enjoyment from the antics of the loaches and the ability to raise them again. 

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On 2/18/2022 at 12:36 AM, Minanora said:

I've learned to take what is given. I enjoy raising fish, I don't really do it for "profit", more just to offset cost of hobby. you will get more by selling to private buyers. If you're selling to a LFS, just build a good relationship and see where it goes. 🙂

This is on point.  Different stores do it differently, and there are a lot of factors that impact the price.  
 

a few tips on selling fish:

- find out when they order fish, and bring them in before they place the next order. if a large order just came in, they won’t need your fish.  

- don’t bring in more fish then they sell in a week

- make sure they are as healthy as possible

- build a relationship with the store employees/owner.  Find out what they need, follow up after the sale , etc

- bring tacos

Cory posted a video on this several years ago:  

 

a lot of these tips came from a  video Cory did a few years back, so you might go look it 

 

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Our local store gives 50% credit - but credit is not the same thing as cash. Furthermore their prices tend to be 120% to 200% more than - for example amazon and quite a bit higher than the chain pet shop. Anyway when I breed fishes i usually either give them away or if i have extra stuff i ahve to dump fast I give them to the lfs or trade them for some immediate supply. I like the owner but their economics are not good AND they don't qt fishes so i won't buy fishes from them.

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On 2/28/2022 at 11:40 AM, CT_ said:

do you sell plants to the store or just to hobbyists?

I sell to several local stores and individuals, and I also ship plants and shrimp to a guy in Ohio who has an online store.  I prefer selling wholesale.  The cost per item is of course lower, but the higher volume per sale and fewer headaches makes up for it.

I've sold around $500.00 worth of plants, shrimp, and guppies (mostly plants) in the last two months, from one 40 gallon tank, two 20's, and four 10's.

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