Aquarium Designs

[67Demon]

I'm done with this store!!! The last straw came this weekend. My brother and i are setting up his/our 210g in my house. It has been dismantled and just sitting for about 3 months now, so we needed a bunch of new supplies. We could have bought from the cheaper pricing online, but we decided to buy from and support our local stores. Unfortunately, AW is closed for good. So, the next closest option was Aquarium Designs.

This past weekend, I ended up spending just shy of $1K in two days in purchasing the supplies to set up the 210g. On the second day, we went back with the intent to purchase RO water to finally fill the tank. On our second trip to purchase more water, we asked one of the very kind workers (the same one that had been helping us the previous day and on other occasions) at AD if we could get a discount on the RO water since we had spent a good deal of money the last few days. He finds Jason in one of the aisles and returns to tell us that Jason WILL NOT authorize him to cut us a break on RO water. WHAT??? It's water!! He did mention that they could cut us a price break on the purchase of livestock for this tank. I told him that wouldn't be necessary.

We planned on purchasing high dollar fish (dragon moray) too from AD.

Other issue with Jason include:
-When asked to drill holes in the 210g tank (at my house), he proclaims that "they are too busy and to make it worth their while to drive 4.45 miles to my house, they will have to charge me $200 just to drive there".... not including the extra fee to drill the holes!!!!! Same issue that SACoastie experienced too, i believe.

This is also the same person (Jason) that told my wife and i upon purchase of a 1.5" Red Coris Wrasse that it would only grow 1.25" per year!!!!! I have owned the wrasse now for a few months and he is already about 4" long. I didn't believe him anyway when he initially told me.

You may ask, "why do you keep going to him and his store?" After the price quote to drill holes, i was finished with Jason and his store. But after reading some posts from some loyalists here, i decided to give him another chance, which occurred this past weekend.

Might i add that i am not the only one in my family who has spent a generous amount of money to his store, my mother has also. I have recommended to her to not spend another dime at AD and i will recommend that same advice to others. It is quite unfortunate because his staff is top notch in customer service... Jason isn't!!!

[5.0Stang]

Dude told me his Reef octopus skimmer had the most pumps they put on anyone of their skimmers i get home and check and they put one more on it i think he just told me that so i could buy the one he had which was the same price as the one with 3 pumps. He even "double checked" for me to make sure.

[urban79]

I have a 2inch drill. You can use. Its not hard to drill tanks. Just have to take it slow and easy at the begining. But thats it.

[Texreefer]

refer to other thread!!!!!!!

[captexas]

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences there. I've been in there a few times to look around and I have picked up a fish or two and not had any problems. First, as far as pricing goes, I have to say it's his store and he can charge whatever he likes. If you don't like the prices, don't shop there. No one forces you to buy anything there. As long as people pay what he wants he'll stay in business. Second, on getting information from LFS people, never take what they say as 100% accurate. Just because they work in a fish store doesn't mean they are experts in aquatic life or know everything about everything they sell. That is for any store you walk into. I always do lots of research ahead of time before buying anything and I always carry my fish book in the truck so I can look up something if I'm interested in it.

Again sorry you had a bad experience, but I think you set your expectations a bit too high.

[67Demon]

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences there. I've been in there a few times to look around and I have picked up a fish or two and not had any problems. First, as far as pricing goes, I have to say it's his store and he can charge whatever he likes. If you don't like the prices, don't shop there. No one forces you to buy anything there. As long as people pay what he wants he'll stay in business. Second, on getting information from LFS people, never take what they say as 100% accurate. Just because they work in a fish store doesn't mean they are experts in aquatic life or know everything about everything they sell. That is for any store you walk into. I always do lots of research ahead of time before buying anything and I always carry my fish book in the truck so I can look up something if I'm interested in it.

Again sorry you had a bad experience, but I think you set your expectations a bit too high.

In what way?? By spending a good amount of money and asking to receive a discount off of RO water???? :roll

I may be a bit new at this aquarium hobby, but i am not stupid. I KNEW when he told me how much the wrasse would grow in a year was bs. I only stated it to point out his sales tactic/ignorance when selling common fish.

As for the pricing he charges and his prerogative to do so, i agree with you 100%. That is why the tank is being cycled as we speak and still is not drilled. I never paid for that service.

[SACoastie]

LOL, do I really need to comment on this thread? :lol

[hobogato]

it is interesting to me that you are complaining about the price of RO water, when you could have bought a filter and saved yourself a TON of money. you could have also gone to a water dispenser at HEB or walmart....

i just dont see what the big deal is that you were denied a discount just because you had already bought water, but that is just my opinion.

as far as the price for drilling the tank... it isnt easy, and it takes quite a bit of time to set up and drill a tank that size properly, plus, you could just call someone else if the price wasnt right.

i know you said you are new at this, but you should know enough by now to know that this is an expensive hobby, the cost of water and drilling a tank to set it up properly (not doing so before filling it was a mistake in my opinion) pale's in comparison to what you will spend on the rest of the equipment and livestock.

also, patience is not only a virtue, but a requirement in this hobby. slow down and do it right, or it will come back to bite you in the end ;)

[67Demon]

it is interesting to me that you are complaining about the price of RO water, when you could have bought a filter and saved yourself a TON of money. you could have also gone to a water dispenser at HEB or walmart....

i just dont see what the big deal is that you were denied a discount just because you had already bought water, but that is just my opinion.

as far as the price for drilling the tank... it isnt easy, and it takes quite a bit of time to set up and drill a tank that size properly, plus, you could just call someone else if the price wasnt right.

i know you said you are new at this, but you should know enough by now to know that this is an expensive hobby, the cost of water and drilling a tank to set it up properly (not doing so before filling it was a mistake in my opinion) pale's in comparison to what you will spend on the rest of the equipment and livestock.

also, patience is not only a virtue, but a requirement in this hobby. slow down and do it right, or it will come back to bite you in the end ;)

I think you missed the whole point here so i will try to clarify a little.

1. My dissapointment wasn't because i had already bought water and now was hoping for a discount on the rest of the water needed. It was because i have been a paying customer (small items like food and fish) of his for about 6 months now and then dropped even larger amounts this weekend. That premise was the reason for my dissapointment. And i did end up going to one of the water dispensers at HEB to finally fill the tank.

2. I realize that drilling a tank may be a difficult one. Hence the reason why i asked "professionals" in the business to provide me with price quotes. His charge to drill the tank itself was fairly comparable to others i asked, but my issue was with the amount he wanted to charge just to drive less than 4.5 miles to go to my house and perform the work. My issue was NOT with the amount he wanted to charge to provide the service!!

3. I think it is obvious that cost is not much of an issue when it comes to setting this tank up as should be recognized by the amount i spent over the weekend and the particular livestock we plan on having in the 210g. I KNOW how much it will cost in the end to finally have it up and running and also maintaining it for the life of the tank. This tank had been up and running for about 3 years (by my brother) with no issues. We felt that it will not be necessary to have the tank drilled at point considering the livestock that will be in the tank. We will not have any type of corals in the tank, but only an aggressive fish species tank.

4. We have had nothing but patience in setting this tank up. As a matter of fact, before this weekend it sat empty in my living room for 3 months. Like i mentioned before, the tank had been running and maintained by my brother very successfully. You name it, he had it in there. I may be a rookie at this game, but i also have surrounded myself with someone who has knowledge of successfully mantaining an undrilled tank this large.

[Bill S]

OK, I'm going to chime in here:

1) Did you get a discount at HEB? Did you ask for one? I've bought thousands from HEB, and they've never given me a discount... Owning a store - in particular a LFS - is a very thin margin business. That's why they keep going out of business. If you don't like his prices, don't go there. He's always been fair to me.

2) As above, if you don't like his prices, go elsewhere. If he wants to charge you $200 for his time away from the store, you can either say "yes" or "no".

3) I'm not sure what you are saying, except that maybe you decided that the tank didn't need to be drilled. That makes #2 moot.

4) That's good. Patience is everything in this hobby.

As a final note, I've noticed in dealing with Jason AND that others have found that he rarely gives a discount when asked. I never ask. He treats me very fairly. Now that Louis has closed the doors, he's the closest to me...

[67Demon]

OK, I'm going to chime in here:

1) Did you get a discount at HEB? Did you ask for one? I've bought thousands from HEB, and they've never given me a discount... Owning a store - in particular a LFS - is a very thin margin business. That's why they keep going out of business. If you don't like his prices, don't go there. He's always been fair to me.

2) As above, if you don't like his prices, go elsewhere. If he wants to charge you $200 for his time away from the store, you can either say "yes" or "no".

3) I'm not sure what you are saying, except that maybe you decided that the tank didn't need to be drilled. That makes #2 moot.

4) That's good. Patience is everything in this hobby.

As a final note, I've noticed in dealing with Jason AND that others have found that he rarely gives a discount when asked. I never ask. He treats me very fairly. Now that Louis has closed the doors, he's the closest to me...

Thank you for your response!!

1. I have not received a discount from HEB for the purchase of groceries. Maybe because it's not customary to receive one at a grocery store, but maybe more so at a retail aquarium store. I realize that margins are extremely low in the aquatic industry, that is why we only asked that the favor be given on RO water and not on any of the other hardware or necessary supplies, so to allow him to maximize to the fullest his margins on higher priced items. He can't possibly make the most store profit from selling water. I realize he is there to make money. I can relate. My family business has an online storefront to sell IT hardware/software. There isn't much margin on that stuff either. But, when i see that someone is making a large purchase or is a repeat customer on our site, i will most definately reward them with a discounted price on their order(s). To me, it's just good business!

2. I chose "No" and will not return to his store if i can absolutely help it.

3. I originally wanted to have the tank drilled to accommodate corals and such. Plans have changed (no plans for corals now) and it is now not imperative to have the tank drilled.

4. 8)

[erikharrison]

Jason is quite busy. He owns AD. His choices are his own. Unfortunately, he cannot deviate from his prices. In the overall monetary commitments that go to running the store are set in concrete. Reason why, because it makes running the store easier. Imagine if you couldn't calculate the store's revenue correctly because here and there you had to account for discounts. What a pain that would be, eh? It's also harder to account for things like shrinkage in the store as well. Since 80% of shrinkage is internal, determining on wether or not there is a problem is easily detectable in overall earnings in the store. If you have an excel spreadsheet accounting for every penny, it just makes life easier. That is why I have not opened ANY STORE of ANY KIND. LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL If I had a store I would discount WAY too much! I am pretty much a pushover, and my business would suffer terribly. If you like the products in the store, and CB is too far to drive, now that AW is gone, what chouces do you have? FA and PP and WR, none of which are particularlly close to this side of town. I would head out to CB more, but it's a far drive, and I have FEW acros.

I think Jason's facial expressions sometimes give people the wrong idea. When you say discount, he gives you the look a dog gives when they hear a wierd noise!

[brewercm]

Not taking anything away from Aquarium Designs but it takes me longer to get there than to CB Pets and they are closer in distance. I went there Saturday and it took me 15 minutes leaving from my house to get to CB. Maybe longer in distance but a heck of a lot quicker to get to (unless you go between 4:30 and 6:00 weekdays) in my opinion. Distance isn't always the best measure of time.

As far as Aquarium Designs goes, I've been there once and liked the store and what they had to offer. I did think the prices were higher than others and I didn't ask for any kind of discount on anything that I bought. As far as that goes I don't think I ever do at any store. If they know me and give me a discount then great. I've been surprised at times at the discounted amount I've gotten at some of the stores to be honest, especially Fin Addict.

I don't look at it as competition so much in this hobby, but more as who has what I want at a given moment. In my opinion CB has probably the best SPS available at unbelievable prices for nice "colonies", not little bitty frags, that and I can pick stuff up for my dog at the same time is nice also. I was very pleased with the items Aquarium designs had as far as hardware goes. Nice looking tanks and very clean over all appearance at both of these stores. I unfortunately don't frequent the NW stores as much just because of their location for me (I hate driving down Bandera Rd). I like the stores and will go by if I'm in the area or they have something specific I'm looking for, but just hate the drive with a passion. Although I usually hit up Texas Tropical when I go to visit Finks Cigars since they are so close together.

Good luck to all of them and I wish them the all the best, it only makes it better for me the consumer.

[caferacermike]

I visited AD for the first time a little over a week ago. I bought something. I even told Jason (who I had no idea owned the place) that I thought the tanks were ultra clean and well cared for. I snub my nose at shops that can't keep their setups sparkly clean, force of habit. I was very impressed by the effort put forth by the young staff and Jason. The shop was indeed a bit cramped and felt like rummaging through an old Grandparents attic but looked like you could get some nice gear and set up a tank without much effort. I did feel some corals were higher priced then need be, some were spot on... I was there about the time that the other shops were closing down so I cannot comment as to whether the prices have suddenly jumped higher (and I've seen this before in Austin). I will say that there was a moment of awkwardness when paying I offered to flash the ol MAAST card.... I do believe for my own sanity it would have been much easier for him to explain that he does not participate. My girl and I left wondering if we had somehow irked him right at the last minute. Only now do I understand that the shop is not actually part of MAAST. I do have a better understanding that this may be his particular personality. As odd a behavior as I may have thought it was, unless threatening a persons personality is no way to judge or comment upon the shop as a whole.

Did I find AD to be a very clean and knowledgeable store? Yes.
Did I think Jason a bit quirky? Yes.
Would I stop again while in the area? Yes.

Honestly as far as SA shops go, it's a shame his is so small. I never made it to Aquatic Warehouse to see what that shop was like but AD has had the largest coral selection I've ever seen in SA. Here is another thing to think about, when you are the only shop in the area that actually is a full service fish/reef shop with an actual stock and staff that cares, maybe you can ask a bit more. I've rarely seen fish at Fin Addict, I've never seen any coral at Alamo Aquatics (save for a clump of zoos for $100 lol). I've always heard these strange stories about shopping in SA... Stories about how you have to get there on "bag day" or the shop will be empty until next week.... WHAT? WHY? What kind of business is that? AD was fully stocked on a Monday. It was the first time I felt like I was shopping at a store in Austin. Maybe we are spoiled up here and expect more.

[urban79]

better talk talking about. This topic will get closed down..

[brewercm]

Honestly the prices may be why they were fully stocked. Again not intending to slam on them but their prices are higher in general and that is his right. As long as the fish are healthy and look good I wouldn't mind spending more than having to be there on the day/minute the stuff comes in. I know that I just bought a nice size powder blue tang from CB this weekend and it had been there for three weeks. I even thought that I got it at a very fair price myself.

[urban79]

heck I go there for bigger stuff. But I kinda stay by the house for the smaller stuff. I just think if ed was able have a shop like that. His shop would be the best store around. Gota love the ed.. Just want to pinch his cheeks... LOL

[SACoastie]

LOL :lol :innocent
No hard feelings eh.

[caferacermike]

heck I go there for bigger stuff. But I kinda stay by the house for the smaller stuff. I just think if ed was able have a shop like that. His shop would be the best store around. Gota love the ed.. Just want to pinch his cheeks... LOL

I will definitely give ED his props. He is making the best of what he was given. Each time I visit there is an appreciable difference.

[urban79]

Just when you shop at eds. YOu feel like you walk out happy and so does he. Cause your helping him. I just dont get that at AD. I feel like just other joe.

[LoneStar]

http://www.bigskyfishing.com/phpbb2/images/smilies/beat_deadhorse.gif

http://forums.maxima.org/images/smilies/lockie.gif

[cpreefguy]

http://www.bigskyfishing.com/phpbb2/images/smilies/beat_deadhorse.gif

http://forums.maxima.org/images/smilies/lockie.gif
Yeah, like the other thread, this thread has made its point and the opinions of the members have been expressed. Locked by me.