AquaBid.com

[mbarnett]

What does everyone think about AquaBid.com (http://www.aquabid.com)?

The saltwater/reef side of the aquarium hobby has not taken to it like the freshwater side. I would think the frag sellers would love it.

[matrixnyc]

I like the auction setup of aquabid :)

I would like to see more reef items up for auction on there.

Maybe because marine products and livestock are more fragile people might be less likely to bid on something.

Just my 2 cents :)

[andrewshafran]

Frags, gear and livestock are really well covered by E-bay. Maybe you should try soliciting some of the vendors from there to post on your site as well.

[volitan]

I have tried about everything from soliciting to emailing Vendors.. most never reply.. or say yep cool.. will do.. but never do.. so.. I am about ready to post a auction on Ebay just advertising my site.. LOL.. j/k

[mbarnett]

I have offered reef vendors one free month of advertising on one of my websites if they would post 10 corals or reef fish on AquaBid.com. I have had one taker.

Notice the AquaBid.com banner on here?

[matrixnyc]

Ebay charges too much for listing and final % fees, What do you guys have as far as fee's?

[HoopsGuru]

If you want an honest, "no holds barred" answer, I would say that saltwater livestock has no place on an auction site. I cannot see how any conscientious aquarist will ever support a small scale site, considering major online retailers (Flying Fish Express, MarineDepot) still have trouble shipping with a real consistent quality control. Considering the vast majority of saltwater livestock is still pulled from the ocean, IMO "John Doe" has no business attempting to try his hand in the marginally successful packaging and transport capabilities that exist for our retail stores alone. This is not meant to be inflammatory but I feel that if the saltwater sections on auction sites remain empty, then we are actually still moving ahead in the hobby towards preserving the oceans. Once major advances in captive breeding,packaging, and shipping occur, perhaps sites such as yours can fill a valuable niche in the hobby. In the meantime, why not just provide saltwater accessories alone?

At the same time, I realize you guys are attempting to have a business. I think both sites do a good job on providing freshwater options....on livestock that are already easily self sustained through captive breeding. In FW, online ordering has an important role, especially for breeders looking for certain color traits, etc. One can safely order, and be pretty well assured that the livestock will arrive in healthy condition.

[matrixnyc]

I agree with HoopsGuru with respect to the livestock, but I think you can get some great deals on auctions for non-livestock items, Tanks(to a certain size) filters, Refugiums, additives, heaters and so on. remember one man's loss is another mans gain.

[mbarnett]

HoopsGuru - What is the different in FFE offering a fish on their website versus on an auction website?

You are assuming that all auction fish are shipped. There is also the option that the items are picked up only.

So it is okay to collect in the Amazon but not okay to collect out of the ocean?

Are corals off limit?


matrixnyc - AquaBid.com does not charge any posting fees. There is a volunteer 3% final fee on items that sell for more than $30.00

[volitan]

I guess I have to agree with mark.. what is the difference on who puts the fish in the bag and a styrobox with heatpacks and mails it out? if you are worried about the life of the fish.. then there are way more important things to worry about then me shipping a Clown fish.. take a look at your PETCOS and even some mom and pops Local Fish stores.. they are supposedly setup to maintain fish habitats and they have fish dieing.. or how about if I ship my perfectly healthy Yellow tang to someone and they put it in a tank that isnt even cycled and kill it.. Point being is, there are way more problems with selling fish then just pointing your finger at FishBowlauctions or Aquabid ... nuff said.. this post was not meant as a flame just my oppinion and nothing directed to anyone on a personal level..

[michealprater]

If you look at alot of the livestock auctions on ebay the info they give on the specimen is usually, "must have saltwater to live". In my opinion that is bull. If they cant type in the specific needs of the livestock they have no buisness selling it. If you buy from FFE at least the tell you the requirments of the specific specimen.

Plus, it is usually not worth buying livestock on a auction, because normally a individual does not carry enough stock to warrent a affordable price. So why would you pay 30 dollars for a coral with 30 dollars shipping when you can get the exact same thing at a lfs for 30 dollars with no shipping. Online stores have the capabilty of selling livestock for much less due to the volume of sales they do. There for if you can afford to spend 200 dollars or so, you will get each specimen for much cheaper and when you divide the shipping over several items you save money on each one. Therefore it is very expensive to just purchase one thing from a online store or a auction. I would love to buy some corals from www.cquarium.com hit or miss selection. But the only way it would be worth it is if I spent about 300 bucks. Too rich for my blood.

But it is a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinion. So if you dont have a good lfs, it may be better for you to spend 60 dollars on a 30 dollar coral.

[RazerCorals]

The people have good prices there but no images. I needed a new PC fixture now at one time. So I e-mailed a guy 5 days in advance. No response. So I got out and spend 234.00 on a 2x96 fixture. E-mails me the next day and says he'd sell me 4x36 for 140.00 with bulbs. So if I would have been patient I could have saved myself 100 bucks.

[michealprater]

i would like to say that auctions are great for dry goods. I also think we should encourage this type of auction amonst the people in the hobby.

[Fiji Live Rock]

I agree with the auction of DRY GOODS...however...as a future Aquatics store...I would not want to see your average Joe Schmoe trying to package Live Aquaria and mailing it out.

Once my store is up and running. All Live shipments will be placed in 3 layer bags, with heat packs, padded, sent next day or 2 day shipment, and each bag (this is what the normal consumer can't do) will be filled with Oxygen (not just normal air) so that there will be PLENTY of air for the organism to reach its destination w/o over stressing it any more than it will be from the shipment process.

Not to mention I will supply specific directions on how to receive and acclimate it to your tank once received.

It is not an easy task and IMO should NOT be tackled by any average Joe just wanting to make a buck or two. :!:

[michealprater]

cant wait till ya open. ill buy from ya. OK

[Fiji Live Rock]

Sounds good Micheal! :mrgreen:

You won't be dissapointed! Thats for SURE!