Re: NANFA-- P**co Sucks now public aquarium

njz (njz_at_clevelandmetroparks.com)
Fri, 1 Aug 2003 21:19:18 -0400

Interesting is definitely the word to use. They hired some of the biggest
names in the public aquarium field. Every thing is hush hush. Can't wait
till it opens.

Nick Zarlinga

"If we ignore nature.....maybe it'll go away."

----- Original Message -----
From: <Scott.L.Schlueter_at_LRB01.usace.army.mil>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2003 1:57 PM
Subject: RE: NANFA-- P**co Sucks now public aquarium

> Nick,
> I just read something about this yesterday. Home Depot will not let
anyone
> forget they built it. Apparently the mascot will be an orange home depot
> fish named "Deepo"!!!!
>
> Should be interesting. Slated to open its doors in 2005.
> Scott
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nick Zarlinga
> Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 12:41 PM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: RE: NANFA-- P**co Sucks now public aquarium
>
>
> <The guy who owns Home Depot, for instance,
> <recently bought something like six gazillion dollar homes in the Outer
> <Banks, tore them down, and built a single house in their spot. Great if
> <you happen to be a contractor in the Outer Banks, I suppose ... but, no
> <way I'm ever going to see the 30$ I plopped down for some tools last
week.
>
>
> Not entirely true. This same guy is building a $200 million (may be more
> now) aquarium in Atlanta and is turning it over to run non-profit. So your
> $30 is being turned into fish and education ; and you can see it if you
> visit ;)
>
> Now to add to your theory, however, you could say that he is trying to
stomp
> his nearest competition....The Tennessee Aquarium. (TA was only about
> $40million when it was built just over 10 years ago)
>
> Nick Zarlinga
> Aquarium Biologist
> Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
> 216.661.6500 ext 4485
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nanfa_at_aquaria.net On Behalf
> Of Joshua L Wiegert
> Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 4:14 PM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- P**co Sucks (really really long)
>
>
> Well, I just want to put in my two cents about the Box Store vs. Little
> Guy arguement. Its as true for PetCo/Petsmart/Walmart vs. Joe's Aquarium
> Store as it is for Super MegloMart versus Chuck the Butcher, or Home Depot
> versus your local Ace supplier. These stores have a profound effect on
> the local economy. THey pay less and sell things cheaper. So, more money
> goes in and less comes out. It gets funnelled to boards of directors and
> so forth, usually not locally. The guy who owns Home Depot, for instance,
> recently bought something like six gazillion dollar homes in the Outer
> Banks, tore them down, and built a single house in their spot. Great if
> you happen to be a contractor in the Outer Banks, I suppose ... but, no
> way I'm ever going to see the 30$ I plopped down for some tools last week.
> WHat you, as aconsumer, get from a box store is exactly what you'd expect.
> . . . bigger selection -- in some cases (see later) and better prices.
> WHat you lose out on is what you got from the old store -- service. "Hi,
> Mrs. Smith -- how were those steaks last week?" "Huh, that's weird. . .
> I've never had that problem with baby sword tails, let me ask someone and
> see if they know what's going on." "Oh, let me help you out to the car
> with that kitty litter." "Jewel Cichlids and Guppies? Yea, you can put
> them together no problem, as long as you're only feeding the Jewels."
> You lose out in that experienced staff person who knows what they're
> talking about, is in this because its a hobby. Ask any kid at Box Store
> why he's working there. "Uh.. they were hiring, man." Ask any person why
> they're working at the Aquarium Store. "Oh, it seemed like a fun job, and
> the pay's not too bad."
>
> One of hte things that's always pissed me off is the flow of customers
> between the two. The customers who come into a store, "Hi, I want to get
> a tank, what should I get?" "Oh, this is the best way to filter it?"
> "Ok, let me think about it." and head over to Box Store. Or, "I have a
> sick swordtail, what should I treat him with?" The ones that amaze me are
> the oens that have the audacity to ask questions like, "Can I buy this
> over at Box Store?" or "Do you think it'd be cheaper over at Box Store?"
> Half of them truly do not realise how wrong what they're doing is, and
> that they're stealing.
>
> Yes, stealing.
>
> Good employees who can answer questions like that cost something. They
> won't work at Box Store for 6$ an hour. They may have taken time to
> train. They're costing the store their pay, less whatever they could make
> at Box Store... You pay for this. You pay for it when you buy a can of
> fish food that's a few cents more, or a filter that's a few dollars more.
> ALl these pyaments go to make up the employees salary, and in exchange for
> his salary, he preforms as more than a net-monkey and provides advice.
> So, when you take advice without buying anything, you're taking something
> without paying for it -- something that you were expected to pay for. The
> employee expected you to buy the medicine, the set up, the better fish
> food. You're also stealing the money that went to pay for the labor to
> help keep the tanks nice looking and the fish in good health -- something
> you may not find at Box Store.
>
> Oen of the things we see in the industry is something called the PetCo
> Effect. This is the only time in this mail I've used PetCo instead of Box
> Store, since it is very often reffered to as the PetCo Effect. It has two
> prongs. First, stores located outside of a particular radius, depending
> on the area, expereince a drastic drop in sales immediately, declining as
> you go outward. Stores on the fringes of this may expereince no immediate
> effect, but will eventually do to Wholesale Harm (see later.) Ones within
> this radius, however -- which usually only number one -- experience a
> boost in sales, although they experience a higher than usual number of
> people who steal advice (above.)
>
> The reason is simple -- customers realise, after a while, that they're not
> getting the same thing. Sometimes, employees at Box Store will even
> reffer customers to the Small Store. "You know, we don't have anything
> called a blue wag platy... why don't you try such and such?" or "I don't
> know how to treat that, ask them at ..." This boosts the sales.
>
> How does it hurt the farther store, though? THis is the WholeSale Harm
> Effect. What happens is that the stores within the area see a decrease in
> sales. So, they cut back. They order 20 instead of 25 swords, tehy don't
> order any Ctenepoma, or Anableps. This goes on for a few weeks, and the
> wholesaler says, "Well, maybe I should stop carrying Ctenepoma and
> Anableps, and cut back on my swords... I should probably raise the price
> of them, too... its getting harder to make ends meet."
>
> So, the retailer who has no clue that a Box Store has opened suddenly
> can't get Ctenepoma and Anableps. The expereinced aquarist who liked
> them, well, they start shopping elsewhere. His sales and profits drop as
> prices change, and ... well, eventually he feels the pinch, too.
> This effect eventually reaches even the lucky store who is nearby.
> An end result is more people shopping at the box store.
>
> The last point I wanted to touch on was better variety and prices at Box
> Stores. Box stores very often carry a greater variety of dry goods at
> better prices. They can do this because they are getting greater
> discounts from wholesalers (they're buying in bigger lots) and often have
> deals with distributors, cutting out wholesalers all together. PetCo, for
> instance, has a private distributor for most of its fish -- although they
> do use some others. They pass these savings on to the customers, and ..
> who can blaim a customer for it? If I can save a dollar on a can of fish
> food, that's an extra dollar I can put in my gas tank, or combine with
> other saved dollars to buy a new pair of shoes. Sounds good to me. I
> don't care that some guy at some fish store just got laid off, since the
> fish store can't make ends meet -- maybe they need to lower their prices
> (I don't know and don't care that they can't.) What it comes down to is
> teaching customers -- which, unfortunately, means society as a whole --
> that the 3.95$ price tag on the side of a can of fish food means $3.95
> for this can of fish food, the clean tanks, the lack of an odour, the
> pleasant employee who recommended it, and the fact that he'll still be
> here next year. Until that happens... look forward to more box stores.
>
>
>
> --
> end
> ____^___
> ><,DARWIN,>
> Joshua L. Wiegert
> NFC Lists Administrator JLW_at_dune.net
> AIM UID: JoshuaWiegert ICQ UIN: 276060292
> HTTP://WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/JOSH_WIEGERT HTTP://WWW.NATIVEFISH.ORG
> Feel free to contact me by any of the above means for any reason.
>
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>
>
> On Thu, 10 Jul 2003, Ty Hall wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 12:49:59 -0500
> > From: Ty Hall <tyhall_at_mia.net>
> > Reply-To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> > To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> > Subject: Re: NANFA-- P**co Sucks
> >
> > Oh yeah. I knew that. I also would mention that I agree with the other
> poster who
> > said that not all mass merchandisers are bad. You have to be careful
where
> you
> > shop. For me it has become more of an Independent vs Big-Boxer,
argument.
> I prefer
> > to support the little guy. I know I'll usually get good advice, quality
> products
> > and my money stays in the community and isn't sent out to shareholders
> that don't
> > care about me or my community.
> >
> > I also changed the name of the thread to avoid "legal complications."
> hahaha You
> > gotta love the world we have created.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Todd Crail wrote:
> >
> > > I'm sure you caught this Ty and I appreciated your comments, but I
> wanted to
> > > be clear... I was only discussing the chain stores. I wasn't talking
> about
> > > private individuals who own pet shops. Usually, in those cases
(private
> > > individuals), you either have one of two types...
> > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> > / Association"
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> --
> /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association"
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
> Association
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> /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association"
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
> Association
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--
> /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association"
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
Association
> / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
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> / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
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/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org