Does your LFS offer refunds?

[Antithesis123]

I'm just trying to put together a general mental concensus.
My LFS is a very small and generally impersonable store that offers no refunds. I used to give them a lot of business (driving 35 minutes past petsmart and petco) but nomatter how much I spent or what I bought it was still just has this unwelcoming feeling there and after a two yrs I bought a fish, brought it home and found it dead in the morning. I called and they said .. that's just the way it goes.
I order my fish online now but the thing that sucks about that is you just can't pick out your fish!

So Petsmart, petco offer returns and so what, their fish are lame.

Does your LFS do anything if your fish dies right away?

 

[jthao]

The lfs around me usually gives you one week. Just bring in a water sample and a receipt with the dead fish.

 

[jcardona1]

Refunds for a fish that dies? No way, never seen a place that does that. Petco/Petsmart only do it to maintain the corporate image, and they can afford to take the hits.

If I owned a LFS, my refund policy for fish would be 30ft or 30 seconds, whichever comes first. Given that we're dealing with fish, that rely 100% on their environment to surive (water), there is no way you can offer refunds for dead fish and hope to stay in business. Too many idiot fish keepers out there that don't know the first thing about water chemistry and what it takes to keep a fish alive. And you expect me to eat the costs for that? I don't think so!

If you buy a fish and it dies right away, that means you didn't acclimate properly and sent the thing into osmotic shock, simple as that.

 

[nomad]

If you feel unwelcome stop buying from them. period.
refund for dead fish has alot to do with the fish value (I never heard of a LFS to do that). if petsmart were selling 1k$ fish I bet their return policy would be different.
...and when it comes to buying online stick with a reputable vendor, even if that means paying a little more (you'll get what you paid for)

 

[ShroomMastap]

the one near me offers a 48hr refund from the time of the receipt.. I had to return an oscar once that when i got it home it was obviously not going to make it another day.. (seemed like a swim bladder/unhealthy kept issue, plus was pretty beaten up when i got it) went back within 24 hours with the fish still alive and they gave me a pretty hard time... eventually agreed to a 50% discount but when the manager saw i was getting another of the same fish he gave a full discount.

 

[carterhh]

mine if it is over 10 dollars no. if under 10 dollars you have 3 days

 

[Liz Sagara]

The policy at my LFS is 24 hours and you must bring a separate water sample and the tank can't be cycling and not on special order fish.

And it's not just that the person buying the fish that could have done something wrong. Sometimes fish get sick while at the store for whatever reason stress from shipping/ injury from another fish etc. It happens and I think it's good to adopt a strict policy about refunds.

24's is a good amount of time because usually a fish that is only mildly sick can be medicated and get better but a fish that is horribly sick or close to dying when you buy it will surely die within that time period IME.

My local fish stores post a sign saying that the fish are new arrivals when they get new fish in and warning people that if they buy fish on this day they're running the risk of the stress killing them. That's usually why they get them in the evening and they have the night when all the lights are out to calm down a bit.

I RARELY buy fish at petsmart (Our petco doesn't carry fish and i don't shop at walmart period after an incident where I was told to "go find someone else" when asking for assistance from a clerk who was texting) The last time I bought a fish from petsmart was for my brother because that's where his giftcard was for. Then after the third time of having to return the fish because it died within 24 hours of being placed in a fully cycled ten gallon aquarium by itself (It was a male Betta) I went to my LFS to replace it and it's been fine and shares his home with 5 dwarf corrydoras (special order).

That's just my 2 cents. The policy isn't' fool proof but it helps a little.

 

[bbortko]

Every store I've been in has a policy comparable to petsmarts except for rays and few other delicates.

 

[ozzyboo]

Refunds for a fish that dies? No way, never seen a place that does that. Petco/Petsmart only do it to maintain the corporate image, and they can afford to take the hits.

If I owned a LFS, my refund policy for fish would be 30ft or 30 seconds, whichever comes first. Given that we're dealing with fish, that rely 100% on their environment to surive (water), there is no way you can offer refunds for dead fish and hope to stay in business. Too many idiot fish keepers out there that don't know the first thing about water chemistry and what it takes to keep a fish alive. And you expect me to eat the costs for that? I don't think so!

If you buy a fish and it dies right away, that means you didn't acclimate properly and sent the thing into osmotic shock, simple as that.

Most of the LFS in my area of the UK offer a refund if the fish dies within 24 hours as long as you take a sample of water to the shop with fish,and at least two of these shops have been in business around 20 years so obviously they have not gone out of business by refunding genuine fish deaths.Having used both these shops for a number of years and never having a death it seems that they have confidence in the stock they sell and the advice they give re acclimatising new fish to customers that are unsure.

"Too many idiot fish keepers out there that don't know the first thing about water chemistry and what it takes to keep a fish alive"

I find it difficult to beleive that you were happy to sell fish to people with such a poor understanding of the basics of fish keeping.

 

[jcardona1]

I find it difficult to beleive that you were happy to sell fish to people with such a poor understanding of the basics of fish keeping.

That is why I don't own a fish store I have no patience to deal with people. The vast majority don't care to learn, they want the fish they want, and that's it. If you won't sell it to them, they'll go somewhere else.