Looking for prices on Spotted Sailfin Plecos

[101Mercantile]

Hello My name is Chris and I currently just opened a small selection of Freshwater Tropical Fish in my gift shop... My question is how do you figure out what larger fish go for.... Small fish are easy to figure prices... Right now i have a 4" Spotted Sailfin Pleco, smalls range from 2.99-6.99 and those are for 1-2 inches, I also have a 14" Spotted Sailfin Pleco, with no idea what he is worth, then i have a 5" Bala shark again no idea, also have 3 Stripped Raphael Catfish, 2 are 3-4 inches, the other is 6+ inches, and have no clue what there worth, i know on the raphael's that for 1-2 inch they go for 7.99....


any help would be appreciated

Chris

 

[matubula]

Wouldnt you work it out based on the price you paid for the fish then add on your markup including your overheads (water, electricity, food etc)?

Large 'common' plecs dont sell for much because most people just dont want them. In the UK Id expect a shop bought one would cost £20-30, if you could sell it.

If was possible for you, Id try not to sell 'commons', I would focus on the smaller plecs like Bristle/bushy nose plecs or Ancistrus species. These only grow to 6" max and are much better choices for most aquaria than the 24" potential of some 'common' plecs.

 

[101Mercantile]

Yes most of the time thats what i do is mark up based off my wholesale price and my over head, but these fish i have had for a long time and its kinda hard to figure out how much i have invested over the years on them, the medium Sailfin i payed around $8.00 for a few years back, and the large Sailfin i have had a long time, the bala is 2 years old and got him for around $5.00 and the Raphael's i payed around $12.00 a few years back... Just was wondering what there really worth?

 

[Warborg]

Even though a sailfin is a step up from a common. Once they reach 10inches or more, their valve levels off to match a common as they become harder for people to house.

I would think they should NEVER be priced more then $20

I would guess about $20 for the Bala Shark

 

[Ficious]

i actualy just bought a beautiful sailfin for 30 dollars. yes i know its a bit much but this fish looks spectacular. its around 3.5-4 inches

this petstore sells some fish at higher prices, especialy plecos. i was looking at a $52 juvi royal, $40 butterfly pleco, $40 dollar 10 inch common, or a $27 dollar brown zebra pleco??...it eventualy came down to the sailfin and large common.

 

[101Mercantile]

here is my 14" not sure what his exact type is.... maybe you guys can help....

 

[jclyde13]

I got my sailfin for $20 when it was about 2". I think mine might be an L083 though, rather than the more common L165, I'm not sure about it though, I'm not very good at ID'ing such similar species. Here are a couple pics:






Oh and he's a little over 10" now, and was about the same size in the pics.

 

[koldsoup]

An LFS here is selling a leopard sailfin (like the one you have) that is around 12"-14" for $200. Kinda ridiculous to me... They probably think the bigger the better. Also, they label it as "Humpback Butterfly Pleco" cuz, well, it has a humpback... I think that came from being cramped into an undersized tank.

 

[101Mercantile]

thanks guys, ya I put the Bala Shark at $20, the 3 Raphael Catfish i have at $14.00 but still trying to figure out what i should ask for my large Sailfin Pleco... I was thinking about asking $70.00 for him, I know there are a lot of people with large Oscar's around my town that cant put anything in with them, but he is big enough that he can hold his own.... Is $70 to much to ask?

 

[Industrial]

That is twice as much as my LFS!

If you want to sell off excess fish you can try at those prices and it will take a while, or if you want to maintain selling fish you are better off selling around the same prices at LFS. Usually the LFS with the biggest selection is the most expensive. People won't mind paying a little more but having a huge selection. I only go to the smaller LFS because of prices. The owner sells plants dirt cheap and you can occasionally find some other oddballs very cheap there. If his prices were the same as a larger fish stores I would always go to the larger fish store.

I am not too sure on prices in your area, but sell the larger raphael for a dollar or two more than the smaller ones since people want larger fish (especially with doradids). You could maybe sell him for 14, but the other two should be cheaper. Also bala sharks are really cheap and most people like the smaller ones. You will have a very hard time selling it for 20.

I am not sure about how much the pleco is worth, but I have never seen any kind for more than 40$ at a LFS.