Online auctions

[farm41]

Has anyone used any of these for buying fish, or selling fish?

I've been looking on aquabid, but I am kind of afraid to jump right in and buy something.

 

[Z Man]

Be very careful who you order from. I know one of our members is still waiting for either his $195.00 back or the fish he ordered in May! I know quite a few of those cichlid guys Thomashawk, lottsoffish, Apisto, Bigjohnfish & JerryB among them. I will personally vouch for them. For some others you can look up comments about them on their sellers page.

 

[aspen]

farm, you are quite correct to approach aquabid with some trepidation. there are sellors who surface with different names when their last name gets too many bad things said about them. one discus sellor has at least 3 names, and is still selling fish. as z-man says, the tried and true guys are still the best way to ensure that you get what you pay for. not to say that you may get REAL lucky by trying a no-name sellor, but who wants the hassle of hunting someone for their money or decent fish.

rick

 

[farm41]

That's exactly why I posted here first. There are a few names I recognize from the 'apisto list' that I think are pretty safe. The best thing I can think of is getting references from some online buddies.

What's it cost for shipping? They are always giving a box fee, but what about shipping across the country?

Who's had some successful purchases online? Unsuccessful too? What did you get?

 

[Z Man]

I see that 'box fee' all the time and I have to laugh because I can get a hundred boxes for free if I want them from the local store. As far as shipping costs go, I wouldn't pay over $30 for any fish being shipped to me. I have always used Priority Mail and already had fish in transit for 5 days and everyone came in just fine. My friend 'lotsoffish' sells his on Aquabid including shipping & box! Go figure.

 

[Eva32181]

My only experience buying fish online was with Neil, and everything worked out beautifully. He sent them overnight express mail through the post office and it got to me without any shipping gliches. And the fish were great! I have bought some very nice pearlweed on aquabid from Apisto before, too.

P.S. Neil the orange flash cacatuoides are really nice - they have all matured and their finnage is all pretty much solid orange. The female in the batch has orange trim on all her fins, and the male I have her with has 100% perfect orange fins. I am very happy They have about 15 or so babies that are about a month old, and they are already showing potentially great colors.

 

[Cichlids1]

I've bought and sold on Aquabid for a couple years now. So far so good. Not one unpleasant experience to report. If I don't know the seller, I always start off with an email and some basic fish questions (Easy way to determine the hobbiest from the guys just out to make a buck). If I don't get a good feeling from the email conversations, I usually pass and move on. I don't particularly care for the feedback system used on Aquabid. A lot of retalitory feedback goes on and there are no real guide lines. Probably 75% of my fishroom is from online purchases/auction. I've purchased fish from Neil, 3guysaquatics, and lottsoffish and all have been great. If you are looking for the hard to find stuff, online is about the only way to go.

Shipping is a downside just because of the expense. Anywhere from $5 to $50 depending on quantity and shipping method used. People that ask for outlandish box fees and handling charges are good for a chuckle. There was 1 person out there tacking on $10 for the hassle of have to go to the post office to mail out the fish (His words, not mine) that he was trying to sell.

 

[nicola]

Has anyone come across any auction sites that ship to England?