Profiting off the uninformed

[chaoscat]

I was in Petsmart last night and saw a lady buying the stuff to keep a Beta. The salesgirl led her to the fishbowls and there on the shelf right next to them was...bottled water for your fish. Marked Beta H20, it was a one quart bottle of "specially" conditioned water for a mere $3.99.

If the lady had spoken a word of English, I'd have led her down the aisle to the water conditioners and told her how to condition enough water to fill her bathtub 10 times over for $4.

This is almost as bad as selling Aiptasia as anemones.

 

[ds4x4]

*cough* not to defend petsmart/petco employees for the most part, they are just as misinformed. except the guy in hcerry hill where i got some palys. he's the exception not the rule

 

[MadReefer]

I see this all the time. However, I have a big mouth so I tell the buyer the real deal in front of the sales people.

 

[lotekfish]

Marked Beta H20, it was a one quart bottle of "specially" conditioned water for a mere $3.99.

That's only slightly more expensive than the "spring water" people buy to drink for $1+ per 16oz, which is usually just filtered municipal water. It's all a rip-off and I'm not surprised another retail sector has found a way to capitalize on the bottled water craze.

At least the sales person was getting the buyer to use something other than chlorinated tap water. I wonder how many new fish owners are even told that straight tap water is harmful.

 

[ken6217]

Actually you can go down the aisle of any LFS and most of the stuff on the market is a waste of money. The less you put in your tank and mess with it, the better the results. Hands off = Better results!
Ken

 

[blange3]

It's almost as heinous as selling drinking water in a bottle!

 

[gogol]

Please dont bad mouth only Petsmart/Petco people, stuff like this happens in our favorite LFS-s as well.

I went to one of our sponsors' stores a couple of days back, and against my will was somewhat coerced into buying a bottle of oysterfeast to feed my newly bought chalice. [inspite of having told the guy that my LPS are doing pretty well with my homemade mixture of spirulina, pellet one and tank water].

If anything I wanted to buy Phytofeast which seemed to have a better shelf life.

Admittedly this is also my mistake, but upon reaching home, I realised that at the recommended dosage, for a tank
my size, there is no way I could finish even a tenth of the bottle by the expiration date. I have to return the stuff ASAP to the store [its in the bottom shelf of my fridge now] or I could give it to one of you guys if you are interested ?

 

[jimroth]

Been going on forever. When I worked at "Ed's Tropical Aquarium," we used to give away FREE GOLDFISH! I never let one of those things out of the store without at least $20 worth of stuff in little bottles, and that was back in 1977!

 

[Phyl]

Oysterfeast is the best stuff in the world!! Use it!

 

[gogol]

I totally agree with you Phyl, on the fact that the stuff is good. But how sensitive is the stuff to the expiration date ?

My bottle expires on 08/28/09 ... and directed amount of use is 1-2 tsp/day for every 100 gallon. With that rate, I suppose it would be 2tsp/5 days for my 20G. Between now and 08/28, if I consider it a period of 150 days, the max I can feed is 60 tsp and my bottle is 6oz = 36 tsp.

..oh wait I can actually use it!! Thanks Phyl for knocking some sense in me ;D. Oysterfeast to the rescue !!!

 

[junk]

Actually happens just about everywhere. Remember STP back in the 70's. Muffler bearings lol back in the 90's.