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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> -=-
> Love: the delusion that one woman differs from another. - H.L. Mencken
>
> "The Creation of the Universe" was made possible by a grant from
> Texas Instruments. - PBS
>
> I'm an apatheist. The question is no longer interesting, and the answer no
> longer matters.
>
> ... Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and
> you would not have been informed.
>
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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"
> > / 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
> > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email
to
> > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
> > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
> > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
> http://www.nanfa.org
> --
> /"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
> / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
> / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
> / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
> / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
http://www.nanfa.org
> --
> /"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
> / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
> / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
> / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
> / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
http://www.nanfa.org
-- > /"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 > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"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 / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org