# fish selling question



## poolplayerpro3 (Dec 1, 2011)

im trying to sell my 3 cichlids and oscar for 20 bucks but no one on craigslist or any pet store around here wants them apparently...they need to go asap cause i cant afford to keep them anymore any ideas? and no im not giving them away for free..


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## austinroberts23 (Jan 25, 2012)

Figure about half what you spent on them unless they are a more rare species or there is someone searching for a larger specemin. I'd say asking 10 or all would be about the best you'd do. And that would probably still be tough


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

Onistly, if you can't afford to keep them and you cant sell them, then give them away or drop your price. maybe you could trade them into a pet store, alot of pet stores wont buy them but will give store credit.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There is a fish club in Raleigh. Post on a local forum and at least you know people with tanks will read it. http://www.raleighaquariumsociety.com/forum/index.php? I would suggest taking offers for trades for equip or supplies you will use.

But fish like oscars get less valuable as they get bigger because the number of suitable tanks gets smaller. Generally for you to get anything, you need to deliver. People won't both drive for a fish or two and pay unless they are uncommon. And selling fish as a group that are not a good combo (i.e. jewels and oscars) will not work for serious fish keepers because they won't want to fill 4 tanks. I expect you can put them in the club auction separately and they will go for $1/fish of which you will get maybe sixty cents. An independent LFS may give you store credit, but you have to call around and bring the fish to them. Chains will sometimes take your fish, but they don't even give store credit.

Bottom line, fish get less valuable with time. Like how expensive puppies become "free to a good home" dogs.

If you posted them as a group only, change it to let them go individually for a nominal amount like $1-2 a fish just to keep them from jerks who want something to kill. You can try $5 ea and see if you get any bites before you drop the price, but post some nice pics, good size estimates, and accurate names. What is a yellow-fin cichlid, anyway? Google gives me at least four fish described that way. I hate common names.


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## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

a fish is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The issue is buyers. For a common fish in the middle of nowhere, its not worth the gas to go fetch, people would rather go to the chain store and get a guarantee (or 2 fish alike). And where there are buyers, how do you reach them? fish club nuts and CL readers are cheapskates like me. People with money trouble don't have $800 cameras to get irresistible pics. A youtube video is often easier. The faster they need to go, the less you can expect to get. You might get $20 for a big cichlid, but how long can you wait for a good offer? It might be a year. Free anything is usually gone by the end of the weekend, but you don't know what people do with it.

You can try aquabid.com. I think its still free to list.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Just don't flush them whatever you do.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

get some oil heating in that frying pan...
some good advice given here...look for a local club...post them there..


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## endlerguppy (May 7, 2012)

i know its not about this subject but how do you make a new forum?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

a thread, a category or a whole site? 

A thread, you pick a category and click "new thread"

only mods can make categories

A new forum needs a server (or leased server host) and software and users. Getting people to visit a new forum is hard. Old forums with lots of old threads come up in web searches, empty ones don't.


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## endlerguppy (May 7, 2012)

*i mean one like this*

i mean one like this:fish:


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## poolplayerpro3 (Dec 1, 2011)

well at 20 im asking 5.00 a fish i paid around 12-25 a fish so im already loosing money people on craigslist want stuff for free or they just wont get it. im trying to sell them so i can use that money to buy more im switching my tank to a tropical semi-agressive tank and all these fish im selling are in a 55 gallon tank together and so far no problems, ive had them about 2 years so if they havent killed each other by now their not going to... ive asked every pet store thats within 30 miles of my house and none of them buy fish or even do a trade because they dont have any quarentine system to keep them in till their sold.


and id be willing to ship them if i needed to if buyer paid shipping


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Problem is, why would I buy fish from you, especially an oscar, that I can drive a half mile and buy without shipping it into the desert? No matter what you want to happen, the world doesn't owe you anything. If nobody wants the fish, then it's your responsibility to care for the fish until you can sell it. There's lots of different fish I'd like to keep. I can't. Know why? The tank is already occupied. Such is life.

Try posting the ad as free on craigslist. If you aren't willing to do what it takes to provide a home for the fish, then you bought the obligation to keep them in healthy conditions when you brought them home in the first place.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you are willing to ship, you can try aquabid. It is free to list. But if the fish are common all over, a buyer will compare your price + shipping to a local price and shipping fish isn't cheap. People are always shocked to see used fish equipment go for only 10-40% of online price (usually half of retail) and its worse for fish. I swear I may need to pay people to take my convicts. 

All markets are local, though. If you know you will soon be traveling to a bigger city you can call stores there and post on their forums and see if you get a better result. Do go on your nearest fish club board and ask what the fish are worth near you. 

Post the best pics you have and let us see if we can give you a specific name. If any one is searching for your fish, they won't be browsing for assorted cichlids.


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## austinroberts23 (Jan 25, 2012)

And not trying to be rude, but petco carries Oscar for 4.99 most days. I'm with about everyone else, if you are bent on making money off them than be prepared to keep them


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## poolplayerpro3 (Dec 1, 2011)

well a baby oscar here costs 12.99 at petsmart for one thats 2 inches long and the cihlids sell for 7.99 to 22.99 so 5 bucks each is cheap... and i cant refill my tank with giving them away...


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## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

You can always wrap them in aluminum foil with a half stick of butter and a lemon wedge and toss it on the top shelf of the dish washer on the pot and pan cycle!

i ate my sail fin pleco about 8 years ago and i have to admit he was quite tasty!

But he was 22" and highly destructive and i needed to find him a home but couldn't so he became dinner!

Most large fish keepers never get what they want for large fish.....i am in the fish business and everyday i never get what i want for the fish i sell.......alternative is to move somewhere and pout in 25 million gallons of ponds...............err wait i maybe in process of that now


"Quick, bring me a bowl of coffee before i turn into a goat"


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The issue is buyers. Most people go to the store and buy a tank and enough fish to overstock it. Before you got these fish, did it occur to you buy a tank and look for fish anywhere but at the store? Because the chain stores sell a lot of baby oscars and mbuna to people with 10 gallon tanks there is an oversupply of grown-out fish that need 55s or larger. So many people give them away that those few who want them know they don't have to pay for them.

Reaching potential buyers that aren't actively looking is really hard. Post flyers wherever you can, post on "free classified" web sites and local papers. But most of the ways to really reach a lot of people cost real money now.

The person with an obscure rare fish can set his own price, but then he can wait years to find the one person looking for it. And then he will sell 6-10 and still have 200 left.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

poolplayerpro3 said:


> well a baby oscar here costs 12.99 at petsmart for one thats 2 inches long and the cihlids sell for 7.99 to 22.99 so 5 bucks each is cheap... and i cant refill my tank with giving them away...


I don't mean to be rude, just honest. This really is a self-inflicted problem. Nobody is going to buy the fish for your asking price just so you have the money to buy something else.


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## giggitygiggity (Sep 14, 2011)

Hey not to be rude either, but get this through your head, your selling on *CRAIGSLIST* The first thing that comes to peoples mind when they go to Craigslist is "*cheap deals*." So people are either trying to get something for a very low price to almost free.


If you dont like the offers then keep your ad up and wait. If no one bites, then hey, lower your price or donate them. Thats *ALL* you can do.


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