Did i pay too much for apparently a solar flame angelfish $400?

[polyppal]

First of all the angelfish was not sold as a "Solar Flare" Flame angel. We sell those when we get them for $1800-$2500. It was sold as a "Solar" Flame angel because it is a different color morph and lacks true black colors. It does not have the typical black bars. This was explained to the customer and if we had regular flames in stock it would have been very evident. The fish was viewed by the customer and he bought it. It did not arrive sight unseen like a mail order. So that is where the confusion began. This is not a typical flame angel and is very beautiful. We deal in high end fish as the core of our business.
SOF offered, after a late night message claiming he had been ripped off, to come and catch the fish and pay him a full refund. With all of the regular jobs we had and in addition to getting new shipments in we committed to go and catch the fish. This required us to fit him in. Plus the customer lives a solid hour away from the shop which made for a longer delay. It was not possible to send someone to get the fish early in the day as we had a shipment of Oreni Tilefish that were lost in UPS logistics and were struggling to find them. We literally had people driving around looking for UPS trucks. A message was sent to customer at 9:00 am explaining this and his response was "No Problem".
The SOF employee arrived and was unable to secure fish as customer did not want rock structures moved in his 100g tank and we understood this. We asked if we could send a trap over and catch the fish. It was explained to customer we would pay for the fish when it was secured. This is what upset the customer (who was also upset because we did not want to purchase his yellow tang). It was the explained to us how we would be blasted on forums etc. That we weren't a good LFS. When we would contend we went out of our way to try and make him happy.

I apologize/retract my earlier comment about this being a LFS that didnt know what they were doing. Glad you shared your side of the story and defended your business.

Sounds like you have been misrepresented, although you should probably call that angelfish something else (never heard of a 'Solar' Angel, only a 'Solar Flare'. Although it clearly has black on it, could understand how an uneducated person would assume its a Solar Flare). OP made you sound like a dinky LFS ran by teenagers, but after looking you up, you obviously know what your doing, dealing in high end fish where 90% of the buyers in such a market should know what they're buying.

I also own a business and know that unfortunately businesses come across people from time to time they just cant satisfy. I think going out of your way to drive there and catch the fish out of an entitled/uninformed customers tank is beyond the call of duty.

 

[zoalicious]

My suggestion to the store is to help educate your buyer as well to make sure there are no miss understanding...if you would have mentioned to this buyer that the “solar” angle that you’re selling is not actually a solar flare angel it’s a morph with different markings then the regular flame ...if this was explained clearly to the buyer all this could have been avoided ...so word of advise to store owners assume all your buyers are dumb and educate them especially when they are spending this kind of money on 1 fish...high end products needs to meet certain standards of taking care of the clients when they are at the store

 

[Zionas]

400 for a Flame? That sounds a bit overpriced unless it’s a special variant or sourced from a more remote location, but hey hope it does well. Beautiful fish.

 

[ApoIsland]

Hi All - i bought a flame angelfish without doing much research. LFS sold me this 1.5inch for $400. They said its a solar flame angelfish. I dont know much about them, but its very healthy and eating well and i always wanted a flame for my tank. Hope i did not overpay. Let me know your thoughts?

Thank you

Looks to me like you may have a true Hawaiian Flame which is much more expensive than most flame angles we see. A true Hawaiian Flame used to cost twice as much as the yellow tang before the ban. Considering yellow tangs are now $400 most places you got a bargain on that fish if the fish store can ever confirm that is case. I would keep the fish.

 

[Zionas]

I’d love a true Hawaiian Flame if I had the chance. Unfortunately never seen one in my place.

 

[ca1ore]

My suggestion to the store is to help educate your buyer as well to make sure there are no miss understanding...if you would have mentioned to this buyer that the “solar” angle that you’re selling is not actually a solar flare angel it’s a morph with different markings then the regular flame ...if this was explained clearly to the buyer all this could have been avoided ...so word of advise to store owners assume all your buyers are dumb and educate them especially when they are spending this kind of money on 1 fish...high end products needs to meet certain standards of taking care of the clients when they are at the store

According to the LFS (if you read through the thread) it WAS explained. Seems to me this has been beaten to death. At some point we all have to take a level of personal responsibility for our decisions.

 

[zoalicious]

Then the buyer shouldn’t put them on blast like this not right on the buyer side if it was explained the the buyer what he’s buying ....case dismissed buyer was wrong here

 

[Grallster]

Probably should have asked if he was getting ripped off BEFORE the purchase...(whether he was or wasn’t is immaterial) otherwise—buyer beware.

 

[Alex Cataldo]

Well at least it’s still alive. Maybe the true colors of it aren’t shown yet and it is worth that money

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

I hate to say it but; Yes. They gave you a true Hawaiian Flame Angel which goes for around $75-$150. I’m sorry to see you got ripped off. I would definitely contact whoever you purchased the fish from and ask for a refund or money back.

Due to the Hawaii fish ban I would still keep the beautiful fish.

 

[Reef.]

I hate to say it but; Yes. They gave you a Regular Flame Angel which goes for around $75-$100. I’m sorry to see you got ripped off. I would definitely contact whoever you purchased the fish from and ask for a refund or money back.

read the full thread, all those points have been covered and answered.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

read the full thread, all those points have been covered and answered.

sorry just got here. We’re here to give our opinions, just because a few people already said it doesn’t mean another can to agree. I didn’t see every reply.

 

[Reef.]

sorry just got here

just noticed it’s 4 pages, so don’t blame you lol

 

[Tamberav]

Flames are variable even in Hawaii so while any type of flame could be from there... I disagree that this is the one we think of when we think of Hawaii... it clearly has lighter orange in the midsection and Hawaii flames that we associate/think of from there are practically red and have bars (but can also be found elsewhere).

Like this

 

[Reef.]

sorry just got here. We’re here to give our opinions, just because a few people already said it doesn’t mean another can to agree. I didn’t see every reply.

quick summary...seller says buyer was clearly told what he was buying, that it wasn’t a “Solar flare” but a “solar angel” as it didn’t have the normal markings of an angel, but still had black.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Sorry... that’s tragic

 

[Alvaro_Spain]

There´s a roman expression in Latin: "caveat emptor", or in English: "Let the buyer beware"

In other words. The buyer can´t blame the seller for his ignorance of something he could have looked for himself.

 

[nornicle]

yep OP didn’t get ripped off, a solar flare in Australia is anywhere between $5-10k... $400 would be laughable for a solar flare.

The vendor went above and beyond - if you see a fish you like and you are happy to pay a price then the deal is done. the fish didn’t magically change its look after the buyer brought it home.

Dwarf angels aren’t cheap and Hawaiian fish aren’t cheap. I understand how the OP felt but I hope OP learned something from this... regular golden angels go for $350-400+ in Australia

 

[Reef.]

There´s a roman expression in Latin: "caveat emptor", or in English: "Let the buyer beware"

In other words. The buyer can´t blame the seller for his ignorance of something he could have looked for himself.

I agree buyer needs to be aware but that is not a get out clause if something goes wrong with the sale and the seller has mislead the buyer, the seller still should do the right thing, just saying “caveat emptor” seems to be letting the seller off!

Not saying that is the case here.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I think we have a name for this story - Karen lol he saw the fish , store explained, he purchased not much else to say. The snake trade with ball pythons is the same , people vote with their $