fish_in_bowl
Let's make a morning of this and approach several store owners. You really don't want to do this on their busiest days. Weekends are a poor time to make a sales presentation of any type. You'll have customers and phone calls interrupting the whole time you're there. To prepare you'll need a bag of 6 fish for each of the stores you're preparing to visit. The fish you select should be relatively the same size and uniform in quality. If you wouldn't want them, don't show them to anyone as your product. Dealers have no trouble at all getting poor quality products. You shouldn't wish to be associated with anything less than better that your dealer/dealers can get elsewhere. Giving them a better product should command a higher price in cash or trade.

Cash or trade? In most cases the dealer would prefer to give you store credit instead of paying cash. Looking back over my years as an employee, manager or owner of a store, I really don't know why. It's customary to do so. It's also a poor business decision. If the dealer keeps records, there's no good way to explain the transaction. On one hand you may want cash, on the other you may be able to get something you would otherwise have to pay full retail price for. If you need supplies, have an idea of what you'd like if offered trade. If you provide exceptionally good fish your dealer should woo you to keep you happy. When you know you're going to need supplies he/she would probably prefer ordering for you in advance. Obviously, this is down the road. You're not going to get much for just 6 fish. Showing the size and quality of your stock, if they are nice, will lead to future sales to the dealers you choose to deal with. It actually is your choice. If, for some reason, you feel uneasy or mistrust the dealer, leave the fish as a gift. You may, at some point, feel differently. That's yet another reason to offer the smaller sizes first.

So… if we're planning to hit 4 stores, some of the fish will have to be bagged for a longer term than others. Plan your route with the farthest store first followed by the next, then the next, then the next on the way home. If you've planned properly everything will go smoothly. Of course not everything goes as planned each and every time. Plan for the exception too. Take a few extra bags. If you visit a store near the receipt of a new shipment you might be able to finagle a styrofoam box or two. You may have to buy bags from one of your dealers. Square bottom bags would be best but few dealers stock them. If you can't get square bottom bags use standard bags and double bag them. Turn the second bag over so that no corners are left to catch any fish if the bag were to deflate somewhat. If your dealer sells fish to customers from out of the local area he/she will have the bags and boxes to allow his/her customer's fish to reach home safely. More than likely that store owner will have oxygen to bag the fish too. Typically, a dealer that has these things on hand will be someone you'll want to cultivate and do business with in the future.

Try to do your negotiating prior to the delivery. If the quality of your stock is consistent and the sizing is the same, you're justified in thinking the price should be the same. I wouldn't encourage you to let anyone push for a lower price. That would set a new precedent that would be hard to overcome in the future. If both of you feel the fish are undersized, take them home to return when they're the right size. Remember, your dealer is used to buying sight unseen over the phone, relying on the word of the salesman. Fish purchased sight unseen are often not the size expected when ordered. When the dealer buys from you he/she has the benefit of seeing the product first, prior to payment. That doesn't mean that you can't take them somewhere else rather than being pressed to lower your negotiated price. (I've been known to take my fish to the closest competitor and sell at a great price just to encourage the other dealer not to do that again.)

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