# Best Way to Sell Fish



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Well, I have some rainbow platies that, thanks to a lost translations at LiveAquaria, that I have been raising from since they were babies. Pa died awhile ago and Ma is still alive and well. Right now I have two tanks, a 10g with babies still growing and a 20g that has a few that aren't too far away from becoming fully grown, and I want to find them new homes before I get stuck with a third generation. Right now I asked around and all I get is a no from people I know because they don't have a fish tank, period. Right now I'm thinking of posting a few flyers at a few places, one being at a local college, and a few place. What I want to now is what is the best website to post fish for sale that would focus more as local as possible? While somebody suggested eBay, but I feel a little safer if I can get people to come by and pick up the fish themselves, plus it would cost more then the fish to have them delivered. One place I can think of is Craigslist, but I'm not sure what other options there are.


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

You can move a lot of fish through local club auctions & swaps.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Doubt it, I live in a two college town that was also a farming town, but now the second part relies on tourists. I can ask around, but this place doesn't have much to offer.


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Yea, Denver is probably a bit of a drive for you, they have an auction Oct 11th in Arvada.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Yeah, and I don't want to risk the lives of the fish just to get there. Right now my best bet is just to advertise and have people come pick them up.


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

I've driven with fish 5 hours on several occasions to events in the Midwest. 2-3 hours happens all the time. As long as they're prepped, bagged and packed properly the losses are minimal. None of the fish I've sold have ever had an issue, with a 500-600 item auction you can count the losses on one hand, usually it's just a couple. This is most often down to bagging them poorly, a 6" fish in an 8" bag just isn't going to work. Fish get shipped to shops bagged 24-48 hours, I'm sure some of the fish I've bought & sold have hit the 24 hour mark. Livebearers are pretty sturdy, there's been plenty of instances of a hit female dropping in the bag, during the auction.

My idea behind selling at events is to break even with gas, food, and anything I may decide to buy. Sometimes it works out better than planned, sometimes it doesn't, but if I can have a fun day for free or nearly so I'm a happy camper!


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Except in my case, I have no car and while I'm pretty sure there are people who wouldn't mind giving me a life, the down side is, my budget is not on my side right now.


----------



## EgonNoge (Jul 5, 2014)

LongTimeAquarist said:


> Except in my case, I have no car and while I'm pretty sure there are people who wouldn't mind giving me a life, the down side is, my budget is not on my side right now.


You can make an account on Aquabids.com. That's a popular place to sell fish.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

Do they provide shipping materials or do I have to buy those? And are pictures a requirement? Because I have trouble taking a decent picture.


----------



## EgonNoge (Jul 5, 2014)

You have to provide shipping materials, but you local pet store can easily supply the bags and air. You need to buy boxes, insulation, and depends if you need an ice or hot pack. You don't have to have one but i would encourage it.


----------



## EgonNoge (Jul 5, 2014)

EgonNoge said:


> You have to provide shipping materials, but you local pet store can easily supply the bags and air. You need to buy boxes, insulation, and depends if you need an ice or hot pack. You don't have to have one but i would encourage it.


 "You don't have to have one but i would encourage it" by this I mean the picture.


----------



## EgonNoge (Jul 5, 2014)

Also, I am having trouble starting a new thread. How do you do this?


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

The closest thing to a pet store around here is Walmart and the only fish they sell are bettas in a cup. Well, from the looks of things, I would have to focus on the locals.


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

A box, a Gatorade bottle, and some fiberglass house insulation. Nearly free shipping supplies. Put them on Aquabid with no reserve if the locals don't work out. I've seen fish shipped like that, the bottle thing is a catfish trick, they like to puncture bags.


----------



## LongTimeAquarist (Jan 16, 2014)

We'll see, although right now my best source is the Aquaculture department at the college I went to. They're the ones got the fish tanks that was donated by Walmart. While I don't think they have the equipment for the air, they are willing to help out by asking around to see if anybody has a fish tank.


----------

