drsfostersmith slowest shipping

[miaskies]

I ordered 10 buckets of reefcrystals salt from them. It was a "bad known batch" of salt. My magnesium tested at 950 NOT 1300ppm like natural sea water. I was very bummed by their response back to me.

WHY DOES THE MAGNESIUM HAVE TO BE SO HIGH- IF YOU HAD USED THE SALT WOULD IT HAVE HURT ANYTHING IN THE TANK?

 

[BigAl07]

WHY DOES THE MAGNESIUM HAVE TO BE SO HIGH- IF YOU HAD USED THE SALT WOULD IT HAVE HURT ANYTHING IN THE TANK?

It may not have "Hurt" anything but our goal is to provide the very BEST environment for these animals. You'll notice that Natural Sea Water should be in the 1300 range where as the newly made batch was 950. All of these elements need to be in the correct levels for many reasons one of which is... MOST are directed related to another element and if one is WAY off something else is right there with it. We're looking for a balance and that particular batch was out of whack. This isn't one of those cases where we just "Settle" for what we've got. Even though it may not "kill" anything immediately (and I'm not saying it wont just putting out some ideas there) it's not ideal and at the very least it wont promote a HEALTHY thriving environment for the animals.

 

[lynxpilot]

I've ordered one or two dry goods items from DF&S, and three orders of live goods from liveaquaria. Dry goods arrived promptly with no issues. First order of livestock had one dead arrival and they credited my account no questions asked. Second batch shipped just after we had an ice storm. Fedex claimed delay at hub (Memphis) and package arrived at distribution warehouse too late to make delivery truck. It's about 50 miles and I could have driven there because conditions weren't that bad. Delivery truck came into town and wouldn't go down our road (I had negotiated the same road twice that day with my little VW without any problems). He dropped all of his packages for our little town at a store in town that subcontracts for them as a drop/pickup. My wife had to go get it hours after the already late delivery. Lost 5 fish and 3 featherdusters in that shipment. Liveaquaria immediately shipped again to replace them except what they no longer had in stock and they gave me credit for that. I've had absolutely no problems with
DF&S/liveaquaria. Now Fedex on the other hand. . .(catapult quip was very funny)

 

[Bounce]

I've spent a LOT of money over the last 10 years through DFS and have usually been pretty happy with my orders and customer service. It does seem like it takes them an unusually long time to get orders shipped out the last year or so though. I've never really had any major complaints about them until recently. I had submitted a "testimonial" to their site for a canister filter that I have owned two of (neither were actually purchased from DFS) and both of them broke or failed within a year. The testimonial I submitted detailed the problems I experienced with the filters and concluded with a statement saying that for those reasons I wouldn't recommend the product. They sent me an email regarding the testimonial and essentially said that because it was 'negative' that it would not be posted on their site.

That's what really irks me.

Testimonials/feedback/ratings, whatever you want to call them, are supposed to allow potential purchasers to evaluate feedback on a product posted by previous purchasers in their decision on whether or not to purchase a product. By hosting the testimonials on their site, they [DFS] give the appearance of product reviews or feedback. However, the statements they maintain are grossly biased since they don't allow negative testimonials--which are every bit as legitimate as positive ones--to be posted for the products they sell. This is, in my opinion, entirely unethical and downright deceitful. I think it defeats the purpose behind allowing users to post comments about products at all, since the only comments potential purchasers can see are the positive ones that would help DFS profit from selling the merchandise. I feel this it utterly reprehensible.

For what it's worth, here is the "negative testimonial" I submitted regarding Marineland C-Series cansiter filters.

I've had two of the C-360 models for nearly a year and was originally very pleased with them. They maintained an impressive flow rate, held a great amount of media in the baskets, and seemed to be of reliable, sturdy construction. However, one of them completely quit working after three months for no discernible reason. I disassembled and cleaned the entire unit three times but my efforts proved fruitless. I've had at least one of every filter on the market in the last 15 years and am no stranger to maintaining or repairing them. This one just crapped out.

Last night during a media change on the second unit, the shut-off valve under the lock lever snapped off. It was not due to excessive force; the plastic just broke. The unit still functions, but I can no longer detach the hoses from the motor housing without having to remove the hoses from the aquarium to prevent siphoning.

Given these issues on two separate units in the past twelve months, I cannot recommend this particular product.

I have spent over $5,000 through DFS just since the beginning of the calendar year, not including purchases through their Live Aquaria site. With the exception of their name brand dog food, I will be making future purchases through competing retailers instead of rewarding this once-respected company with my business.

 

[livingword26]

Testimonials/feedback/ratings, whatever you want to call them, are supposed to allow potential purchasers to evaluate feedback on a product posted by previous purchasers in their decision on whether or not to purchase a product. By hosting the testimonials on their site, they [DFS] give the appearance of product reviews or feedback. However, the statements they maintain are grossly biased since they don't allow negative testimonials--which are every bit as legitimate as positive ones--to be posted for the products they sell. This is, in my opinion, entirely unethical and downright deceitful. I think it defeats the purpose behind allowing users to post comments about products at all, since the only comments potential purchasers can see are the positive ones that would help DFS profit from selling the merchandise. I feel this it utterly reprehensible.

I've had the same experience. I was very disappointed to find out that their "testimonials" were filtered. I recently ordered a light fixture from them on a Sunday and received it the following Wednesday, it was to big for the Fedex/USPS smart post.

 

[codeh27]

I work for UPS in a warehouse I unload trucks I have done very many jobs around. People sort the packages in UPS we have to unload/sort a package every 3 seconds, so they have to read the packages importance (ground,next day, 3 day air etc.) location by zip code,state. It is very easy to miss a package everynow and then to accidently put it on the wrong belt. Thats how UPS does it i assume Fedex is very similiar accidents happen no ones perfect no need to. I have even ordered from DFS and I got mine the time/date they said it came from UPS I have never had a problem with shipping and I ship 2-4 packages from various places a week.