How many people buy there pond stuff online versus a local pond store?
If online is it just because price?

I buy everything for my pond online. I have to as I live in the far north and there is no such thing as a "pond store" and the pet store here is useless. I do buy most of my plumbing for the pond, bulkhead fittings and connectors and some tubing etc. at our local hardware store because it is available. It has nothing to do with the price for me, just the availability :huh:

I used the local hardware store to buy most of what I needed to build pond (skimmer, pluming parts, stock tank) I did buy the scrubber pads for my bio filter online.
The liner I bought from a wholesale landscape supply company as I work for a landscape company. I will be buying some pond plants online in the spring.

I buy online for convenience - If it is something I need right away, I will make the 45 minute drive to the store.

I buy most of my pond stuff online, strictly because of price. I'll pay the extra if I need it NOW but if I can wait a week, I'll take the savings. Liner up here is 89 cents a square foot, why pay that when (with shipping) I can get it for 40 cents less. I do go to one pond/garden nursery store, they are very helpful when it comes to ponds...but extra pricey so usually only plants...unfortunately.

I pretty much buy everything on-line.

Not only lower prices; but also the selection.

I've yet to visit a local pond store/petshop where I've walked out with everything I went in to buy. So you end up searching the net anyway. And when they have items in stock, prices can be ridiclous.

I think everyone else has summed up why I buy almost all my animal, aquarium, and pond supplies on-line.

1. Less expensive. Earlier this year, I bought two Emperor 400 filters for about $40 (it was a buy one get one deal or something) from Drs. Foster & Smith. I looked at Petco out of curiousity; $80 for one of them. That's a 75% savings (not including shipping which was not really a factor since I order $100-300 of stuff at any time.

2. Availibility and selection. My local aquarium and pet stores have maybe 1% of what I can get from the three main places I buy stuff. I use Drs. Foster & Smith (best selection), That Pet Place (best prices, not far from me so low shipping too), Pet Food Direct (for natural cat food), and a few places for pond stuff just a few times a year (Aquamart, Tricker, Paradise Water Gardens, etc.).

3. Time savings. That's very important for me! I don't have time to go to the store. I will for stuff I have to have ASAP but, even then, That Pet Place usually gets me supplies in two days (with regular shipping) and sometimes it comes the next day!

So, what do I buy at the pet store? Live crickets, mealworms, CareFresh, cat litter, all every week or two, and every once in a while I go to the fish store for live blackworms, frozen fish foods, and live animals.

Plus if you use the links from Robyn's site she earns points or something!

It always makes me feel good if I can do something for Robyn; for all her wonderful help.

I live to go to the store and look at it. The 2 people that work at Bayville WaterGardens and Koi were my students years ago. I like them. They are my friends now so I buy from them.

I get about 5% of the Drs. Foster and Smith orders made through my site but not the other places. That Pet Place doesn't have an affiiliate program. Pet Food Direct has one but rejected me. I think that the 5% I get only works the first time you go there from my site but I'm not sure so keep ordering from the top icon on any of my pages. That money goes right back into orders for my animals so they and I thank you.

I'm no good at thinking ahead, and I live in an area that has many hardware and pet stores nearby, so I buy almost everything locally as I need it. There's even a guy who runs a koi / pond supply business out of his home not too far away -- so when my main pump broke I was able to get a replacement right away. Online is usually less expensive, but I don't mind spending a bit more. I only have four cats and four koi, so it doesn't add up to much $$$.

Nothing beats online though for hard-to-find stuff.

I don't usually buy on-line because I like to see something before I buy it, expessially if its expensive enough that ordering on-line would save more then a few cents. If I were going to get live animals I would have to see them first, also the shipping&handling for live animals is usually 2x the price of the animals.

I always use your icon to order from Drs. F&S; and I certainly hope you receive credit for more than just my first order.

Yes everybody has there way of doing things and that is great. The online shoppers will notice price increases over the next year or two. The manufaturers are starting to impelment MAP pricing which means that nobody can sell for less than what they say. This is mostly from the complaints from store owners. We will have to see what happens. To me it doesnt really matter because our company supplies stores and also supply websites and ships for them also.

I just like it when I can find what I need and get it fast wether it is local (not likely) or online (takes forever) Right now I would be happy if I could just find a place to buy a replacement canopy for one of my 55Gallon fish tanks. I am having a terrible time!!