Buying Aquarium Products via Amazon (& Chewy, eBay)

 

Updated 9/07/23

This Fish as Pets Aquarium News article provides an experienced industry professional's opinion at what you get when purchasing your aquarium products via Amazon or similar discounters.
This is a look at why purchasing your aquarium product via Amazon (or Chewy) may not be your best choice from the perspective of aquarium professional who has been in the industry since 1977 maintaining 1000s of aquariums for clients (many quite high profile like the Bahooka Restaurant)

First let's start with known positives

• Ease of purchase. Many persons have Amazon accounts which makes any purchase just about as simple as clicking on the item desired.
  This said, if you have an account with PayPal or other sellers, such a purchase is just about as easy (Professional seller American Aquarium Products utilizes PayPal)


• Amazon Prime, Quick shipping for low cost


• Easy Return Policy; however this has a dark side even for consumers long term, so please read the entire article!


• Trust, while this might be more subjective, for many this is a factor too even though the facts speak otherwise to a very rude company with poor customer service when things go wrong

Now let's look at the MANY negatives, many not even known by most persons.

1. Cost of selling.
   

   Amazon sellers pay AT LEAST 15% of any sale (including shipping charges if applicable). As well there are costs in shipping to Amazon if the merchant is using "fulfilled by Amazon" so as to utilize the Prime feature.

   What does this mean for me as a buyer?
   
   When one considers that the average mark up of late for most aquarium products is 20-30%, this equates to 1/2 or more of the profit going to Amazon.
   Reference: Amazon Seller Fees – How Much Does It Cost to Sell on Amazon?
   
   Most full businesses cannot be profitable unless they cut certain corners.
   This includes selling aquarium UV Sterilizers without high output lamps and pre-filters (where applicable). Often most UV replacement lamps are the lower output medium pressure lamps which have 1/4 the UVC output. Reference: Actual UV-C Emission from a UV Bulb; Aquarium or Pond
   
   Even with products such as aquarium medications where one cannot cheapen the product, such as AAP Wonder Shells, you will often find actually higher prices via Amazon and with the Wonder Shell in particular, INCORRECT DIRECTIONS FOR USE, as Amazon is NOT allowed to supply the correct directions for use only supplied by AAP via copyright (the package directions are incorrect and with some fish can result in more harm to these fish).

   As well, many medications are sold are clearance items with poor best used by dates, so buyer beware.
   IN FACT, as per Wonder Shells, most sold outside of the original seller (American Aquarium Products) are in fact clearance stock that is MUCH older than those sold by AAP who has new stock ordered at least once per month & stock is rotated to keep it fresh too).
   The result for those who purchase via Amazon, are Wonder Shells that are often stale and have lost some or all of their "charge" of mineral Cations. This in turn has allowed for trolls in aquarium forums to post inaccurate reviews based purchasing via Amazon (as well as incorrect usage since Amazon is not allowed to provide copyrighted AAP information for use).
   
   More importantly here is the fact that full service help whether it be by customer service or by sponsoring forums (which is more common of late) requires paying staff and it is FACT that a full service professional business such as AAP CANNOT get by on 5-15% profit margins all the while paying staff to help others.
   

2. Amazon Contract with small sellers hands over rights to ALL CONTENT AND ALL PICTURES.
   

   What this means is that after many small sellers find they cannot make money on the Amazon platform due to Amazon fees, required refunds (where Amazon keeps part of the funds at the merchant's expense, required return fees, and much much more, Amazon can then use the merchant/seller's content to now carry and sell the product directly where obviously these costs and fees do not apply.

   This has happened with many aquarium products with Amazon now selling many products directly such as non AAP authorized Wonder Shells and more.
   Long term, these Amazon or Chewy purchases will destroy such businesses and you as an end user will be left without researched/experienced information, help, & innovation.
   IN FACT after helping destroy the upgraded SunSun Canister Filter line, Chewy continued to have the audacity to actually contact AAP for help with customers questions, as they know very little about the products they sell and are essentially a parasite retailer that uses the hard work of articles from AAP and other priofessionals to then turn around and steal the product sale, often selling an inferior version!
   Even where the product is still available, the service and expertise is NOT. I know this for a fact with the many questions I get from people who have the audacity to purchase via Amazon, then come to me for help with correct use. Often this results in incorrect use and poor results or even harm to one's finned friends.
   
   As of writing this article close to 50% of high end professional quality aquarium product SKUs have already disappeared from the industry (since 2010) with many more teetering on the edge.
   Many are already gone, include Aquatronics in its original form, Ancient Mariner, Fusion Pumps, Rio Pumps, Filstar Filters, most Via Aqua Pumps, the better/premium versions of SunSun Canister Filters (the current ones are of very poor quality), many high end UV Sterilizers (now replaced by cheap Chinese UV Clarifiers), The Clear Stream Pond Filter, and many, many more.
   
   Moreover, since I and my business answers questions DAILY from persons who have not ordered product from my business (mostly purchased via discounters including Amazon, eBay, Chewy, & others), at some point when I can no longer offered to stay open due to tiny margins and non existent sales, not only will I or my staff be around to help directly, our largest in the world library of in depth/researched aquarium information & videos will disappear too.
   
   

   In the end, there are MANY top notch aquarium products you cannot even get on Amazon, from the most efficient AAP AquaRay LED lights, Vecton true level one capable UV Sterilizers, and many medications/treatments such as AAP Spectrogram, Merbromin/Wound Control, Naladin, Res-Q, Eye Fungex, Medicated Wonder Shells & MANY others.
   
   So are you OK with using 2nd or 3rd best treatments/products just so you can purchase via Amazon?

   Products NOT available on Amazon (at least not legally authorized):
   
   • AAP Spectrogram, Merbromin, Naladin, Res-Q & more
   • AAP Wonder Shells Lg; Original (& fresh unlike those sold on Amazon which are not authorized by AAP)
   • AAP Medicated Wonder Shells; Unique and only sold by professionals
   • AAP Medicated Wonder Shells; International pro source
   • Vecton & Advantage High Performance True UV Sterilizers from AAP
     Nothing sold on Amazon even comes close to matching these UVs in dwell time, performance & longevity!
   • AquaRay Lighting
     Simply the highest PAR per watt of input energy with the longest warranty by far
   • Clay Neighbor's Custom Ultra Premium Fish Food Crumbles
     Based on decades of experience/research; the ONLY premium fish food with optimized fiber & energy levels
   
   
   • As well, many products that can be found via Amazon are cheapened versions to make certain price points or clearance products that are not fresh and likely will not work as well (such as AAP/ASI Aquarium Silicone)
   
   Then there of course is the moral side of this too:
   Will you get help from an aquarium professional via your aquarium forum (which the better ones such as Everything Aquatic & Freshwater Fishues Sick Fish Place are sponsored and paid for by professional sites such as AAP), professionally written article, local fish store, etc. then take their time and help and throw it in the trash by making your purchase via Amazon (or Chewy/eBay for that matter)??


3. Amazon with help from Google Ads violates copyright with impunity.
   The picture below shows an Ad on Google from Amazon using my business copyrighted name (AAP) to sell product that Amazon is not even authorized to sell.
   
   
   
   As well Google uses their search monopoly along with Amazon Black Hat SEO practices to provide results for Amazon with almost every search inquiry, even searches for scientific terms (not products).
   I've personally had conversations with Google representatives and they are extremely condescending and could clearly care less and have even knocked professional scientific articles down in favor of Amazon & other spam.
   A good example is the search term "Aquarium UV Sterilization"
   A scientific result that an HONEST search engine (DuckDuckGo) brings up and Google has moved in favor of Amazon & spam:
   AQUARIUM OR POND ULTRAVIOLET STERILIZATION


4. Amazon often sells non-authorized or clearance products which may not be as fresh to keep prices down (such as aquarium treatments).
   
   This is often done under the cover of 3rd party sellers such as Etailz (who have no "skin in the game").
   An example of "non authorized products" are the AAP Professional Treatments, Aquaray Lighting, AAP/ASI Aquarium Silicones, & AAP Hydro-Sponge/Filter Max Filters.
   If you purchase such products you will often find cracked/broken, dated, or missing parts. Then when you try & get professional help, you will not find it or be dishonestly referred to an authorized seller with the expectation of replacement for free.


5. Amazon will use whatever listing is first made to represent all future sales of a given product.
   
   This means, no matter how inaccurate, misleading, or simply lacking proper information to better educate the future buyer, the information WILL NOT BE CHANGED!
   
   A good example is the AAP Wonder Shell originally made by Weco. The information published by the manufacturer is incorrect as per use resulting in those following this information using this product incorrectly and/or for the wrong reason (such as for alkalinity).
   Referenced from: Purchasing Aquarium & Pond Equipment via Amazon
   
   Once I am gone and others like me, who will then answer these questions????
   
   Sadly when it comes to the Wonder Shell in particular, Amazon now makes the majority of sales of this product, thus cutting off American Aquarium Products (AAP) who spent decades using and researching this product and by copyright is the only seller providing correct usage information for this product based on decades of professional usage and experimentation.
   If you are OK with purchasing Wonder Shells from Amazon (or other sellers) for just this reason alone, all I can say is WOW, you clearly have little morals!
   
   I know that I constantly have to correct Amazon misinformation via email, social media, etc. or answer as to why their cheap UV Sterilizer did not perform as they expected.
   Sadly discussions I have had in social media show that people 9 times out of 10 do not understand this.
   I recently had a person in Facebook argue with me that why should he spend $150 for a UV Sterilizer when he could get one on Amazon for $40 that is 80% as good.
   Problem is this 80% is not even close to the truth. First these UVs on Amazon utilize medium pressure UV lamps that are just 25% of the UVC output of the low pressure HO UV lamps.
   As well to make the "price point", besides utilizing much less efficient HO UV lamps, many UVs sold via Amazon are missing key parts (such as the pre-filter sponge in the CUP models).
   Reference: High Output UVC Emission from a UV Bulb/Lamp; Aquarium or Pond
   
   Then you have design and dwell time and in the end you are lucky of you get 10% of the effectiveness for the same wattage UV.
   Then throw in a 1-2 year lifespan versus 7-10 year lifespan for an AAP Vecton/Advantage UV and your $40 UV from Amazon which is not even a True UV Sterilizer ends up being pure crap!
   
   The other dark side to this inability to change a listing coupled with Amazon's return policy is that often the consumer is not properly educated in use of a product, so they damage the product and Amazon forces full refunds from the seller. This in the end has often forced companies out of business.
   A good case in point is the "Ancient Marine Aquarium Cleaning Machine" which was an awesome product that was destroyed by just such policies resulting in the companies demise. Another example is Purely UV, maker of the popular hand held "Pocket Purifier" UV sanitizer.
   So in the end this "Great Return Policy" might seem like another positive for consumers, long term it is not if one desires innovation from start up companies.


6. As of 2017, UPS & Fedex have greatly increased dimensional weight (often doubling some larger box costs to small to medium shippers).
   You might ask what has this to do with Amazon?
   The facts are Amazon has set agreements with the two main shippers of note for heavier packages (FedEx & UPS) where they pay a flat fee so that Amazon can ship as efficiently as possible utilizing often over sized boxes filled with air pillows and not pay any extra for dimensions, etc.
   
   This has resulted in losses for UPS/FedEx which have recently decided to pass this on to their small to medium shippers. This is a FACT as per my UPS representative.
   The result is every time one of these shippers ship a box of much dimension at all they are subsidizing Amazon so that Amazon can provide low or free shipping.
   
   This of course is an unfair trade practice and further degrades professional sellers.
   
   Then there is the USPS (US Postal Service). While our political leaders and dishonest news media runs cover for Amazon, the facts are Amazon most definitely DOES NOT help the USPS monetary bottom.
   Just Sunday Prime deliveries alone cost more just in the wages paid to the carrier than Amazon pays for the package.
   The bottom line is EVERY Amazon package delivered via the USPS is subsidized by other shippers and the US taxpayers.
   
   HOWEVER, as of January 2019, the Trump Administration brought USPS pricing in line with discounted pricing via Stamps.com and Ship Station so that small businesses can at least compete with smaller package deliveries (we still do not get the benefit of subsidized Sunday delivery that Amazon enjoys).
   In fact as of January 2020, we have seen pricing for lighter items that Amazon would ship via USPS go up on Amazon that our business competes with where that in most instances, we are now less expensive, so this small changes has at least helped increased sales of small/lighter products purchases over the last 12 months.
   
   In a related issue that does not involve Amazon, the Obama era regulation banning magnetic ballasts required for many premium high out put UV Sterilizers that resulted in favoring cheap Chinese imports of lower output UV Clarifiers was also lifted (another albeit small victory for the professional aquarium keeping industry)


7. Poor Customer service when problems arise such as lost packages or non shipments.
   As well as poor treatment of staff which likely is part of the reason for the dishonesty and poor customer service as decent persons rarely would want to work in such an environment.
   
   Further Reading: Amazon Is Evil. So What Can We Do About It?
   Why Jeff Bezos Amazon is so Evil?


8. Amazon Affiliate Program; With this you often have innocent persons simply recommending purchasing products with a specific link to provide points/credits to purchase items themselves.
   However there is a dark side too with many writing spam articles that Amazon's Google pals often promote to the top of search and Facebook move to the top of news feeds. Often these articles borrow information from experts without giving legal credit, thus violating DMCA laws.
   Worse yet, many of these article are simply bad information and the authors will slam products not sold via Amazon while promoting products made in China that rip off patents from the same products that they slam. A good example are those written by "Fish Labs".
   
   The bottom line is that this practice is destroying many of the experts in their fields, most specifically from my field of expertise in aquarium/pond keeping.


9. Amazon tracks everything you do in conjunction with Google and other search engines;
   So what is the problem here? This often results in Amazon products coming to the top of your search that may appear related such as a search for the scientific process of aquarium UV sterilization resulting in UV Clarifiers from China that do not perform true level one or two sterilization!
   
   Another example that can be deadly to your aquarium is a search for worms on your glass (which are generally Detritus Worms) showing Amazon products (that are not all that good) being recommended for Planaria and mass killing of what are actually Detritus Worms will then result in oxygen starvation and massive aquarium inhabitant die off!!!!
   Reference: Aquarium Planaria; Wiggly Detritus Worms, in Tank Water, on Glass

In summary this goes far beyond my beloved aquarium industry being destroyed by Amazon (& Google with help from Social Media's cut & paste so called facts), many industries are hurting and many small business have folded due to Amazon's unfair practices.
Even business still surviving (such BiMart, a Pacific Northwest variety/department store chain my wife works for), the pressures to compete with Amazon have resulted in no more raises for staff, short staffing, and pressures that have made work environments terrible.
In fact unfair trade practices by Amazon when it comes the their online pharmacy have caused BiMart to close many pharmacies and those surviving barely break even, which has resulted in a stock drop (which is our retirement). Amazon gets around prescription laws that require a consult by a licensed pharmacist by letting businesses such as BiMart do the hard work, then Amazon steps in a refills prescriptions.
Meanwhile people still expect personalized service from BiMart as they do for me only to purchase from Amazon who gets special deals because of their monopoly.

Even on a personal level, my daughter had her Amazon account hacked 3 times, I double checked that she had 2 step verification to notify her of any changes such as email, and on the 3rd hack, Amazon never sent a verification (which they admitted to failing here) and refused to further help.
Her only recourse was to place a stop payment on her Debit card linked to the account. Later, Amazon sent this to collection to squeeze her out of money and threaten her credit rating for THEIR mistake.
If this kind of slimy disgusting behavior does not make think twice about purchasing from Amazon, quite frankly there is no hope for you IMHO.

Back to the Aquarium industry that I have been professionally involved in since 1977, we have seen more than 50% of the SKUs disappear over just the last decade. This includes components to make many professional grade product due to lack of profit to make such components and products.
This in the end kills true innovation (which is not the same as regurgitated inferior Chinese knock offs).
As well, since dry goods drives much of the profitability of professionally run aquarium stores, the loss of this profitability for honest professional stores (both online and brick & mortar), also then makes selling the often less profitable livestock all the more difficult lowering many choices (as many can recently attest to). Throw in Facebook's ban on selling fish and other livestock via their platform and it is getting very difficult to get anything other than the basics both in livestock and true professional products.

In the end, while I realize that many of us often have no other choice than to order from Amazon. HOWEVER, when there is a choice and at worse, this choice results in the loss of $1 or waiting an extra day, is it really worth it to support this company?
You might even find that if you actually look past the first Google results that the prices off Amazon are better, shipping is just as speedy (many shipping the same day), and customer service is REAL

Here is another thought; drug cartels would not exist without drug buyers/users.
Ditto Amazon and it is time to kick this terrible and destructive drug habit of buying from Amazon!!
It is also time to hold our political leaders and our dishonest news media's feet to the fire who both run cover for this company.

My final thought and which is of course an opinion, is about Jeff Bezos himself and why one should not purchase from Amazon just for this reason.
Personally I think he is one of the most evil persons in world history, this includes Adolf Hitler. It is noteworthy that neither man actually ever directly killed a person, but their actions have destroyed millions of lives.

With bezos you have a man that has made more profits and capital gains in one year (2020) that many other billionaires have made in a career, all by taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile this evil man is fighting unions attempting to represent Amazon employees by blocking "mail in voting" while this same evil man seemed to be OK with "mail in voting" that may have affected the 2020 election.
This same evil man used his power to take down a entire website and business (Parler) and even illegally keep their web codes so as to allow them to re-start elsewhere.
Sorry Amazon supporters, this is racketeering in any other universe and highly illegal and after all their actions, one still keeps their Prime account, I have to question such a person as to caring about anyone other than themselves.
Further Reading: Is Jeff Bezos an evil person? (see Shannon Bennett's entry)