Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Reputable Fish Sources by State

Good, Reputable fish farms rarely have good websites or marketing and arent easy to find...

Anyhow, I think there could be a way for Pond Boss to create a little fish source section listing Pond Boss member approved fish farms or fish haulers for each state??? Pond Boss members could submit or recommend them and write reviews about them?

anyhow I think would be very helpful and informative and popular and potentially a little revenue source for Pond Boss as well if they choose to utilize it for advertising or a fee for being listed... anyhow just throwing out some ideas for discussion on whether this would be helpful or not...

I know of all the main fish farms, but its the little ones who have been having the best fish as of late...

Excellent idea. I know similar ideas have been bounced around, but an actual regionalized source would be an excellent quick reference resource.

Nate, I agree 110%.

Now that's a great idea!

That would be a great resource to have!! Awesome idea

PB would need to not be held responsible for the actions of any listed fish supplier.....just food for thought.

Great idea!
Pond boss verified builders would be great too. I remember bringing that up during my hellacious adventure of the first time build. I had no way of knowing who was capable of building besides asking a few people who built that and getting the usual not sure or its always been there. Of coarse would not of helped me much because I did not know about pond boss till googling leaking pond fix.

I think that's what I got when asking about a builder review section. The price I paid for a quarter acre pond I could of flown somebody in and had them rent equipment. They still would of made deceit money.

Yeah, I think the general PB population would not try and hold PB responsible. But, all it takes is one arsehole to ruin it for everyone!

I really like the idea, but we probably should get Lusk's input and views.

The concern I have is when a dealer turns bad, like through a sell-out or health issues that require them to bring in help that isn't as meticulous.

We maintain a 'live fish list' through the WV Aquaculture Association. It lists all of the licensed dealers who can sell fish in the state. We've reported here about one on that list that has been a problem to several PB members. I've gotten two batches of fish from them that had issues. Remember Mark Brown's bullheads. Remember the fish several of us got that were not RES. Remember my white catfish at were supposed to be CC. There is a second one on the list that also has become a problem. At one time they were both excellent suppliers.

I'd be concerned how we would handle the problem when a dealer is no longer reputable without causing a potential liability problem for Pond Boss.

In the end Pond Boss is about making a least a little money. How do you get around the fact that a fish farm may be awesome, but unwilling to pay to be in the magazine or on the forum while a fish farm that meets the minimum standards but isn't nearly as good is willing to pay for advertisement. If I was the paying fish farm, I'd be ticked if a non paying competition was on the list right next to me...

Or bad reviews.

I think it is a terrible idea! In order to certify quality and reputation, you need to control it! PB can't control another company or their employees.

Just a dumb example:
10 people walk into Walmart and buy the same gizmo. These gizmos all work correctly as they were supposed to. 3 people trash Walmart and the product in reviews. Nothing wrong with the product, but there may be something wrong with these 3 people. Who knows what the issue really is? Heck, it could be that the box was too darn difficult to open.

You get what I am saying here?

The best thing you can do is educate yourself, which you can do here at your own speed, and ask questions.

Perhaps rather than a "Pond Boss Reputable" fish farm or builder list, we could have a forum area where we could list fish farms or builders by region that members recommend. With the caveat that it is only a listing offered by the forum members and not by Pond Boss.

Choices arent bad and if people wanted to know more about the farm or builder, they could PM the person who recommended them. All with the standard PB requirement that you cannot advertise your own services without getting permission.

Just an idea.

John

This is a great idea N8 and we should of done something like this long ago, we already recommend reputable sources to one another we should atleast list them somewhere based on personal experience.. I know a couple I could list but I would check with them first.. And I know a couple I would put on the crap list too..

BG Killer - good comments. IMO the 'crap list' is probably as important as the reputable list.

This was discussed briefly not that long ago, about pond contractors.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=314261#Post314261

I will say again, that somewhere in the archives was a list of fish suppliers that had good and bad comments about them. BUT darned if I can find that one again..... I thought it was a pretty nice thread.

Un predictable as an outcome to satisfy all.

If you put pond builders and fish suppliers in a defined box on PB, then you are asking for trouble.

I would think that if you keep it to your own experience in a random fashion, as is now, It would be of great value to others looking for the same info, and not massive trashing that would ensue confining one UN-acceptable incident.

We won't really know who screwed up !!! Could be You!

JKB I have to disagree with you. Obviously the problems that arise could be the pond owner or the fish suppliers fault, but how is that different from now? You'd still have to do your research but what better resource is there than pondboss to start that ball rolling especially if you have a list to start with, we don't trash the pond boss rescource guide why would it be different to add fish suppliers and builders to that great resource?

Well BGK, your solution to my camper water problem was to intentionally "Burn It To The Ground and Collect On Insurance".

Honest people don't do that!!!....

My preference would be to post a question about particular types of fish from regional suppliers, and asking for PMs regarding suppliers of fish in that area.

I've seen just way too many good suppliers go bad, then recover.

I also can really identify with JKB's example of Walmart shoppers. Just recently we've purchased several items in the $250-$750 category. It was very disturbing to read the reviews.

One in particular was for a rather popular paddle/pedal boat available from several big box stores. If I didn't have friends with one of these things, that I'd used, I would never have bought one based on the reviews. This was a product we got from TSC, but was locally available from several other retailers.

We absolutely love the thing. It is very tough. It is extremely stable and safe. We got it for the grandkids, but I use it far more than them.

It seemed like the reviewers were comparing it to an ocean-going drug-smuggling boat with extreme engines and extreme performance.

Oh geez it was a joke.. Are you serious lol

I'm kinda worried about the idea. Actually, I don't like it at all.

Let's say that some people have had good experience by a supplier and some haven't. There is the potential for hard feelings or worse. In my case, I had a bad experience with a very well known and well liked supplier who advertises here. I'm the kind of guy who generally keeps his mouth shut and goes away.

Another consideration involves the vendor who has been contacted about advertising here or in the mag but won't do it. Should they get free advertising to compete here? This is currently a money losing business venture paid for by Lusk and Otto.

This site should drive business to create magazine sales but really doesn't do it that well. Mike and Bob have decided to keep it free instead of subscription based. Not sure I would do that.

One of the Moderators jobs is to check on new posters who try to advertise here. They are contacted to see if they would be interested in advertising in the mag or on ads on the site. If they aren't, they can still give advice and participate but not use it as a business venture. If they try to hustle business, their posts are deleted. By inclusion on a list here, they are getting free advertising that compete with those that make the site available on a free basis to all of us.

In my opinion there are no iron-clad guarantees, and no way to protect everyone, from everybody, everyday. I think anyone can have a bad experience with a great vendor......whether the fault lies with you, them, or it's out of everyone's hands, things do go wrong from time-to-time. How both sides deal with the issue and try to resolve it, should play a role in determining the rating of the company/individual, as well as determining how much weight one should assign a "rating" given by the customer/user.

In the end, I think it still falls back on the user to determine if the product or service offered by a vendor meets the requirements at hand. A list of suppliers, and a rating system are helpful beginnings, but should not be the only criteria used to make a decision.