# can you return dead plants to petsmart?



## cichlidsguy23 (Aug 12, 2012)

i got a new plant for my tank about a week ago and its dead now. can i take it back and get a new one?


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

I believe the answer is no. What reason for returning the plant would you even tell them besides the fact that the plant is dead?

Also, what plant did you buy?


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## cichlidsguy23 (Aug 12, 2012)

in not really sure  i wanted a aponogeton undulatus but couldnt find them anywhere. so i went with this other plant that was like $1 so i just got it 
i dont really want anouther one of the same thing i just want something different that wont die right away.


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

lol @ returning a $1 item


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## 35angels (Aug 7, 2012)

I wouldn't spend $5 on gas to return a $1 plant. They should have their return policy on their website though. :O)


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

cichlidsguy23 said:


> in not really sure  i wanted a aponogeton undulatus but couldnt find them anywhere. so i went with this other plant that was like $1 so i just got it
> i dont really want anouther one of the same thing i just want something different that wont die right away.


Ok, what I'm about to say in these next few sentences are going to sound a little harsh but don't take it the wrong way, just some life advice. Also, anyone else reading this post should take note as well.

First, the fact that you don't even know what kind of plant that you bought doesn't help your situation. You take that $1 dead mush back to the store and the staff will probably look at you in the most dumbest way ever. Then coupled by the fact that you don't even know what plant it is and also you wanting to replace a $1 "perishable" item, people will really think that this guy is some kind of joke. Automatically they'll hit you with the reason that they sold you a perfectly healthy plant and the well being of the plant after it leaves the store is not petsmarts responsibility but that of the buyers. So it wasn't petsmart that killed the plant but you, therefore they can't give you a replacement.

Also, why would you even bother to try to get a $1 item replaced, gas alone is more than the item itself? If it was me going in that store asking to get a $1 item replaced because I broke it, I'd feel a little embarrassed that I'm even standing there. Just suck up the loss and take it as a learning experience in this hobby.

You gotta also wonder, how this will affect the way people will think about you. Now anyone reading your thread will know you as the guy that contemplated on returning a $1 item.

Bro, you gotta think through situations like this and wonder if what you're doing make sense. In this case, it doesn't. $1 just ain't worth it...

Just some real talk for you.


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## cichlidsguy23 (Aug 12, 2012)

im not worried about the $1 but i just think that if i could get a new one and not have to spend the $1 everytime to get more plants just to have them die then i would.


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## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

are you sure it's dead, some plants have what's called a "melt" when they move to a new inviroment.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

cichlidsguy23 said:


> im not worried about the $1 but i just think that if i could get a new one and not have to spend the $1 everytime to get more plants just to have them die then i would.


If they keep on dying, then you shouldn't be going back to get some more. It's not like the more times you put the same plant in the same environment, something will change and miraculously it'll live. You can't force it to work. You should find out what plant you have, do some research and then try again.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

Tazzy_toon said:


> are you sure it's dead, some plants have what's called a "melt" when they move to a new inviroment.


Well he doesn't even know what plant he has. I highly doubt knowing whether it's going through a melt phase or not will make a difference. I'm going to guess that he got a terrarium plant just cause they look cool and then it died when he submerged it.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Believe it or not, we deal with customer like this a few times. 

At one time many months ago, one customer had bought back a sample of water which has a TDS reading of 7. 7 is a reading that will come out from your filtered tap water. It has no anmonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Of course, I suspect that was from a filter drinking water anyway. But actually, it helped me as I kindly explained to him that if your fish actually live in that water, it might not make it as it has no gh, kh, ph or any exceptable parameter. It is not a planted aquarium and show 0 nitrate.....

We always explain to our customers that please check the fish carefully. Once you are out with the fish, it is difficult for us to control what type of environment they are in. We will not be able to refund or credit anything.

Another example from a customer 6 months ago. He bought a pleco, died 10 days later, would not eat. So he bought another one, same type from the same batch which was nice and fat in my tank. Same story, it died within 2 weeks. So he came back and said my fish were disease and weak. I asked him what else you had in the tank. He told me he kept gold fish in there in a tank during Feb/2012 with no heater with just room temperature. As you might guess, he no longer keeps any tropical fish in with his gold fish tank.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

charles said:


> Believe it or not, we deal with customer like this a few times.
> 
> At one time many months ago, one customer had bought back a sample of water which has a TDS reading of 7. 7 is a reading that will come out from your filtered tap water. It has no anmonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Of course, I suspect that was from a filter drinking water anyway. But actually, it helped me as I kindly explained to him that if your fish actually live in that water, it might not make it as it has no gh, kh, ph or any exceptable parameter. It is not a planted aquarium and show 0 nitrate.....
> 
> ...


Charles, your examples are exactly what makes me lose faith in people. It's common sense that people should do some research before they buy the product. Not buy the fish/plant for whatever their reason is, and then that fish/plants dies later because they just threw the specimen into the tank thinking that it'll survive no problem. You can't just assume that any fish/plant you buy will be replaced within a certain amount of time after purchase. There is no such thing as test trials for live creatures.

Common sense people, it's not too hard to do a simple google search before hand...


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

vdub said:


> Well he doesn't even know what plant he has. I highly doubt knowing whether it's going through a melt phase or not will make a difference. I'm going to guess that he got a terrarium plant just cause they look cool and then it died when he submerged it.


I am thinking the same thing....Petsmart, petcetera and King Eds have all sold me bog/terrarium plants at one time or another & I even asked them all if they were full aquatic or not and was told they were. I would rather them have simply told me they wasn't sure as opposed to making me think they knew for sure. Getting a data plan on my phone so I can just look it up myself next time, better odds of finding out for sure, as well as it's demands.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

You can't expect a plant to live and be happy in your tank unless you give it a suitable condition to do so.
If you buy a hanging basket and do not water it in a few days it will die...can you bring ti back for a refund?
Same with fish, if you put the wrong fish together or do not spend the time to acclimatize your fish or give it the suitable conditions that it needs it may die in your tank. 
A perfectly fine fish/plant can die when it is neglected or being placed in the wrong condition; it is not becaue the fish/plant was sick or the guy who sold you the fish/plant lied to you.
Just saying...

P.S. I am curious...What kind of plant is sold for only $1 at Petsmart?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

vdub said:


> Ok, what I'm about to say in these next few sentences are going to sound a little harsh but don't take it the wrong way, just some life advice. Also, anyone else reading this post should take note as well.
> 
> First, the fact that you don't even know what kind of plant that you bought doesn't help your situation. You take that $1 dead mush back to the store and the staff will probably look at you in the most dumbest way ever. Then coupled by the fact that you don't even know what plant it is and also you wanting to replace a $1 "perishable" item, people will really think that this guy is some kind of joke. Automatically they'll hit you with the reason that they sold you a perfectly healthy plant and the well being of the plant after it leaves the store is not petsmarts responsibility but that of the buyers. So it wasn't petsmart that killed the plant but you, therefore they can't give you a replacement.
> 
> ...


That is probably the most honest advice I have ever read on a forum. It actually made me laugh. To some people returning something that was a dollar just makes sense. To each his own

I also have bought some plants from some LFS that were bog plants or died within a few days. I paid $2.99 for them and realized it was a gamble but I think all of us appreciate some good honest advice when buying plants. In a perfect world we would all think with logic and honesty. Too bad its not like that but atleast we have forums like this where all us down to earth people can talk and meet. No offence to anyone. Vdub that was awesome


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Petsmart issues receipts on your receipt is the name of the plant. No receipt no return! I'm at Petsmart once a week and I have NEVER seen a plant for a buck.


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

how about telling us your water parameters so this doesn't happen the next time you buy a plant.

-whats your substrate?
-did you buy fertilizer?
-water temperature?
-green or red plant?
-what light are you running?
-do you have any plant eating fish?
-any bottom dwellers who might disturb it to much?
-how deep is your tank
-is there any medications in the water?


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

Lol, this is unexpected, I didn't think I'd get such a positive response from everyone.

Hope I didn't deter you from the hobby Cichlidsguy23.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

charles said:


> We always explain to our customers that please check the fish carefully. Once you are out with the fish, it is difficult for us to control what type of environment they are in. We will not be able to refund or credit anything.


How do know your fish hasn't been treated for ich? I'm assuming that all stores do it. Petsmart lets you return dead fish within 14 days.


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## roadrunner (Apr 25, 2010)

Fish rookie said:


> You can't expect a plant to live and be happy in your tank unless you give it a suitable condition to do so.
> If you buy a hanging basket and do not water it in a few days it will die...can you bring ti back for a refund?
> Same with fish, if you put the wrong fish together or do not spend the time to acclimatize your fish or give it the suitable conditions that it needs it may die in your tank.
> A perfectly fine fish/plant can die when it is neglected or being placed in the wrong condition; it is not becaue the fish/plant was sick or the guy who sold you the fish/plant lied to you.
> ...


Actually YES, you can bring back the dead plant to some garden centres and they will give you a new plant or a store credit.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Lamplighter said:


> How do know your fish hasn't been treated for ich? I'm assuming that all stores do it. Petsmart lets you return dead fish within 14 days.


Why would I treat the fish for ich if the tank of fish is not showing with any sign of ich?

You are more than welcome to buy from Petsmart. Most fish we sold, are fancy type, if not, our price are much better.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

roadrunner said:


> Actually YES, you can bring back the dead plant to some garden centres and they will give you a new plant or a store credit.


Wow, I did nto know that. I buy lots of plants but I have never thought of returning a plant.

You mean I can return a hanging basket even if the plant died because I never water it and have put it in a shady spot when it requires lots of sunlight for a week?

When a person tries to return such a plant what does he tell the store-- does he lie about it and just say the store sold him a bad plant.... or does he tell them the truth that the plant died because he has been negligent and ignorant? In the latter case, he has to have very thick skin to still demand a refund. LOL


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

Home depot too if you buy a large indoor plant or any plant i suppose all you have to return is the "stump" in the pot they dont want the rest of the tree, i once bought these massive palm trees lol i guess i was feeling tropical that day and anyways long story short i executed them within 3 days no idea how anyways they took them back , the reason i took the back or knew to take them back is the lady in the garden center TOLD me to return them because thats there deal which was cool because i have no idea what the hell i was gonna do with 2 5 foot tall palm trees anyways lol


Fish rookie said:


> Wow, I did nto know that. I buy lots of plants but I have never thought of returning a plant.
> 
> You mean I can return a hanging basket even if the plant died because I never water it and have put it in a shady spot when it requires lots of sunlight for a week?
> 
> When a person tries to return such a plant what does he tell the store-- does he lie about it and just say the store sold him a bad plant.... or does he tell them the truth that the plant died because he has been negligent and ignorant? In the latter case, he has to have very thick skin to still demand a refund. LOL


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

I'm not into the names of various plants so I don't know one plant from another. I've been educated a bit since coming to this forum re aquatic and semi aquatic. I bought $50.00 two Sundays ago. I would say that somewhere around 1/2 of the plants are turning to mush, day by day. I wonder if they are semi aquatic. 

Some plants that I've bought a few months ago are doing really well others are gone. Plants are darn expensive! Thinking about a couple of hundred dollars worth of plants having gone the way of the dodo really makes me wonder if it's me or the stores.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Finding out the names would be a good start to figure out what the problem is. Then there is everything pointed out in the post below.



MEDHBSI said:


> how about telling us your water parameters so this doesn't happen the next time you buy a plant.
> 
> -whats your substrate?
> -did you buy fertilizer?
> ...


I'm surprised this post just seemed so get totally ignored. Some plants are just like fish, you can not just throw them in a tank and expect them to grow. Just like fish, plants have certain requirements, whether it's lighting, nutrients,ferts, substrate, temp or whatever...there are many variables. And just like fish .....you should ALWYAYS do your research on the plant before you purchase it. And if you don't know the names of the plants you bought, you should really find out so you can research them. You just may find out there is something missing in the equation that might be the reason for you plants to die. They are indeed expensive & thats one more reason to research it before you buy it.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Finding out the names would be a good start to figure out what the problem is. Then there is everything pointed out in the post below.
> 
> I'm surprised this post just seemed so get totally ignored. Some plants are just like fish, you can not just throw them in a tank and expect them to grow. Just like fish, plants have certain requirements, whether it's lighting, nutrients,ferts, substrate, temp or whatever...there are many variables. And just like fish .....you should ALWYAYS do your research on the plant before you purchase it. And if you don't know the names of the plants you bought, you should really find out so you can research them. You just may find out there is something missing in the equation that might be the reason for you plants to die. They are indeed expensive & thats one more reason to research it before you buy it.


I think you're right. But here's the thing! You walk into a store and there's a tank full of plants that's sort of divided. So you buy some of all these plants and stick them in your tank(s). One type will loose all the leaves and turn to mush while another will prosper.

I've bought Crypto????? and Amazon Sword plants at Petsmart and they do really well. Fraser Aquarium sold me plants that do really well.

But you're right one should do research before buying anything. Still how would it hurt the staff to ask the customer where they are going to plant the plants. Another thing is that many plants are just pieced together to make a bunch.

I have learnt my lesson and this forum has been helpful in giving me a better understanding in buying plants. I will do my research at home and make a list.

How about a thread listing hardy aquarium plants?


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

There seems to be a lot of people who buy plants from their local fish store when there are a lot of hobbyist offering up their quality if not better plants here on the forum. 

COME ON PEOPLE, please support the hobbyist. I don't think the prices asked of by hobbyist are that steep. There needs to be some incentive by the forum to promote sales for the hobbyist. There are literally hundreds of plant ads just sitting there in the classifieds and the majority of them aren't sold. I already see a lot of people promoting sponsors but really, it's the hobbyists that make this forum a possibility.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

vdub said:


> There seems to be a lot of people who buy plants from their local fish store when there are a lot of hobbyist offering up their quality if not better plants here on the forum.
> 
> COME ON PEOPLE, please support the hobbyist. I don't think the prices asked of by hobbyist are that steep. There needs to be some incentive by the forum to promote sales for the hobbyist. There are literally hundreds of plant ads just sitting there in the classifieds and the majority of them aren't sold. I already see a lot of people promoting sponsors but really, it's the hobbyists that make this forum a possibility.


You're 100% correct!

Here's the thing though. Why don't the hobbyists post a picture of what you get and for how much? If I read an ad that says one stem, two, stems or... It doesn't mean much to me.

In other words I want a meeting of the minds before I drive somewhere to buy plants.

There was someone here that was selling plants but I simply did not understand the ad. I tried to understand but I couldn't. I'm not going to PM someone and say that I want to buy plants and when I get there change my mind. We share this forum so I don't really feel like telling someone that I don't want to buy whatever they are selling when I get there. I think that causes a bit of bad blood.

Two stores are blacklisted by me I'd never consider buying plants there again.

So I hope the sellers of plants that are here read this and take heed.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

You got a point. I get pretty ticked off when I see an ad and all there is, is just a bunch of words listing the name of what plant is being sold and in some cases the person doesn't even know what the plant is but just says it's for sale.

Posting in the classifieds is a privilege, not a right, and as such, people need to take more care in how they post ads. There needs to be more details such as:

Name of plant.
Quantity (# of stem, how many bundles, size ect.)
PICTURES, THERE NEEDS TO BE PICTURES, IT ISN'T THAT DIFFICULT TO GET SOME PICTURES, EVERY CELL PHONE HAS A CAMERA, *USE IT*.

In those pictures, people need to make every effort to let potential buyers get the sense of what they are purchasing, place a ruler next to the plants for scale or even a beer can, anything. It's all in the details.

If you don't do your best to let buyers know what they are purchasing then it'll be assumed that you don't really care much and as such, it's assumed you're just trying to offload your stuff to make a quick buck.

Let's get some quality control on this forum.



Lamplighter said:


> You're 100% correct!
> 
> Here's the thing though. Why don't the hobbyists post a picture of what you get and for how much? If I read an ad that says one stem, two, stems or... It doesn't mean much to me.
> 
> ...


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I like how Roger's does it personally. Or any of those Aqua Flora plants. They give you a latin name to look up on your phone, or at home on the internet, if not the common name... and Roger's goes into a 1-1.5-5.0 (1.0 easiest, to 5.0 hardest). I wish more stores would adopt this mentality, it would certainly help for new comers.

I'm all for supporting sponsors and hobbyists alike.. Heck Stu, one of our newer (not new, but newer) mods took the sky train down from his place all the way to the end of the line to kinggeorge for me, and they were GREAT PLANTS. He even gave me an educated heads up, and I was able to pass of the ones I couldn't handle.

Cheers,
Chris


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

There are some very good points raised in this thread. 

Yes, I agree sometimes if you call someone up to meet then see that you dont really like the plant it could feel quite awkward to say no. 

I dont really need pictures but they would certainly help. If you have the proper names you can research them but to know what the actual plant looks like would help for sure. 

To support our members is a good idea and I am all for it. 

But I can also see why sometimes a person might choose to just go to a pet store. I dont want to name names but this is a true personal experience. I saw an ad of some plants for sale. I posted in the thread plus pm the seller in less than 3 hours since he started the for sale thread that I wanted to buy the plants yet never received a reply just to see the same seller listing the same plants for sale again and again. After waiting for a while without any reply I just assumed the plants were sold although they were never listed as sold and the thread was not taken off. Then I saw that same plants being listed for sale a few times again and again. I can't help but wonder what am I supposed to do to buy them if sending a PM and confirmation in the seller's for sale thread is not enough. Having said that I have some wonderful experience buying from other members here and it is alwasy fun to meet people who share the same hobby. regardless of this one bad experience, I will continue to try support our members.

I have also learned so much since joining this forum and it has been a very wonderful experience. 

Through the forum I have come to know about Canadian Aquatic. I really enjoy visiting Pat and Charles of Canadian Aquatic because no matter what I buy and how small the amount may be he would always go over everything with me to make sure I understand how to make it work. 

With plants Pat would tell me how to plant it (aquaflora tub) and what kind of conditions the plant needs, how and when to trim it, and things like that. I once bought two fish from pat and one kept chasing the other once I placed them in the tank. I told him about it and he just offered to replace it for me no question asked. He would always spends lots of time to answer my questions no matter how trivial or silly they may be. 

This kind of customer service is outstanding. When making such an effort to educate his customers he makes sure the plants and fish sold can receive proper care and have a higher chance to stay healthy. This also helps to create a much better shopping experience and also greatly reduces the need for a customer to return or replace anything.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

100% agree, Canadian Aquatics Pat & Charles are very helpful guys and know their products.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Lamplighter said:


> I have learnt my lesson and this forum has been helpful in giving me a better understanding in buying plants. I will do my research at home and make a list.
> 
> How about a thread listing hardy aquarium plants?


I learned the hard way too lol it happens. Here is a thread with a nice list of low light plants you might find useful:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/low-light-plants-list-499/

and a few other useful threads:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/catalog-plants-requirements-22818/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/basic-guide-lighting-13/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/what-some-cool-cold-water-species-15403/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/basic-guide-carbon-dioxide-81/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/intro-ei-estimated-index-82/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/calculators-planted-tanks-23940/

all found in this thread: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/aqua-lounge-7/pearls-wisdom-best-threads-bca-21948/


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

effox said:


> I like how Roger's does it personally. Or any of those Aqua Flora plants. They give you a latin name to look up on your phone, or at home on the internet, if not the common name... and Roger's goes into a 1-1.5-5.0 (1.0 easiest, to 5.0 hardest). I wish more stores would adopt this mentality, it would certainly help for new comers.
> 
> I'm all for supporting sponsors and hobbyists alike.. Heck Stu, one of our newer (not new, but newer) mods took the sky train down from his place all the way to the end of the line to kinggeorge for me, and they were GREAT PLANTS. He even gave me an educated heads up, and I was able to pass of the ones I couldn't handle.
> 
> ...


I agree. Rogers labels his plants for everyone to see and gives you a raiting on difficulty. It would be nice if all stores did this but they dont. So doing yor own research is important. I also like how he CO2 injects his plant tanks. I find their survival rate is always better than most and always have a good root base.

If you dont inject CO2 stay away from anything red.


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## juliusskinner (Nov 19, 2019)

charles said:


> Why would I treat the fish for ich if the tank of fish is not showing with any sign of ich?
> 
> You are more than welcome to buy from Petsmart. Most fish we sold, are fancy type, if not, our price are much better.


I agree with you Charles and would like to add in order to purchase any pet or pet product at Petsmart. As Charles welcomes you to buy at Petsmart and share his opinion I would like to have your focus at Petsmart *60 days* return policy. Petsmart is the home of pets where you are allowed to return purchased products or pets if you are not satisfied and the most loveable thing of them is they also allow you to return defective or damaged pet products. This could might save bucks of money but you need to know how Petsmart Store Policy Works on?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

This is an old thread from 2012, it might not be relevant anymore...... just sayin’ ;-)

Stuart


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kivyee (Oct 15, 2016)

It was amusing to read about someone attempting to return a plant for $1 though...


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## WilliamBowman (Jan 14, 2020)

Hi cichlidsguy23, I'm sure that the answer is no. you can buy new plants. This article will help you. Please read it


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