Bad Product Reviews / Discount Specials

S-t-r-e-t-c-h · Feb 28, 2019

FWIW, I saw a ton of Skims products on clearance and assumed that BRS was phasing them out. I don't expect any company to just eat piles of inventory based on reviews...

smiley28 · Feb 28, 2019

Also I’d like to add just cause you leave a bad review doesn’t mean brs didn’t post it for that reason. I leave reviews for good products and they are never posted.
Would like to add that I very seldom submit reviews and I have 0 clue if my reviews are even decent.

GoldeneyeRet · Feb 28, 2019

I agree with the op. I've been a loyal and happy brs customer since they started. But, in recent years they have changed. Still among the best, but they no longer care about the products they sell and their recommdations dont carry the weight they once did.

I have purchased two products from them that were complete garbage. I know one was a brs recommended product.

Brs no longer stands behind its products. If you have an issue, it will be left between you and the manufacturer. The recommended products are not necessarily good products.

Brs is still a good vendor. One could argue a retailer should not be responsible for products it did not manufacture. Maybe that's true in today's world, but its just a fact they have changed.

I still shop at brs but they are no longer superior to the competition. Other good vendors such as marine depot and premium aquatics give me the same quality and great service as brs so I shop around.

Still a great store, just not as awesome as they once were.

EmptyWallet · Feb 28, 2019

I agree with your original question (and didn't see any BRS bashing), and it's rife in all industries. It is just wasteful for manufacturers (of anything) to produce cheap junk that just goes in the bin on first use. A $2 hammer where the head breaks off on the first hit of a nail "you get what you pay for" sure, but why make that garbage in the first place - all just goes straight to landfill. It's sole purpose is to profit off people who haven't learn't the old adage "buy cheap buy twice"

RonK1911 · Feb 28, 2019

EmptyWallet said:
It is just wasteful for manufacturers (of anything) to produce cheap junk that just goes in the bin on first use. A $2 hammer where the head breaks off on the first hit of a nail "you get what you pay for" sure, but why make that garbage in the first place - all just goes straight to landfill. It's sole purpose is to profit off people who haven't learn't the old adage "buy cheap buy twice"

Been to a Harbor Freight? There is a market for something designed barely good enough to last long enough for the project you need to do, but don't want to spend 2-3-4x the price on a brand-name version that will sit on your shelf for the rest of eternity.

Considering the $ investment in fish/coral/etc. it might be best to stick with the higher rated/price product than take the chance to save a few bucks and some headache.

Stigigemla · Mar 1, 2019

I am a bit sceptical to consumer reports. First the circumstances about the rewiev can be very different.

I have a customer that bought a new skimmer from me after a crasch in the tank. After a few hours he phoned me and said the skimmer didnt work. It overflooded whatever he did. It took 2 days and a lot of emptied skimmer cups before it worked ok.
But there was nothing about chrashes in the manual.

Another skimmer was dissed a lot in the Swedish forum. The problem was that it was sensitive in the air intake regulation and level in the skimmer. Most customers never had a problem and just praised it as being very efficient.

I had a customer who bought an intank skimmer that left a lot of bubbles in the tank. He came to the shop and we tested it without a problem. At home again it was a lot of bubbles again so it came back to the shop again. This time I had the customer to set it up again. Tousands of bubbles in the tank. He didnt press down the skimmer cup correctly so the bubbles came out between the skimmer body and the cup.

I am lucky to say that those 2 customers never made a rewiev on the net.

When I read customer rewievs I always try to sort out two cathegories.
The first is from people who hates the brand and many times writes the rewiev without even have had the object in the hands.
The second is from resellers that edit their rewievs.

dvbrien · Mar 1, 2019

RonK1911 said:
Been to a Harbor Freight? There is a market for something designed barely good enough to last long enough for the project you need to do, but don't want to spend 2-3-4x the price on a brand-name version that will sit on your shelf for the rest of eternity.

Considering the $ investment in fish/coral/etc. it might be best to stick with the higher rated/price product than take the chance to save a few bucks and some headache.

It was a $740 skimmer on sale for $360 Neither of those prices would identify any issues were to come... before "you should have known it was half off" is said... There are new models out.