BRS and Neptune Merger

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Did you miss the bloom that killed fish?

I saw the video of the bacteria bloom that killed some fish. IMO i missed the video of a system crash....

I guess to me that was just him dealing with an ugly phase in an immature tank; he overdosed some bacteria leading to an infection in some fish. He didn't lose a substantial amount of fish or coral (did he even have any coral at that point?).
A "crash" to me is far more than that...But tomato/tomahto...

 

[Bepis]

Metal is a mostly terrible idea.

Using non rusting Metals such as aluminum for the exterior would not be a bad idea, I was most definetly not referring to the interior

 

[ActualProof]

Using non rusting Metals such as aluminum for the exterior would not be a bad idea, I was most definetly not referring to the interior

True. Aluminum would be ok on the exterior - for those that have an exterior. Ideally, the design won’t be based on the assumption that reefers are going to mount controllers anywhere except for for a cramped, humid, salt-creeped corner - under constant barrage of high-intensity UV lighting. We want a product that is one small step away from being over-engineered, and we will pay premium prices for a bomb-proof controller!!
I can’t think of anyone more suitable to geek this out the way we all want it to be than Ryan B.

 

[GoVols]

I am not a fan of this merge, BRS will lose objectivity to review Neptune products.

BRS competitors will try to stay from Neptune, Neptune competitors will try to stay away from BRS. It doesn’t looks like the right move to me.

Also it brings me concerns about pricing as BRS + Marine Depot + Neptune will have a significant cloud over the industry kn North America. Usually this means higher prices for consumers. Personally I will move my business to Saltwateraquarium.com

Agree, Pancho
I've been trying to use SWA.com and Premium Aquatics since the announcement of the Marine Depot buyout.

If Aquarium Specialty would come off their high shipping cost, I'd use them too.

 

[duke62]

lol

 

[Doctorgori]

....so will the warranty or quality for Neptune change or just the marketing/hype?

Ryan and Terrance together as one (maybe not so bad?, we'll see)

 

[burningmime]

No way that will happen. The mullet is the source of all Ryan's powers; the day he cuts it is the day BRS goes under.

 

[MnFish1]

This is great news. I might actually buy another apex product after the disasters from before. (Apex customer support is great - the product - IMHO - not so much) - if they don't fix it - it could drag BRS down - hopefully not the case.

 

[andyg1960]

Maybe BRS can teach Neptune some basic lessons in customer care. I have never dealt with a worse group of people when trying to get tech help with the Apex.

Constant passing the buck.

I have had the complete opposite experience. The tech folks at Neptune have always been first rate.

 

[Biokabe]

I have had the complete opposite experience. The tech folks at Neptune have always been first rate.

The folks might have been fine, but their policies are pretty bad.

When I was starting up my current tank, I picked up an AFS - a badly overpriced piece of hardware, but I was all-in on the Neptune train at that point. It was broken out of the box. I had videos of it being broken out of the box. I sent these videos of a defective product to Neptune. Neptune wanted me to pay to ship the product to them so that they could maybe repair it. They wouldn't refund the cost of shipping. So the AFS went in the trash and I bought something for a 1/3 the price that actually worked the way it was supposed to.

Obviously, the money wasn't the issue. I certainly could have afforded to ship the AFS to them. $15 in shipping is nothing. But to me, it was the principle of the thing - I'd purchased something that was already too expensive, and it was broken from day one, and they wanted me to pay extra on top of what I had already paid just to get what I had paid for to begin with.

 

[mike550]

The folks might have been fine, but their policies are pretty bad.

When I was starting up my current tank, I picked up an AFS - a badly overpriced piece of hardware, but I was all-in on the Neptune train at that point. It was broken out of the box. I had videos of it being broken out of the box. I sent these videos of a defective product to Neptune. Neptune wanted me to pay to ship the product to them so that they could maybe repair it. They wouldn't refund the cost of shipping. So the AFS went in the trash and I bought something for a 1/3 the price that actually worked the way it was supposed to.

Obviously, the money wasn't the issue. I certainly could have afforded to ship the AFS to them. $15 in shipping is nothing. But to me, it was the principle of the thing - I'd purchased something that was already too expensive, and it was broken from day one, and they wanted me to pay extra on top of what I had already paid just to get what I had paid for to begin with.

Slightly off topic, but Neptune seems to have inconsistent customer experiences from what I’ve read. I purchased an Apex about a year ago, and almost immediately one of the ports on my FMM went bad. I didn’t want to waste my time dealing with tech support only to then pay for them to repair something less than a few months old. So it’s either they tried to build it as cheaply as possible or bad manufacturing processes. When my unit dies I’ll switch to GHL

 

[Doctorgori]

The folks might have been fine, but their policies are pretty bad.

When I was starting up my current tank, I picked up an AFS - a badly overpriced piece of hardware, but I was all-in on the Neptune train at that point. It was broken out of the box. I had videos of it being broken out of the box. I sent these videos of a defective product to Neptune. Neptune wanted me to pay to ship the product to them so that they could maybe repair it. They wouldn't refund the cost of shipping. So the AFS went in the trash and I bought something for a 1/3 the price that actually worked the way it was supposed to.

Obviously, the money wasn't the issue. I certainly could have afforded to ship the AFS to them. $15 in shipping is nothing. But to me, it was the principle of the thing - I'd purchased something that was already too expensive, and it was broken from day one, and they wanted me to pay extra on top of what I had already paid just to get what I had paid for to begin with.

I must have a few “G” invested in Neptune. I can certify they have some duds: both AFS and ATK are junk IMO

 

[KarlsReef]

The folks might have been fine, but their policies are pretty bad.

When I was starting up my current tank, I picked up an AFS - a badly overpriced piece of hardware, but I was all-in on the Neptune train at that point. It was broken out of the box. I had videos of it being broken out of the box. I sent these videos of a defective product to Neptune. Neptune wanted me to pay to ship the product to them so that they could maybe repair it. They wouldn't refund the cost of shipping. So the AFS went in the trash and I bought something for a 1/3 the price that actually worked the way it was supposed to.

Obviously, the money wasn't the issue. I certainly could have afforded to ship the AFS to them. $15 in shipping is nothing. But to me, it was the principle of the thing - I'd purchased something that was already too expensive, and it was broken from day one, and they wanted me to pay extra on top of what I had already paid just to get what I had paid for to begin with.

Sounds to me it's a problem with US policy rather than Neptune's (if companies choose to exploit a policy). If a product is purchased brand new and is damaged should be returned to place of purchase and they should exchange the item then they deal with the return, rather than the manufacturer or at least that's how it works in the UK some items are returnable to place of sale for twelve months but some are thirty days then it's return to manufacturer. Is it common practice in the US that manufacturers take the responsibility from point of purchase or do retailers have a responsibility to their customers?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Sounds to me it's a problem with US policy rather than Neptune's (if companies choose to exploit a policy). If a product is purchased brand new and is damaged should be returned to place of purchase and they should exchange the item then they deal with the return, rather than the manufacturer or at least that's how it works in the UK some items are returnable to place of sale for twelve months but some are thirty days then it's return to manufacturer. Is it common practice in the US that manufacturers take the responsibility from point of purchase or do retailers have a responsibility to their customers?

Manufacturer

 

[MnFish1]

If a product is purchased brand new and is damaged should be returned to place of purchase and they should exchange the item then they deal with the return, rather than the manufacturer or at least that's how it works in the UK some items are returnable to place of sale for twelve months but some are thirty days then it's return to manufacturer. Is it common practice in the US that manufacturers take the responsibility from point of purchase or do retailers have a responsibility to their customers?

The question in most of these posts is the cost of shipping a defective product back to the vendor. Lets say you bought an expensive xxxxx and drove 8 hours to get it - and then found it to be defective. The original retailer would not be responsible to pay for wear and tear on your car or gasoline. In the US - and my guess in the UK. Its the responsibility of the consumer to get the item back to the vendor. That said - several companies pay for return shipping. Some do not. With Neptune, I have not had the experience that a 'new' item that was defective, that I was required to pay for shipping. Instead - they charged my card for the value of the replacement item - and when they received mine back - they refunded the money (a lot of people disagree with this as well).

 

[Ramdude4G]

Well there goes the honest reviews they used to do on Neptune systems. Lol

 

[KarlsReef]

The question in most of these posts is the cost of shipping a defective product back to the vendor. Lets say you bought an expensive xxxxx and drove 8 hours to get it - and then found it to be defective. The original retailer would not be responsible to pay for wear and tear on your car or gasoline. In the US - and my guess in the UK. Its the responsibility of the consumer to get the item back to the vendor. That said - several companies pay for return shipping. Some do not. With Neptune, I have not had the experience that a 'new' item that was defective, that I was required to pay for shipping. Instead - they charged my card for the value of the replacement item - and when they received mine back - they refunded the money (a lot of people disagree with this as well).

I was only commenting specifically on the brand new purchase being broke in box, which is a particular issue and just stating that in uk if that's the case its the responsibility of the retailer to sort at that stage. It certainly is crap when the return shipping is so high and iits in warranty it is more annoying.
We wouldn't have to drive 8 hrs to buy something in the UK, we can cover the length of the island in less time lol

But even then in that case driving 8 hrs to buy an expensive item finding its broken on the return home and not wanting to do the return trip is totally understandable. I'd say though, if i had made that special trip to buy this item I'd have had a look at the item before heading home knowing I'd have another 8 hr journey if there was an issue with breakage, especially knowing that the manufacturer return shipping etc is high... I don't believe this problem is just limited to Neptune though, it seems people just love to hate on them extra hard.

 

[MnFish1]

I was only commenting specifically on the brand new purchase being broke in box, which is a particular issue and just stating that in uk if that's the case its the responsibility of the retailer to sort at that stage. It certainly is crap when the return shipping is so high and iits in warranty it is more annoying.
We wouldn't have to drive 8 hrs to buy something in the UK, we can cover the length of the island in less time lol

But even then in that case driving 8 hrs to buy an expensive item finding its broken on the return home and not wanting to do the return trip is totally understandable. I'd say though, if i had made that special trip to buy this item I'd have had a look at the item before heading home knowing I'd have another 8 hr journey if there was an issue with breakage, especially knowing that the manufacturer return shipping etc is high... I don't believe this problem is just limited to Neptune though, it seems people just love to hate on them extra hard.

That was my point - it is becoming more the 'norm' now that companies are giving 'Free shipping'. For example - just bought a door at a famous 'big box home products store' - it was defective - but only after it was installed was the defect noticed. The companies response - we do not cover installation, only the product. We will only send you a replacement part (which would require the door to be un-installed, repaired, and re-installed) the total of which would cost more than the cost of the door itself (which was a high-end door).

But - In the UK - is the company required by law to cover return shipping for a defective item or is it different.

 

[KarlsReef]

That was my point - it is becoming more the 'norm' now that companies are giving 'Free shipping'. For example - just bought a door at a famous 'big box home products store' - it was defective - but only after it was installed was the defect noticed. The companies response - we do not cover installation, only the product. We will only send you a replacement part (which would require the door to be un-installed, repaired, and re-installed) the total of which would cost more than the cost of the door itself (which was a high-end door).

But - In the UK - is the company required by law to cover return shipping for a defective item or is it different.

That's a bit of a different situation to what's being talked about. I believe their are different rules and regulations for DIY / home improvement companies / products as other regulatory bodies are involved too.

Did the door get professionally installed or was it a DIY installation? There's a whole wormhole of responsibility depending on who would be responsible for the re-installation and repair and if the defective door was the cause the damage etc (I'm guessing water damage due to a bad seal?) - this isn't me asking just some questions that may be asked by the powers that be.

 

[mattdg]

Love BRS, but they are starting to feel like the reefkeeping equivalent of the Borg. Even starting to soak up existing youtube channels and hobby celebs now. Tendrils reaching into every aspect of the hobby. LOL! Far as Neptune, if we didn't see that coming, we are just not paying attention. IMO, it will make most aspects of owning a Neptune system easier, trade off is prices will continue to rise.