GHL on Sale - BRS cont.

[Gtinnel]

They ARE able to give discount codes for ALL items, they just use MAP as a reason not to. Minimum Advertised Price only means they can't openly display prices that are lower than the Manufacturer has set, however, they are able to do "See Price In Cart" and have a much lower listed price. Manufacturers cannot control what a business sells items for, businesses have already purchased the items from the manufacturer, and if the business wants to take a loss on it, or shrink their profit margin per item, they are allowed to do so.

Edit: @Gtinnel totally did not mean to sound like I am yelling at you, this is just my single most frustrating issue with BRS because it's dishonest for them to blame it on MAP, and people should be aware, if enough of us know and take issue with it, they might re-think their strategy and open up about the real reason they don't discount MAP items, which could be anything from greed, or another form of contractual obligation unrelated to MAP that consumers should know about before deciding if they want to purchase from a certain manufacturer or not.

It's fine I didn't take anything you said in your post personally. I realize they technically can but I always assumed it was a contractual thing that they agree to not lower the price. What @rtparty said was what I always assumed.

 

[JNalley]

I should avoid this thread at all costs so this will likely be my only reply....

You've brought this up several times but it's absolutely false. While companies can not tell other companies what to sell for, they get around it by cancelling your account and no longer allowing you to be an authorized dealer. They are legally allowed to do that and they do.

I've known of multiple smaller vendors to lose accounts because of this.

Sure, if a manufacturer wants to cancel an account, they can, usually for any reason. It doesn't make what I said false. In this instance, MAP is not the reason for no discounts, fear of account cancellation is the reason, so thanks for clearing that up. But if BRS (The largest online retailer for Reef Supplies in the US) decided to sell said items for a lower price or allow discounts to be applied, I doubt any manufacturer would say "we don't need their business" and cancel their account. If they did, they would be hurting their own bottom line.

 

[510_209_reefer]

I thought they did. Didn’t you post the email saying they cancelled it due to an operational error?

No I had to email them and the Email I posted was their response to my email asking why they canceled.

 

[Chrisv.]

Just wanted to update everyone that BRS issued a refund today morning. At least that is what they did for my order.

The anticipation was fun and hopefully everyone (on both sides) got a good laugh out of it.

Edit: No one-time discounts or credits were offered. Just the refund.

At least they gave you your money back!

 

[rtparty]

Sure, if a manufacturer wants to cancel an account, they can, usually for any reason. It doesn't make what I said false. In this instance, MAP is not the reason for no discounts, fear of account cancellation is the reason, so thanks for clearing that up. But if BRS (The largest online retailer for Reef Supplies in the US) decided to sell said items for a lower price or allow discounts to be applied, I doubt any manufacturer would say "we don't need their business" and cancel their account. If they did, they would be hurting their own bottom line.

Ok second reply and back to work for me...

I'm sure if BRS wanted to flex some muscle, they could. Truth is, some of the lower margins in the industry are on MAP items. Selling for less doesn't make any sense for any of the retailers.

If rumors are true, one of the other online retailers almost lost a very large vendor because they were selling items lower than MAP. So it seems at least one company will pull the plug if you don't play ball.

I don't want to turn this thread into a MAP discussion. I fully understand MAP as a consumer and business. As a business, I love MAP at times and I love knowing a company has my back. I play by the rules and get to sell their stuff. When others break those rules that they agreed to, it costs me money. As a consumer, it's a pain at times. But it does keep the used market lucrative. Catch 22.

Appreciate the conversation!

 

[EpipelagicReef]

Yep they've had my shipments returned to sender by UPS. Still no refund or any other communication from them, which is nice.

 

[MONTANTK]

Y’all are over here getting your orders shipped from over the weekend and I’m over here waiting for an order to ship that I placed a week ago

 

[rtparty]

Y’all are over here getting your orders shipped from over the weekend and I’m over here waiting for an order to ship that I placed a week ago

Go hit up chat on the site

 

[MONTANTK]

Go hit up chat on the site

I just sent them an email. Im not in a huge rush but I would obviously like the stuff sooner rather than later

 

[rtparty]

I just sent them an email. Im not in a huge rush but I would obviously like the stuff sooner rather than later

A while back I had this happen and they offered free overnight shipping. I said I didn't need it bad enough for them to lose that much money. They gave me like $20 in points.

 

[MONTANTK]

A while back I had this happen and they offered free overnight shipping. I said I didn't need it bad enough for them to lose that much money. They gave me like $20 in points.

They recently gave me $100 for a price match that was only a $20 difference so I can’t complain haha

 

[Brian_68]

No surprise they were cancelled, as they were under no obligation or legal requirement to be forced to honor an honest mistake.

 

[Duffer]

Y’all are over here getting your orders shipped from over the weekend and I’m over here waiting for an order to ship that I placed a week ago

I had another one of their heaters go out on me last Tuesday, talked to customer service that day. The warranty was in place and it was smooth sailing, they sent out a new one. Asked about shipping cause i needed the heater as soon as possible and they told me they will put on delivery 3 day priority. Could not ask much more from them. Guess what i still don't have the heater, can't blame BRS on this as UPS is quite behind as is others.

 

[MONTANTK]

I had another one of their heaters go out on me last Tuesday, talked to customer service that day. The warranty was in place and it was smooth sailing, they sent out a new one. Asked about shipping cause i needed the heater as soon as possible and they told me they will put on delivery 3 day priority. Could not ask much more from them. Guess what i still don't have the heater, can't blame BRS on this as UPS is quite behind as is others.

Yeah I’m wondering if maybe UPS is behind on their pickups but I still don’t even have a label yet. Again, not a big deal but I’d just like to know when it will ship

 

[Chrisv.]

Yeah I’m wondering if maybe UPS is behind on their pickups but I still don’t even have a label yet. Again, not a big deal but I’d just like to know when it will ship

If it doesn't even have a label yet then it IS likely BRS who dropped the ball. don't get me wrong, the postal service is frustrating. I would for sure ping BRS again.

 

[Cell]

Very interesting! What a mess BRS has on their hands…

Not really. It seems more or less resolved at this point and nobody is going to remember it a year from now.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Well now I don't feel bitter about missing out.

 

[Chrisv.]

Fighting the strongest urge ever to make a post claiming that my $29 dosing pump was just shipped. Resist the easy trolling...resist...resist!

 

[Colt13]

 

[PeterC99]

Not really. It seems more or less resolved at this point and nobody is going to remember it a year from now.

Willing to bet that someone brings up this exact situation next year on R2R! (And it won’t be me)

…Remember that wild thread last year when BRS had those crazy prices on GHL equipment???