GHL On Sale - BRS

[biecacka]

I think it's because it's not BRS anymore, it's controlled by a company that knows little to nothing about reefing. And people naturally have an issue with a situation like this. It's the whole "Big corporate" mentality being pushed into a niche hobby retail leader. Most people don't like the idea in general.

I am also confused as to why people keep Saying BRS bought out Neptune and Ecotech. They never did. They don't own either company. Bertrem does.

@JoshH ….I think this probably plays some part of. BRS isn’t BRS anymore in people’s minds. But I ask who are they?? Just because a company buys another doesn’t mean they don’t stick to their roots. I know sometimes that’s not the case, but other times it is. Ryan is still the face of BRS, they still do educational videos, and help the community. So much hasn’t changed in that manner. So to me they are still BRS.
But I think the change is the issue people might be having. Fear of what’s to come or possibly come from the buy in. Really only time will tell the outcome of this situation.

corey

 

[Kodski]

WOWZA.

Never realized so many people would get their figurative (or literal, no judgement from me, hey maybe they really are more comfortable) panties in a bunch. Why did this get turned into a sense of justice thread?

Quit making this more than what it is and bringing morality into this. Either its a good deal or we tried and failed to get a good deal. Neither out come makes us a bad person for taking an opportunity.

 

[biecacka]

@JoshH ….I think this probably plays some part of. BRS isn’t BRS anymore in people’s minds. But I ask who are they?? Just because a company buys another or merges with another doesn’t mean they don’t stick to their roots. I know sometimes that’s not the case, but other times it is. Ryan is still the face of BRS, they still do educational videos, and help the community. So much hasn’t changed in that manner. So to me they are still BRS.
But I think the change is the issue people might be having. Fear of what’s to come or possibly come from the buy in. Really only time will tell the outcome of this situation.

corey

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

WOWZA.

Never realized so many people would get their figurative (or literal, no judgement from me, hey maybe they really are more comfortable) panties in a bunch. Why did this get turned into a sense of justice thread?

Quit making this more than what it is and bringing morality into this. Either its a good deal or we tried and failed to get a good deal. Neither out come makes us a bad person for taking an opportunity.

 

[JoshH]

Fear of what’s to come or possibly come from the buy in. Really only time will tell the outcome of this situation.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Fear is definately a big part of it. And unfortunately there is enough history of these investment firms ruining businesses to back it up. But I do agree, Ryan and Randy are still there and hopefully that holds some weight in the long run.

I do also feel that this is a lose lose for BRS. Looking into false advertising laws in the US is no fun. BUT I dug enough to figure out that yes they can refund the purchases. However it is still classified as False advertising based on how the laws are written so someone could, if they were inclined, report them to the FTC. It might be worth it to just honour the posted price, as much of a hard pill that might be to swallow. Although like someone mentioned earlier, They give away tons of stuff so Maybe just cancel a giveaway this year to balance it out? IDK

 

[polyppal]

WOWZA.

Never realized so many people would get their figurative (or literal, no judgement from me, hey maybe they really are more comfortable) panties in a bunch. Why did this get turned into a sense of justice thread?

Quit making this more than what it is and bringing morality into this. Either its a good deal or we tried and failed to get a good deal. Neither out come makes us a bad person for taking an opportunity.

that's what everything on this forum seems to turn into anymore, some nauseating lecture from someone followed by 10 pages of disagreements that have little or nothing to do with reefing/or the OP

 

[homer1475]

@JoshH ….I think this probably plays some part of. BRS isn’t BRS anymore in people’s minds. But I ask who are they?? Just because a company buys another doesn’t mean they don’t stick to their roots. I know sometimes that’s not the case, but other times it is. Ryan is still the face of BRS, they still do educational videos, and help the community. So much hasn’t changed in that manner. So to me they are still BRS.
But I think the change is the issue people might be having. Fear of what’s to come or possibly come from the buy in. Really only time will tell the outcome of this situation.

corey

This is exactly how I feel. BRS has always done me good in the past, why would that change when it appears to the customer, nothing really has change? Randy and Ryan are still the face of the company, they still make informational video's, and in general still help the reefing community.

They have always been a great company for the reefing community, and will continue to do so into the future. How far into the future, who knows. Companies close all the time this day and age.

 

[biecacka]

This is exactly how I feel. BRS has always done me good in the past, why would that change when it appears to the customer, nothing really has change? Randy and Ryan are still the face of the company, they still make informational video's, and in general still help the reefing community.

They have always been a great company for the reefing community, and will continue to do so into the future. How far into the future, who knows. Companies close all the time this day and age.

Exactly.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

that's what everything on this forum seems to turn into anymore, some nauseating lecture from someone followed by 10 pages of disagreements that have little or nothing to do with reefing/or the OP

Irony?

 

[FishyFishFish]

that's what everything on this forum seems to turn into anymore, some nauseating lecture from someone followed by 10 pages of disagreements that have little or nothing to do with reefing/or the OP

I must admit that a lot of the threads that I get sucked in to (like this) are all about deals, sales, prices etc. Whilst this is clearly a character trait of mine, I can't help but think this has been exacerbated by the BRS competitions, sales and promos. I'm sure I'm not the only person like this.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try not to constantly chase the bargains and enjoy my reefing. Hopefully this will also allow me to step away from these types of threads and concentrate on the health of my tank instead, rather than the cost/equipment surrounding it.

It's clearly not going well so far but there's still time left in 2022 for a change ;Facepalm

 

[JNalley]

So, hang on a moment, because I think there's a bit of misinformation here in this thread, or I have misinformation and you all may be able to clear it up for me.

Order of events and class of event from what I understand:

Bertram bought BRS in early 2021
BRS (using Bertram Money most likely) Buys out Marine Depot Mid-2021
BRS and Neptune Merge (Mid-2021)
Bertram Buys EcoTech (And AquaIllumination by default) Late 2021.

This means Bertram owns BRS and EcoTech, but BRS has control of Neptune. Yes?

The issue for me is that Marine Depot did videos on GHL and other companies. There are precisely 2 videos where I see GHL covered by BRS, one about their Cooling fans, and one where they discuss the merits, pitfalls, and comparisons of specific controllers. I don't see them ever doing the same kind of reviews on GHL products as they do for all of the other products out there. This could be because of market share (but then I would ask why others are dedicating time to it outside of BRS), but I find it easier to believe that they don't do it simply because of a competing ecosystem. I am trying to keep an eye out on lighting companies (Outside of EcoTech and AI) to see if BRS will cover new lights (after the EcoTech/AI acquisition), but my suspicion is that they will not. I'm trying to do the same for pumps and wavemakers (though this is a bit harder to keep track of since there are so many of them). This is not a "what if" it's something that is already happening as far as I can tell.

 

[Nick Steele]

Above on my house hypothetical. Post 152.

I have no knowledge of the housing safe guards but just like you said there are safe guards.

Now let’s say I own a business (plan in the future) if me or one of my employees price an item lower then it should be I would 100% sell it at said price. I would have to look into how/why the price was lower but that is a behind the scene thing. Yeah if it was complete negligence (provable) on someone’s part there would be consequences for them but life moves on and you keep a costumer/s.

 

[JoshH]

Bertram bought BRS in early 2021
BRS (using Bertram Money most likely) Buys out Marine Depot Mid-2021
BRS and Neptune Merge (Mid-2021)
Bertram Buys EcoTech (And AquaIllumination by default) Late 2021.

I believe Bertram has a controlling intrest in BRS, and through that investment in capital they purchased Marine Depot. Bretram then Bought Neptune and Ecotech. So technically, Bertram owns them all. BRS is just the Retail/Public front of their investments.

 

[JNalley]

I believe Bertram has a controlling intrest in BRS, and through that investment in capital they purchased Marine Depot. Bretram then Bought Neptune and Ecotech. So technically, Bertram owns them all. BRS is just the Retail/Public front of their investments.

Well, the press release from both BRS and Neptune state "BRS and Neptune Merge" which is why I was asking. If Bertram Owns BRS then they by default own anything that BRS owns and that much is clear, but the position of where Neptune sits is foggy... If Bertram bought Neptune as well (and it wasn't a merger with BRS) that does change things a bit.

Edit: https://www.neptunesystems.com/news/

 

[JoshH]

Well, the press release from both BRS and Neptune state "BRS and Neptune Merge" which is why I was asking. If Bertram Owns BRS then they by default own anything that BRS owns and that much is clear, but the position of where Neptune sits is foggy... If Bertram bought Neptune as well (and it wasn't a merger with BRS) that does change things a bit.

Either a merger or outright aquisition means the same thing in the end as you said. If Bertram owns BRS then by default they own anything that BRS owns (Or has merged with).

Whether Bertram bought Neptune or Neptune "Merged" with BRS. At the end of the day, they are all under the direction of Bertram.

At the end of the day, I hope those who managed to get something have the price honoured. Poor @MaddyP had no idea the can of worms he was opening up ;Hilarious

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Either a merger or outright aquisition means the same thing in the end as you said. If Bertram owns BRS then by default they own anything that BRS owns (Or has merged with).

Whether Bertram bought Neptune or Neptune "Merged" with BRS. At the end of the day, they are all under the direction of Bertram.

Agreed. i work in the Private Equity industry. I doubt this was a 'here is a pile of money do your best' arrangement. Whatever 'corporate ownership' structure is in place, you can bet there is a common management pulling the strings across the companies.

 

[JNalley]

Either a merger or outright aquisition means the same thing in the end as you said. If Bertram owns BRS then by default they own anything that BRS owns (Or has merged with).

Whether Bertram bought Neptune or Neptune "Merged" with BRS. At the end of the day, they are all under the direction of Bertram.

well no, Bertram owns them, that much is a fact, but there are nuances that can exist in one scenario that would likely not exist in another.

If Bertram has control/ownership of Neptune ALONG WITH Ownership of BRS. BRS has a bit more leeway with regard to product coverage, because as long as they're making money on the retail front, it doesn't matter. However, if BRS and Neptune Merged, then BRS has a vested interest in giving Apex as much marketshare as possible. Now, Bertram could poke BRS and say "Hey do a review on this" but it's not as crucial to their own personal success as it is if they control Neptune. Because if Neptune fails, but they do well, they don't have a whole lot to worry about because they will still exist.

Think of it like this:

1 failed company in a portfolio of 20 is not as bad as 50% of your own company failing.....

 

[jmichaelh7]

So did anyone actually get confirmation that these were purchased successfully?

 

[JNalley]

So did anyone actually get confirmation that these were purchased successfully?

My order statuses are still (In Picking). But I am sure tomorrow that may change.

 

[jmichaelh7]

My order statuses are still (In Picking). But I am sure tomorrow that may change.

Following on the whole thing