Instant Ocean huge price increase by some Vendors

[Sebastiancrab]

Chewy and Petco have increased their prices for a bucket of regular Instant Ocean 160 gal. approximately 78%. The last I bought from Chewy was $39.30 and now it is priced $69.99. Is this price gouging or does anyone know why the price has gone up so much? Needless to say, I purchased several buckets on Amazon because all vendors may charge this much going forward.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Chewy and Petco have increased their prices for a bucket of regular Instant Ocean 160 gal. approximately 78%. The last I bought from Chewy was $39.30 and now it is priced $69.99. Is this price gouging or does anyone know why the price has gone up so much? Needless to say, I purchased several buckets on Amazon because all vendors may charge this much going forward.

I have always found it cheaper to buy the 50g bags individually UNLESS the 200g box goes on sale. That said bags are currently $12.99 but frequently go on sale for $9.99

edit. But yes everything is getting more expensive if you haven’t noticed

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Fuel prices have a direct effect on landed cost. Just a sign of the times. Expect heavy items to cost more to ship in the future.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Chewy and Petco have increased their prices for a bucket of regular Instant Ocean 160 gal. approximately 78%. The last I bought from Chewy was $39.30 and now it is priced $69.99. Is this price gouging or does anyone know why the price has gone up so much? Needless to say, I purchased several buckets on Amazon because all vendors may charge this much going forward.

Not sure you can call price increases ‘gouging’. Gouging is usually a word reserved for goods with an inelastic demand. Price increases on luxury goods is generally just called capitalism. The price will be what the market will afford. As such, if you still buy at 69.99, guess how much they are gonna charge.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I have always found it cheaper to buy the 50g bags individually UNLESS the 200g box goes on sale. That said bags are currently $12.99 but frequently go on sale for $9.99

edit. But yes everything is getting more expensive if you haven’t noticed

Thanks, I will watch for that. I got the 200 gal boxes for $51.98 each.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Thanks, I will watch for that. I got the 200 gal boxes for $51.98 each.

I just bought some as well, by the way that was a sale, discounted price on Amazon. It’s normal price is higher

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Not sure you can call price increases ‘gouging’. Gouging is usually a word reserved for goods with an inelastic demand. Price increases on luxury goods is generally just called capitalism. The price will be what the market will afford. As such, if you still buy at 69.99, guess how much they are gonna charge.

The definition of gouging is to overcharge or swindle. Gouging is charging a price increase when the company has not had increased costs. I am convinced this is happening a lot today because of the lack of competition/few suppliers in certain industries. There is no justification for a 78% increase otherwise we would see most of our staples going up that much.

 

[ScubaFish802]

They frequently run ~50% off sales on IO at retail stores. Otherwise it has always been 69.99 at my LFS and online from what I have seen.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Looking on google I see the bucket available anywhere from 33.99 to 69.99. Just keep an eye out for the sales and stock up

 

[BZOFIQ]

Reef crystals is $39.99 pretty much everywhere for a 160-Gallon Bucket and $51.98 Per 200-Gallon Box.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

The definition of gouging is to overcharge or swindle. Gouging is charging a price increase when the company has not had increased costs. I am convinced this is happening a lot today because of the lack of competition/few suppliers in certain industries. There is no justification for a 78% increase otherwise we would see most of our staples going up that much.

The simple answer on that is not not buy their goods and buy a substitute good/from a competitor. Consumers can live without aquarium salt as this is a true luxury hobby. A vendor cannot over charge for a good that we willingly pay for and can live without. I know it sounds preachy and pedantic (sorry, not trying too)..but this is basic Econ 101. I doubt there is anything nefarious going on..especially with I/O who are usually on the cheaper end of the spectrum To me, if prices are going up this much, it is to cover their costs going up (fuel, shipping, raw materials, labor, etc)

 

[BZOFIQ]

Still nowhere near this deal from a little while back.

Instant Ocean 160-Gallon Bucket for $23.36 @ Chewy's - LIMIT 2

Yes, you can get two buckets and a small can of food shipped free for about $50 bucks. Don't miss out. https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-sea-salt-aquariums/dp/165471

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Derrick0580]

RC is almost always on sale somewhere…just have to look around! I bought 2 of the 200 gal boxes off Amazon not long ago and it cost me like $72 with free shipping. Hoping for that sale to hit again soon! If you have buddies who also use RC you might see if retailers offer bulk prices, I believe chewy does if you buy 8 buckets.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Still nowhere near this deal from a little while back.

Instant Ocean 160-Gallon Bucket for $23.36 @ Chewy's - LIMIT 2

Yes, you can get two buckets and a small can of food shipped free for about $50 bucks. Don't miss out. https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-sea-salt-aquariums/dp/165471

www.reef2reef.com

I stocked up on black friday. Got 4 boxes of 200 gallon reef crystals at i think 28 a box. Was happy.

 

[skiwez]

There definitely seems to be price fluctuations on IO. I've seen advertised prices as high at $93 for the 200 gallon box. There are usually a couple of times a year they go on sale and can get for around $45 for the 200 gallon box. When available at that price I stock up.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Chewy and Petco have increased their prices for a bucket of regular Instant Ocean 160 gal. approximately 78%. The last I bought from Chewy was $39.30 and now it is priced $69.99. Is this price gouging or does anyone know why the price has gone up so much? Needless to say, I purchased several buckets on Amazon because all vendors may charge this much going forward.

The handwriting has been on the wall - for 35 years Aquarium Systems sold truckloads of salt to me with free shipping (the cost of which was obviously recouped in the sale of the salt). Earlier this year, out of the blue, they started charging actual shipping costs ….. IIRC about a 25% jump. That doesn’t account for all of the increase you saw though……
Jay

 

[GarrettT]

Why not just get it from Amazon?

 

[BanjoBandito]

Why not just get it from Amazon?

Just was gonna say this...nothing delights me more as a small business owner knowing amazon is losing money on delivery lugging around the tub of reef crystals for me.

 

[BanjoBandito]

The handwriting has been on the wall - for 35 years Aquarium Systems sold truckloads of salt to me with free shipping (the cost of which was obviously recouped in the sale of the salt). Earlier this year, out of the blue, they started charging actual shipping costs ….. IIRC about a 25% jump. That doesn’t account for all of the increase you saw though……
Jay

shipping and fuel costs are a huge problem in every industry right now.

 

[Reefing102]

$69.99 or so has been going price at my LFS since at least 2008 (never on sale and never sells either). I bought during the chewy sale mentioned above, but I’d expect the price to go up with regular sales (maybe just not as good)