Instant Ocean huge price increase by some Vendors

[Mike konesky]

The non sale prices have been the same for awhile. Im not seeing any increase in the sale prices. If you're not buying it at the sale price you are doing it wrong. No gouging going on. Brs has had regular io buckets for $60 for years and they never go on sale. Who is gouging?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

The non sale prices have been the same for awhile. Im not seeing any increase in the sale prices. If you're not buying it at the sale price you are doing it wrong. No gouging going on. Brs has had regular io buckets for $60 for years and they never go on sale. Who is gouging?

I agree. Kinda why I jumped on this thread. It can’t be gouging if you have alternatives. Other vendors and other brands all are viable here which is why the costs have stayed fairly consistent. Op just caught chewy on a ‘regular price cycle’ so that their sales prices look better. Vendors are going to charge what they can get. Just part of the game.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

The smaller mom and pop shops pay higher prices than the Internet bandits that steal business from local shops through loss leaders. Most are forced to buy from distribution like Central Garden and Pet. I often priced shopped the distribution chain in the past and saw how the mass merchandise companies bought at levels that are never offered to the local shops. I give you the old dollar gallon sales at Petco and Petsmart. The local stores were never given those discounts by anyone. I know one store owner that would buy up his stock from several mass merchandise locations and wait until the sale went off then sold them at just below his normal mark up. He could never buy or match the sale cost extended to the mass merchandise groups. The playing field is not level for local merchants ever.

 

[Nate Chalk]

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 bought 5+ boxes im good for over a year.

 

[Mike konesky]

Agreed with above. It's impossible for an average LFS to sell at internet prices for salt. Even selling IO or RC at cost (central pet) can't get close to big retailers. I buy everything I can from my LFS, but it's understood by both parties that it's not reasonable for salt.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

The smaller mom and pop shops pay higher prices than the Internet bandits that steal business from local shops through loss leaders. Most are forced to buy from distribution like Central Garden and Pet. I often priced shopped the distribution chain in the past and saw how the mass merchandise companies bought at levels that are never offered to the local shops. I give you the old dollar gallon sales at Petco and Petsmart. The local stores were never given those discounts by anyone. I know one store owner that would buy up his stock from several mass merchandise locations and wait until the sale went off then sold them at just below his normal mark up. He could never buy or match the sale cost extended to the mass merchandise groups. The playing field is not level for local merchants ever.

Minimum purchase amounts, map pricing, not floating product. If you’re not setting throughput records you’re nobody and get zero benefit. Plus you have to deal with the people coming in with their cell phone showing internet prices lower than your actual cost and yelling at you for screwing everyone over. When price increases happen you have to start charging more on already purchased stock to cover what you will need to make your next minimum order and still hopefully make fifty cents. A lot of banks have also called, reduced, or closed credit accounts for small businesses regardless of credit rating or years in good standing. It’s a lot more difficult to keep a small business going than people realize. It’s impossible to find, let alone keep decent employees. When you’re paying the same for an employees health plan as their take home pay, it makes you wonder. Plus the city isn’t building a huge warehouse for you, charging you reduced rent while not paying property tax, then selling you the property in ten years for a dollar. Anyway, just my rant for the death of the little guy.

 

[doubleshot00]

Kindly reread my posting. The point was some vendors are enormously jacking up the prices and had they gotten a huge pass on cost increase from IO or was this just gouging by the named retailers? In other words, was it going to stay this high when vendors work down their inventory at a lower cost?

With inflation today, there are genuine price increases. But there is A LOT of price gouging going on in certain industries due to lack of competition. The answer to my thread was posted by @Pntbll687. He stated there has been an 18% price increase by IO. If you work at a retailer you would see this coming from IO billing or a distributor. He also probably nailed what is going on with the price gouging. The prices by competitor companies are monitored by the retailers via computer matches. If enough of them go up, they will most likely raise their price too.

Definitely no pun made to you just others saying its this price or that “regularly”. Like no its not. You have to wait till it goes onsale. I was buying io burple bag for 11.99 for months them all the sudden its gone way up everywhere. Sucks. I did buy a few boxes at $39 hope it will last till the next sale. But I don’t think it will be much of a sale anymore. We probably should have just stocked up when it was 11.99 a bag.

 

[ninjamyst]

Definitely no pun made to you just others saying its this price or that “regularly”. Like no its not. You have to wait till it goes onsale. I was buying io burple bag for 11.99 for months them all the sudden its gone way up everywhere. Sucks. I did buy a few boxes at $39 hope it will last till the next sale. But I don’t think it will be much of a sale anymore. We probably should have just stocked up when it was 11.99 a bag.

Be careful when stocking up too much salt. I had to throw out boxes of 200g IO and RC when they turned rock solid after a year in the garage.

 

[Pntbll687]

The smaller mom and pop shops pay higher prices than the Internet bandits that steal business from local shops through loss leaders. Most are forced to buy from distribution like Central Garden and Pet. I often priced shopped the distribution chain in the past and saw how the mass merchandise companies bought at levels that are never offered to the local shops. I give you the old dollar gallon sales at Petco and Petsmart. The local stores were never given those discounts by anyone. I know one store owner that would buy up his stock from several mass merchandise locations and wait until the sale went off then sold them at just below his normal mark up. He could never buy or match the sale cost extended to the mass merchandise groups. The playing field is not level for local merchants ever.

This is 100% accurate. The LFS are never given these options.

I deal with many customers who hit up petco and buy all the stock they have when $1/gallon is going on. That's just smart. I'm a sales rep, and can't blame them for doing that. The only way I figure the $1/gallon sale works is petco guarantees they buy X amount, and then is given a rebate for every tank they sell during a certain time period. The $1/gallon is actually below the cost for the distribution company I work for, and we're buying full truckloads of product every couple of weeks.

 

[Pntbll687]

Agreed with above. It's impossible for an average LFS to sell at internet prices for salt. Even selling IO or RC at cost (central pet) can't get close to big retailers. I buy everything I can from my LFS, but it's understood by both parties that it's not reasonable for salt.

It's also very competitive at the distributor level as well.

I have a competitor that will give an LFS 3 free boxes for every skid they buy, 53%off the list price, PLUS an additional $100 credit per skid. I can't come anywhere close to that. SO my competitor is giving close to $200 in credit per skid ordered, 40 boxes or buckets on a skid, that's an additional $5 off each when factored into the price.

But the LFS is not buying a skid at a time, they are not going to be able to match any online price.

 

[Pntbll687]

Kindly reread my posting. The point was some vendors are enormously jacking up the prices and had they gotten a huge pass on cost increase from IO or was this just gouging by the named retailers? In other words, was it going to stay this high when vendors work down their inventory at a lower cost?

With inflation today, there are genuine price increases. But there is A LOT of price gouging going on in certain industries due to lack of competition. The answer to my thread was posted by @Pntbll687. He stated there has been an 18% price increase by IO. If you work at a retailer you would see this coming from IO billing or a distributor. He also probably nailed what is going on with the price gouging. The prices by competitor companies are monitored by the retailers via computer matches. If enough of them go up, they will most likely raise their price too.

So I will say that it goes both ways with pricing.

There was someone who stole some electronic collars for dogs out in the western part of the US a few years back, and had them on Amazon for $12ea ($75 item to buy normally for a retailer). It caused multiple large retailers to lose tens of thousands because their own algorithm changed their price to match it. Several hundred collars were sold before anyone caught it at the ONE retailer I work with. Who knows how many others didn't catch it soon enough.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Be careful when stocking up too much salt. I had to throw out boxes of 200g IO and RC when they turned rock solid after a year in the garage.

I have salt older than that with no issues - just store them (any salt) properly and you should be good.

 

[Pntbll687]

I have salt older than that with no issues - just store them (any salt) properly and you should be good.

agreed. I buy 10 boxes at a time. Lasts around 18 months or so. No issues with clumping or getting solid.

There can be problems if it's stored in a place that gets hot and cold, like a garage. I've had more issues with the bags being vacuumed around the salt so tightly that I can't shake the salt and make a cut without salt going everywhere

 

[Wasabiroot]

Price gouging is only gouging if it's the only spot you can get it at. If you can find it cheaper somewhere else, go for it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Be careful when stocking up too much salt. I had to throw out boxes of 200g IO and RC when they turned rock solid after a year in the garage.

Rock hard salt may still be usable, although it may be hard to portion out. If alk is Ok after it dissolves, its good to go.

Even calcium chloride and magnesium chloride get rock hard over time, but they are perfectly fine. Chiseling mine out left streaks of rust in the remaining mix, but it always fully dissolves.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Let's face the facts. Small business has many challenges to survive in the internet world. I would love to open a small footprint store with only natural fresh water planted and natural saltwater aquariums. No plastic plants in the store and I would make all the acrylic aquariums, filters, and select one line of products to support for filtration, pumps, and related. I would select one line of lighting. Controller systems would tie up too much capital so I would skip it. I would offer some line of glass tanks but limited to about 50 gallons and rimless or a product not available to any distribution chains or mass merchandiser. Same with sea salt mixes one line to use for everyone. IO or RC would be a money loser unless they would sell direct at prices to match distribution. Crazy Idea and that is why I am no longer in the aquarium industry. I need to survive and eat like the rest of you so I can afford the hobby LOL.

I would enjoy the fish, inverts, the excitement of opening a couple thousand pounds of live rock and all the discovery associated with it. But I would be bleeding money each and every month just to enjoy the fun of all that diversity going through the shop.

Then you have to contend with all the new experts who say this or that way is the only way to achieve success.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I thought that was the normal price and the lower one was always a a "sale" (that is happening somewhere at any given time). I ain't paying full price. I got another year's worth at least assuming I don't reduce water changes.

 

[Pntbll687]

Let's face the facts. Small business has many challenges to survive in the internet world. I would love to open a small footprint store with only natural fresh water planted and natural saltwater aquariums. No plastic plants in the store and I would make all the acrylic aquariums, filters, and select one line of products to support for filtration, pumps, and related. I would select one line of lighting. Controller systems would tie up too much capital so I would skip it. I would offer some line of glass tanks but limited to about 50 gallons and rimless or a product not available to any distribution chains or mass merchandiser. Same with sea salt mixes one line to use for everyone. IO or RC would be a money loser unless they would sell direct at prices to match distribution. Crazy Idea and that is why I am no longer in the aquarium industry. I need to survive and eat like the rest of you so I can afford the hobby LOL.

I would enjoy the fish, inverts, the excitement of opening a couple thousand pounds of live rock and all the discovery associated with it. But I would be bleeding money each and every month just to enjoy the fun of all that diversity going through the shop.

Then you have to contend with all the new experts who say this or that way is the only way to achieve success.

That would be a cool concept style store!

This would be doable, with financial backing from the company your choosing. Like if you chose Redsea, they could provide the avenue to get products, the initial start up product, and support. You would be responsible for the day to day cost and running of the business. Sorta like a franchise.

Just an FYI, there are places that get direct shipments of IO and RC from spectrum brands at the same price as a distributor. They have to take an entire truckload at a time.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

That would be a cool concept style store!

This would be doable, with financial backing from the company your choosing. Like if you chose Redsea, they could provide the avenue to get products, the initial start up product, and support. You would be responsible for the day to day cost and running of the business. Sorta like a franchise.

Just an FYI, there are places that get direct shipments of IO and RC from spectrum brands at the same price as a distributor. They have to take an entire truckload at a time.

Honestly for the glass tanks I would try to find a US builder that I could partner with. Since I have three CNC machines I could build anything I would want in Wood, Acrylic, Granite, Quartz, or Solid Surface. I would just avoid the glass building due to liability insurance costs. Local metal shop could provide powder coated stands if they were popular enough. Lots of ideas but just scared after my last trip through the aquarium industry LOL!