Maybe we disagree, is all goodMaybe you don't get it...
No one is "hat[ing] on success" as you put it.
What people hate are monopolies.
Less options and less competition are never a good thing for consumers.
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Maybe we disagree, is all goodMaybe you don't get it...
No one is "hat[ing] on success" as you put it.
What people hate are monopolies.
Less options and less competition are never a good thing for consumers.
Monopolies aren't always bad for consumers. I would agree it would be foolish to not be concerned and watch it closely though.Less options and less competition are never a good thing for consumers.
No one is comparing BRS to Amazon or Walmart...Monopolies aren't always bad for consumers. I would agree it would be foolish to not be concerned and watch it closely though.
Amazon, with it's virtual monopoly, has been very good for consumers in my opinion. Walmart was too, when it first grew into a retail powerhouse. We don't need to like either company, but it is hard to argue that consumers have suffered as a result of either.
The monopolies of the past, like the old telephone, oil, gas, railroad, and steel companies were powerful because of the amount of infrastructure it took to compete with them. Modern online services, such as retailers, can very easily be replaced if they fall out of favor. If BRS screws this up it will throw the door wide open for any number of other companies to replace them. A monopoly in a business with a low cost of entry is much less of a threat to consumers than one which is protected by massive infrastructure costs.
I won't resort to insulting the state of your mind. I'm trying to be polite.No one in their right mind is comparing BRS to Amazon or Walmart...
I'm not so sure about this. People get so caught up in things like discounts and free shipping but it isn't always the most important thing. For instance, a study was done a few years ago on the mental aspect of free shipping. They found a slight majority of people would pick a product with free shipping even if the total cost was more than paying for shipping but with a lower item price.We already see one example - MD customers who were promised 15% off their filters for life are now screwed.
Interesting post. I was in two LFS this morning. (Fish gotta eat) One of my favorite shops told me today - egh - it will not change their situation. He said most of his profits are not in dry goods - he makes his money on corals. He keeps the dry goods because folks come in to by coral and pick up food and chemicals OR they come in for food/chemicals and grab a few frags. He said his profit on tanks is pennies after he pays shipping and such - he handles tanks because customers will them by their livestock from him.I cant imagine that profits are killer in the reefing industry. I would imagine margins are pretty tight.
BRS contributes pretty heavily to the community (and yes its also self serving - but the education they provide and tests they perform are great) - and dont appear to be into gouging.
More competition is usually a good thing - but they likely need to consolidate in the industry in order to make the business profitable. I dont see any major issues with this personally.
Its just like with any other business - if they start getting aggressive/greedy/poor customer service - other options will be generated/other chains/stores will start up to compete with them.
I dont see any reason to get excited over it. Im more concerned about the profit margins of BRS - and whether this is a sign that they must acquire in order to turn a profit/stay afloat.
Didn't the suits pump funding into BRS six months ago?Well recents events say otherwise
Walmart and Amazon killed many small towns and shopping malls. Stores like Sears, Montgomery Wards, JC Pennys, Macys, etc got gutted in the process. True shopping has evolved to online, overnight but consumer choice is now controlled by a few.This could be bad for consumers, but it could also be very good for consumers. I'll be interested to see how things pan out.
The downside would be a lack of competition causes customer service at BRS to no longer be a priority. The potential upside is that, now that they have a truly dominant market share, they may now be able to force aquarium related manufacturers to lower their prices and/or allow bigger discounts during national sales events like Cyber Monday.
I'm not a fan of Walmart but they were very good for consumers when they became large enough because they could force price concessions from their suppliers. BRS may not be big enough to pull that off yet, or they may not even want to, but I think it is premature to say if this will be good or bad for hobbyists until we see what changes occur.
They touched on this on the reef therapy podcast the other day and how it flipped the past 5 years or so. Used to be that dry goods was where the LFS’s made their money, now it’s on corals and dry goods are just there to drive people in and make some extra.Interesting post. I was in two LFS this morning. (Fish gotta eat) One of my favorite shops told me today - egh - it will not change their situation. He said most of his profits are not in dry goods - he makes his money on corals. He keeps the dry goods because folks come in to by coral and pick up food and chemicals OR they come in for food/chemicals and grab a few frags. He said his profit on tanks is pennies after he pays shipping and such - he handles tanks because customers will them by their livestock from him.
So I bought live food and a frag before I left.
Only those on the inside know for sure, but from what I’ve read and seen, MD has been looking to sell and BRS recently had some investors come in. My guess is they now had the cash to actually buy MD and the investors were likely pushing a bit, too.Didn't the suits pump funding into BRS six months ago?
Exactly - People want ‘free’ shipping but nothing’s really free and they get mad if companies raise prices to compensate for the free shipping. Like many companies, BRS is using a combination of shipping partners to minimize costs.People get so caught up in things like discounts and free shipping but it isn't always the most important thing. For instance, a study was done a few years ago on the mental aspect of free shipping. They found a slight majority of people would pick a product with free shipping even if the total cost was more than paying for shipping but with a lower item price.
I completely agree. These two companies in particular have destroyed their competition and if you owned or work for one of them it wasn't good. However, they did that by becoming very consumer friendly. It's the main reason they have succeeded in avoiding any significant antitrust actions. They not only have to dominate the market but the consumer has to have been hurt.Walmart and Amazon killed many small towns and shopping malls. Stores like Sears, Montgomery Wards, JC Pennys, Macys, etc got gutted in the process. True shopping has evolved to online, overnight but consumer choice is now controlled by a few.
With the major vendors in the marketplace adopting a MAP pricing model, the consumers have no avenue for pricing options and the BIG distributers buy in volume to get better pricing. The LFS who might by 6 Radion XR15s see their "wholesale" prices slowly creap up. The LFS closest to me has almost nothing of the big vendors in stock, he says he can't make money on it - no Kessil, no Radion, no AI, no Red Sea (except chemicals), lights by Current and Fluval. Can't say I buy alot from him - he just does not have much. Only one chemical line and not all of it.I completely agree. These two companies in particular have destroyed their competition and if you owned or work for one of them it wasn't good. However, they did that by becoming very consumer friendly. It's the main reason they have succeeded in avoiding any significant antitrust actions. They not only have to dominate the market but the consumer has to have been hurt.
I'm not overly thrilled that this acquisition happened. As I've stated before, I could see it being either positive or negative. Given the times we are living in, I worry their actual performance is going to be clear as mud. With international shipping an absolute disaster and with inflation skyrocketing, it may be difficult to determine if they are abusing market share to raise prices or if any price increases are justified.
Hopefully since MD management seemed intent on selling, they made provisions to take care of those people with a nice severance package.I recently purchased a fair amount of equipment via my LFS, most of the equipment he turned around and purchased from BRS, Coral Vue or MD. It didn't save me any money nor did it cost me more but he received a small amount because of his dealer account. And when my two Varios return pumps were received with cracked housings, he handled the replacement. As others have said, this LFS makes most of his income off live stock and tank maintenance.
When possible I will support a local business. And while this is my local LFS it is still quite a ways from my house.
That said, I will miss MD and the fast shipping and I feel for the people who in CA and GA who will be losing their jobs. As from the Live stream, BRS doesn't intend to keep multiple shipping points.