Cost Of Equipment Is Out Of Hand

[User1]

The hobby, as with any, is what you make of it. It can be expensive just as it isn't. These posts come up a lot and I can see why but at the end of the day the onus is on all of us to understand what "our" limits are to build a successful and thriving system. Personally I treat a few things in my tank similar to my scuba diving hobby which I consider the life support system. Tank - because fish/coral need water, return pump because I need flow and oxygen, and power with redundancy in case something happens we have oxygen. Fish and corals can do without lights (think mother nature storms) but I need those other things to survive the storm

Everything else is what I consider luxury items similar to a car. You want to go to the store for a gallon of milk? A pinto will work just as much as the Shelby GT 350, right? The other parts of the tank is where you choose much like what you keep like fish and corals. So yes - I could probably swing a Gem Tang or say a Clarion Angel but alas it isn't something that I personally set has a goal and it exceeds my threshold for fish. Instead I have a Lt. Tang and Coral Beauty. Limits. Similar to my car hobby (HPED events) - I wanted to buy a GT350R but at the time ADM was super high so instead I ended up with a GT/PP. It is about choices much like life.

In any case some things are expensive I agree but it is what it is and no different than buying a watch or rc airplan or a bottle of wine...

 

[scriptmonkey]

I hope to be alive in 10 years and see you run! I would love for you strong confident person to be my president! !

OH! Maybe she can stop the tariffs and the price of aquarium products will drop.

 

[Ashley Kekua]

I love thi s OP I am happy you start it as need to be spoken. many people talked on this thread and everyone special in the posts!! I claim to be happy that you wrote what you wrote on it!1 Thank you OP!

 

[Sarah24!]

OH! Maybe she can stop the tariffs and the price of aquarium products will drop.

Hello,

Well somehow if I get dragged to the podium for this lol I think the first thing I would do is universal medical care for everyone. Yes this is an argument similar to what this thread is about, except most don’t (since I’m in the trauma center) see what I see on a daily basis. Yes, there would definitely be term limits lol. But most of all, I would want to take pride do whatever it is to make all three income classes happy. You can’t please everyone, so yes some will dislike me etc. but as long as I have really clear transparency, honest and do, what voting people ask for (within reason etc) then I should be okay. If I ran I definitely would run under the ticket of not a chance in heck party.

But lol back to op thread topic yes the tariffs probably have made everything go up. There are tons of not very good things happening right now. Even all the fish bans and coral bans are not exactly favorable. What’s worse was the scientific evidence, proved otherwise. But again, (not going there), circumstances have made our hobby even more expensive and possibly on the brink of ending. If the bans continue the prices will sky rocket. Has anyone looked at the recent prices say on a purple tang? When I bought mine he was under 60, now one even smaller is almost 140.

 

[Potatohead]

What nobody has talked about is the distribution chain itself. I don’t know if Ecotech for example sells directly to BRS but it wouldn’t surprise me if Ecotech didn’t sell to a pure wholesaler, who then sells to BRS. It’s just added markup all along the way, imagine if they decided to sell direct to consumer...?

 

[scriptmonkey]

Hello,

Well somehow if I get dragged to the podium for this lol I think the first thing I would do is universal medical care for everyone. Yes this is an argument similar to what this thread is about, except most don’t (since I’m in the trauma center) see what I see on a daily basis. Yes, there would definitely be term limits lol. But most of all, I would want to take pride do whatever it is to make all three income classes happy. You can’t please everyone, so yes some will dislike me etc. but as long as I have really clear transparency, honest and do, what voting people ask for (within reason etc) then I should be okay. If I ran I definitely would run under the ticket of not a chance in heck party.

But lol back to op thread topic yes the tariffs probably have made everything go up. There are tons of not very good things happening right now. Even all the fish bans and coral bans are not exactly favorable. What’s worse was the scientific evidence, proved otherwise. But again, (not going there), circumstances have made our hobby even more expensive and possibly on the brink of ending. If the bans continue the prices will sky rocket. Has anyone looked at the recent prices say on a purple tang? When I bought mine he was under 60, now one even smaller is almost 140.

So what I am hearing is I have a chance for it to happen?!?!? Yes!!!

 

[joshwaggs]

Lol uh oh...you edited it to be a -, must of been a dozzy!

No. Just a reply that said I wasn’t advocating a socialist agenda for reefing. Just fair prices for quality stuff. I just didn’t want to add anymore. So I deleted it.

 

[Sarah24!]

So what I am hearing is I have a chance for it to happen?!?!? Yes!!!

lol yes you do but I’m only 25, so maybe I can run for Congress and be the new record for the youngest since it currently belongs to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hmmm but do you guys realize how much I had to study just to graduate medical school lol? I can’t say how many all nighters I had to pull.

In the aspect of the op topic and distribution, I believe this is true. Yet, how many lfs have said I’m sorry I can’t mark this any lower per Ecotech. My lfs refuses to carry them because they can not adjust the price etc. Even older versions of Radions that one of them has, the price is still the same. Why? It’s a gen 2 and the lfs still can not sell it cheaper than what Ecotech says, and they won’t take it back etc. so the lfs refuses to stock their products or order any.

 

[scriptmonkey]

If they truly want to they can. I just got 80 bucks off my Apex. I got a 40 buck discount on each of my lights. It can be done. Never bought a ecotech product yet. So I will cross that bridge if I need to.

 

[Potatohead]

lol yes you do but I’m only 25, so maybe I can run for Congress and be the new record for the youngest since it currently belongs to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hmmm but do you guys realize how much I had to study just to graduate medical school lol? I can’t say how many all nighters I had to pull.

In the aspect of the op topic and distribution, I believe this is true. Yet, how many lfs have said I’m sorry I can’t mark this any lower per Ecotech. My lfs refuses to carry them because they can not adjust the price etc. Even older versions of Radions that one of them has, the price is still the same. Why? It’s a gen 2 and the lfs still can not sell it cheaper than what Ecotech says, and they won’t take it back etc. so the lfs refuses to stock their products or order any.

If they don’t care about stocking any more of their product they can go ahead and sell what they have for whatever they want.

 

[Tjm23slo]

I can buy a cell phone for less than that.

Think about what you just said. Talk about over priced entertainment devices. For $400-800 I could buy a 55-65” flatscreen TV. Or 4-8 months of Data service for something I didn’t need 10 years ago.

You will get more out of a $400 underwater fan than an Android phone or iPhone. Where I sqwalk is at protein skimmers.
As for a DIY controller, the parts will cost you $75-100 if you can program great if not leave the parts alone and spend the money on the simple controller.

 

[scriptmonkey]

Again, value is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[User1]

Hello,

Well somehow if I get dragged to the podium for this lol I think the first thing I would do is universal medical care for everyone. Yes this is an argument similar to what this thread is about, except most don’t (since I’m in the trauma center) see what I see on a daily basis. Yes, there would definitely be term limits lol. But most of all, I would want to take pride do whatever it is to make all three income classes happy. You can’t please everyone, so yes some will dislike me etc. but as long as I have really clear transparency, honest and do, what voting people ask for (within reason etc) then I should be okay. If I ran I definitely would run under the ticket of not a chance in heck party.

But lol back to op thread topic yes the tariffs probably have made everything go up. There are tons of not very good things happening right now. Even all the fish bans and coral bans are not exactly favorable. What’s worse was the scientific evidence, proved otherwise. But again, (not going there), circumstances have made our hobby even more expensive and possibly on the brink of ending. If the bans continue the prices will sky rocket. Has anyone looked at the recent prices say on a purple tang? When I bought mine he was under 60, now one even smaller is almost 140.

I'm only going to address the hobby - corals are crops. You frag, I frag, we swap. There is no price other than a thank you. Fish are a bit more tricky.

This hobby can be self sustaining with regards to corals plain and simple. The cost of your hobby just went down 50%. The other 50% is hardware, water, and electricity.

 

[Sarah24!]

I'm only going to address the hobby - corals are crops. You frag, I frag, we swap. There is no price other than a thank you. Fish are a bit more tricky.

This hobby can be self sustaining with regards to corals plain and simple. The cost of your hobby just went down 50%. The other 50% is hardware, water, and electricity.

Hello,

I think that’s very reasonable, now whatvare the chances of convincing the rest of the world? If we have to bribe them I have lots and lots of gummy bears.


@Potatohead I agree, I honestly do not know why they do not. But if it risks penalties upon his lfs I can see the reasoning. There are not many lfs (saltwater) in Boise. We have three and he is probably the main one and the longest, it would not be good if we lost his lfs.

If I was him I would sell them to whom ever wanted them or use them etc. at some point I’m sure he had to pay for them. I hope he at least breaks even if he knows how this will turn out.

 

[ksanfranfan]

I usually just read many of these types of threads and not involve myself with my own opinions.
I've read all of the posts with discussions for and against the pricing of equipment. I don't necessarily have an issue paying the price of some of the so called high end equipment. The problem I have with the prices are the quality of the parts I get for the prices. I have 5 Ecotech mp wave makers ( 2 mp 40's and 3 mp10s ). Down to 2 mp 10s now. Also have 2 tunzes.
I've had to replace wetsides on every Ecotech wave makers except 1 mp 40. On some I've had to replace the replacements in less than a year. The replacement on one was due to the plastic protecting the propeller becoming brittle and deteriorating as well as the magnet corroding.
I've had to replace bearings on the drysides on 2 mp 10s with better quality ones from a different supplier.
For my own reasons I wish that the so called high end products were being made of better materials that reflect the prices that are being paid.
When I was younger, I remember expensive products seemed to really be made of quality components and craftsmanship. Kirby vacuums were expensive but they weren't just a vacuum, they did many other things and we're built well.
The Sony Walkman was expensive for a cd player and radio but it was a solid product. Can't tell you how many times I dropped mine and it still worked.
I like the design and features of the Ecotech wave makers but the build quality, ime, does not equal high end. Like many other products it seems that alot of the price is having to pay for the technology and other costs of the business and not necessarily the quality.
It's also great that Ecotech and some of these high end products have good customer service but it doesn't mean as much to me if I'm continuously having to call them or pay out of my pocket for replacement parts.
Again, I'm not saying that I have an issue with manufacturers putting a premium price on a product, it just seems like it's getting harder to distinguish what a premium product is from another.

 

[KMG]

China has come to lower the costs for reefers as in many areas and products. Pumps, light and dosing are products we now can trust. Hope soon to se aquarium control computers at fair prices. The western brands are for sure over priceing and I would to if I could. Hope this levels out now. The explosion of e-shoping cuts away most of the supply chain costs. Hope to se it happen soon for this hobby to.

 

[Panky]

It is definitely price gouging. Can someone please explain to me why the cost of Radion G4 Pro's just went up $50.00? I have gone the way of expensive lighting with a product that was supposed to be upgradable for the next 100 years (LOL). It is a Vertex Illumina SR360. What a waste of money. Am I going to go the way for Radion's… yes. But not G4 Pro's. My G3's non-pro's grew everything I wanted, with not issues. Ecotech to me has some terrible customer service. I have an MP60wQD that is getting noisy. Called the company... send it in, and oh by the way give me your credit card number in case it's not under warranty. Which I haven't, and won't. When the dang thing craps the bed, then I will move on to another company. I am a techy by trade. So, of course I want all the tech I could get for my system. Step in Neptune Systems. Another crappy customer service company. But hey, you get what you pay for correct? Not so much!!! I've gone thru several of their products only to say "You got me". Jebao, been that route to, I've owned a few RW20's. Seems like the controllers crap out at the 1yr mark. Burned so much by this hobby, and why do I stay in it? It's like staying in a bad relationship, you hope it can only get better. And it 98% of the time doesn't. I'm just rambling and frustrated. I've been in this hobby for a long time, and have owned everything from a 29G cube, to my current 545Gallon Display and a 600Gallon Display. At times I almost wish they would crash so I can just give up on this money pit. It's worse than owning a boat.

Back to the Original question... Why did the price of Radion Gen4 Pro's just increase in MAP pricing $50.00 starting Feb 1st?

 

[Reefer1978]

Back to the Original question... Why did the price of Radion Gen4 Pro's just increase in MAP pricing $50.00 starting Feb 1st?

Maybe trade war with China?

 

[sstanley223]

It is definitely price gouging. Can someone please explain to me why the cost of Radion G4 Pro's just went up $50.00? I have gone the way of expensive lighting with a product that was supposed to be upgradable for the next 100 years (LOL). It is a Vertex Illumina SR360. What a waste of money. Am I going to go the way for Radion's… yes. But not G4 Pro's. My G3's non-pro's grew everything I wanted, with not issues. Ecotech to me has some terrible customer service. I have an MP60wQD that is getting noisy. Called the company... send it in, and oh by the way give me your credit card number in case it's not under warranty. Which I haven't, and won't. When the dang thing craps the bed, then I will move on to another company. I am a techy by trade. So, of course I want all the tech I could get for my system. Step in Neptune Systems. Another crappy customer service company. But hey, you get what you pay for correct? Not so much!!! I've gone thru several of their products only to say "You got me". Jebao, been that route to, I've owned a few RW20's. Seems like the controllers crap out at the 1yr mark. Burned so much by this hobby, and why do I stay in it? It's like staying in a bad relationship, you hope it can only get better. And it 98% of the time doesn't. I'm just rambling and frustrated. I've been in this hobby for a long time, and have owned everything from a 29G cube, to my current 545Gallon Display and a 600Gallon Display. At times I almost wish they would crash so I can just give up on this money pit. It's worse than owning a boat.

Back to the Original question... Why did the price of Radion Gen4 Pro's just increase in MAP pricing $50.00 starting Feb 1st?

Tax return season?

 

[rtparty]

The Ecotech price increase is tariffs. Quite a few products from China are receiving tariffs or will in the near future. The clothing industry is starting to get hit pretty hard with them