We’re getting Gouged! Trident!!

[revhtree Verified Admin]

We don’t care what you sell your stuff for but we do care if people by them up for profit and sell here on our forum. Whatever y’all sell them for in private or elsewhere is your business. People that buy for resale are considered commercial. We also don’t want our membership to be taken advantage of as some view it.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

no I have never sold anything on this site.
And I never buy anything from reef2reef.
I also don’t agree with a lot of the forums
Stands so I am not a paid member.

Thank you for supporting us by being an active member... :p

 

[Hermie]

This is like people saying "Prescription drugs should be as expensive as possible because the market can bare it"


It's like... have some humanity.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Who cares? If somebody wants to pay a premium let them. Their money. Their business. There’s no need to complain that other people are spending extra to get a product you can’t get. Just because it’s for sale by somebody Who is asking extra doesn’t mean you have to pay extra. Why should you care? After all, this is a patience related hobby. If you have patience you will eventually get one :). I waited over a year for mine but I got it. But to be honest. It wasn’t worth the wait. It’s just an eh product. You pay $45 for two months of reagents to test the water an unnecessary amount of times. Personally I wouldn’t wait another year for the product and spend $600. People are fighting and arguing over nothing imho.

 

[FishDoc]

I don’t understand why this is a problem. If someone is willing to pay a premium for a product why regulate that. That’s how free markets work. Why is the trident special?
every day I see people pay a load of money for corals. Why doesn’t reef2reef
Regulate that? I am a strong believer in free markets and thing should sell for whatever someone is willing to pay.

I think free markets can be a means to a strong economy, but need some structure to ensure practices don't disproportionately affect individuals in lower socioeconomic tiers. While I do think it's any consumers right to try an turn a profit, I personally find it unethical to do so through the intentional constriction of a product or service in short supply. I am by no means an economist, nor do I claim that my thoughts are all that financially savvy, I do think the responsibility falls on every consumer to do what's ethical. This means charging a fair and honest price for a product.

 

[KrisReef]

This is like people saying "Prescription drugs should be as expensive as possible because the market can bare it"


It's like... have some humanity.

Not the same in that no one needs a Trident for health reasons.

If you have pain try Kratom, :)

 

[Mical]

Hi folks- not sure what category to post this under. I’m just so sick and tired of all the attempts at price gouging for the Neptune Trident on EBay and the like. These things are NEVER in stock anywhere, yet there’s a steady stream of folks obtaining and selling them online for huge premiums. Where are they getting them from?? I really hope these aren’t fellow reefers (they all claim to be unfortunately).
When will we be able to purchase these things the right way?
Sorry to be a downer. Just frustrated.

It's like anything else in this hobby - patience. Personally I wouldn't stress over it because before Trident what was there? Hand testing. Sure many people want it & yes it's a cool new tool, but can you live without it? - Yes. And to add a twist to this dilemma - in the past when Neptune has released something there is ALWAYS a "new & improved version" shortly afterwards. Maybe Karma is keeping you from getting an inferior product or is making you wait for V2. I'm betting on Karma.

 

[Twitchy]

Thankfully as long as Neptune keeps making them, demand will soon meet supply, and It will all work out (leaving a lot of the nefarious types of gougers who didn't sell their stock pile holding the bag)

 

[FishDoc]

Doesn’t matter, once a private seller gets it, he/she can sell it for whatever they want.

Unfortunately this is true, to an extent. I think the issue here is more centered around what is ethical vs what is possible. The pharmaceutical industry is a shining example of how unregulated free market capitalism has failed us. Hopefully those that think it's fair or "right" to charge what you want for a consumer good do end up needing an epi pen or HIV treatment. Just sayin...

I apologize if my comments are too off base or political. I'm just tired of the "All for me, none for you" thought processes...

 

[MnFish1]

I am sad to say it but what this means is they way under priced the Trident. The market was ready to pay more. That money could have went to new and improved product development or better warranties but is going to gougers instead.

Not sure that this is true - How many (percentage-wise) people do you think bought a trident at MSRP - and kept it - as compared to how many people bought one on ebay or through here at an overprice?

Though people want to claim gouging and unfairness and an unlevel playing field - Do we really think that this is 'widespread' because there are 7 tridents for sale on EBay? as compared to the rest of the people who bought them?

Your comment would suggest that xxxx people underpaid - when in fact many of them waited, etc. People who aren't getting tridents aren't looking hard enough.

And - by the way - this in itself is part of the reason people are buying them for 800 $ on ebay - because their time is more valuable than the extra $100 that they are spending on Ebay as compared to those who decide to check multiple sites, etc daily to get one.

 

[TheOne]

.


Exactly, OP there is no sense in complaining if you haven't bought that already.

And sold out. I hope OP was able to grab one as he had plenty of time.

 

[MnFish1]

This is like people saying "Prescription drugs should be as expensive as possible because the market can bare it"


It's like... have some humanity.

Im not sure its like that at all. The Trident is not a 'lifesaving' item. Most of the comments about the Pharma industries are also misconstrued by the media. Most of the problems with Drugs are related to the 'middle man' and pharmacies. Now - GRANTED - there are horrible examples of prices - I could list several here - but - to compare that to a piece of equipment that no one 'needs' seems incorrect to me.

But here is one - Chantyx - for quitting smoking - doesn't cost that much to make - but it was priced to be comparable to what cigarettes cost. Same with Nicotine gum. The logic being if people can pay for cigarettes - they can pay the same amount for drugs. Is this fair? Good business? Price gouging - I'm not judging either side

 

[robbyg]

Im not sure its like that at all. The Trident is not a 'lifesaving' item. Most of the comments about the Pharma industries are also misconstrued by the media. Most of the problems with Drugs are related to the 'middle man' and pharmacies. Now - GRANTED - there are horrible examples of prices - I could list several here - but - to compare that to a piece of equipment that no one 'needs' seems incorrect to me.

But here is one - Chantyx - for quitting smoking - doesn't cost that much to make - but it was priced to be comparable to what cigarettes cost. Same with Nicotine gum. The logic being if people can pay for cigarettes - they can pay the same amount for drugs. Is this fair? Good business? Price gouging - I'm not judging either side

Nah, my wife is the head Pharmacist at a Pharmacy and she deals with everything from ordering to pricing. I can tell you with certainty that the Pharmacies do not mark up the drugs all that much and judging from cases were she was able to obtain drugs from the distributors at cost for charitable situations, they are also not marking it up by a lot.
Nope, these high prices are mostly due to the drug manufactures.

 

[MnFish1]

Nah, my wife is the head Pharmacist at a Pharmacy and she deals with everything from ordering to pricing. I can tell you with certainty that the Pharmacies do not mark up the drugs all that much and judging from cases were she was able to obtain drugs from the distributors at cost for charitable situations, they are also not marking it up by a lot.
Nope, these high prices are mostly due to the drug manufactures.

Sorry - I didnt mean 'pharmacies' = local pharmacies. But for example - CVS - who is a 'pharmacy benefit manager' - and also a pharmacy has crazy pricing on some items. Here is an example - Generic diclofenac gel - on my plan (the doctor wrote for the generic) - cost $85.00 for a month supply. I called for an expiation to my insurance company - they said - well the 'trade name' prescription costs only $3.00. But this was all via tiering through my medical plan which is managed by CVS. SO I ended up paying $3.00
Walgreens does the same thing - and express scripts, etc etc etc.

 

[Mical]

What's funny about this whole conversation, people are fretting over the price of an automated tester. Sure it's cool, sure it will save you 30 -45 minutes of your time. But C'mon, this sounds like the Walmart fights at Black Friday.

Personally, I look forward to testing Alk, Cal & Mag on Sunday. Topping off my ATOs, cleaning ATO sensors and feeding my fish & nems Sunday Brunch. Besides my test supplies might amount to $100 a year - what does the reagents for Trident cost per year & the cost of the unit?

 

[d2mini]

I didn't read the whole thread so far so sorry if I'm not the first with this opinion, but is it really that important? We've all gotten along JUST FINE without these automated toys before. If some idiot wants to overpay for it, let them. Eventually supply will catch up with demand. Meanwhile, relax and take a few minutes a day to study your tank and OMG :eek: use a liquid test kit once in a while. All this junk is turning the hobby into a bunch of automatic drivers rather than learning to drive a stick. ;Shifty

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Some people here want anarchy
Some people here want reasonable regulations

...
I question why chaos is so appealing.

How else would we entertain ourselves if the the world was built on structure and reason?

The chaos, it call uso_O

 

[HB AL]

I get that and understand but why the trident ? Why not have these same policy for people charging $xxxx for a torch ?
why only this product ?

I don’t have or need a trident but that’s a good question weather it’s another type of hardware or the gouging on coral from vendors or private sales why single out and try and control this item? Then again I’m in the camp of the charge as much as you can get. But then again when I prune my corals and put some up for sale the people buying them always get a good deal from me and if available I always throw in some extras. If I was doing it to make money then I would get as much as I could for the stuff. I bet the people that are selling them at a premium, some of them work at an online shop or lfs and that’s how they get there hands on multiples of them and are either selling them for personal profit or it’s for the business. You know that’s gotta be going on, shop owner gets 12 units in and sells a couple at the shop for the map price and gives the other 10 to an employee or a relative to sell it on eBay or a message board for a premium$$$$$

 

[HB AL]

This is like people saying "Prescription drugs should be as expensive as possible because the market can bare it"


It's like... have some humanity.

You can’t compare the two, one is potentially keeping someone alive and well anything in this hobby you buy is not life or death.

 

[Hogan]

Our LFS has them in stock all the time. I have 2 on two different tanks and love it.