Skyrocketing Prices

[Reefmaster]

hey all
a few of us who built our own lighting systems here in vic in the last couple years have been seeing a huge increase recently in the prices at places like albrite.

i think whats happening at least here in victoria is they are getting a hundred people coming in there saying "ya i got this light and it is kinda blue and the fish stores charge 50 bucks for it and i wonder if you guys have anything cheaper..." so they see a whole new market share and figure if someone is dumb enough to pay $50 then surely they could charge 15-20 and get away with it.

i just got off the phone with albrite and sure enough i can't even get a price-per for box of these things for what i bought one bulb for a year and a half ago.

guys in victoria, i think we need to seriously consider how we approach these companies. maybe we put something a little more formal together and then suggest to these suppliers we're not a bunch of independent goofs running around without heads, but an actual organization and we expect reasonable prices. what i see coming down the pipe after i've heard of a dozen people going in there asking for metal halides, ... is the ballast prices shooting through the roof because albrite CAN! where the hell else are we gonna buy these things? so it is my long winded opinion that we need to either scale down our visits so they don't see it as a huge influx of new business which they have never had before, or formalize something and present it to them so when we go in there, we can state we are members of a society of reefkeepers (as goofy as this may sound) and that we effectively are volume purchasers and that jacking up the prices for anybody who mentions fish or corals is not acceptible.

when i called today i told them it was for the company i work for -- we have a materials testing lab -- and got a price close to 12.95, but then i had tanja call and ask for actinic bulbs for a fish tank and they told her 19.95 per or 18.95 if she wanted a bunch of them! tell me that doesn't stink like bullpuckey. victor--hope you don't mind i've included your email here.

there are a few other stores in vic that could go the same line so i'd rather we address this sooner than later.
shane
----- Original Message -----
From: "Victor Lee" <Victor_Lee@pmc-sierra.com>
To: <reefmaster@shaw.ca>
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 1:57 PM
Subject: Albrite Actinics for $5 ?


> Hi,
>
> I was wondering how you were able to get that pricing since I ask Albrite and they quoted me a price of $12.95.
>
> - Victor.

[ 19 December 2001: Message edited by: Troy F ]

[Troy F]

Shane, you make some very good points. There's very little that can be done about it now though. It is the old supply and demand issue. These guys realized exactly what was going on and did a quick check on the prices and saw money to be made. Bummer. You were right on the money when you said we should keep quiet about why we're buying this stuff. Just go in, ask if they have it and buy it. I do think we should get a little more organized. I nominate Shane as the next president of the B.C.M.A.S.

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

No problem. I don't know if that was a good price, but so far it is the best deal I have gotten.

I was planning to buy a whole bunch of them for the club and sell them for cheap. But if somebody can get them for $4.95...then I haven't got the best deal yet...I will phone them again and squeeze them harder for a better price. Is anybody interested in this idea ?

If anybody is interested, I can also check on those Iwasaki bulbs too.

- Victor.

[ 19 December 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[Tigger]

I would be interested Victor.

I too have noticed an increase in price. I first bought from Albrite 2 years ago, and I remember paying significantly less for the same thing. I was planning on upgrading my lighting earlier, but by the time I saved up enough money, the price had increased.

Steve