Big Al's, on the rise!?
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2,639 Posts
I'll have to check my old order prices. Not sure, but you could be right. They might be trying to use the "big als=best prices" thing to sucker in new people who might not catch the new pricing.
or maybe just the currency conversion is not in favor of importing the eheims. How about the price of other items?
or maybe just the currency conversion is not in favor of importing the eheims. How about the price of other items?
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811 Posts
I think the prices went up a bid. But the service is not crappy at all. They emailed me to give them a call about TMG which came not full. It was a 2 minute conversation and they decided to send me 500ml extra for free. It's already in my house.Raul-7 said:
BTW. Be careful what you say about companies. You don't want to start another PSW law suit.
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1,714 Posts
Yes prices have gone up compared to the catalog I have. I just place my first order from them. One item had to be backordered and the rest took 2 weeks, but they were always very helpful when I called. Overall I am satisfied with them and will most likely order again.
I paid $110 for the Eheim 2217 Plus in June, now it's $130. Not a crazy increase but considering shipping costs I have to admit they are coming close to my LFS prices. That's a shame, they were my one and only source for hardware. Service and support was great however last time I contacted them.
Giancarlo Podio
Giancarlo Podio
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540 Posts
Big Als
Exactly my experience. I bought two Eheim 2217s earlier in the year for about $110, and Blackhole just bought one for $130. However back at the beginning of the year all the other Internet stores wanted $130. So maybe they got a really good deal back then.
I also bought the large Skilter from them, and the mounting flange for the motor was not glued on. (We didn't find this out until we filled the filter with water!) They sent us another one, said they would include a return authorization for the broken one. They never sent the return authorization, so I have two of them. Recently I took some PVC pipe cement and glued the flange to the motor. It seems to have worked.
I think when I bought the Skilter, I called and they beat someone elses price, so it was an even better deal.
Overall the service was very good.
Steve Pituch
Exactly my experience. I bought two Eheim 2217s earlier in the year for about $110, and Blackhole just bought one for $130. However back at the beginning of the year all the other Internet stores wanted $130. So maybe they got a really good deal back then.
I also bought the large Skilter from them, and the mounting flange for the motor was not glued on. (We didn't find this out until we filled the filter with water!) They sent us another one, said they would include a return authorization for the broken one. They never sent the return authorization, so I have two of them. Recently I took some PVC pipe cement and glued the flange to the motor. It seems to have worked.
I think when I bought the Skilter, I called and they beat someone elses price, so it was an even better deal.
Overall the service was very good.
Steve Pituch
Forgot to mention, last time I spoke to them they said that if oyu found a cheaper price they would beat it by certain percentage. Might be worth calling them if you do find a better price. That obviously doesn't make their products as cheap as they used to be, but should still keep them among the better online sources we have available to us.
Giancarlo Podio
Giancarlo Podio
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3,985 Posts
Policy Reminder
APC is an public forum where open and honest discussion about most topics is not only allowed, but encouraged. However, we need to also be fair to the commercial establishments that try to provide us with the plants, fish and products that further our hobby.
Running a commercial venture is never easy and it is inevitable that not all customers will walk away happy. It's a fact of life. Generalizations about quality of service, prices, etc. cross the line here at APC because of this.
Posts that are critical of an establishment must be about a specific experience and based on facts. These facts must be disclosed. Otherwise, the post may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding and cooperation. And, of course, for supporting APC!!
APC is an public forum where open and honest discussion about most topics is not only allowed, but encouraged. However, we need to also be fair to the commercial establishments that try to provide us with the plants, fish and products that further our hobby.
Running a commercial venture is never easy and it is inevitable that not all customers will walk away happy. It's a fact of life. Generalizations about quality of service, prices, etc. cross the line here at APC because of this.
Posts that are critical of an establishment must be about a specific experience and based on facts. These facts must be disclosed. Otherwise, the post may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding and cooperation. And, of course, for supporting APC!!
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899 Posts
It might just be me, but I wouldn't call a $40 price increase "sky rocketing" :lol:
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179 Posts
Still the best
Big Als is still the only online company that guaranteed the lowest online price. I quote "If you find the same aquarium product sold online for less, we won't just match the price, we'll beat it by 5%. "
Now they are still the cheapest.
You can't go by the price of Eheim since Eheim itself increase the wholesale price of it's products to LFS. I know that for a fact since I work closely with a LFS. The answer Eheim gave to jusitfy the increase was they provide better customer service than any other filter brand.
So that was the bottom line for the increase.
Ken
Big Als is still the only online company that guaranteed the lowest online price. I quote "If you find the same aquarium product sold online for less, we won't just match the price, we'll beat it by 5%. "
Now they are still the cheapest.
You can't go by the price of Eheim since Eheim itself increase the wholesale price of it's products to LFS. I know that for a fact since I work closely with a LFS. The answer Eheim gave to jusitfy the increase was they provide better customer service than any other filter brand.
So that was the bottom line for the increase.
Ken
I recently bought an eheim 2213 from big al's and paid about $74 I believe for it. I've seen them for $139 and $109 from two of my LFS. I also got the surface extractor for $25 and that was about twice as much than al's. Most places around here sell flourite for $20-25 a bag and al's had it for $10.99. I can't complain, I've ordered about 3-4 shipments from them and the prices are still right on for me atleast. I guess if you have good LFS that aren't looking to really nail it to ya then that is a different story, but for me al's is still the best price I can usually find. Even if they have hiked up the prices atleast they pricematch and give you back a percentage.
Matt
Matt
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