USA Vs. Canadian Pricing - Why so high?

[ktownhero]

Originally Posted by TLE041

All I'm reading from this is that you're punishing your online customers because you have to contend to your retail operations.


On the contrary, what they're doing is making you, the customer, do the legwork by researching other retailers for a lower price to pricematch with instead of offering you the best price to begin with.

Yikes, why the aggression? Big Als is like the Newegg of the aquarium world: one stop shop with incredible prices and service. It's the first site I go to when I'm setting up a new tank. The information revealed in this thread is quite transparent and isn't something they had to take the time to reveal to their consumers. They are essentially giving you the instructions on how to get even better prices than they already have with a wink and a nod. That's something to be praised, not bashed.

[PelicanFarts]

I appreciate a rep from Big Als posting to this forum and answering questions. As for the customer effort of researching the best price for the best product, I do that now anyway --- couldn't imagine it any other way.

Question though: Is there anyway to price match online, or do I need to call in orders?

[Big Al's Online]

Originally Posted by PelicanFarts

I appreciate a rep from Big Als posting to this forum and answering questions. As for the customer effort of researching the best price for the best product, I do that now anyway --- couldn't imagine it any other way.

Question though: Is there anyway to price match online, or do I need to call in orders?

At this time orders have to be called in and placed through a representative that will apply the matched prices for you.

This is the fastest way to process price matches. We have looked into automating it, but the process gets lengthened as price matches have to be approved before the order is processed either way.

[Ichthyologuest]

Just my 2 cents, after reading this thread, I just called and took advantage of their pricematch to get something that marinedepot had a little cheaper. It took a few minutes but everything went fine. Im glad that Big Al's has representatives on the forum like this, if they didn't i probably wouldn't have bothered to call for the pricematch.
That said, most of the time you dont need to bother with the pricematch because Al's seems to generally have the best deals.
That said there were a few annoying caveats. My price match included the shipping cost from marinedepot, and i couldn't apply any coupon codes to the price-matched item. Still worth it because i got an Eheim 2213 for $30 less than the next best reputable dealer.

[Big Al's Online]

Originally Posted by Ichthyologuest

Just my 2 cents, after reading this thread, I just called and took advantage of their pricematch to get something that marinedepot had a little cheaper. It took a few minutes but everything went fine. Im glad that Big Al's has representatives on the forum like this, if they didn't i probably wouldn't have bothered to call for the pricematch.
That said, most of the time you dont need to bother with the pricematch because Al's seems to generally have the best deals.
That said there were a few annoying caveats. My price match included the shipping cost from marinedepot, and i couldn't apply any coupon codes to the price-matched item. Still worth it because i got an Eheim 2213 for $30 less than the next best reputable dealer.

When we price match we already take 5% off the competitors price, beyond that no discounts can apply.

Also, keep in mind many stores have low prices but high shipping rates or hidden fees. We will always take the bottom line at checkout, not just the face value listed on the website we are matching with. If your order total through us met Marine Depot's free shipping minimum order, the $6.99 shipping would not have applied to your price match.

Hopefully that helps clear things up for you

[kevinfs]

So if I were to find a light on big ALS online for $481 Canadian and the same light on marine depot for $360 with $51 shipping. I would be able to order the light for $411. Or does it only deal with online retailers that are exclusively Canadian?

[Big Al's Online]

Originally Posted by kevinfs

So if I were to find a light on big ALS online for $481 Canadian and the same light on marine depot for $360 with $51 shipping. I would be able to order the light for $411. Or does it only deal with online retailers that are exclusively Canadian?

It has to be another Canadian website that ships from within Canada.