High Tide Aquatics

What salt would you actually buy at High Tide?

I don’t know if this is helpful info or not… but the 160g boxes of TMP are almost the same price per gallon retail as the 200g buckets when you can find them. Actually the smaller boxes are slightly less expensive per gallon usually. If they are less expensive to ship in bulk since they pack better, and easier to store for the same reason, that might be an LFS approach worth considering. Those of us who have been doing this for a while have enough 5g buckets already :)
 
JVU said:
I don’t know if this is helpful info or not… but the 160g boxes of TMP are almost the same price per gallon retail as the 200g buckets when you can find them. Actually the smaller boxes are slightly less expensive per gallon usually. If they are less expensive to ship in bulk since they pack better, and easier to store for the same reason, that might be an LFS approach worth considering. Those of us who have been doing this for a while have enough 5g buckets already :)
Click to expand...
100% I'd be glad to return used buckets too for reefers that complain and want the bucket!
 
robert4025 said:
Most online places like BRS buys TM salt by containers, direct from TM so they didn’t have to add much shipping cost to the cost per bucket.

LFS generally can’t/won’t do that. If they’re lucky enough, they can afford to buy it by the pallet. Shipping on a pallet of TM salt from SoCal to NorCal cost about $400/pallet because that salt are extremely heavy. For this exact reason, I can never match BRS prices without losing money. And because TM brand of salt already have very very slim margin (about 30%), most LFS don’t like to carry it. Spending $3K on a pallet a salt to make nothing doesn’t exactly make great business sense, unless you do it for a different reason. I do it because I have too many customers bitching and groaning about carrying it so I gave in and considered it a lost leader.
Click to expand...
Plus salt takes up a fair amount of room. The opportunity cost is not being able to have something else in inventory that does move faster and has a better margin.

Robert, does TM give you the same price that they give places like BRS? Some of my vendors lower their prices for the larger volume dealers and some keep it the same across the board.
 
robert4025 said:
Most online places like BRS buys TM salt by containers, direct from TM so they didn’t have to add much shipping cost to the cost per bucket.

LFS generally can’t/won’t do that. If they’re lucky enough, they can afford to buy it by the pallet. Shipping on a pallet of TM salt from SoCal to NorCal cost about $400/pallet because that salt are extremely heavy. For this exact reason, I can never match BRS prices without losing money. And because TM brand of salt already have very very slim margin (about 30%), most LFS don’t like to carry it. Spending $3K on a pallet a salt to make nothing doesn’t exactly make great business sense, unless you do it for a different reason. I do it because I have too many customers bitching and groaning about carrying it so I gave in and considered it a lost leader.
Click to expand...
Thank you Robert for the insight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top