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Back in 2008 we brought news about the new Elos colorimeter which was set to shake up the water parameter testing world for our marine aquariums. Fast forward a year and we just received word from Elos USA that the colorimeter project has been killed. The reason? Elos USA gives the explanation:
The project was stopped because we were basing our system on a CCD to get the accuracy we wanted, unfortunately the price was considerably outside of what we thought the market would support.
Oh man. That is sad. We were all set to fire up our new Elos colorimeter when it arrived into RB HQ. Like most of you I am sick of comparing the color tubes to the color chart on paper. It gives me a headache doing it. But alas the $500 entry point to the new colorimeter system was too expensive. Elos has left us in the cold, trying to come up with another system to analyze the testing results without going cross-eyed.
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This thing has 11 Comments
$500 is not that much for a full range colorimeter but I bet this project was shelved because the Elos touch would have placed a premium on this machine that would have approached $1000, without any reagents. And yeah, that is too high.
I agree with Jakes comment more so if the price would of been $1000.
But this article really highlights the issues manufacturers are now facing. To produce high quality goods that actually do what they are supposed to do cost money, yes we all want a bargain and a deal but as I have said before at what cost to the product itself? Driving prices so cheap leaves no room for manufacturers to produce anything of quality, they are left seeking cheap imported alternatives.
There is a huge price war going on right now in the USA for aqautic products and manufacturers are really suffering and can not bring the advances to the insustry they are really wanting to. The industry I am in is an exact example of this.
price/quality. Those two words dont fit together very well in the USA market I feel.
This is not about a “quality made product that cost money” seriously, if you’re taking something that costs $1000 and comparing it against a $10-30 test kit where all you’re doing is making a little less work, doesn’t matter how good the quality is, it’s too much for a labor saving device.
Yeah we want cheaper goods to be certain, however there is a price on quality that even manufacturers need to realize. If there’s a $500 product and a $1000 product, it’s a hard sell for that $1000 product if that $500 works just as well.
I doubt the phosphate or nitrates low range detection limit would justify this cost when Hanna LR Phosphate and Lamotte LR Nitrates test kits are essential the same range as portable Hach and LaMotte lab colorimeters. Since 0.03 is limit of Hanna, it is accurate enough for 180 usd when I got.
I think Elos screwed up by investigating this project at all.
Sure a $500 colorimeter is unthinkable when you can do tests using a $20 test kit but when you do a lot of tests and/or require more precision and accuracy from your readings, a $500 to $1000 professional instrument is not all that bad if there is a need for a high performance product.
I agree Jake, however there’s the rub, most hobbyists don’t need “professional” instruments.
I believe Elos thinks they can squeeze every cent out of the “high end reefer” market that they can, and they struck out greatly on this one.
Wow, never thought I would hear Elos say anything is “considerably outside of what we thought the market would support” since most of their products (IMHO) seem to be priced well outside of what 99% of all hobbyists are able (or willing) to afford.
The trouble is, unless you look at the industry and what manufacturers have to spend to get decent components these days to make quality products it will be a hard argument to fight, I agree.
Unfortunately in modern retail not just in quatics there are too many products that are priced less and dont do the job just as well.
Example – my wife spent $19 this weekend on a slap chop! (see the ad!) absolute pile of garbage in my oppinion, however the $50 accessory I bought for the mixer works perfectly because it has had investment and proper development put into it to make it work correctly.
I can give you a more live example, we looked at importing colour meters 2 years ago in the UK from a manufacturer, they looked good and assured to work, the cost price to us if we bought 500 was $198! Great, retail them on the average margin of 30%. Problem is they were as good as a chocolate tea pot. We did not go any further with the project.
I know the end consumer will always argue this point, but price DOES reflect quality, you cant always get an equally good tool cheaper that will do equally as good a job, manufacturers very well know consumers want cheap as possible, and will never price something high for the hell of it, thats commercial suicide.
I am well aware I will lose this argument, but I feel it is worth at least stating the reality of manufacture, it may not be what everyone wants to hear but….
I was looking forward to some type of alternative as I have color blindness where many colors are very difficult for me to detect. I agree there is a price balance and if exceeded, it would not matter what it did for me, as would not be benefit enough to justify the price.
My company, Industrial Test Systems, Inc. has changed the photometer/colorimeter market with our latest line of eXact meters. Because we are the manufacturer with an QC and RD lab our costs are minimal. The technology we use is a patented procedure utilizing test strips. Our focus is bringing professional instruments to the general public that are affordable quality products.
Please take a look at our site ( http://www.sensafe.com ) for additional information. We are working hard to develop more products that will be useful in the marine aquarium market.
Email me if you have any questions or have feedback.
Thanks,
Mike
twitter : @sensafe
Michael wrote:
“Example – my wife spent $19 this weekend on a slap chop! (see the ad!) absolute pile of garbage in my opinion, however the $50 accessory I bought for the mixer works perfectly because it has had investment and proper development put into it to make it work correctly.”
Your $50 investment on a decent accessory was money well spent, but please realize that Elos is a company that charges $400 for a 6 outlet power strip for their Biotopus II controller. That is more than any other controller mfg, international or domestic. The price of this Elos power strip can buy a complete RKE controller system.
Another example is the Elos Natural Skimmer line. An NS500 skimmer costs $600 with an Eheim 1250 pump. This is not the most expensive skimmer by any means, but considering that this is a basic venturi driven counter-current skimmer (pretty old technology) with NO pump modifications, and performs so-so by most accounts with its very narrow inner reaction chamber and large bubble size, it is also dramatically overpriced. Nicely constructed perhaps, but overpriced based on performance. The $200 Euro-Reef RS-80P can outperform the NS500.
In other words, although I think Elos makes great tanks and decent test kits, exorbitant pricing is practically synonymous with their brand name.