botanicare hydroponic trays

pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
i went to the hydro store and the cheapest trays they had for my tent were 70 bucks
i looked on amazon and the botanicare trays are 130 bucks

this is the type of thing thats fucking out of control in this industry. its a plastic tray.
i went to home depot and got one of the trays they put under a washing machine for 15 bucks
its the exact same thing. impact resistant poly. even has the same lil thing to drill a drain hole and came with the fitting.

i dont care if the dimensions are a little off i'd rather build my own whole table than spend $130 on a plastic tray.

don't support this type of BS. i see so many pictures on this website and youtube where people are using the botanicare trays.

man thats ridiculous
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I don't have botanicare trays, but I bought my flood trays for about $70-90 depending on size. They are 6 inches deep so I can flood as much as I want, and the drain paths make sure my plants don't sit in any lingering water. I bought my trays almost 10 years ago, and they are still working great. It feels like it was a good purchase.
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
the one i got from home depot has a 7gal flood capacity so yeah its not that much.

its made to sit under a 200 lb appliance so i'm not at all worried about its longevity.

my point isn't that the trays are poor quality or won't last its that they are simply overpriced for what they are like so many other things sold by the companies that dominate this industry.

definetely nothing wrong with buying once and buying high quality but there is absolutely no way a plastic tray is worth over a hundred dollars no matter how deep or the groove pattern
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
HOnestly I would bet in the end a chunk of the price has to do with the size. When I was looking at smaller trays like 2x2 and 3x3 they were much cheaper then the 4x4 like I got.

I get what you mean for sure though. I bought the budget version and they were still pricey because of the size, and being "specialized" for the purpose.
 
bk78

bk78

Well-Known Member
I got mine for $60 cad each at my local shop, one of the best investments I ever made! I built stands for them with 1 side slightly raised and a 3 gallon bucket fits perfect underneath to collect the run off 803C682E-1675-4099-AD8B-BF8FED10DE2B.jpeg
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
i don't doubt they are great products. i would be happy to purchase them at a bit of a premium, just not at a 600% markup for a nearly identical product from home depot.

$50 USD or $60 CAD is already much more reasonable

they wanted $130 for a 3x3 at my store and thats what i see on amazon. i thought the guy must be joking until i realized i was at the hydro store where they try to rip me off on every single product they sell
 
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Apalchen

Well-Known Member
They are big so that’s why amazon prices are so high cause they include shipping. It seems most hydro stores in places that don’t have local competition still
Price stuff kinda high. I’ve spent enough at my store that I feel comfortable asking what the real price is(not on everything but big purchases). I’ve told them straight up look I like this store and the people that work here and I will support your business but I’m not going broke just because I like you guys. I guess that prob only works if you frequent same store and spend money and developed a relationship. Hell my store has offered me credit saying they know I’m good for it, I have yet to take them up on this option but it’s nice to know that in an emergency I can go get what I need even if I didn’t have money at the time.
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
Apalchen said:
They are big so that’s why amazon prices are so high cause they include shipping. It seems most hydro stores in places that don’t have local competition still
Price stuff kinda high. I’ve spent enough at my store that I feel comfortable asking what the real price is(not on everything but big purchases). I’ve told them straight up look I like this store and the people that work here and I will support your business but I’m not going broke just because I like you guys. I guess that prob only works if you frequent same store and spend money and developed a relationship. Hell my store has offered me credit saying they know I’m good for it, I have yet to take them up on this option but it’s nice to know that in an emergency I can go get what I need even if I didn’t have money at the time.
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truth.

i try to haggle them down a little bit, usually they give me 10%-15% off but we just weren't even close on these trays.

at this particular shop they don't even have price tags on things so the prices change based on the day and who you are. hell, might not even be a coincidence that he quoted me the same current price from amazon.
 
A

Apalchen

Well-Known Member
can always go old school and build from wood with a pond liner and light diffusers, but sounds like you found a solution already. The light defusers are prob still a good idea if you have any pooling on the tray you got.
 
VillageAnt

VillageAnt

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
i went to the hydro store and the cheapest trays they had for my tent were 70 bucks
i looked on amazon and the botanicare trays are 130 bucks

this is the type of thing thats fucking out of control in this industry. its a plastic tray.
i went to home depot and got one of the trays they put under a washing machine for 15 bucks
its the exact same thing. impact resistant poly. even has the same lil thing to drill a drain hole and came with the fitting.

i dont care if the dimensions are a little off i'd rather build my own whole table than spend $130 on a plastic tray.

don't support this type of BS. i see so many pictures on this website and youtube where people are using the botanicare trays.

man thats ridiculous
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more!!! Glad you said this. I've been thinking the exact same thing for the past few weeks looking for trays.
 
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