What's with the raise in cost?

[ChrisGilbert]

I was looking to make my next order, now all the prices are higher. Each cage is going to end up $50 more! (after options)

Come on Jeff and Joel!

[The_Boaphile]

Hey Chris Gilbert,

Unfortunately when in business you have to make price adjustments based on your costs. The price on the individual single unit cages/pedestals did go up an average of $5.73. More than half did not change at all. The only possible cage that with options could have gone up a total of $50 is the 422D cage. In the case of that cage our shipping alone went up $30.00 in the last year. $30.00! It used to cost an average of just under $60 to ship that cage. It now runs us nearly $90 to ship that cage. Our shipper has made some of what I call unfriendly price changes that are the primary reason for our price changes. Other costs do go up as well and all those things have to be factored into our prices. Our prices have actually stayed relatively low in relation to all the cost we have had increases on. With the increase in oil prices, all plastic prices have raised dramatically right along with that. Shipping fuel surcharges etc... It just keeps going up but let's take a quick look at what our prices really have done.

In 2001 we began making the "Drastic Plastic" line of cages. We were primarily selling the "Classic Cages" before that time. The 421C was $269.00. The price of the 421D was then $199.00. Now that cage was a far cry from what the cages we build now are. They were crude by comparison. They functioned well and are serving the folks who bought them well. I have more than 60 of them myself. They are great cages but no where near as perfect as the current 421D cage. The joints were not any where near as nice as they are now. The old door latches were cheap by comparison too. We had contracted with a hardware manufacturer to build us a special custom door latch to give our cages that cutting edge look and feel. They really are the most beautiful cage out there today. These latches are now included on every one of our cages as a standard item. So now after four years this one cage has gone up $20.00. We don't think that is much of an increase given the improvement in quality and the fact that our material costs and shipping have definitely gone up more than $20. Fortunately we have gotten more efficient at making them saving us some of the time they once took. I hope all that is understandable and helps explain why sometimes you/we just don't have any choice but to make adjustments to continue and remain healthy. We are working hard to keep prices as low as possible but still at the end of the month there has to be a little cash left over. We will not be compromising the quality for any reason though. That you can count on and plan on watching us continue to expand our line and set the standard.

Thanks Chris,

Jeff Ronne
Boaphile Plastics

[boafan77]

Its understandable 1 end goes up in prices and the other end must too.

[denny_rimes]

Something to think about regarding the price increase of Boaphile Plastics caging is the recent rises in the price of oil.

OIL you say? Yep, I would bet that because the price of fuel has risen so sharply in the past year that everyone, from the guy Jeff buys his bulk materials from to the company he uses to ship his finished products has had to deal with the same problems. It costs the material manufacturer more because plastic is made of....you guessed it, OIL. PLUS he has to ship the raw material to Jeff, again OIL. Now, Jeff has gotten his slightly more expensive material and crafted it into one of his fine cages now he is faced with shipping them to us, the end user. Well again, the FedEx guy picks up the securely packed cages and puts them into his OIL burning truck and takes them to the depot where they get loaded onto the OIL burning bigger truck...and well, I'm sure you get the rest!

Unfortunately it is one of the unpleasant facts of modern living that we have to depend so heavily on a commodity that is largely produced in a part of the world that we have little control over. My vote is to develop alternative energy sources!

Although I too am not happy about the price increase, being basically a tightwad, I will continue to purchase my caging from Boaphile Plastics because they are so well made. And although the boxes Jeff ships his cages in are really nice, I do not want to see him end up having to live in one of them. OK now I'm kidding a little!

Denny ;D

[ChrisGilbert]

Thank you for the explanation Jeff. Don't worry I will still be buying your cages, lol.

With, heating, locks, lights, and hardware, things add up. But not by much when put into perspective.

It is funny, my physics project has been Hydrogen Fuel Cells, we just need a way to deliver and store liquid hydrogen and all of our problems are solved :P.

Keep up the good work,
Chris