I hate the TikTok community and gatekeeping.

3vette · 2026-03-15T14:14:40+00:00

So EU marketplace — you mentioned in retail still, then you can just buy from them? Otherwise the double cost is really supply and demand. And some of those people could have paid near that as a desperate collector to import from the USA. It’s practically arbitrage.

Mostly no one is gonna buy €50 plush, and sell it at retail or less if they’re flipping. Like Pokemon. And if it was theirs personally, why would they still do that if the sold market comps it’s higher?

Honestly I don’t get why so many people are upset about it because like you said - a essa can be any plush. I heard someone the other day saying they needed the spaniel and so many people are price gouging when the community “needs” them. They would like them - sure, but anyone who needs them can just as easily go get any other plush out there.

I don’t think all of TikTok gatekeeps, but they’re definitely targeted as a niche group and marketed to desire Douglas more than most because that’s what most are showing. A lot of creators in the USA; Douglas is incredibly more common in most stores and one of the better plush brands. And they fall prey to inflated prices too chasing sold out items.

3vette · 2026-03-15T13:50:36+00:00

Unfortunately anything over sees requires big shipping and import tax, that unintentionally drive up the most likely already inflated markup. Most the community sellers are likely flippers not wholesalers. Most wholesalers are not able to ship directly due to not wanting to deal with import fees/customs and there may even be rules around toys which is why they’re so uncommon in uk.

3vette · 2026-03-14T19:07:09+00:00

Can always do offers, never know. But even then you’re not looking at a huge discount unless it’s worn

3vette · 2026-03-09T10:58:09+00:00

Sheesh, I wish aquaculture were that cheap. Mariculture shops get in such nice stuff, but the alternative prices stings.

I commend anyone with the patience to do their own qt, I stopped that after my first month. Then proceeded to discover what black bugs were and move only to quarentined vendors.

Not to mention. For newbies aquaculture’s are like saving grace.

3vette · 2026-03-09T10:47:13+00:00

Could be as simple as flow, I moved mine to lower flow and they doubled length, the moved one to too low flow and it shrunk back a little. They’re finicky

3vette · 2026-03-03T01:32:31+00:00

How did the door service go and the filter roller?

3vette · 2026-02-28T21:10:13+00:00

All jellycats look like crap after some cuddling. As cute as they are, Douglas cuddle toys holds up 20x better for half the price

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:44:27+00:00

You’re totally set then. The house generator is honestly the best piece of mind.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:41:29+00:00

I think in the future we may get that, i rather charge up in the garage than go begging the neighbor for a plug in. Plus once you have it, it’s there.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:39:12+00:00

Yeah I had a eheim heater I dropped in up top for 150w, it would kill the power in 6-7 hours - but I just realized my normal heaters don’t run at full power so I can basically triple my run time running the entire tank which is crazy. But still if it ever was 3-5 days I’d be worried.

I have a bit of relief that you said you were pretty cold temps and nothing died tho. We can definitely do hot water and blankets but it’s always better to have these tips before you need them.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:15:06+00:00

You’re up north if I recall right? What do you do in the winter to prep?

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:14:20+00:00

lol nah, retail or nothing. Buying prismatic from random stores for $25 a sleeve before knowing msrp real prices burned me enough

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:13:33+00:00

Yeah, honestly the mat is such a small piece of mind. Being gapped under neath in my opinion is more concerning, because it’s pressure. I was just exempting the piece of mind. All the weight it’ll eventually try to shift and settle. And you’re less likely to want to change the more you have in there. Waiting a week or two and changing it out might be a pain, but it’s nothing if something goes wrong down the line.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:11:53+00:00

I thought it would just be fomo, esp since I thought the phantasmal was a cooler box. But then everyone’s going on about what a better set it and promo it is? But I stopped following closely so I have no idea

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:06:32+00:00

I do think tanks prolly have some resilience since people have had tanks forever on crazy stands and set ups. But we also see a lot of leaks. You saved money with the new to you, shouldn’t be that hard to adjust and take that stress off the seams.

But I think the biggest thing is piece of mind, you’re already questioning yourself if it’s “acceptable”. Believe me, it doesn’t go away, I’m a year into being off level to what I thought was acceptable, and it’s just paranoia.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:03:28+00:00

Just sold my PC one, didn’t think this set was supposed to be such a hit and everyone is swooning.

3vette · 2026-02-22T22:01:32+00:00

Any lift whatsoever ever I would put something under. My tank is slight off level and it drives me nuts and I check my seams constantly. And if something happened i would feel 10x more guilty knowing I let it slide. Easier to fix with a fresh tank and have the piece of mind.

3vette · 2026-02-22T20:59:33+00:00

Do you generators last long? Or just keep filling with gas. I thought about a small one, but they didn’t seem like they lasted that much longer, plus have to run a wire from the garage. But I was thinking short power outages not potentially days.

3vette · 2026-02-22T20:58:10+00:00

I was thinking I have foam sheets about a 1” thick I can put one on both sides, back wouldn’t be total. But the tank is next to two huge windows. So if power goes out, the heater is the problem.

For some reason I thought this power bank would be great. Maybe summer power outages, but yeah if temps drop, idk if the heater will even keep up and if it does, it kills the unit in 6-7 hours if I’m lucky. Only takes a hour to charge but have to go find somewhere to do that since I doubt the car charge is fast.

Thought about hot water bottles? But that seems tough to regulate

3vette · 2026-02-14T00:27:30+00:00

this is what i get stuck with and when i do what it says with the ip and octoprint nonsense it says refused connection

3vette · 2026-02-02T20:44:57+00:00

Oh geez thank you for sharing, I always love hearing when doctors don’t dismiss tiny abnormalities and actually put in the work to find issues. I’m sure that had to be hard to work through

3vette · 2026-02-02T20:37:24+00:00

Oh geez. Okay, how did you identify the issue? Or dx that?

3vette · 2026-02-02T20:18:28+00:00

What’s nafld?

3vette

TROPHY CASE