I live close to Rick's and shop there from time to time. I've never experienced any type of price changing during the middle of a sale, but I haven't bought much from them recently. I find that they have a relatively good stock and that prices are hit and miss. During the festae craze last year, they were selling them for less than $10 a piece for juvies, a pretty good price when they were so hard to come by. Other fish are double what I would expect for "normal" retail prices. If something is too expensive for you, don't buy it. I will say that they have gone out of their way to help me when I was in need. A year or so ago, I had an impeller for an AC110 go bad. I went to the store to get a new one and they were out. As this was the only filter I had on the tank, I was in a bit of a panic but didn't want to have to buy a whole new filter. Andrew opened one of the complete filters they had on the shelf, sold me the impeller at the price he would have charged if he ordered one for me, and ordered the replacement to put in the one on the shelf. In the end, I think it comes down to the relationship you build with the store. If all you want is a cheap deal, perhaps that is the way you'll get treated.