Ice Castle Raising Prices

Apparently, according to the ICOG FB group, Ice Castle will be raising their prices next year by 15% as a result of the Trump tax on steel. This is what the dealers are telling people. I didn’t see this post just going off of what a friend told me but he did show me the screenshot. Has anyone else heard anything about this? If true that’s a pretty hefty price increase. The only reason I like Ice Castle is their low prices and variety of models. Making America great again may have priced me out of a fish house….

If the price of steel went up 25% and it raised the final product price by 15% you would have had around 60% of your price just in steel. A 20k ice house does not have 12k in steel.

Ice castle has never built a quality house any ways. They have been a rip off since they started mass producing. I researched and researched before I bought mine. Looked at many many different styles and sizes. Firebrand is what I bought and I’ll put it up against any ice castle for longevity and quality workmanship. Ice castle has been a rip off long before this price increase

crappie55369 wrote:

Apparently, according to the ICOG FB group, Ice Castle will be raising their prices next year by 15% as a result of the Trump tax on steel. This is what the dealers are telling people. I didn’t see this post just going off of what a friend told me but he did show me the screenshot. Has anyone else heard anything about this? If true that’s a pretty hefty price increase. The only reason I like Ice Castle is their low prices and variety of models. Making America great again may have priced me out of a fish house….

Well, considering just over 1/2 your steel comes from my country just to the north of you, I call bs. Your going to see more of this… manufacturers jacking up prices to make more profits on some phantom tariff.

The price goes up on them slightly every year, about as proportional as their quality goes down. Maybe in all reality, the price is being hiked because they hired one or two full time QC people…the steel proposal isn’t set in stone and if the price does actually go up, it’s the price you pay to keep an industry alive. No different than hiking up insurance premiums to pay for free-loaders…just in a capitalist scheme instead of communist…

Now, let’s see this thread go down with political vengeance.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Ice castle has never built a quality house any ways. They have been a rip off since they started mass producing. I researched and researched before I bought mine. Looked at many many different styles and sizes. Firebrand is what I bought and I’ll put it up against any ice castle for longevity and quality workmanship. Ice castle has been a rip off long before this price increase

Wow, some strong statements their pal. This thread was about a price increase not what house you like.

But being you brought it up…
10yrs ago I would have agreed with you but in the past 5 yrs the Ice castle houses are excellent quality in my opinion. A close friend spent over 35k on a Firebrand and it’s been back to the manufacturer 6 times and there are still structural issues that are a major problem. For example, hollow aluminum tubes with bolts running through them?? My buddy already has egged out holes all over the place. His hitch assembly is nearly unusable. This is on a 2017 house!

How about you start a thread on how much you love Firebrand and I can post pictures for you…

Mr. Derek wrote:

If the price of steel went up 25% and it raised the final product price by 15% you would have had around 60% of your price just in steel. A 20k ice house does not have 12k in steel.

I doubt Ice Castle would say that the increase is solely because of steel…? If they did say that I’d have to think less of them. Their customers know math as Mr. Derek just showed.

If the houses are going up 25% I’d imagine it’d be to offset the steel costs as well as the recent upgrades. They seem to be upgrading components and design every year.

crappie55369 wrote:

Making America great again may have priced me out of a fish house….

Even at a 25% increase they are still many thousand less than something comparable in the other brands.

404 ERROR wrote:

The price goes up on them slightly every year, about as proportional as their quality goes down.

Like I posted above 10 yrs ago I’d agree but recently their quality is very good. It’s not even an opinion just walk through them, they are very nice.

Everyone is free to have their own opinion but I’d LOVE for someone to post pictures showing poor craftsmanship on their 2012 or newer Ice Castle house. I just hate to see people bash a company unjustly. If you have actual issues with the brand than please tell us, it would help everyone out.

Joe Scegura wrote:

Everyone is free to have their own opinion but I’d LOVE for someone to post pictures showing poor craftsmanship on their 2012 or newer Ice Castle house.

Have you read posts on ICOG’s page?…Plenty of pictures with all of these issues: Cracked siding, cracked windows, screws pulling through extremely thin siding, leaking roofs, house separating from the frame, misaligned valley frames etc. You gotta catch em quick, as they get deleted pretty fast.

Look, I’m not saying other mfg’s are immune to issues, everyone is. But IC is pretty well known to be of inferior quality to many other fish houses, but not all. I’ve quickly noticed that you and I don’t see eye-to-eye on much, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Great info Merican. I was really just looking where you got the negative info from so thanks. Of the 20 plus ice castle owners I know I just hadn’t heard of any issues so it’s good to hear. The more you know the better! Again 10 yrs ago I don’t think you could pay me to own an ice castle… all I heard was bad quality. Today I’m hearing the opposite from most.

As far as seeing eye to eye I guess I disagree that we disagree

Have you read posts on ICOG’s page?…Plenty of pictures with all of these issues: Cracked siding, cracked windows, screws pulling through extremely thin siding, leaking roofs, house separating from the frame, misaligned valley frames etc. You gotta catch em quick, as they get deleted pretty fast.

/quote]

When you have 10,000+ members there is going to seem like a trend towards issues, especially when its a page for people to ask questions. There seems to be a lot of issues with Honda generators on that page. However, I bet every single post on IDO about generators urges people to buy a Honda. Again, there are a ton out there. Just like anything, the more that are out there, the more it seems like there are problems. I’ve had zero issues with my castle, just like thousands of other people. I’m with Joe, I hate seeing people bash a company that doesn’t deserve it. We all know you have a small Yetti…….

It will be interesting to see what the actual price increase is. I’ve heard any where from 10%, 12% and now 15%.

404 ERROR wrote:

I’ve quickly noticed that you and I don’t see eye-to-eye on much, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Sorry, Joe. I somehow mistook you for a different user for a second. my apologies. I gotta lay off grandpas old cough syrup I guess…

beardly wrote:

We all know you have a small Yetti…….

Yup. And I just spoke with Joe no more than 3 minutes ago how it has had a cracked frame, misplaced front winch and a leaky exterior outlet. Like I said, no mfg is free of issues and I have no reason to hide the issues I’ve had…nice of you to jump in the conversation.

Back to your regularly scheduled IDO post.

Costs do go up but I would also suspect there is un-sold inventory out there and a price increase scare will shrink that inventory.

Companies don’t generally announce a price increase months in advance of their sales season starting.

404 ERROR wrote:

I gotta lay off grandpas old cough syrup I guess…

What time did you get started today?

404 ERROR wrote:

Yup. And I just spoke with Joe no more than 3 minutes ago how it has had a cracked frame, misplaced front winch and a leaky exterior outlet.

The way I saw you off-roading, barreling along cross country out on Mille Lacs…it’s no wonder.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

The way I saw you off-roading, barreling along cross country out on Mille Lacs…it’s no wonder.

It’s all about finding the spot on the spot, Andy! You don’t need to worry about getting stuck in drifts if your foots pushing through the floorboards. Simple physics really. “Why does my speedo say I’m going 80, I’m just barely moving?…”

Seems more like some dealers are telling people b s just to reduce inventory.

Mr. Derek wrote:

If the price of steel went up 25% and it raised the final product price by 15% you would have had around 60% of your price just in steel. A 20k ice house does not have 12k in steel.

Yeah, a 20k ice house doesn’t have 20k materials. Then, there’s labor, overhead, etc. Nobody is selling anything at cost, which is what your math is assuming.

The price of the final product doesn’t equate the price of the materials going into it.

You think the other brands are dumping cash into their models? The others have been around a fraction of the time and have produced a fraction of the models.

Guess what? The other brands being pimped here as perfect poached workers out of ice castle to teach them how to build a damn fish house.

Also, they could raise the price 15% just because they wanted to, and still have the market on affordable fish houses in a headlock.

There’s a reason you see 10 ice castles for every 1 Yetti/Glacier/Firebrand/You name it. They didn’t just revolutionize the industry, they freaking created it.

It doesn’t sound like many people around here are up on manufacturing and what goes into it, yet seem to think they have the knowledge to cast stones. We’re talking about a small mom and pop shop from rural Minnesota that started in a garage, not General Motors. If they really wanted to, they could cut the number of models, standardize, and cut costs. They choose to offer the customization, variety, and affordable prices….because it has been proven time and time again over many years that’s what people want.

SW Eyes wrote:

They’re not selling them at cost

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr. Derek wrote:</div>
If the price of steel went up 25% and it raised the final product price by 15% you would have had around 60% of your price just in steel. A 20k ice house does not have 12k in steel.

Yeah, a 20k ice house doesn’t have 20k materials. Then, there’s labor, overhead, etc. Nobody is selling anything at cost, which is what your math is assuming.

The price of the final product doesn’t equate the price of the materials going into it.

Also, they could raise the price 15% just because they wanted to, and still have the market on affordable fish houses in a headlock.

There’s a reason you see 10 ice castles for every 1 Yetti/Glacier/Firebrand/You name it. They didn’t just revolutionize the industry, they freaking created it.

That was my point, it’s not the tariffs raising the price 15%.

I have a HECO ICE shack from the 70’s brand new for sale. Way better than the shacks you speak of. PM me if interested.

Shawn

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FWIW, I am in the middle of removing a bunk and the 3 way fridge from a 2016 Ice Castle…. gotta say, I am impressed how well the bunk and fridge were installed. That fridge was installed solid and caulked for safety big time… with propane you cannot be too safe. I have seen cracked frames and if you get to the bottom of the story, freeze in may or may not have happened on quite a few… across all brands. There is not one dime of additional tariff put on steel today, than was a month ago.

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Ice castle has never built a quality house any ways. They have been a rip off since they started mass producing. I researched and researched before I bought mine. Looked at many many different styles and sizes. Firebrand is what I bought and I’ll put it up against any ice castle for longevity and quality workmanship. Ice castle has been a rip off long before this price increase

Wow, some strong statements their pal. This thread was about a price increase not what house you like.

But being you brought it up…
10yrs ago I would have agreed with you but in the past 5 yrs the Ice castle houses are excellent quality in my opinion. A close friend spent over 35k on a Firebrand and it’s been back to the manufacturer 6 times and there are still structural issues that are a major problem. For example, hollow aluminum tubes with bolts running through them?? My buddy already has egged out holes all over the place. His hitch assembly is nearly unusable. This is on a 2017 house!

How about you start a thread on how much you love Firebrand and I can post pictures for you…

I will have to side with Joe on this one. How many of these guys with issues are also driving them 70+ mph down the highway loaded to the max and baja driving across the lake with them with no care. Treat them right and you wont have problems. Off season up keep is a big factor too. Not just a set it and forget it type of deal

big_g wrote:

There is not one dime of additional tariff put on steel today, than was a month ago.

The tariffs are set to start in two days on March 23.

SW Eyes wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr. Derek wrote:</div>
If the price of steel went up 25% and it raised the final product price by 15% you would have had around 60% of your price just in steel. A 20k ice house does not have 12k in steel.

Yeah, a 20k ice house doesn’t have 20k materials. Then, there’s labor, overhead, etc. Nobody is selling anything at cost, which is what your math is assuming.

The price of the final product doesn’t equate the price of the materials going into it.

You think the other brands are dumping cash into their models? The others have been around a fraction of the time and have produced a fraction of the models.

Guess what? The other brands being pimped here as perfect poached workers out of ice castle to teach them how to build a damn fish house.

Also, they could raise the price 15% just because they wanted to, and still have the market on affordable fish houses in a headlock.

There’s a reason you see 10 ice castles for every 1 Yetti/Glacier/Firebrand/You name it. They didn’t just revolutionize the industry, they freaking created it.

It doesn’t sound like many people around here are up on manufacturing and what goes into it, yet seem to think they have the knowledge to cast stones. We’re talking about a small mom and pop shop from rural Minnesota that started in a garage, not General Motors. If they really wanted to, they could cut the number of models, standardize, and cut costs. They choose to offer the customization, variety, and affordable prices….because it has been proven time and time again over many years that’s what people want.

Yikes, you get pretty defensive over a brand here. I’d bet a 74 year old man in Kingston would likely school you on some facts though.

I think it’s funny how you threw Trumps name in a post

I like steel

No wonder St. Paul couldn’t afford a bigger Ice Castle.
Effin steel.

It’s a good start to bring jobs back. American goods cost more, and our living standard is much higher. That extra cost of steel can reassure you the house you buy has quality known steel holding it up vs unknown metal from other countries. Worth every penny IMO.

If Ice Castle keeps raising their price they will be back in inline with Lodge houses. I still think Lodge are a superior build house but they are much more expensive that an IC. I have a friend that has had two ice castles and both have had issues. Not huge by any means. But his brand new custom build house was sent from the factory to the dealer and he picked it up and in his first picture of a big fish he then realized in the picture that on one side of the house they had completely missed a piece of trim. There it was on one side of the center beam but not the other. Again not a huge deal but still I would think their factor QC should have noticed that.

tindall wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>big_g wrote:</div>
There is not one dime of additional tariff put on steel today, than was a month ago.

The tariffs are set to start in two days on March 23.

My statement is accurate… it is ever changing. We (The USA) are targeting the cheap China steel they flood our market with, driving down demand for USA Steel. As of today… 3/22/18, several Allies are excluded from the tariff’s already including Canada and Mexico. Stay tuned and lube them axles !!!