disturbing zoanthid trend

[Blitz99]

on my local reefer forum i am noticing the same disturbing trend i am noticing here and the other boards as well. PRICES!!! people pay 50 dollars for a single polyp of x palythoa... it multiplies and they then charge 50 per polyp... now, am i wrong to think that you should be trying to break even, not make a 100 percent profit for each paly/zoa sold? profiting in this seems kind of petty and disturbing... i was considering buying a 50 dollar polyp but i thought better of it as i would never frag my colonies to make a buck. Trading is one thing, but the money that things are selling for now is flat out silly.

flame away if you believe i am mistaken.

 

[Bebo77]

no its true.. i was at a local frag swap and they were selling all zoas for $5 a polyp and more.. what the... thats retail price... I have been to the wholesellers here in LA and you can buy a rock the size of your fist for $15 covered in zoas. It really is the hobbiest that is driving these prices higher.

 

[eckrynock]

Ditto

 

[Blitz99]

it's a shame that we reefers are the ones to blame this time.

 

[drouner]

Is it a shame that they are sold at $50 or people are paying $50.

I do have to say that I paid $40 for one polyp of Armor of God. If and when it is time to frag I will probably sell them for alot less.

I can say that this one has already made 4 more less than a month.

The problem that I have is much like SPS, pictures are not always what they look like in your tank. So paying $50 or $40 is taking a risk.

 

[FunGuy]

I agree with what everyone has said about the disturbing trend of crazy prices.

I think we all need to just do our part in not buying when prices are outrageous and eventually prices will go down since the market can't support it. Let's make this an affordable hobby.

 

[twon8]

If the zoa in question was grown out in a tank, it should cost more than a wild chopped up colony. 50 a polyp is ridiculous, but if I had a bunch going for that, I can say I would have to try and make some money from them

 

[MrChico]

Zoas will cost what the market can bear. I personally won't spend that much, but if money wasn't an issue, then I would have a tank full of some pretty cool stuff.

As long as doctors and lawyers and the alike are in the hobby then there will always be a niche for some really nice high priced items.

 

[bobafett]

The sad thing is that sooner or later these "rare" morphs usually turn up in my LFS and I pick them up at a fraction of the cost. Example - I recently picked up a 7 polyp frag of the really nice RPE's with the bluish mouth for only $10.


It's even sadder when people start playing with lighting or even worse photoshop to make their zoos look really nice and appealing just to make a few more bucks. I'm not mentioning names but a few are sponsors here on RC.

 

[Jon in SW Ohio]

Like any hobby, some "collectibles" are much more desirable than others and people want them badly enough to spend much more on them. I know I've spent a good deal of money for a collection of ones I "must have now!" and have done the same with all things I collect.

The nice thing about coral and orchids(my other hobby) is that they multiply and can then be traded for other desirable ones. From my initial investment, I can probably trade for all the other ones I want in a coulple months time.

 

[Peter Eichler]

It's quite sad. Years ago when propagation wasn't very common the few people that were doing weren't doing it to make money, they were doing it to help out other hobbyists. Some people like myself traded in frags to the LFS for small amounts of credit when there wasn't another hobbyist. Now so much of it is based on greed and it's a sad time in this hobby as a result.

Companies that have this LE nonsense and polyps that they're charging $20+ a polyp for should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[aSixyReef]

its even worse when you try to sell at reasonable prices and the buyer turns around and sells the colony or small frags of it for a profit. ive had that happen several times. i tried to help people out to save them some money and they took advantage of me. i think twice before selling anything b/c i know i HAVE to charge X amount or screw myself.

i usually only trade now.

 

[mecold]

I definately think charging $50 or so per polyp is insane, but truth be told I have spent $45 for a three polyp frag of phes, and way more than I care to admit for the 20 polyp colony of my purple palys (long story, but they are truly unique in the hobby thus far). That said, I can see asking a little bit more for a really nice polyp, but not $40 though. Of course, if you buy more, the price generally goes down.

 

[smp]

This issue has been brought up many times before.
I'm not one to spend 20 dollars a polyp for any zoo, BUT I totally understand why people charge so much .. because others will pay it.
This is what the market is all about, if someone will pay 20 a polyp, someone will sell it for that much.

Do you expect any different from fruit growers, or dress makers or what have you?

It's just the market. I'm not happy about it either and I don't pay that much for zoos.

However, I did pay 60 bucks for a tiny acan frag this past weekend .. I dont' regret it, it's doing well in my tank and I love it. Hopefully I'll have a nice healthy colony one day and it'll be worth it.

 

[ViPeR_930]

I know for a fact that an entire colony of lunar eclipse zoas are about $22 bucks give or take at wholesale price. And that's for a colony with about 200-300 polyps.

 

[surfnvb7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8000016#post8000016 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aSixyReef
its even worse when you try to sell at reasonable prices and the buyer turns around and sells the colony or small frags of it for a profit. ive had that happen several times. i tried to help people out to save them some money and they took advantage of me. i think twice before selling anything b/c i know i HAVE to charge X amount or screw myself.

i usually only trade now.

completely agree with all of the above. and has anyone else noticed the trend of all these stressed zoas that are dying on people lately? i sure dont remember these types of posts in large numbers ever before. its all this chop shop mentality, to make frags of colonies, then make frags of those frags, and then make 5 polyp frags of what is left to sell. all of this chopping up and selling in a weeks time before it goes to another person has stressed zoas out so much people arent having anything more than a 75% survival rate once it gets to the home aquarium......pretty sad if you ask me.

i dont like selling much, as i tend to have a philosophy of "if you aren't helping the problem, you are part of it". so i only do trades. i only sell stuff if i need to make room for other stuff and no one wants to trade.

 

[Polyptician]

I think some prices are justified due to genuine rarity. I would site as an example the ppe. They have not been available in large numbers until very recently. And I think you can see that there price is slowly coming down.

Also, I believe that genuine aquacultured frags should command a higher price because they have not been harvested from the wild, are hardier and should be pest free. Plus the farmer took time and space to grow the frag out.

I agree that some of the prices are a bit high. 40 dollars a polyp for most zoas seems outrageous. I think that value will be realized once those cool looking but "hard to find" morphs start flooding the lfs which they will in due time. For instance I have seen a ton of the eye of rah lately at the lfs. I had never seen one in person before last month, now theyre coming in every week.

In defence of the price craze we must understand that zoas have become collectables. There size and seemingly endless variation of colors is attractive. Its fun to collect things and more desirable collectables like anything else demand a higher price. Zoaid I think has spurred this craze with showing the masses what is out there. Broadening our zoa knowledge from the often dull frags we see at local fish stores.

I think we just need to use common sense. Buy aquacultured. Dont buy from the guy who obiously bought the 15 dollar frag and is clearly cutting that rock up into 10 frags and making 1500 dollars.

Whatever you do, dont do, spend or dont spend. Lets just have fun enjoying our zoas.

 

[surfnvb7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8000997#post8000997 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BryanBusza

I think we just need to use common sense. Buy aquacultured. Dont buy from the guy who obiously bought the 15 dollar frag and is clearly cutting that rock up into 10 frags and making 1500 dollars.

i think thats the big question...as most of these places you see selling large frag packs, over 75% of the time they are chop shopped. and no where near aquacultured. its so obvious seeing the same people on here, ebay, nanoreef, and 2 other sites. buy in one place, turn around and sell in another.

IMO the only way you can be sure they are aquacultured have not been stressed by chopping up and shipped multiple times in the recent past is if they are on frag plugs, or if you know the seller.

 

[Reefski's]

i would like to see osme pictures of these incredible Zoa's. anyone who has one of these amazingly expensive ones please post a picture or two.

 

[smp]

I think a lot of people experience dissapointment when they get a certain zoa that they've seen pictures of .. pictures are more often than not taken under 20k lighting and had their levels played with in photoshop. I'm not saying that this is wrong, because they really do look that good in some people's tanks .. but IMO, if you're some kid that's all excited about zoos and you're running PCs or something and you get those eye of rahs that were shot under 20k 400 watt halides .. you're in for a surprise.
I was!