I don't understand trades only

Macimage

Active member
Ok, I kinda get it, but it seems odd.

At a few of the recent swaps, I've had good old fashioned cash to buy frags. Several sellers stated via pm that they only wanted to trade.

The funny part is that at one swap, the person that I wanted to buy from wanted a coral from someone that only wanted to sell. So, no one got anything.

If they had taken my $100 and sold me their coral, they could have purchased the coral they wanted from the seller that only wanted to sell.

Instead, I didn't get the coral I wanted, they didn't buy the one they wanted and the seller didn't sell the one they had for sale.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to me....
 
Maybe some people don't want to "waste" money at this time, and they feel a trade is a trade, but if they sold something they should hold onto the cash (Which they don't want to do).

I mean seriously, time's might be tough some some people here, and whats more fun, spending money or saving money ?

Not saying saving is bad of course, but everybody enjoys going out to get something. This is a way to get something without wasting money you could put int he bank.

At least thats my take on it :)
 
you know Joyce, you could have bought the coral that they wanted and then traded it to them for the one you wanted....:D Just a thought.
 
From my experience, people that only want to trade are people that feel guilty asking X amount for the coral.


But yah I understand your reasoning.
 
I'm so with you Joyce... To me it sometimes starts to smell of elitism, which is always at odds for me with the usually friendly and sharing attitude of most reefers I have come in contact withâ€"particularly in this forum...
 
you know Joyce, you could have bought the coral that they wanted and then traded it to them for the one you wanted.... Just a thought.

Hum, I did think of that, but didn't know how to answer as to why I didn't and then Todd expressed it perfectly:

To me it sometimes starts to smell of elitism, which is always at odds for me with the usually friendly and sharing attitude of most reefers I have come in contact withâ€"particularly in this forum...

Not to worry, as I found lots of great folks that were more than willing to take my money!!!

I still have my eye on one that Greg was selling. I changed my bulbs today and am working on getting my tank more sps friendly!

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Re: I don't understand trades only

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14134527#post14134527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Macimage
It doesn't make a lot of sense to me....

How much sense does it make for all of us who spend thousands of dollars on a hobby that can take away precious time from our loved ones because we're busy fiddling away at our tanks, then surfing the internet for advice and coral/fish/equipment that you cannot do without, and then driving around for hours visiting LFS's, hobbyists and frag swaps for those tiny frags that made you smile from ear to ear only to constantly worry about something going wrong when you're on vacation because the person who is house-sitting for you has killed every goldfish he/she has ever won at the carnival? Let's face it... We're not exactly the most sensible people around! :rollface:
 
Re: Re: I don't understand trades only

Re: Re: I don't understand trades only

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14134906#post14134906 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KWoo008
How much sense does it make for all of us who spend thousands of dollars on a hobby that can take away precious time from our loved ones because we're busy fiddling away at our tanks, then surfing the internet for advice and coral/fish/equipment that you cannot do without, and then driving around for hours visiting LFS's, hobbyists and frag swaps for those tiny frags that made you smile from ear to ear only to constantly worry about something going wrong when you're on vacation because the person who is house-sitting for you has killed every goldfish he/she has ever won at the carnival? Let's face it... We're not exactly the most sensible people around! :rollface:
This may be the longest sentence I have ever read. Are you saying since we spend some much time and money on corals that we don't want to sell them?
 
It's actually really simple. I have no/very little money to spend on my tank. The majority of corals that have entered my tank in the last year are through trades.

Ex: I like to think I sell my frags for fairly cheap ($10-$20) when I sell them. The problem is the frags I WANT are rarely $10-$20. Therefore if I sell my frag I do not have enough money to buy the frag I want. If people would drop their prices on things, I think you would see more people willing to sell.

Perfect example
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1545683
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1545049

If I sold a pink polyp cap for $10 and I wanted a nuke green frag, RPE frag, rainbow monti frag or seasons greetings frag I would not be able to do so unless I sold multiple frags. And yes I have traded pink polyp cap frags for some of the above mentioned corals.

For me it is mainly through necessity. It is irritating when your are starting out, but everyone goes through it.
 
I actually started to type that response w/o any punctuation but felt it would be even more painful read than it is already... LOL. All I'm saying is that a lot of us reefers aren't exactly "sensible" folks especially when it comes to our passion for this hobby. :D
 
joyce.
i will trade you for greenbacks anytime. lol.
thanks for coming out. i hope the barrels did not roll down the street while you were unloading those. he he
Richard
 
I like to think I sell my frags for fairly cheap ($10-$20) when I sell them. The problem is the frags I WANT are rarely $10-$20.

It seems a simple matter to sell your frags for say $100 and then buy what you want.

It is irritating when your are starting out, but everyone goes through it.

I'm not exactly starting out, I just don't see the point of refusing to sell to someone that will pay a good a price for something they want.

If I sold a pink polyp cap for $10..

You just made my point, as I paid a lot more for some unnamed pink polyps from someone else on Saturday and I am totally happy with them.

Richard,

Actually, my driveway is on a slant (BACKING in would have been a grand idea!) and the barrels did want to kill me when I opened the rear door, but I was ready and held them all back:)!!

Joyce
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14134619#post14134619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by All Delight
From my experience, people that only want to trade are people that feel guilty asking X amount for the coral.


But yah I understand your reasoning.

+1 I think you hit it on the head.

I am not a trade only person but I much rather trade than sell. Mainly because I think the "retail" prices of some of these corals are just outrageous. Like dc_909, I can't feel right about charging a fellow reefer full retail for a "designer" coral (those who have bought from me know very well)... nore can I afford to pay the big bucks for them... But I can however trade my overpriced coral for somebody elses overpriced coral and neither wallet is lighter. I can feel good about that :D

However, that is weird that they would outright refuse to sell.. Doesn't make sense to me either...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14135842#post14135842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 90sShooter
However, that is weird that they would outright refuse to sell.. Doesn't make sense to me either...

Not weird or out of the ordinary at all... I've been told this many times over the yearsâ€""No cash sales, trade only!" I guess you guys that are trying to get the maximum trade value out of your frags are very serious about squeezing the value out of them in trades... Meanwhile, those of us with newer tank and no frags yet, have MUCH lighter wallets...
 
not sure I understand what your saying... Atleast when I trade, no $$ factor comes into play. I don't say, well my frag retails at $x.xx so make sure your frag is worth ATLEAST that... Sounds like you had a bad experience... I just traded a small piece of season's greetings (seen a LFS sell the same for $60) for a nice big piece (8 heads) of Mia's pot of gold favia ("retail" is I think $80 for 2 heads). Obviously good trade for me, but also a good deal for him too cause he picked up a sweet piece and came $0 out of pocket. Obviously he could have sold the same frag for more than enough to just go buy the season's greetings, but what's the fun in that? To some people it's not all about money...
 
this is a first i hear. almost everyone i dealt with were more then willing to take my mula. maybe time has changed?
 
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