Everybody has their own rules for establishing the price of a coral. There is no universal standard. My own standards are my own cost of purchase of the coral, rate of growth (slow growing corals are more expensive), scarcity of the coral, degree of difficulty involved in propogation. To set an arbitrary price limit would undermine our endeavor. With that in mind I typically give away xenia elongata, kenya trees etc. I have some softies that go for as much as $80/frag such as my blue heteroxenia since they are rare, slow growing and almost impossible to cultivate. I have some sps corals that go for $80 or more for non STRS members due to extreme rarity, high demand and slow growth (Tyree's Ponape Rosaria, Tyree's Purple monster, Bytors Green Tort etc. ). I could never consider selling those for $15. Nor would I expect most people to consider purchasing corals at such high prices. However, some do seek out certain corals, understand their value and are willing to buy them without complaint. But, as with any market, prices do eventually drop as more people posess a given coral. For example, orange capricornis used to command as much as $60 per frag. Now frags of that are extremely cheap due to their widespread availability. My own experience is that all prices have been extremely fair at all the frag swaps I've been to and corals sold at these swaps are typically a fraction of LFS or on-line vendors (not including the shipping). Nobody is compelled to buy anything and we all have to be responsible in keeping within our own spending limitations and capabilities. I don't believe anyone here is looking to make a profit but rather just to defray some of the costs of the hobby. People have also been insanely gracious in donating corals to the zoo that they could have sold. Even many with small or immature systems have been extremely giving. So I don't believe anyone here is price gauging. So my advice to all is to buy what you like and think is fair and can afford and we'll enjoy each others company and this incredible hobby and nate's gracious hospitality for hosting this swap.
