Pimpin' Ain't Easy

[capture]

It has been brought to my attention that the act of selling frags per polyp has been coined "pimping" for those of you unaware. If you aren't sure why I am bringing this up, continue reading, and for lack of anything good on television and seeing as it's the weekend, read on anyway.

May I ask why you or anyone responsible would buy one polyp, or why someone would sell one polyp?
I obtained a frag about 2 weeks ago with about 5-6 polyps and they have deteriorated to 2 and still havent opened. What if you get the one polyp home and it doesn't make it? That would seem a waste of $10-15 or more, not to mention the loss of a polyp. Unless you can get a guarantee from your source of the frag, it seems pointless and cruel. I could understand if a single polyp obtained were free and/or loose at the bottom of the tank. Things have definitely changed from 3 years ago when I took a break from this hobby.

Why are people so stingy that they have to sell by the polyp instead of offering healthy multiple polyp frags for resonable prices?
It seems as though responsility in this hobby has deteriorated and making a quick buck or two is more important than helping a fellow reefer and instilling the idea of a healthy reef. Listen, we all would like to subsidize our hobby by selling frags but who is being held responsible for the poor judgement of a living creature?
We cycle, we test our water, we go through multiple, expensive and excruciating processes to ensure that our ecosystems are sufficient to sustain living creatures...then we buy single polyps.
Slow down, enjoy, and relax. There are plenty of Tub's Blues, AoG's, and everyother annoyingly named polyp out there to make it into your reef.

 

[chris0942]

it seems that all the e-stores are going to this pimping sales. i could understand 3 polyps for slow growers. i can't see paying 15-100 per polyp, but i see them on the e-stores all the time for that price.

 

[airinhere]

The concept of selling by the polyp is a two edged sword.

On the one hand, I see your point about buying a single zoanthid polyp as almost ridiculous. Even small quantities of polyps seem like a trivial purchase.

Of course that is provided the parent colony of zoanthids is large enough to support making large frags. Strangely, this is often limited to the more mundane colors of zoanthids. I have yet to see someone with a thousand polyps of Tubbs Blues or Rose Nebulas.

Most of the more colorful types of zoanthids are more difficult to get ahold of. Any LFS should have tons of zoanthids, but are unlikely to have more than a handful of vividly colored types.

Personally, I am willing to skip buying ugly corals and spend the extra money for more colorful types. They dont have to be named species, but I demand vivid colors for my hard earned money.

The concept of selling per polyp becomes a method of allowing a person with a limited budget the opportunity to buy some of the colorful zoanthids they want to have without paying the higher cost for a full colony.

Have a budget of $50? Buy a 6 inch colony of drab common zoas. OR... Buy a 5 polyp frag of something colorful.

My $50 buys the colorful corals everytime.

 

[capture]

That is more to my point than you think. I understand your concept of quality vs. quantity but my point is at the heart of making sure you have something to show for your hard earned money not to mention the sucess of someone else's reef.
Simply put, I believe it is irresponsible for someone to sell someone else a single polyp.

 

[Runfrumu]

I try to avoid buying any of the named ones online, though I think many of them look awesome (nuclear greens, PPE"s, and such). I've had pretty good luck going to different fish stores and finding nice looking ones with alot of polyps for a good price.

Though one day I may have to break and buy the ones mentioned above as I've had no luck locating them, and most likely won't. I would just like the price to come down a little before I did, and buy a 7-8 polyp frag for a decent price.

I would be scared to buy a 1 polyp frag myself, with my luck with shipping, it wouldnt make it.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I have had luck both ways. I got a single polyp of Purple Death for $40, this summmer. There's no way I could have afforded more than 1 of them. It took 6 weeks to open but now I have about 20 of them (see my avatar). I also sell single polyps but I do guarantee them. A fellow just stopped by today for his replacement polyp of Lunar Eclipse (this time I mounted it for him) & gave him a frag of frogspawn he liked, for his trouble.

 

[Aussie_hippie_2]

Nothing good on tv? Winter X games ba-by!

 

[geoxman]

I believe it is irresponsible for someone to sell someone else a single polyp.

100% correct! It severely hinders the success of the polyp living, plus it is absurd.

Have a budget of $50? Buy a 6 inch colony of drab common zoas

I use to buy drab all of the time, but I had a general idea of how/why aquarium life could change their color for the better. I have not been wrong in a couple of years. I do not know your LFS situation but I am fortunate to have some very nice ones in STL. It is your $50, but I prefer a potential upside of 400 polyps for my $50 though than 6.

I quit buying well over a year ago but I still love to browse the LFS and find that diamond in the rough. good luck

 

[Pufferpunk]

The lighting is so bad in my LFS I would never be able to distinguish any diamonds there.

 

[audio101]

I believe people should offer 2 polyps for the price of one, and then go up in price after that. At least have little bit of a better chance of one surviving.

 

[kawicivic]

What i see as a big issue is the prices that people are paying and being charged. As soon as someone grow 5 heads they are like... wow i can make a bunch of money... chop chop chop.

I keep seeing people talk about a frag growing more heads after a fragging... I believe this is people justifying the urge to frag a 5-10 polyp frag into 3-5 new frags. I have some pink zoas that have 8 new heads growing right now. These showed up within 2 days (started the frag about 3.5-4 months ago with 3 heads and had one blow away... now its at about 27 with those new heads.) In the beginning fragging it may have given it some additional growth... but I cannot see a frag keeping up with the growth of it now.

The other thing that per polyp pricing is causing is more and more rare corals. If people would sell larger frags there would be a higher survival rate. As these corals became more propogated their prices would fall with the online retailers.

I really cannot talk bc I picked up a single head of nuclear green from a store yesterday.... but I also plan on not fragging it until it is over 30 polyps. A couple weeks back i fragged off 6 single heads as an experiment to see the growth that occured. 5 of the heads ended up blowing off from the liberal amount of glue I used... either that or they may have melted. Either way there is 1 polyp left on the branch and it has only grown 1 head since then.

Great topic!!

 

[flyyyguy]

I do often cut one polyp frags off of my nicer flavors, and will sell it as a single polyp. I also guarantee its health and survival so that is a judgement call on when I think it is ready to ship, and by the time that that time comes.....that singlepolyp I am selling or trading usually has 2 or 3 babies coming off of it.

Doing it this way is not risky in shipping as I wait until the polyp has healed and started growing vefore throwing it in a little bag of water and shippingit across the country.

as well....I prefer to buy and trade smaller frags like that anyway. I am an addict and cant get enough different flavors of these silly little polyps, so 1-2 polyp frags suit me just fine as long as it gets me more new and interesting morphs. And every now and then when someone happens to see soem of my collection and they request to purchase some polyps from me.....they more often than not prefer to pick up 15 different samples of sweetness....than a few larger frags of just a few different morphs, and I am more than happy to oblige as I somewhat often will make that same request from people with nice collections I see. Only catch is that they are going to be waiting a couple weeks of healing time to have it shipped, as that is the only way I can guarantee its health and the only way I will do it

am I a pimp?? No just a common street addict like most

just my opinion and another perception to consider

 

[650-IS350]

I don't really sell single polyp , more likely 3-4 polyps a frag... plus I usually give 1 or 2 poplyps more incase 1 polyp dosnt survive. I usually say $$ per polyp but min of 3. I don't like hacking up my colonies for 1 polyp. I see more of the per polyp thigs on EBAY. and charge you $40-$50 for shipping for a single polyp. not naming them, you should know them by now.

 

[Timanator]

Supply and demand guys. I dont sell zoas, or have ever traded single polyps. But I also dont see anyone forcing people to buy it.

Some Zoas just dont thrive in everyone's tank, and that's why they commend the high prices.

 

[urbanthreatz]

LOL, my LFS saves single polyps for me in a seperate nano tank they have set up, whenever i come in they bag them up and send them all home with me... does that make them a brothel?

 

[rsteagall]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11704282#post11704282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Timanator
Supply and demand guys. I dont sell zoas, or have ever traded single polyps. But I also dont see anyone forcing people to buy it.

Some Zoas just dont thrive in everyone's tank, and that's why they commend the high prices.

Exactly. "Don't hate the player, hate the game"

 

[MUCHO REEF]

I applaud everyone for keeping this discussion very civil. It's a testament to this sight and just how far it has come. Even if we don't agree, we can still remain adults and hear each other out when we differ. Gone are the days of flaming, and I hope they never return.

 

[Skeptic_07]

I dont know who started this buying zoanthids per polyp but it really stinks, mostly because all i'm doing is buying them! However, this is the nature of the market for the really exotic, rarely seen, zoanthids. When there are trends like this its tough to break them. heres why:

Lets say this guy has some nuclear greens reproducing in his tank. He's a hobbyist, yes, but a fiscal one. He cuts a few frags off of his mother colony. He goes on the selling forums saying hes selling them but how would he price them? If you go anywhere on the net searching for 'nuclear green palythoa' you'll almost always find them for sale on a per polyp basis for $40-$50 a polyp. Why would this guy just ignore the going rate for his corals and say like $10 for a frag? That wouldnt really make any sense to me. As a buyer i would love it and wouldnt question it but i also wouldnt question someone selling this stuff for what its going for on the open market. I think most aquarists are going to act fiscally and just get as much as they can get for thier frags and i dont think theres anything wrong with that. Granted, the occasional aquarist will decide to do something nice for people and do like a super deal selling PPE's for $1 a polyp or something crazy like that (yeah right you wish!) but you get the idea. Good deals arent seen that often and when they are you've probably gotta act really fast just to get them and then they're gone.

I'm definitely a novice and about to make my first purchase like this (from someone on these forums). I dont know how its going to turn out but i really just wanted to try it to see what happens (like so many other things i'm doing at this stage)

 

[flyyyguy]

good luck with your first RC purchase skeptic_07. You will find that most people will bend over backwards for you and a little research in the feedback forum will reveal those who are generous and will take care of you the way they would like to be taken care of vs those that are just out to make a buck.

 

[airinhere]

Another good thing to do is check the sellers profile and look at the posts they have made in the past. (upper right corner of profile page).

Argumentative or useless posts might be a warning sign to stay away from the person. Helpful advice, insightful questions and generally useful posts would be a good reason to believe the seller is someone of integrity who enjoys the privlege of using RC.