Prices, do you really pay that much?

I got a Blue zoa rock(which turned purple) size of a softball for $1 at my LFS, They were selling it for more but they had a great sale, around the time of Reefapolooza buy one coral get next coral for $1.. no limit but obviously yu have to pay for the more expensive ones. I should have went for more expensive corals though, could have gotten 2 $150 corals for $151 wasnt thinking at the time damn.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10698343#post10698343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Twisted
I agree....but didn't somebody have to buy them at some point to trade them?

When I was trading, there wasn't a dollar craze going on. We just loved the corals and wanted more of each kind. The zoanthid forums used to go nuts with pictures and posts of the many kinds.

It has turned into a cash cow for some. I don't get caught up in that stuff.
 
I have to agree with marc even though i have noticed i have been getting cought up in it myself. I wont even offer up my named zoos that ive paid to much for, i would feel like i needed to charge someone a hefty price cause thats what i paid. That creates a problem for me, i would sooner give my corals away when they need trimmed than offer them up and have someone tell me im asking too much.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10698281#post10698281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by berniekyle
The problem is too many people (myself included) are willing to pay the prices people are

asking. I justify it to myself thinking I'll frag it and make my

money back.


see thats my big gripe.. the hobbyist who is trying to be a retailer... we dont have the overhead that these "farmers" do ... so why would you charge the same price as them?

its "thinking" like this that makes this hobby sooooo expensive..
 
alot of these people are probably not even growing them out. they probably pay 15 bucks on a wholesale order for some zoanthids, frag them all up, stick a catchy name on them, and charge a arm and a leg.
 
I'm not trying to be a retailer but I see no harm in fragging my

corals to support my hobby. If I didn't do this I wouldn't be able

to be in this hobby.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10701048#post10701048 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by berniekyle
I'm not trying to be a retailer but I see no harm in fragging my

corals to support my hobby. If I didn't do this I wouldn't be able

to be in this hobby.

While I'm not trying to single you out, your comments do prompt me to ask this: Had you not known about reselling frags, would you be in the hobby in the first place? Or did you enter the hobby with this plan already in mind?

What hobbyists did in the past was trade frag for frag, without cost. And others would bank corals with friends so if they had a tank melt-down, they could contact those friends for some replacements to get started anew.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10700511#post10700511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bebo77
see thats my big gripe.. the hobbyist who is trying to be a retailer... we dont have the overhead that these "farmers" do ... so why would you charge the same price as them?

its "thinking" like this that makes this hobby sooooo expensive..

Actually most of the time you are buying these high prices are because some LFS got lucky when he went in and cherry picked the weekly shipments and found something cool. He then put a name to it and marks it up.
General mark up on a coral is 100% due to the loss factor that most stores have to cover.
A coral that was picked up and has better colors, or odd colorations is usually named by the LFS and then is marked up 300% plus.

You can go to a store and buy an entire rock of normal colored zoanthids for $40 bucks, for an odd, or vivid coloration you would pay $120+ for the same rock.

It has nothing to do with the farmers overhead, it;s a supply and demand.
If I have a coral that is eye catching and everyone wants a piece of it, then I have to limit the amount I sell or I would be out of a colony, so you sell a piece at a time at an inflated rate.

It isn't just zoanthids, but the multi-colored cloves, chalices, blastos, Acanthestreas, everything. The store typically pays the same price for a lot of it's stock, but marks it up according to it's street value.



And so it's clear, I got into this hobby as a distraction from other things in my life, and I love this hobby. I give away frags of my corals all the time, but if someone really wants a frag of something in my tank that I am not ready to frag yet, I still might....but for a price.

And I am in the process of setting up a farm too. And I currently work in a LFS. So I have seen many sides to this hobby, and it is all about supply and demand.
 
Ive had fresh water tanks since I was 10 years old. Im 32 and

just within the last two years got into salt. To imply Im only in

this for the money when you didnt even know a thing about me is

ridiculous. The only thing fragging enables me to do is buy corals

I otherwise wouldn't be able to afford and to keep a bigger tank

than I normally could afford.
 
There is nothing wrong with buying a nice coral, fragging it, to support your hobby and buying new frags. I have done the selling and buying of frags numerous times. Sometimes it just takes a little spending to get starting. Once you have that super-duper-hard to get coral (either by finding it at the store or growing it from a frag), you are ready to sell or trade. I have actually bought a $40 chalice and sold it close to 60 times what I paid.
 
There are currently 13 pages of fellow hobbists who have

fragged their corals and are trying to sell them. I think Bebo77

and anyone else who has a problem with fragging and selling

should personally pm all of them and let them know how awful it

is they are trying to be retailers. Should probably also the pm

the people supporting such actions by buying their corals and let

them know as well.
 
This isn't directed at anyone in particular:

If you don't want to pay it, don't worry about. But don't be hating on someone that deems said coral worth it. The overhead thing isn't accurate. The prices have been inflated due to supply and demand, not a LFS's power bill or rent going up. If people continue to pay ~$50 a polyp and higher, people will continue to charge it.

Now if someone wants to start a movement and get all reefers on their side to end the high prices great! I wish you all the best.

I will continue, as I always have, to purchase or trade for corals that I think look nice. Plain and simple. The best thing anyone can do, and it has been said on here many times, is to become part of a local club and get involved in some frag trading! Most people are quite generous and will share their rare goodies!

If you go into the SPS forum and check out how some of the people there trade expensive acro's and montipora's frequently. Another good example is how some people freely trade frags of the now popular chalice corals, and others sell them for hundreds if not thousands (pumpkin patch chalice)!

Maybe the people who buy these expensive corals are "stamp" collecting, or maybe they truly believe the corals are that gorgeous. Who are we to tell someone to stop spending so much on something?

Final words.... spend it because YOU like it.... not because someone else says it's rare.

PM me if you wish to discuss this further.

Cheers,

Scott
 
I don't have a lot of money to spend on certain zoas like envy orange ppe (600 a polyp)!!!! But if you have the money then its your choice.

If I had a ton of money, I still wouldn't buy the envy orange ppe because it doesn't appeal to me but I would buy other expensive zoas though!

Also hobbyists I think tend to lower the cost on many of these corals when they frag and sell which is a great thing. There are some reefers out there that will pay lets say 150 for a acro frag from a place, grow it out and then offer it to people for like 70 a frag which is cool.
 
This has gone a bit.. too much.. Yeah think...

I say.. agree to dissagree..
Buy it if you like it... don't hate cause someone else can afford it.
Thats the way things go.. we are a CAPITALIST nation arent we.

For the longest time, I have been giving corals away to fellow reefers or other reefers that are just starting out... I have finally started growing other pieces out to sell and fund my reefhobby.. as this hobby is not cheap. will I sell them at regular price.. no.. I give a fellow reefer discount compared to online prices.. If you like to my stuff good , if you don't like it.. fine by me just don't harp....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10711402#post10711402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jimbo327
For some reason, all the nice stuff doesn't spread like wild fire.

Sadly that is usually the reason people consider it the "nice stuff". If you can get it cheap it must not be nice. :(

I don't think there is anything wrong with making money off propagating corals in your tank. People that propagate are in a way slowing down the poaching of the worlds reefs and ensuring the survival of corals in captivity. Just like captive bred fish have less (or no) impact on the wild population. Even if you buy a coral and then split it into smaller frags to offset your cost I think it is fine. It is the same as a group buy to offset costs. You get into a lot of moral issues when you start doing it soley to make money though with no love for the hobby IMO.

I had some (what I considered) awesome corals in my old tank. I had a orange monti as big as a basketball, three different color frogspawn (green/pink, green/green, pink/pink), green zoos with blue centers, xenia elongata, A. Acropora (nice green with blue tips), a green monti with blue/purple edges, etc, but I gotta be honest it was all common as can be. It didn't make it any less special to me. I think I had a total of $50 of corals in my tank thanks to the generosity of the local clubs (frag swaps) and my patience.

Now I am starting over with a new tank in a new state and I hope to achieve the same results.


Anyone have any zoo's? :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10709103#post10709103 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquarius77
So you bought EO and fragged one off for sale? Now your going to turn around and overcharge someone in the sale forum just so you can have them? Sounds to me like its in violation of reef centrals user agreement. You did not grow that coral out, you plainly just said you bought it for resale to offset costs. Personally its ppl like JC and you that keep this kinda crap going, that polyp aint worth 20 bucks in my eyes.

Then don't pay for it. When did it become your (or other people's) jobs to set the price of corals. It's a free market. If supplies go up, prices will come down. There is a reason everyone doesn't have PPEs or some other corals. I find it amusing that people feel they have the right to buy every coral out there and that they should all be affordable.
 
Posts trolling for sales are not permitted and will be removed.

-Anemone
 
Although I agree with your first sentence PaintGure, Aquarius77 brings up a good point.

2. COMMERCIAL POSTING: Reef Central exists for the non-commercial exchange of information. Sponsors of this site are given banner space and/or a forum to promote their business in accordance with the sponsor agreement. All other posts or signatures that are deemed to be commercial in nature are a violation of this user agreement and will be removed. As it pertains to the User Agreement, Reef Central defines “commercial post” as knowing and willful posts made by private individuals or businesses, directly or indirectly seeking commerce. Additionally, posts made by individuals or businesses in regard to other commercial activities, in anticipation of direct or indirect economic benefit or relief from the subject activity, will generally be regarded as “commercial.” Recognizing that it is impossible to construct a definition which will satisfy every situation or circumstance, Reef Central reserves the right to determine whether or not a post violates the “intent” of the “commercial post” policy or definition. Violation of this policy will be grounds for removal from our community.


You can do it, just not here. :)
 
Back
Top