I have ordered a lot of coral over the internet (about thirty times,) from some smaller online stores and also many times using ebay auctions, and have had almost complete success in receiving coral in good health that were shipped well and arrived in very good health. I can count the times I was unhappy with what I receive on one hand...maybe twice. You just have to be certain that what you order is depicted well in any photos that are posted of the item and that you are getting the specific item that's posted. Some of the bigger online "catalog" sites just depict the kind of coral you'd be getting, not the specific piece. This leads to differences in the color that you might want, the intensity of the color, the size of the coral, etc. In short, what you'd get is "pretty much" what you order. On the other hand, these vendors are generally less expensive and give warrantees on the health of the coral that you get.
