The whole coral pricing has become a joke

[SIR PATRICK]

I have two tables being set up at next weeks largest frag show in New England. Tons of vendors and hobbyists such as my self will be selling. In fact, Jason Fox comes every year. We locals see the prices he charges against what locals are asking. I even have some of his corals which will be half if not even less than his asking price.

Thats what I like to see- a step in the right direction. I do much the same. Selling a few peices of overgrowth to help fund your hobby is a great thing and in the end helps the impact of wild collection.

So many hobbiests these days will spend $300 on a 3" sps frag, then sell their first 3" for $300, as well as every inch thereafter, treating their "high end" corals like a buisness/piggy bank. Its sad to see this happening and becoming common practice.


I am well known for selling $5/polyp and less, even on the highest end. People cant beleive it till I explain it to them-

Yeah, this coral cost a bit of cash- but this is the 10th frag Ive sold off the overgrowth- the coral has paid for itself 5 times already. It really opens peoples eyes to how it all works, and just how commercial many others have become.

If I was anywhere near new england, I would surely check out your table.

 

[MKelly]

I have learned so many hard lessons about coral, equipment etc. Just getting back in the game and seeing all the different names for stuff it reminded me a lot of the stuff that went on with discus in the 90's.

So now I'm a bit more cautious. Lesson learned.

 

[Grandlotus]

I'm getting back into the hobby so my lady and I went window shopping at the LFS. I was showing her the ZOA's that are 70 bucks for 3 heads and was telling her I used to get entire colony's for 30 when I got into the hobby at 13 years ago.

...but...but... its JASON FOX!!!

:rolleye1:

:lolspin:

 

[nogascans]

Like everything else in life, its “What the Market Will Bear”?

Hell, did you see the price for the Super Bowl tickets this year? Lets see, buy a single Superbowl ticket OR week in Honduras for two with dives included for less!

I really stopped even mentioning frag prices with my wife after I found how much she paid for her Louis Vuitton Monogram handbag .

Personally I stay away from the "coral of the month club", and try and stay with proven lines of captive grown corals such as JF and not to Wild/Maricultured corals corals since at least with my experience they seem to do better in our established tanks.

Sincerely,

David

 

[Tweaked]

Like everything else in life, its "œWhat the Market Will Bear"?

Hell, did you see the price for the Super Bowl tickets this year? Lets see, buy a single Superbowl ticket OR week in Honduras for two with dives included for less!

I really stopped even mentioning frag prices with my wife after I found how much she paid for her Louis Vuitton Monogram handbag .

Personally I stay away from the "coral of the month club", and try and stay with proven lines of captive grown corals such as JF and not to Wild/Maricultured corals corals since at least with my experience they seem to do better in our established tanks.

Sincerely,

David

Wow, well said my friend

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Knowing many fish store owners, typical mark up is x3-x5 times and they do very well, considering all the costs and losses involved....



The ones w/ mark ups of x500- x1k rarely have as much overhead as a typical reefer w/ a frag tank with over growth w/o the write offs, buisness incentives, comercial pricing, ect..........

I highly concur with this.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

It does though.....

I think newbies see threads like this from my experience with them and they are shocked by what they learn. I've helped newbs who actually thought zoanthids only grew to a few polyps on a plug. Some actually thought they were harvested that way. When they see a true mother rock, an actual colony of 50 to hundreds, they find it simply unbelievable. On the contrary, this was an everyday and all day occurrence on every site on the net and in every LFS before naming and gouging began in 04/05. Gonna share what I showed them on tomorrow.

MR

 

[Maritimer]

When I see the thousand-dollar polyps, my mind goes directly to my garden, and the tulips that will soon burst forth...

I remember hearing about the prices of neon tetras when they first hit the scene.

I think of the prices of albino and pastel ball pythons, just a few years ago.

I realize that I can now buy neon tetras at any fish store for just a dollar or two.

I know that albino ball pythons are not more than a couple hundred bucks, and that pastels are showing up pretty regularly at the local Petsmart.

Those tulip bulbs that were once worth a king's ransom in Holland will bloom in a month or two in my Connecticut garden (assuming they don't become deer fodder - I'm expecting that one of these days!), for only a buck or two per blossom, to be amortized over the life of the bulb.

Someday, I expect that there'll be enough frags of the corals we prize so highly for people to relax about them, and remember why they got into this hobby in the first place; the fascination of one of the most intricate, beautiful natural places on earth - and let them grow into something more than a curio-cabinet full of twigs.

Meantime, until they do, I'll content myself with frags I can afford, in colors and forms I can enjoy, and place them in my tank where I hope they'll do well, encrust and colonize. Then, I'll stare in wonder from across the room at something like a living black-light painting. I'll take delight in the flow and dance of Euphyllia, anemones and fishes. With my nose a few inches from the glass, I'll imagine myself floating weightlessly through water as clear as air, discovering something new with each fresh vista.

I plan to simply enjoy my tank. (If I can ever get my fish healthy, through quarantine and fallow, and back in my DT!)

And yes ... I plan to explore the upcoming Connecticut Frag Farmers' Market for just such specimens!

~Bruce

 

[Tweaked]

And yes ... I plan to explore the upcoming Connecticut Frag Farmers' Market for just such specimens!

~Bruce

Nice. see you there!

 

[alton]

Corals are no different than other items in the past?
My first computer 100mb, 16mb of ram, printer, 15" monitor $2,800.00
It is called a free market

 

[SIR PATRICK]

It is called a free market

Everyone knows its a free market.


But not all people know is how badly their getting ripped off with 200x markup in this free market. Thats how we got to the right here right now..

 

[SIR PATRICK]

My first computer 100mb, 16mb of ram, printer, 15" monitor $2,800.00

Your first computer purchase had to pay for years or research and development debt- Coral is simply and cheaply collected out of the ocean


Dont let "free market" pull the wool over your eyes.

 

[Tweaked]

Everyone knows its a free market.


But what everyone does not know is how badly their getting ripped off with 200x markup in this free market. Thats how we got to the right here right now..

Everyone? That seems a bit excessive. I know when I buy a piece how inflated the prices are. I want to grow it out and share with my buds. We all know, new or seasoned, what a piece should go for within reason. And isn't it up to each person to do a little research? Let the people selling for ridiculous prices do just that, in the long run it will help the inexperienced see the price differences don't you think?

 

[SIR PATRICK]

Everyone? That seems a bit excessive.

Edited for correctness- meant not everyone meaning not 100% of people.

 

[SIR PATRICK]

We all know, new or seasoned, what a piece should go for within reason. And isn't it up to each person to do a little research?

I run into so many people who do not know, many have replied to this thread.

I am sharing this info so when someone does research- the info is available.

 

[Maritimer]

Nice. see you there!

Excited about it - including meeting up with so many other reefers!

Also, do I understand that congratulations are in order?!

~B.

 

[Tweaked]

Excited about it - including meeting up with so many other reefers!

Also, do I understand that congratulations are in order?!

~B.

I suppose lol, thanks

 

[MUCHO REEF]

rant alert

I get that people want to make money on corals but it's gotten to the point it's more about greed than making money. The zoa trend is probably the most comical of all. When I see 15-100 per polyp, I start wondering who in the hell is buying this? You can't even get a good colony of anything anymore because everyone wants to cut everything into small pieces and charge what they use to for large versions. I saw this "Nuke" green torch for 300 dollars. I paid 300 for our Huskie and she's a hell of a lot more entertaining than a torch coral. lol. Don't even get me into the renaming of corals. "Incredible Hulk Zoa" "Darth Maul zoa" "24k Torch" Give me a break. Last rant. The 40 dollar PURPLE HAZE mushrooms. These should have a street value less than a damsel. I had so many purple mushrooms in my tank I couldn't even see the other corals. They grow like weeds. I guess it all comes down what people are willing to pay for it. This hobby has a lot of people with more money than smarts, no offense, I'm one of them most of the time.

rant over

So what's the remedy? Mass boycotting, threads like this, a database of price gougers/chopshoppers, a dedicated thread or forum on this topic, a sticky for new reefers etc ? I've directed several dozen to this thread already to read and see for themselves. Many like myself will continue not supporting these people. I've provided a ton of stickies validating the issue in post #226 and # 227 on this topic and when and how it was created.

MUCHO

 

[Tweaked]

I run into so many people who do not know, many have replied to this thread.

I am sharing this info so when someone does research- the info is available.

Got it. And for those looking, the best advice I was given as a noob, was to join a local reef club. If there isn't one, consider making one. Then get it registered/recognized on RC! :thumbsup:

 

[SIR PATRICK]

in the long run it will help the inexperienced see the price differences don't you think?

It already is the long run....