Frag prices

[michika]

I'm curious to know, and understand, how frags are priced. I want to know specifically about ones traded between hobbiests, and not store purchased ones.

I want to know, for those who've sold, sell, or will be selling frags, how do you come to your selling price?

Granted things like coloration, size, and rarity come into play, but after those are all accounted for how do you set your price?

[tang daddy]

Hey there for me it's colour and rarity but basically I figure how much I would want to pay for the piece and then sell it for that. Sometimes I see what others are selling it for too and do it a little cheaper most of my pricing is reasonable and basically distribute frags that I started off with once it has multiplied and moved onto the rock.

[michika]

That sounds like quite a fair and logical method.

Do you ever take into account the cost of having grown out the frags, or the time spent?

[Tom R]

Pricing is quite difficult. Generally if you have mounted the frag on a rock the cost of the rock also has to be taken into account. A 1 to 1 1/2" frag will sell for 1$18 to $20 plus taxes in YLFS so $12 to $15 is a good price. My frags are generally much larger than 1 1/2" more like 4 to 5" so $15 to $20 is still a very good deal. I have paid as much as $40 to $50 for a 1 1/2" frag if it has great colour and is not something you see in the LFS on a regular basis,

Tom R

[fragalot]

I think first priority is the how rare the coral is.

[michika]

Bluemantr,

So after rarity, and I'm assuming rarity is what you decide to make of it, what's next?

A general question to all who have replied, do you rate rarity, color, etc. on your own views, or do you take into account what you've seen and hear from other reefers?

[fragalot]

I can talk about paly/zoas this is the things How i decide to price on my frags
1 Rarity
2 Popularity
3 Size of the frag.

[Murminator]

I'm like Little Cesears with brown zoos 5 bux, 5 bux ,5 bux :razz: Depends on what it is and how long it takes to grow. Brown zoos compared to colorful zoos, brown acro to colorful one I always stay under the store(always pay more at the store) but for myself trades are more important than $ I have gotton some pretty fugly stuff in trades that turned to gems under the right condtions :mrgreen:

[michika]

When you say size of the frag, in terms of zoas & palys, do you mean how many heads, or how big each head is?

Thanks everyone for your responses. Its interesting to see some of the thought processes behind pricing frags.

[michika]

Long time no see Murray!
Ah the brown zoas!

I have to say that when I price, I do it based on color, size, and rarity, and most often in that order. Like most people have mentioned, I sometimes try to stay under what the LFS would charge, but I also take into account if its available at an LFS.

As for paying for frags, I'm willing to up what I would pay if its something I can't find locally, a color, or a species I don't have. I'm also willing to pay more as I often see frags as an investment of sorts.

[Snappy]

I think first priority is the how rare the coral is.
I agree with this but there many variables to consider, and just one of them being if it's from a wild colony, then it is much rarer and until a bunch of frags get out there it has a very limited supply. Another is lots of the nicer corals grow really slow so they can't be fragged very often making them rare or as they say Limited Editions. There are a lot of corals available however MOST are very mediocre, at least that is the case with sps and I have found over the years that if I want a known quality strain then I'd better be prepared to pay for it. You can always buy from the stores and wait several months to year to see if you got lucky but to get a known entity of excellent quality in my opinion is worth the extra loot. Most corals will eventually look good but if you want the eye catching WOW then the odds are about 1/100 for the brown pieces you'll buy hoping to get lucky with the unknown. Especially if you aren't familiar with the subtleties of the various acropora strains let alone the vast array of other sps on the market. I personally feel it boils down to the same as most other things in life; you generally get what you pay for.

[fragalot]

When you say size of the frag, in terms of zoas & palys, do you mean how many heads, or how big each head is?

Thanks everyone for your responses. Its interesting to see some of the thought processes behind pricing frags.



I meant how many polyps on the frag.

[ClubReef]

I write some price points on ballons and I throw darts at them to determine pricing :) hehehe

In all honesty..pricing is so subjective. I just trying to recover my cost and make it affordable at the same time. I will only sell frags with color...

[michika]

I agree with this but there many variables to consider, and just one of them being if it's from a wild colony, then it is much rarer and until a bunch of frags get out there it has a very limited supply. Another is lots of the nicer corals grow really slow so they can't be fragged very often making them rare or as they say Limited Editions. There are a lot of corals available however MOST are very mediocre, at least that is the case with sps and I have found over the years that if I want a known quality strain then I'd better be prepared to pay for it. You can always buy from the stores and wait several months to year to see if you got lucky but to get a known entity of excellent quality in my opinion is worth the extra loot. Most corals will eventually look good but if you want the eye catching WOW then the odds are about 1/100 for the brown pieces you'll buy hoping to get lucky with the unknown. Especially if you aren't familiar with the subtleties of the various acropora strains let alone the vast array of other sps on the market. I personally feel it boils down to the same as most other things in life; you generally get what you pay for.

Agreed, you have to put out a little more if you want something extra in return.

So is it fair to see that in your case Greg, you look at quality (color, growth, and availability) first?

[Snappy]

Agreed, you have to put out a little more if you want something extra in return.

So is it fair to see that in your case Greg, you look at quality (color, growth, and availability) first?
Yes that would be a fair statement, however personal taste and emotion almost always play a big part of the equation on what I am willing to pay for something. Just because it's rare and expensive doesn't always mean I will like it or want it. If someone is just mainly into softies, for example, it's difficult for them to see any value in a $90 and up 1" acro frag.:surprise:
I have colonies that when I purchased the original frag it was more than I sell a frag of it for now but I am still getting a return on my investment. Some of the frags I sell are quite hard to find in this part of the world these days and if I am going to part with some of my favorite stuff then there is a price attached. Again you get what you pay for.

[Murminator]

Long time no see Murray!
Ah the brown zoas!



Yup still alive getting in tons a camping a quadding thats why my tanks would look like crap I scoot in every month or so to see whats up....and I see everyone is passing me in posts