Coral pricing

[Dearth]

Being as this appears to be a sore spot with people about coral prices I figured I would start a post here

Now to be clear there are very reputable coral dealers out there who are very responsible with their prices and size of their frags and I have my suppliers I use and as Tim stated in the Poll buying coral from suppliers is getting harder and more costly for the LFS and that gets passed on to the customer which I have no issue with.

If you wish to vent please be respectful of sellers even if you feel you are unfairly treated by them

My biggest beef is when a hobbyist gives a LFS store frags either at cost or free then the LFS turns around and tries hawking it for exorbitant amounts of money sometimes as much as 10x the price they paid for it that is bad business practise

I also have issues with hobbyists that frag their colonies then want LFS store prices I understand wanting to make money from the hobby but that is going overboard IMO.

[gmann]

Originally Posted by Dearth

I also have issues with hobbyists that frag their colonies then want LFS store prices I understand wanting to make money from the hobby but that is going overboard IMO.

If it was a common coral I would agree with you, but if its something rare that you cant get locally then why not. Buyer ends up saving taxes and shipping fees

also gotta factor in cheapskates when pricing. theres always one chump out there asking for $5 off a $25 frag when they are only buying 1 thing.

to be clear im not against asking for a deal/ price break during initial contact (its easy to stop replying to txt's or just laugh at them). I take issue with ppl who show up after agreeing to a price and ask for a discount. its like they think i will feel pressured into saying yes because they are in front of me, but in reality i just tell them to leave.

rant over.

[titus]

Hello

Interesting thread Dearth. I can see where you are coming from and can see why hobbyists are upset when LFS make a good buck from what was bought off them or when their peers are demanding same price as LFS.

I'm going to put another perspective to this. This is reflective of an inefficient market where liquidity is low. If there are a lot of buyers and sellers trading then there is going to be an equilibrium. You will get the odd ones from time to time even in a highly liquid market but they are the odd ones.

Titus

[cvrle1]

Issue is that it was several big coral farmers that started raising prices on frags with their made up name corals. They take pics under blue light, use orange lens to make colors pop, photoshop the crap out of the picture, slap a silly name on a coral and ask for $200 for a tiny frag. I know several folks have started trying to crash the market if you will, by offering those same frags at fraction of the cost. I hope that they succeed.

[straightrazorguy]

Like I said in another thread, I found that prices have stagnated or ever gone down on a lot of common corals. "Designer corals" are a whole other issue altogether. Those prices are pumped up by the novelty/desirability factor, which is very subjective. But, if you look at the median price of coral frags in the hobby I disagree with the assertion that the prices have gone up. At least not since 2012 when I started in this hobby.

[Ryan]

I think the LFS needs to make money and should do so.

I'd like to see frag sizes go back to that 1-2 inches, well encrusted or showing new growth and people realizing just because your 1" frag has 2 branches doesnt make it a mini colony.

I remember when people were called out for small fresh glued frags and smurfs pictures. Those were the good old days.

[titus]

Hello

Originally Posted by straightrazorguy

Like I said in another thread, I found that prices have stagnated or ever gone down on a lot of common corals. "Designer corals" are a whole other issue altogether. Those prices are pumped up by the novelty/desirability factor, which is very subjective. But, if you look at the median price of coral frags in the hobby I disagree with the assertion that the prices have gone up. At least not since 2012 when I started in this hobby.

Well the designer ones are always subjective. They parallel the likes of buying Gucci clothes which frankly speaking I have no idea of why anyone digs their designs. There will always be people willing to pay crazy prices for these type of stuff.

Titus