Importing SPS/Fish from Bali

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Icefire

Even if you factor Cites permit, Airway shipping, US exchange, it's still miles away from 40-80$.

You're probably looking at near $35 per colony landed. Add that to the fact you won't be happy with 70% of what you get, I'd look at other options. I've bought many boxes of corals, and I've never found it worth the trouble. I'd go for a bulk order of frags from a vendor, even if I have to wait longer for a full look.

Certainly up to you, but I'll bet you a 20 that I get to say I told ya so

I have ordered from one supplier, by inventory number, and didn't get a single thing I ordered. But hey, it's a fun experience.

[Reef Pilot]

Suppliers probably have to compete for repeat business so save their best for the larger importers. But if you are a small and/or one time buyer, you might just get their crap corals. Just a thought...

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Suppliers probably have to compete for repeat business so save their best for the larger importers. But if you are a small and/or one time buyer, you might just get their crap corals. Just a thought...

Agreed. I have helped unpack dozens and dozens of orders to my LFS. Each box usually contains 12 to 16 pieces, depending on size. If any given box ever had 3 pieces I liked, it was a good box. Once, I saw a box with probably half that were nice, but it was a special favor from the importer, IIRC.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Plus all the really sweet pieces go to Japan and US as a general rule of thumb. Canada is a small market and so only if your supplier is known to you and will hand-pick your corals will you get anywhere close to what you want and what you order. From my own experience, even if they tell you one thing to get you interested in doing such an order, when it actually comes time to deliver, all sorts of new charges will be added on to maximize their profits and minimize your savings. Also, right now is a terrible time to order a box of corals for two major reasons:

1) Winter time - shipping across Canada is iffy at best when the shipment is in transit for that long and heat packs may not be available or may no longer be working during the long cross-country flight after the long trans-Pacific flight.

2) Canadian dollar SUX right now and ALL coral and fish shipments are calculated in US dollars so this really takes a bite out of your potential savings. Shipping costs and the US exchange are the two biggest complaints I hear from the local fish stores here and you're adding an additional cross-country flight on top of that.

[Aquattro]

If you're going to do it anyway, please report back and tell us what you think