High Cost of Coral

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#1
Question:

If your buying from a hobbyists, should that person be allowed to charge full retail price for that frag?

Interested in seeing peoples opinions on the topic!
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#2
Charge what you want. It may or may not sell. If it sells fast then you priced to low, if it doesn’t sell then you may need to reduce price till it sells.
 
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#3
Why would they not be allowed to? I think that retail means what someone is willing to pay. Not that you have a shop and that some how allows you to charge more because you can get it cheaper than the public. Then pay less because they do it as a hobby.

For example is someone is buying a rare car should they only sell it for what a car dealerships would pay for it? Or what they purchased it at retail ?

Also isn't reefing everyone's hobby? From BRS to WWC.

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Dwizzle28

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#5
Seller can choose to sell for whatever price he wants to, but of course there are some pros/cons to it. Takes two to make a transaction work. If the buyer is willing to pay X and seller is willing to sell at X, it works.

Pros to selling at a low price:
1. Inventory moves
2. People think you are such a giving/fair person

Cons to selling at a low price:
1. May have second thoughts of selling a piece that "you can potentially sold for more"
2. Seller's remorse

Pros to selling for a high price:
1. Money in your pocket
2. Sometimes worth it (in your eyes)

Cons to selling for a high price:
1. People on the forum may have a sour taste in their mouth especially for a new member. People on these fish forums do have a good memory and I've seen it numerous times where once your reputation is stained.... its hard to climb back
2. May not sell due to outrageous pricing
 
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#6
I see where you're coming at from this, most reasons why shops price things higher is due to overhead cost.

typically hobbyist prices are always cheaper but who knows money talks and if they get what they're asking then why not

although at retail price you still might be getting a better deal from hobbyist that has an established coral rather than a shop that brings in wild.
 
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#7
A couple points:

1) retail isn’t really a thing you can lock down in this hobby. Garage vendor’s retail pricing can be a lot lower than a local brick and mortar.

2) hobbyists can charge whatever they want. But sometimes the hobbyist item is actually a better value. If a store sold a dragon soul head freshly imported for $175, or a local hobbyist had an exceptionally colored variety that’s got a legacy of aquaculture, which might be a bigger and fatter head, I would think it’d be a better value and healthier at the same if not higher price. It’s like those Biota fish online costs more than the LFS!

3) garage vendors can potentially be importers where corals have only been in their tanks a few days to maybe a couple weeks. An LFS might have something there for a longer time and acclimated. Or they might be from hobbyist trade ins.

4) it’s always good to support local LFS if they still have quality stuff. Not only do they have higher overheads, they can be a one-stop shop for many supplies, to see some things in person, and most importantly with some LFS (not all) can be a great source of education and information. Sure some hobbyists offer that too but many don’t necessarily have the same experience, knowledge nor patience to answer dumb questions. If you go to a business selling retail, is it not taking their time to help explain and answer questions?

In the end, the law of supply and demand will play out. And there’s no clear answer if corals from LFS vs hobbyists vs garage vendors are actually better from one to the next.

If you’re a buyer, but what you like and forget about it. If you’re one who feels you got ripped off or overpaid, then you’re really not going to be able to afford this hobby long term. Cause no matter how much you over paid, you’ll inevitably lose corals and there’s no bargain price for dead corals.


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jrrob98

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#8
free market with supply and demand.

I always consider quality over quantity. I would rather pay a little more for a frag from seller X then get more from seller Y whose coral might not be as well kept ... AKA seller X is an A+ vendor and seller Y is Astro World lol ... :LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO:
 
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#11
Supply and demand. You see it here with nems and torches. It’s saturated and no one is getting R2r prices.
This is a good point. Regional prices will differ too. If you can ship, some pricing is higher on R2R.

Like a common Todd’s torch over there (east coast), people prolly willing to pay 2x-3x here.


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Smite

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#13
100% yes. Doesn't mean it will sell quickly. Probably depends on the type of coral and condition of it as well. Common zoa/paly or leather probably won't sell at retail between hobbyists. Now you buy a frag out of the bargain bin all browned out and roll the dice on sps or possibly some lps, where the colors can be effected by the quality of care given, then you'll probably be selling frags down the road for more or equal to what you paid.

Name game pieces are all supply and demand with a hefty dash of hype lol. So expect to pay close to retail early on and as time goes by those prices tend to come down.
 

erickjohnsonaz

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#16
Ahh... The tang police have traded their badges for the coral pricing police?

Interesting way to phrase that question: "should that person be allowed". Are we to now regulate the price of coral?

My opinion is that a person "should be allowed" to do whatever is legal in their jurisdiction. That also includes a person deciding NOT to buy at a particular price.

My grandfather was an economist. one of the many things he did was working for the World Bank. He traveled to many different countries: The Soviet Union, China, The Philippines. He worked with those countries introducing them to the concepts of free markets. The lessons he taught them stuck.

"One should charge what the market will bear, but no more and no less." He always told me that. It's a balance. The market will always dictate the price of things, if we let it.

Disclaimer: Please no offense to anyone is meant by this post. Just my opinion. I didn't spend a lot of time writing it to be perfectly PC.
 

ivan

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#17
You can sell for whatever you want if it’s a far price it will sell if not you will get kick out from here 🤔😬😂😅
 
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#18
Seller can choose to sell for whatever price he wants to, but of course there are some pros/cons to it. Takes two to make a transaction work. If the buyer is willing to pay X and seller is willing to sell at X, it works.

Pros to selling at a low price:
1. Inventory moves
2. People think you are such a giving/fair person

Cons to selling at a low price:
1. May have second thoughts of selling a piece that "you can potentially sold for more"
2. Seller's remorse

Pros to selling for a high price:
1. Money in your pocket
2. Sometimes worth it (in your eyes)

Cons to selling for a high price:
1. People on the forum may have a sour taste in their mouth especially for a new member. People on these fish forums do have a good memory and I've seen it numerous times where once your reputation is stained.... its hard to climb back
2. May not sell due to outrageous pricing
Don’t forget the flippers. Another con to selling too low is that you’ll see your stuff for sale again at a higher price than you sold it for.


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mushrooms

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#19
Don’t forget the flippers. Another con to selling too low is that you’ll see your stuff for sale again at a higher price than you sold it for.


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*shudders* I am just glad the reef hobby isn't a huge haven for flippers. I often see RAOK here and that is such a nice thing that was lost with the houseplant hobby. When the pandemic hit, the houseplant hobby saw insane amounts of flipping from basic b's on Facebook. Imagine GSP selling for $50 for a 1 head that is what the flippers did to houseplants by selling 1 node cuttings.
 
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#20
But as a hobbiest, with no DOA policy in place and not an aquaculture facility, I feel the product should be less. Such as buying a car, used on a Chevy lot the car will most likely be at the premium price verse going to Carmax and getting it cheaper with the same features and warranties. It will not always sell for what you want but are we taking a bigger risk buying from hobbiest rather than vendors?
 
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