Frag prices, off the scale

[FMF0331]

Is it me, or do you agree that the prices of corals and frags are just getting out of hand. Not to mention their website, but i saw a j.fox frag selling for $1150.00 for 2 eyes.. On another website, a scoly selling for $600.00

i think i maybe leaving this hobby - equipment and livestock to be listed soon.

 

[dherrera83]

I dont pay for anything i feel is too expensive for me. IMO the hobby is about creating your own reef and maintaining it. Not whose got the most expesive or hottest coral out there.

Dont let this ruin the hobby for you. Enjoy it for what it is... a piece of the ocean.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

As dherrera stated, buy what you can afford their are plenty of frags out there that don't carry that heavy of a price tag.

 

[DEL]

I agree, there definitely is a lot of high priced corals. However, you don't have to buy them. A bright green acro to me sometimes looks way better than something that's dark brown yet is limited edition. Its all about preference. Also remember, not every coral will look the same in your tank. I have corals that I bought that was a certain color, then changed over time due to my lighting setup. Buy what you like, not what everyone else likes.

 

[marrone]

I agree, there definitely is a lot of high priced corals. However, you don't have to buy them. A bright green acro to me sometimes looks way better than something that's dark brown yet is limited edition. Its all about preference. Also remember, not every coral will look the same in your tank. I have corals that I bought that was a certain color, then changed over time due to my lighting setup. Buy what you like, not what everyone else likes.

As dherrera stated, buy what you can afford their are plenty of frags out there that don't carry that heavy of a price tag.

Remember, not everything that is expensive look nice. There are plenty of cheap/inexpensive corals that look way better than some of these expensive/limited edition corals. Finally, it's your tank, buy what you like and don't get caught up in the name game or having to have all the best name corals.

 

[NL146]

Not again...
1,000,001 lol. Maybe we should have a recurring theme forum :splitspin

 

[Paolissimo]

I got thank fellow MR members for helping me getting some frags, and starting my tank. I might not have the rarest of the coral, but they are nice and they were either free or at a very reasonable price. I think it's crazy when a polyp or a 1" frags goes for $100! But its supply and demand so if there are people willing to pay, the prices will always be high, so technically is our fault!

 

[INNEED]

hahahah this might be a solution to our problem lets all go on strike no more coral buying for the next 6-8 months...........

 

[kres1024]

hahahah this might be a solution to our problem lets all go on strike no more coral buying for the next 6-8 months...........

+1

 

[tenMann2]

hahahah this might be a solution to our problem lets all go on strike no more coral buying for the next 6-8 months...........

Coral recession. Coral farms will start to liquidate any moment now.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I don't understand the reasoning behind this post. There are cars out there worth millions of dollars but that doesn't stop anyone from buying the far less expensive options for their daily commute... By your reasoning, expensive cars would cause you to sell off your car.... I don't get it.

It's not about pricing. You will always have people who gravitate to the far more expensive frags just because they want to be able to tell people they bought the frag for some ridiculous amount of money, but that doesn't make the frag actually worth that much. It also doesn't devalue any other frag just because it's priced that high. One of the biggest misconceptions in this hobby is that corals and fish have to be expensive to look nice and that is the farthest thing from reality. There are far nicer and healthier tanks that look amazing and didn't cost that much while some of the tanks filled with tiny expensive frags look like crap because the person caring for it doesn't know what they are doing. Even common corals can look incredible when cared for by the right person. It isn't the coral that makes the tank as much as it's the person responsible for the tank that makes it awesome.

 

[jnelson]

This happens in a lot of hobbies - cars, fish, guitars. In the guitar world it's called "cork-sniffery." Oh, I have this custom built guitar that's literally one of a kind and a $50,000 amplifier, I can only play Mary Had a Little Lamb but I must be amazing because I spent all this money!

Pretty silly reason to sell off and get out of the hobby IMO.

 

[marrone]

But its supply and demand so if there are people willing to pay, the prices will always be high, so technically is our fault!

Is it really supply and demand or is it just marketing? For a lot of the corals it's just marketing. Just look at how the market is now flooded with Acans and Chalices, were any of these corals really rare or in short supply to begin with? I would say no, just people putting fancy names on them or calling them "limited editions" to make them seem like they're rare of special. I do get a good laugh about Chalices though. They're not new, as they've been around for a long time. I actually used to get big pieces for practically nothing, because nobody wanted them, now it cost a fortune for a little frag because someone throws a name on it, and a made up name at that. So technically you're right, it's our fault, but it doesn't have to be that way.

 

[gatojebv]

this happens in a lot of hobbies - cars, fish, guitars. In the guitar world it's called "cork-sniffery." oh, i have this custom built guitar that's literally one of a kind and a $50,000 amplifier, i can only play mary had a little lamb but i must be amazing because i spent all this money!

Pretty silly reason to sell off and get out of the hobby imo.

1+

 

[duke62]

well if its our fault the only way to try and change it can start with this reef site.make it against the rules to name a frag and see how fast it sells by picture alone.lets see if 1 polyp of purple red and yellow zoa can sell for 50 bucks a pop.

 

[INNEED]

duke i dout that would work most of us are really into this hobby and can name most corals out there. And know the price range theres also coral pedia to help out......so i dout that would change anything...just my thought might be wrong...

 

[marrone]

well if its our fault the only way to try and change it can start with this reef site.make it against the rules to name a frag and see how fast it sells by picture alone.lets see if 1 polyp of purple red and yellow zoa can sell for 50 bucks a pop.

Like in the old days, when people would post that they were selling red zoas with blue skirts? When people brought things because that though they were pretty and that they like the coral, as opposed to now, were people buy because of the name.

I'm sure if that was the case things would go for a lot less, but unfortunately the fault isn't with the people selling, it's with the people who are buying. People get caught up in names and shell out a lot of money because of it. People just need to realize what they're buying, and use some common sense, and see that they're paying a lot of money for something they probably could find very similar, and in the end may even look better, and all just because of a name.

 

[duke62]

inneed your part of the problem you buy everything LOL..ive been in the hobby for 6 years and i can still care less on fancy names.if i like it i buy it.all the guys that know me know i will not buy a coral for more then 40 bucks.i dont care about the name.i didnt spend my spare time learning dumb arse fancy names.if i see a picture and i like it i buy it.believe me not everyone on here know the fancy names.people take the time to remember the made up names because it makes them money.i wonder how many people can give us the scientific name ?

 

[Paolissimo]

One of my favorite coral is GSP. When it's together as a big patch is soo nice. I think Josh has the entire bottom of his tank covered with them, I only saw pictures but it looks soo cool. It's got be a supply and demand issue. GSP is very common, and I am assuming most of us have it, and give them away for free, or for very little. But the expensive zoas (rasta comes to mind)is not as common in peoples tanks, that's why you can sell it for a lot of money. I personally think rasta is very nice zoa's. I reentered the hobby recently and so i am starting my tank, so I wouldn't want to spent a lot of money on just one rasta polyp, when for the same amount of money, i can buy 3-4 coral to fill up my tank.
Maybe we should make a poll to see what expensive coral we have. Maybe if a coral was readily available from hobbyist, vendors wouldn't sell it for a lot of money.
10 years ago, I remember any type of Acropora and SPS in general were no less then $60 for a 1" frag, now, people give them away for very little or free(of course not all acropora).

 

[tomtoothdoc]

my wife schooled me on this.
coral prices are like shoe prices.
there are $50 shoes and there are $5,000 shoes.
when they are in fashion, they fetches higher prices.
jason fox's name is kinda like manolo blahnik at the moment.
we have a don't ask don't tell policy when it come to each of our obsessions.

i don't try to understand nor justify them.
whether be its name or the way it looks, i know there are "the one"(s) that each of us are willing to pay just a little more for it.

buy what you can afford at the price you're willing to pay for and you don't need to justify it.
some mentioned million dollar cars, some won't pay more than $40, value is relative.
$40 to the indonesian kid who actually collected that coral is just as absurd as a million dollar car to most of us.
a million dollar car to a billionaire is not as absurd to him if he's willing to pay that price.

prices will go as high as what someone is willing to pay.

that said, i'm willing to pay quite a bit for some soprano's.....lol. (flame suit on)