MR Member coral prices are CRAZY!!!

[ming]

The way I see it is, if you think its overpriced but people are willing to pay for it, then buy it, grow it out, and then sell it for slightly cheaper. You'll sell quicker because you're lower priced then the going rate, and you'll earn some money from it as well. I don't see whats the big deal.

If you think "but that coral will be lower priced in 2 years by the time my coral grows out", then wait 2 years until other people grow it out to lower the price! If you really want the latest corals, then you have to pay for it. The same with technology. You set your budget, and enter at your price point.

If its overpriced and nobody buys it, the seller will either hold it forever or lower the price. The beauty of a fair market system

 

[Arati]

at least to me .. the difference between a hobby and a job. Is that I can lose $ or just break even and not even care.. since its a hobby. I consider the $ I spent to get the original colony spent and gone. Any money that I make off of frags or sales I think of as proffit. I know its small minded but this is just a hobby to me.

More importantly I value the friendships created by giving away or selling super cheap frags. I think of it as a bank.. if something goes wrong here I can contact the people I have made friends with over the years and hopefull restock what I may have lost, and a discounted rate.

like I said this to me is a hobby. If you want me to build and istall your home theater expect me to make as much money as I can. thats my job.. and I do it only for $.

If you see me selling a fish or frag for 100's of dolars you can bet I dont really want to sell it at all..

 

[aagresti]

couldn't agree more Ming!

 

[prattreef]

The really distressing and depressing part (to me at least) is the whole tenor of the discussion surrounding the hobby is about commodification--- how much did I pay, what is the market value now,in 6 mos. in 2 years. how can i recoup my investment. This is very strange language to anyone who has been in the hobby longer than 5 or 6 years. the notion of "high end " corals is also odd and artificial. The result that I see-- and I've had this discussion with many other long term hobbyists-- is that many people practice a very different hobby than I know and love. Now it is all about the collection, how many frags of "rare" things I possess, and how can I get them to grow just enough to frag them and recoup my investment so I can afford to add to my collection.

The result is, most hobbyists I see these days and sadly many beginners don't even have as a goal growing out frags into large colonies and developing full blown reefs. Instead we see frag rack dominated, sand bed littered systems that show off collections, but not anything resembling an artificial reef. if this is what people enjoy, so be it, but it is certainly a different hobby than. the one I practice. Personally, i'd much rather have a full grown brown colony with a cool growth form, than an eye of something "special" that only looks nice in a macro photo, and that i feel compelled to frag as soon as possible because it cost me so much.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

The really distressing and depressing part (to me at least) is the whole tenor of the discussion surrounding the hobby is about commodification--- how much did I pay, what is the market value now,in 6 mos. in 2 years. how can i recoup my investment. This is very strange language to anyone who has been in the hobby longer than 5 or 6 years. the notion of "high end " corals is also odd and artificial. The result that I see-- and I've had this discussion with many other long term hobbyists-- is that many people practice a very different hobby than I know and love. Now it is all about the collection, how many frags of "rare" things I possess, and how can I get them to grow just enough to frag them and recoup my investment so I can afford to add to my collection.

The result is, most hobbyists I see these days and sadly many beginners don't even have as a goal growing out frags into large colonies and developing full blown reefs. Instead we see frag rack dominated, sand bed littered systems that show off collections, but not anything resembling an artificial reef. if this is what people enjoy, so be it, but it is certainly a different hobby than. the one I practice. Personally, i'd much rather have a full grown brown colony with a cool growth form, than an eye of something "special" that only looks nice in a macro photo, and that i feel compelled to frag as soon as possible because it cost me so much.

Amen Randy, I couldn't have said it better.:irked:

 

[jadakiss]

i agree

 

[scapone]

I think its all relative to what you can afford period. I think its fair to charge a market price for something that is above and beyond the norm. What I think is nonsense when people try to sell common bull crap at high prices trying to make up money. At the same token I hate nickel and dime mofo which there are a few on here. I give an example I tried to sell two sea hares on here one guy pm's me like 5 times I give him the number he plays phone tag then asked me to make it $10 instead of 15$ and I paid 25$ and this isn't the only place this happens I run mechanic shops people do the same thing want everything for free I call them roaches. I like the 5 and 10$ frags but I do understand there are place for more expensive frags if it is justified.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

you get a colony from a wholesaler for 20-35 that has 50+ polyps, do the math 3-5 polyps for $10 . now how about you went to the store and paid 60-80 for a small colony of them that was 30-40 polyps. unless you let them double in size your really not making anything.
how about i buy a $20 zoa frags that has no real color and take 6 months to color it up and grow it, am i suppose to give you it for $20 also ?

this conversation has went on on almost every fish site, and it always ends the same. oh i forgot it doesnt end. people want a colorful tank with all the nice stuff, but refuse to pay what everyone else is paying,
chem i am taking it that your a chef, can i come to where you work and get that $50 steak for $10 ? ya know it is just beef. given it only cost if buying a slab and cutting it that it boiled down to 2-3 a lb lol and dont want to hear oh it is black angus, i grew up on a farm and my uncles raised cattle

In a restaraunt there is a basis for cost. You optimaly want to be at a cost of 33%. So lets asy I pay $16.00 a # for prime sirlion.
I now serve a Ny strip that weighs 17oz.
That bring my cost to on the plate without sides to$17.00 + $2-$2.50 for sides.
Now we are at 19.50
Can I sell that dinner for $58.50. Probably not,, more like $42.00
Peter lugers can sell it for $65.00
But I can not.
My point is that Sometimes you take a little bit of a loss on high cost items. It is the cost of doing business.
Now Tilapia or some other low cost item that I can sell for $20.00 Makes up fro that.
So if we are going to compare food & coral. Maybe people need to take a beating on high piced items consideing that some colonies cost 100.00 and the seller can make say 40 frags @ $25.00 a piece.
That brings the low cost coral to a 10% cost.
All coral should not be a 10% cost IMO

 

[CHEMCHEF]

+1. LOL Rick, I can see you getting all crazy-eyed right now. Calm down! Go have some eggnog! :splitspin

OP sold/selling audio equipment for a decent amount of money; I won't apply a value or degree to the amount he asked/asking for as the amount impacts each person differently. So OP is fairly aware of supply/demand, TMV on new/used good... all I see is a soapbox here; and you can have it back as soon as I get off of it. :shhh:

Not to mention the stealth vendor here giving his "wag the dog" speech and pushing his hidden agenda.

More importantly, happy holidays to all and your families...

If this is the thread you are speaking about you might want to re-read it.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/non-reef-sales/73948-couple-home-theater-items-f-s.html
These are fair prices and I was not trying to recup the entire amount of Original purchase from the sale.
They were simply things my system had outgrown, taking up space in my house.
FYI all these items went on Audiogon for asking or just under asking price. For those of you that do not know what Audiogon is. It is the leading Pre Owned AV electronics site on the internet. Frequented by IMO, the most knowledgeable hobbyists out there.
This statement comes from 25+ years of being an Audio/ Home Theater Hobbyist.
Pal. I have been in this hobby since Needles were dropped on Vynil to get sound, and I know a heck of alot more about that than Reefing.
I have never Gouged anybody I sold AV Merch to. Believe me, I have taken more losses than MY Wife would care to admit.
It is completly different to spend $10,000.00 on a monoblock amp that takes very expensive parts to build.
Nature does not grow Class A Sound. I guarantee that!!

 

[NYreefNoob]

chem i am really not against you on this, but some corals are going to be a higher price,

i used the beef part because i use to manage a food establishments and seen the cost ect.

i dont buy a coral with the thought of fragging it. to make my money back. but lets use a ora coral, most are around $65 for any of their sps which everybody pays in a store, but if i fragged my colony of it i wouldnt try to sell frags at their price for that size, it's a fast grower. but take a purple monster sps which grows slower then about any sps i have owned or seen that piece wouldnt go for a cheap price, alot of the chalice's that had crazy prices was partially because of slow growth rates, mainly because of fade, but a handful still bring the top dollar.
more of my view and always has been if it is too expensive i just don't get it, why i dont have certain piece's i want.
another example and this is a personal use one. garf purple bonsi sells for 60-80 a 1.5-2" frag i have a couple that are almost twice that in size and several branch's i put them up for $45 granted i almost doubled their size. is this still too expensive ?
or i buy 3 polyps zoa frag for $50 and turn it into 10-15 polyps and want a $100 is that fair or should i still sell it for $50 or less ?
value is in the mind set of the buyer, seller can have a idea of what they think it is worth, but it is only worth what the buyer is willing to pay, baseball cards are a perfect example cause that mickey mantle rookie card might be valued at x amount doesnt mean your going to get it, but you put a higher price to be haggled down to a excepting price.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I understand that the rarest, pretty corals are going to cost more. But take a look at the marketplace here and tell me that people are not asking too much for even plain jane corals most of the time.
I would think more people would be on my side (I am not talking about you Noob, I have seen your for sale posts, they seem fair) if the hobby had not turned so greedy.
Like I said in another post.
I enjoy Giving a deal as much as Getting a deal. Thats it.
There is a for sale post for a Scoly that has been fragged into 5 pieces for $100.00 a frag. But the original scoly was purchased for $200.00. That is making $300.00 by my math. It's not that nice Either, and furthermore it seems it would take some sort of miracle for the frag to survive.
I don't mean to call anyone out but it seems giving a direct example is the only way to get my point across here.

 

[NYreefNoob]

lol you mean green btton polyps arent worth $10 a polyp ?

 

[charliethetuna88]

I resuse to buy certain corals cause some dummmy came up with some dumb name and a huge price tag people are nuts and to be honest were to blame for paying these ridicuos prices

 

[InfernoST]

The seller has the right to sell something for what ever he/she wants (no matter how ridiculous) but it's up to the buyer to be educated about what he/she is buying and to say yes or no, I don't see why this all so complicated.

 

[albano]

The seller has the right to sell something for what ever he/she wants (no matter how ridiculous) but it's up to the buyer to be educated about what he/she is buying and to say yes or no, I don't see why this all so complicated.

+1 "And that's all I have to say about that" ... Forrest Gump 1994

 

[Dre]

The End

 

[chinatown]

I understand that the rarest, pretty corals are going to cost more. But take a look at the marketplace here and tell me that people are not asking too much for even plain jane corals most of the time.
I would think more people would be on my side (I am not talking about you Noob, I have seen your for sale posts, they seem fair) if the hobby had not turned so greedy.
Like I said in another post.
I enjoy Giving a deal as much as Getting a deal. Thats it.
There is a for sale post for a Scoly that has been fragged into 5 pieces for $100.00 a frag. But the original scoly was purchased for $200.00. That is making $300.00 by my math. It's not that nice Either, and furthermore it seems it would take some sort of miracle for the frag to survive.
I don't mean to call anyone out but it seems giving a direct example is the only way to get my point across here.

lulz. i saw that, $100 for a washed out coral butchered, no thank you.


but let us be real here, if you don't like the prices, click the back button and move on. it's that simple.

but then again, i price my corals for quick sales.