Are we been ripped off

[Dburr1014]

They charge what they charge. You don't have to buy into it.
You could go get a collector license and go diving and get them yourself. And then you'll know the true cost of each frag.
Not sure how many can do that.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

As a hobbyist who works in the industry, I am much more upset with the governments that limit sustainable collection and mariculture. I just bought a bubble coral for $250. I remember when I would have paid $69 for the same bubble coral. The price of frags has gone up in large part because cheap maricultured and wild-collected corals are no longer available. If we had the same ability to get maricultured SPS that we once had then the price of SPS frags would drop significantly.

 

[doubleshot00]

What bothers me most is the misrepresentation of corals using photo shop and color enhancement.

You can see the posters that are missing the point on this one.

"The price is the price you don't like it don't buy it."

 

[Goaway]

No, i dont buy from those kind of vendors.

I remember which venders sales I like and check for pieces I'd like to get.

Now, we have photo magic. This was going on for at least 20 years. I always expect a much more bland piece. And love being surprises when they look just like the photo.

There are other hobbyists, they don't charge vendors price. Some of them sell much larger and healthier coral than any vendor will offer.

When I began reefing and ordering online, I couldnt afford to be ripped off. So, I watched forums and learned what was going on. And to keep away from trendy coral.

 

[GatorGreg]

It’s not the prices that are a rip off to me. It’s the sizes of the frags that are outrageous to me.

single polyp prices ?
200 to 300 for a crumb of a piece of an acro?

I will pay the prices. But I want size that’s comparable to the price.

 

[GatorGreg]

You can see the posters that are missing the point on this one.

"The price is the price you don't like it don't buy it."

Ok boomer

 

[doubleshot00]

Ok boomer

 

[Nano_Man]

I think people in this hobby suffer from fear of missing out and make alot of impulse purchases. Yes I'm guilty but it took me about a year to figure that out. Now that my systems are full and I rarely buy any livestock anymore except for some occasional clean up crew and maintenance supplies. I don't like the practice of "hobbyists" selling though. I have so much growth that I'm more than happy to just give it away. I'm at the point where I've decided if my reefs ever crash I'll just go fish only and never buy another frag again.

Yes in other hobby’s people help them get started love the idea of helping other people with frags great attitude to have . Keeps down the set up cost for people with not much money get into the hobby.

 

[areefer01]

As a hobbyist who works in the industry, I am much more upset with the governments that limit sustainable collection and mariculture. I just bought a bubble coral for $250. I remember when I would have paid $69 for the same bubble coral. The price of frags has gone up in large part because cheap maricultured and wild-collected corals are no longer available. If we had the same ability to get maricultured SPS that we once had then the price of SPS frags would drop significantly.

Do hobbyist need wild collected corals? If so, why? Are we collecting wild reptiles? Cats? Dogs? Birds? How do other animal related hobbies manage it?

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Do hobbyist need wild collected corals? If so, why? Are we collecting wild reptiles? Cats? Dogs? Birds? How do other animal related hobbies manage it?

We absolutely need it.

Corals are much more like plants than Mammals or reptiles. Imagine trying to farm any kind of crop entirely in a greenhouse rather than in a farm field. The savings that come from natural temperature regulation, rainwater, and natural sunlight make farming outdoors the logical choice. Only a few specialized plants are exceptions.

I would love more maricultured corals. It is best for the environment and for the hobby to have more corals grown on an actual coral reef where nature supplies the environmental requirements that we have to burn coal to generate in Aquaculture facilities.

Likewise, many natural herbs are still foraged for today including mushrooms, and roots. It is just not economically viable to farm these crops.

Fundamentally I believe we can take species from the wild as long as it is done in a measured and sustainable manner. It is for this reason that Norway still allows whaling. As long as the quotas are properly maintained whaling is not an issue. The same is true for corals and fish. As long as we monitor the reefs and only issue an acceptable amount of permits there is no reason to stop fish and coral collection.

 

[spectral_ranger]

If that many people were really paying those outrageous prices for readily available frags, we'd be seeing a lot more people get into coral farming as a major source of income. I don't see that (though I'm lucky to have a fantastic hobbyist source near me, so maybe I'm not seeing clearly). There are a lot of little boutique operations popping up, but until I see them all driving around in Bentleys rather than scraping by trying to recoup what they put into it, I'm not feeling like I'm overpaying much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[fish farmer]

I've been in the hobby a long time when you could buy a fist sized platygyra for $70, same price today would fetch a thumb sized frag.

I don't have a large system so frag sizes are perfect for me. I don't have many hobbyist nearby who have what I want...free SPS...not interested right now. I'm getting particular with what I put in my tank now and searching for that local reefer or LFS with exactly what I want would be futile.

I recently got a shipment of corals, snails and shrimp from a large eastern online vendor. Completely satisfied with the wysiwyg's and the loyalty pieces. I wound up buying six frag sized corals for about $32 each shipped, prices ranged from $9 to $56. Most growing on the plug.

I rarely see LFS around here with frags under $25 and those are zoa/palys. Back when fragging became a thing...early 2000s, one spendy store had frags for $39.

 

[tautog83]

^ thats because you can ask people what they do for a living , ask about their cars in a 25 second long video and make millions of dollars. People are lazy and need instant gratification . Why wait and grow a coral if you can just buy it, money will come back right..lol

 

[areefer01]

We absolutely need it.

Corals are much more like plants than Mammals or reptiles. Imagine trying to farm any kind of crop entirely in a greenhouse rather than in a farm field. The savings that come from natural temperature regulation, rainwater, and natural sunlight make farming outdoors the logical choice. Only a few specialized plants are exceptions.

I would love more maricultured corals. It is best for the environment and for the hobby to have more corals grown on an actual coral reef where nature supplies the environmental requirements that we have to burn coal to generate in Aquaculture facilities.

Likewise, many natural herbs are still foraged for today including mushrooms, and roots. It is just not economically viable to farm these crops.

Fundamentally I believe we can take species from the wild as long as it is done in a measured and sustainable manner. It is for this reason that Norway still allows whaling. As long as the quotas are properly maintained whaling is not an issue. The same is true for corals and fish. As long as we monitor the reefs and only issue an acceptable amount of permits there is no reason to stop fish and coral collection.

How do we grow produce that fills our grocery store shelves? Seems to work out ok here in California.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I know for me, it is difficult to discern the price of certain corals, especially when two pieces look similar, but the prices are vastly different from the two. If I'm going to buy coral, I'm usually just going to pick the cheaper ones out of the bunch, vs throwing hundreds of dollars at a coral.

 

[hexcolor reef]

Are we in the hobby been ripped off on frag prices . Size-quality

I for one definitely think we’re being ripped off. To a certain extent. I hear reefers that mentioned lighting/electricity cost etc. once all that is factored in, now let’s go to the buyer. The buyer resumes all the risk more so if coral is being shipped. I seen high prices for a frag and you only receive a 1” coral frag.
$229 for 1” of frag WOW!!! Coral grows about 5” in width in a year time. Most reefers wont keep that coral alive in a year. just looking from a buyers perspective, one would have to be super dedicated and make as less mistakes as possible to try and beat the odds of failure and wasting money. Ive watched a ton of YouTube videos and been to many different states fish stores since getting in the hobby and most coral are all the same. Some places have very different colorations and lighting to make them pop more but again it’s a selling point. Find a supplier with fair if not better pricing. I recently bought a torch two heads for $100 which goes for $200 for 1 head. And have another supplier that I can get a very beautiful 7” rock zoa garden for $269 its all about find that that 1 or multiple suppliers that’s fits your budget without having to sacrifice that type of coral your getting.
I do plan on getting a golden torch for over $300 pretty soon though. Very beautiful frag i would love to have. Great thing about reefing is the prices seem to only go up. So its a perfect time to get in The hobby.
Deals I passed on:
Naso tang $50
inferno RBC 3” : $75
rainbow hammer coral 4”: $125

 

[FoolishWizard]

Buy a frag, get ripped off... Grow said frag... Frag said frag... Rip others off. Vicious cycle of this hobby.

 

[areefer01]

I for one definitely think we’re being ripped off. To a certain extent. I hear reefers that mentioned lighting/electricity cost etc. once all that is factored in, now let’s go to the buyer. The buyer resumes all the risk more so if coral is being shipped. I seen high prices for a frag and you only receive a 1” coral frag.
$229 for 1” of frag WOW!!! Coral grows about 5” in width in a year time. Most reefers wont keep that coral alive in a year. just looking from a buyers perspective, one would have to be super dedicated and make as less mistakes as possible to try and beat the odds of failure and wasting money. Ive watched a ton of YouTube videos and been to many different sates fish stores since getting in the hobby and most coral are all the same. Some places have very different colorations and lighting to make them pop more but again it’s a selling point. Find a supplier with fair if not better pricing. I recently bought a torch two heads for $100 which goes for $200 for 1 head. And have another supplier that I can get a very beautiful 7” rock zoa garden for $269 its all about find that that 1 or multiple suppliers that’s fits your budget without having to sacrifice that type of coral your getting

Maybe you or the OP mean buyers remorse.

If one is window shopping at a LFS or online no one is forcing said shopper to buy the coral in question. It really is that simple. There are awesome reef displays with frugal hobbyist. It can be done but takes effort. If anyone here has a issue with prices then stand your ground and don't pay them. If enough hobbyist do the same then the market will adjust.

 

[MoshJosh]

I vote yes and no haha

Some prices seem outrageous and some practices seem exploitative, but at the same time sometimes I pay next to nothing for a coral that a diver ripped out of the ocean, flew across the world, flew across the US, survived the back of a UPS truck. . . so meh

I buy cheap corals though. Think the most I spent on a single coral was $80 and it was a coral I have only seen once locally and also a personal favorite.

 

[hexcolor reef]

I for one definitely think we’re being ripped off. To a certain extent. I hear reefers that mentioned lighting/electricity cost etc. once all that is factored in, now let’s go to the buyer. The buyer resumes all the risk more so if coral is being shipped. I seen high

Maybe you or the OP mean buyers remorse.

If one is window shopping at a LFS or online no one is forcing said shopper to buy the coral in question. It really is that simple. There are awesome reef displays with frugal hobbyist. It can be done but takes effort. If anyone here has a issue with prices then stand your ground and don't pay them. If enough hobbyist do the same then the market will adjust.

prices for a frag and you only receive a 1” coral frag.
$229 for 1” of frag WOW!!! Coral grows about 5” in width in a year time. Most reefers wont keep that coral alive in a year. just looking from a buyers perspective, one would have to be super dedicated and make as less mistakes as possible to try and beat the odds of failure and wasting money. Ive watched a ton of YouTube videos and been to many different states fish stores since getting in the hobby and most coral are all the same. Some places have very different colorations and lighting to make them pop more but again it’s a selling point. Find a supplier with fair if not better pricing. I recently bought a torch two heads for $100 which goes for $200 for 1 head. And have another supplier that I can get a very beautiful 7” rock zoa garden for $269 its all about find that that 1 or multiple suppliers that’s fits your budget without having to sacrifice that type of coral your getting

totally agree, I haven’t felt ripped off yet since I’ve started in the hobby. I’ve saved a ton of money just waiting for deals and shopping in different states. It’s all about being disciplined. It’s all an investment to me and a very good one. I just understand the risk. I don’t think the hobby has reached its peak yet.
I often come on R2R to ask if a price of coral or fish is too much before buying which helps out a lot. Lover the platform so far. Wish R2R create an app