Beaten to death, but with a twist

[Psychographic]

After reading a thread on RC that eventually turned to a flame war over Steve Tyree, I wanted some opinions. I'm hoping this will stay civil and if not I do hope this thread gets closed.

I personally have nothing against this guy, but I have to ask,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Why is it that HE is the one that decides whether a coral is an LE or not? What does he base his decision on when evaluating whether a coral gets the label LE? If it's color, then hell, I bet I am more qualified than him. I have worked in an art related field my whole life and I bet I know more about color than he does.

I know this is a love/hate thing with the haters blaming him, I don't think he is or ever was the problem, rather than the followers of his idea. I personally don't like the LE idea, I see it as a money maker and nothing more. I doubt if that is what he had in mind when he came up with the idea, but we all know that is what it has become and it's too late to turn back now.

Please, if you can't discuss this rationally, move on to another thread.

 

[JR's Reef]

1st off threads like this is the reason he dont post very often. If you dont like the LE thing dont buy them its that simple.
I think its because he started the LE thing so that give him the rights to it. Well kind of but thats not the point. My .02

 

[143gadgets]

This topic comes up every few months with the same ending.

-Those that support the LE idea because it allows tracing of lineage.

-Those who believe it is detrimental to the hobby.

You can join the party or watch from outside.

 

[oceanparadise1]

i dont think u guys are answering the right questions hes not arguing le hes asking why TYREE is the person who picks if a coral is LE such as why him and not lets say me?

 

[NotTheFace]

He grows out a coral, it morphs into something that no one else has or has seen, he then sells it, it is LE until someone else starts fragging it, then it becomes rare, then the others start fragging and then it becomes common. It is supply and demand, capitalism at it's finest

The part that most people hate is that LE stays LE for way too long because the guy who paid top dollar a few years ago still expects to get top dollar now. In my reef club we have a don't break the chain program, they have a hard time (sometimes) giving away beautiful corals because everyone either already has it, or it's just not as impressive or colorful compared to what is currently considered the best.

Trends shift and change look at Chalices now, some zoas, or even better Mini Capet Anemones, from what I gather (from long time reefers) mini carpet anemones in the past were almost throw aways nobody was all that into them and they split pretty fast, but all of a sudden there was a surge in it's demand and now they go for good money and I think the market is still growing, the problem to me is that they do split pretty fast but people want a lot for them.

I think I'm starting to lose focus so I'll stop here

 

[bamachamp92]

I dont think Steve Tyree decides which corals are LE, just which ones carry his name with them. If you look at track record the corals from Tyree and reeffarmers are some of the nicest most sought after corals in the hobby. They also spend a lot of time in holding before they are released into the hobby in mass. The positive to this is that the corals are proven so why not pay a fraction more for proven corals. There are also very few LE Tyree corals if you consider how long he has been around. There are people who are getting wild/maricultured corals in chopping them up and giving them a name and selling them as LE and then they get into a system they turn brown. So I think Steve Tyree is good for the hobby, if someone doesnt agree that is the beauty of being free not to buy something.

 

[wicked demon]

"limited edition " simply means it will not be available for long, that's all, and yes it is the owners perogitive to limit the distribution. people are reading into the subject far too much.

 

[dieselab]

...because reeffarmer is his company and he can call what he wants a LE or a AE. no different then how anyone would run their company.

 

[Ian]

i dont think u guys are answering the right questions hes not arguing le hes asking why TYREE is the person who picks if a coral is LE such as why him and not lets say me?

No one's stopping you :snicker:

 

[Ian]

...if someone doesnt agree that is the beauty of being free not to buy something.

Exactly, you don't like it, don't buy them. No one is forcing you to

Steve is a great asset to this hobby. Who else out there is promoting active coral farming? Not who's doing it, who's promoting it...

 

[Ian]

After reading a thread on RC that eventually turned to a flame war over Steve Tyree, I wanted some opinions. I'm hoping this will stay civil and if not I do hope this thread gets closed.

I personally have nothing against this guy, but I have to ask,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I personally don't like the LE idea, I see it as a money maker and nothing more. I doubt if that is what he had in mind when he came up with the idea, but we all know that is what it has become and it's too late to turn back now.

FWIW, he started the LE thing wayyy before there were any internet vendors. Limited in the sense of a coral doesn't mean the same as a car like there were only so many built, at the time it meant you could get on a list. One person on the list would get a frag and the next person would have to wait for their frag to grow out before it is distributed, making the coral 'limited' in distribution...

People resent Steve when it's others that market his name...

When is the last time you've seen Steve pump his stuff up... don't worry, Ill wait

 

[Elan]

Its HIS label that HE created. It should be the buyers choice to decide. Some of the corals he has labeled i love, while others i am thinking what the @#$%?

Besides if you had a huge colony of coral that was labeled LE and you got a crap ton of money, would you be upset?

 

[Psychographic]

1st off threads like this is the reason he dont post very often. If you dont like the LE thing dont buy them its that simple.
I think its because he started the LE thing so that give him the rights to it. Well kind of but thats not the point. My .02

I was sticking up for him if you read what I actually wrote.

This topic comes up every few months with the same ending.

-Those that support the LE idea because it allows tracing of lineage.

-Those who believe it is detrimental to the hobby.

You can join the party or watch from outside.

Reread my post, you missed my point.

He grows out a coral, it morphs into something that no one else has or has seen, he then sells it, it is LE until someone else starts fragging it, then it becomes rare, then the others start fragging and then it becomes common. It is supply and demand, capitalism at it's finest

From my understanding he doesn't morph all of the corals, I was led to believe you submit a coral to him and he decides if it will be an LE. I have seen quite a few corals that were given the LE title that looked no different than when he got them.

"limited edition " simply means it will not be available for long, that's all, and yes it is the owners perogitive to limit the distribution. people are reading into the subject far too much.

Unless it dies how is it not available for long, if it can be fragged once, it can be fragged again when it grows out again.

When is the last time you've seen Steve pump his stuff up... don't worry, Ill wait

How did you get this from my original post? Nowhere did I mention him "pumping his stuff". You quoted my post but obviously did'nt read the last sentence.

No one's stopping you :snicker:

Be serious, if I put a coral up for sale here with a "LE" title I would be called out in an instant. This is why I asked, why has ST been given this "power"? Maybe a better question would be, "Why because one person say it's colorfull enough to be a LE does everyone believe it?"

 

[bamachamp92]

Actually, Steve does not promote corals that he has huge colonies of he has seed pieces and he promotes the corals that other people send to him to evaluate. When the piece is made le Steve doesnt make all the money the person with the colony makes the money. I think Steve Tyree is one of the best things to happen to the hobby to promote farming corals and take pressure off of the reefs. Also some of the nicest corals in my tank carry the tyree name.

 

[Psychographic]

Oops double post.

 

[Ian]

...why has ST been given this "power"?

No one 'gave' Steve this power. He's been growing stony corals since '93. As with anything else in life, people tend to trust those with experience...

 

[dieselab]

No one 'gave' Steve this power. He's been growing stony corals since '93. As with anything else in life, people tend to trust those with experience...

Well said Ian

 

[Sikryd]

He has spent a number of years in this hobby, paid his dues, made a huge cryptic sponge system, went through all the different stages of reefing, then decided to make a job out of it. Part of that job was coral farming, and the whole LE thing.
He made a name for himself, and it has carried on because he either did something right, or still does - its up to everyone to decide.
Why does ORA have the same "status"?
Cause they do the same thing, and have paid their dues.

As soon as someone else with a good name does the same, pays their dues, and has respect from fellow reefers, then you will see the same thing - XXXX XXXXXX LE Edition - on a major respected level.

That most likely won't happen since the hobby is now full of tons of stuff for people to choose from.
Back in the day when this whole LE thing started there were VERY few really nice unique pieces, so to have a coral come out of Tyree's tank, it was known that it was probably something special and unique.
Now that there is so much crazy nice stuff out there, his Tyree LE status thing doesn't hold much weight, although it still has a certain connotation.

Why is a CEO a CEO? He has the respect of his collegues, is held in esteem, and has the education in the field to back it up.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I don't have a problem with it at all. Steve is very well respected in this hobby as well as by me. I know you are not saying anything against him, I am just stating my opinion.

That being said R2R is fixing to unveil something pretty cool! I think you all will like it.

 

[m and m]

I see it as this, put it in clothing terms. Clothing terms, buying Tyree is buying a Armani suit. When infect our buy a Armani suit you are buying a quality suit WITH A NAME. The name is what sets you apart from the rest, Now you can go to target and get a suit that is not up to a Armani’s level. Such as the Armani suit will last longer and is of better quality fabric and thread count. Now Tyree sets out a truly unique product, Just like both suits being suits tyree has the same Watermelon chalice but his, his is something that’s on a level of it's own. You see I buy tyree or corals of that nature because they are bread to be better. Tyree does not put out a purple monster that does not have less then amazing color. Yet buying coral that is just bought up is like fishing with a hand gun, yes you have the potential to get a fish or find that one coral that comes up that’s simple a gem among rocks, but tyree only sells the diamonds there is no rocks when you buy a tyree coral.