buying frags online

[NanaReefer]

Trying to gather info on whether it's good to purchase frags online. I'm looking for a cheaper alternative than spending a lot at the lfs for a small frag.
I just have a hard time believing they can survive the shipping.

There is nothing "cheap" about buying corals online. Not only do you risk DOA, many are outrageously priced, your given credit instead of a refund, shipping costs are crazy but not as crazy as the prices of the corals. More often than not the coral will look nothing in your tank under your lights like they do in the online pictures.
Your community has everything to gain from buying from your local pet store.

 

[MikeyAl]

I have 2 LFS and their selection is minimal. I have had no issues buying frags from good dealers. I do avoid places like reefs2go or saltwaterfish.com.

 

[reefer54]

I got another place for you, pacificeast aquaculture. they are located in maryland and probably if you check their site, you are within their next day ground service area. so, no paying for nda service.

 

[Hausser]

I have bought a few corals online with 0 deaths. I had one order that fed ex didn't deliver until 4 days later and all corals lived. I have bought corals from Facebook frag sites with 0 deaths. A lot of the Facebook people will hold them until you have a full box with 1 shipping cost of 40. To 50.

 

[Eienna]

I have received coral from Cherry Corals and Unique Corals. Both have arrived in beautiful shape - a few even had their polyps extended while they were still in the bag!

 

[MikeyAl]

If packages correctly, they will survive the trip.

 

[Eienna]

Oh, and Unique Corals' shipping price is very low, $15-20 or so depending on where you live. In addition, they use Fedex, rated best in reliability between them, UPS and USPS (with usps rated worst.)

 

[human]

+1 to pacificeastaquaculture.com, great deals especially with their under $15 frags, never got a DOA either, plus it's wysiwyg on their site.

 

[Jlobes]

There is nothing "cheap" about buying corals online. Not only do you risk DOA, many are outrageously priced, your given credit instead of a refund, shipping costs are crazy but not as crazy as the prices of the corals. More often than not the coral will look nothing in your tank under your lights like they do in the online pictures.
Your community has everything to gain from buying from your local pet store.

sounds like nana needs to find some new online vendors to deal with....

 

[human]

There is nothing "cheap" about buying corals online. Not only do you risk DOA, many are outrageously priced, your given credit instead of a refund, shipping costs are crazy but not as crazy as the prices of the corals. More often than not the coral will look nothing in your tank under your lights like they do in the online pictures.
Your community has everything to gain from buying from your local pet store.

Not everyone has the option to go to a local LFS. The closest LFS to me with any selection of coral is 2hrs or more away. Spending money on shipping is equivalent to the gas money I'd spend anyways. I only buy from a few online stores and never had an DOAs. I agree the colors probably don't look the same, that doesn't concern me, but everything I've ever bought is healthy and that's all that really matters.

 

[MikeyAl]

Not everyone has the option to go to a local LFS. The closest LFS to me with any selection of coral is 2hrs or more away. Spending money on shipping is equivalent to the gas money I'd spend anyways. I only buy from a few online stores and never had an DOAs. I agree the colors probably don't look the same, that doesn't concern me, but everything I've ever bought is healthy and that's all that really matters.

Agreed. It is important to find a good supplier if you are buying online. The sellers forum and sponsor forums on this site are good place to start. I have been very happy with what I have been able to find. Like I mentioned- i love @AquaSD. I have no affiliation- I just think they provide quality at a good price. Once I've found someone I like, I stick with them.

 

[MikeyAl]

There are many good sponsors on the site here. There also many good reefers here that sell often. I've bought from charity corals, cherry corals, aquasd, live aquaria, wwc, battle corals to name a few. Also many vendors from frags auction place on Facebook. Waiting on an order from gonzo corals right now. Live sales are very fun but quite addicting. Very happy with all of those I listed.

My favorite sponsor is AquaSD. They have weekly sales. Shipping is $40 no matter how much you buy. That may seem steep but their prices make up for it.