conceptual idea...hear me out.

[Devaji]

OK so I have an idea, I know some of you will like it (at least as a concept) others will say its not possible, and maybe there right. however thought out history time and time again we see were there is a vision or dream there is a way.

so hear me out before you flame me. and its even possible something like this already going on or some have tried to do it.

so here is the concept:
A group hobbyist shipping account/platform. where we collectively pool our shipments under a banner of a non profit reef club or the like to get better shipping rates.
the idea here is to help out the ecology of the reef environment by encouraging hobbyist to aquaculture and share the coral with other reefers nation wide to lessen the impact of wild collected species.

in working collectively as a whole I believe we can help each other and the environment!
it would look something like this. say you have a coral that needs to be frags as your system is just so amazing your corals grow like weeds, however no one locally needs/want it.
so you offer it nationally some one agrees to your asking prices and the shipping is cheaper as we ,are a nonprofit group and ship our aquaculture coral in such volume we get the very best rates. and the shipping companies really want to help out as it Eco PR form them. maybe even a write off for them. even if not as a collective whole and the volume we would ship we could get some pretty darn good rates. how many time have you seen that coral you wanted but it was a few states over and with shipping it was not practical.

well now it could be! think 'ebay ' of corals where every reefer is responsible for there transaction just as a whole we ship under the banner of our non profit group.


so it would be a win win win win.
win for the person sailing the coral.
win for the person buying the coral.
win for the shipping companies.
and a big WIN for the environment.

no I don't see this stopping importing and that is not the idea but to make it more sustainable and to give small reefers a chance to compete with the big guys.

I know this idea is not fool proof its just an idea. but something I thought about working on and sharing...

 

[Jisko]

seems interesting idk anything how something like this would actually work however I'm working on a project where I purchase said frags from forum members grow them out and then sell/trade them to LFS and other hobbyist. My area is kind of a dead zone when it comes to this stuff as we only have 1 marine store in a 2 hour radius "I dont count petco -.- I wouldnt buy a goldfish from them haha". My goal is to collect corals from all over and get a wide variety to trade to people who don't get the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of corals. My LFS sells corals but because of certain reasons they don't carry corals an average hobbyist is willing to purchase. For example not many people around here are gonna go in and spend $200-300 for a frogspawn or acan. The shop doesnt want to frag them large corals so theyre stuck with large corals forcing people around here to either have to drive or purchase online if they want frags. I guess it's not really much of a profitable idea but I enjoy the corals and if it covers the price for my salt i'll be happy

I'd also like to add that I love all corals not just expensive corals so I wanna offer people leathers and basic corals that arnt expensive but not realistic to pay $30 to have it shipped

 

[Devaji]

yes and that is the whole idea...I agree many people are getting in to reefing these days and the impact on the reefs are just going to keep happening. but if WE and hobbyist take a step and stand up to help out the hobby we love by working together. I DO think we can have a positive impact.
it would be so very nice to get corals from other reefrs that are tank raise and used to aquarium life thus helping at all.
I will state here that buying local IS the best bet. but how do you get that 1st person to have that frag of what ever. ( i do nderstand that that's part of the whole coral pricing scheme to be one of a few to have X coral so you can charge XX amount.) and that would/could still happen just getting X coral in the right hands would be much easier.

I do think there is going to be a time in my life where getting corals from the ocean will no be possible so I want to get as many corals of many types in home aquariums so if/ when that happens we have the spices to repopulate the ocean some day. or al least have them to enjoy and t(ake to mars or what other planet we as a spices run to)


PS I agree I think softies are very much underrated. often times the shipping for me is more than the coral I want to buy.

 

[Jisko]

yes and that is the whole idea...I agree many people are getting in to reefing these days and the impact on the reefs are just going to keep happening. but if WE and hobbyist take a step and stand up to help out the hobby we love by working together. I DO think we can have a positive impact.
it would be so very nice to get corals from other reefrs that are tank raise and used to aquarium life thus helping at all.
I will state here that buying local IS the best bet. but how do you get that 1st person to have that frag of what ever. ( i do nderstand that that's part of the whole coral pricing scheme to be one of a few to have X coral so you can charge XX amount.) and that would/could still happen just getting X coral in the right hands would be much easier.

I do think there is going to be a time in my life where getting corals from the ocean will no be possible so I want to get as many corals of many types in home aquariums so if/ when that happens we have the spices to repopulate the ocean some day. or al least have them to enjoy and t(ake to mars or what other planet we as a spices run to)


PS I agree I think softies are very much underrated. often times the shipping for me is more than the coral I want to buy.

yeah I only buy aquacultured corals and captive raised fish.... I've been planning a dorm room frag tank that ill be keeping here on campus with me for the rest of my schooling. My goal is to grow them out over a period of 8 months before fragging and selling them off. I plan to keep atleast 3 of the frags so I can continue growing them out... I hope in a few years I'll have large amounts of frags that I can trade and give to people I meet that will have been grown by me for years I will say the corals I've kind of picked are not for experts theyre for beginners and the average hobbyist just looking to have something nice, cheap and diverse

 

[wkscott]

Have you looked into what it takes to get IRS not for profit status? Especially since profits will be made. How is accounting and reporting to the IRS going to be handled? Have you checked with either UPS or FedEx to see what, if any, discounts they may offer, to not for profits? This would be a huge undertaking and someone would have to take personal responsibility for any IRS liabilities that will undoubtedly arise.

 

[Devaji]

^ Yes I know it would not be an easy to get going .
I have help get 501C3 no profit going many years ago and yeah it was a pain. the whole IRS and making profit thing my thought was and I am NOT a tax Guru just a guy with an idea is that the "club" it self would not make profits but its members could what they do with that profit is up to them if they report or not. there responsibility.

I know, I know getting something like this up and running would be a HUGE undertaking but in the end could be a great thing for every body.
how's in? this is not our full time jobs but if we take baby steps and use our collective talents each reefer helping out in a way they can I DO think we could pull something off like this. its all about momentum.

 

[cdmckinzie]

Selling a frag IS making profit, you can't start a non profit if people are making a profit. And there's no way to tell how much of a profit everyone is ,a king and it all needs to be reported to the it's. Way too much effort and complications just to save a little on shipping

 

[jason_mazzy]

Selling a frag IS making profit, you can't start a non profit if people are making a profit. And there's no way to tell how much of a profit everyone is ,a king and it all needs to be reported to the it's. Way too much effort and complications just to save a little on shipping

actually that is not true. you just cant make a profit in the end. the money has to be distributed in certain ways. you can pay for people, lectures, put on classes etc...

 

[Devaji]

yes right look at the CEO of the big charities the make SO MUCH $$$ again I am not a tex guys I am sure someone in the reef community is tho and that is where we pool our talents.
perhaps we can make it like a co -op of sorts lots of ideas here.