Coral pricing?

Griff · Jan 28, 2017

since I started in this hobby 3-4 years ago I feel like pricing has sky rocketed. Is it just me? Is anyone else feeling this way?

I understand some of the high pricing on some really rare pieces. That being said I'm seeing standard acans, favia, euphyllia, mushrooms, and zoas for 2-4 times the price I used to pay.

By the time I figure in loses here and there and shipping costs I'm spending a ton on coral. I'm beginning to feel like i need to set aside 300-500 a month for my tank to get it where I want it. I unfortunately don't have many local reefers in the area so trading isn't really an option.

Thoughts on pricing getting higher? If you agree what do you think the reasons are?

nex64 · Jan 28, 2017

Personally I think it's a big food chain but of coral and how it is distributed.

Pricing is definitely relative in this hobby.

For example, seller A thinks his tyree lemonade acro is worth $100 per inch while seller B will sell an inch of his acro for $20. So I think the ultimate answer is essentially if the buyer thinks the coral is worth that much and will pay for it , then by all means it will be sold for a pretty penny.

For me - I'm all about patience and waiting. Remember when those red hornets were fetching $100+ per polyp, well now we can barely give them away.

Luis Figueroa · Jan 28, 2017

So it's kind of like the stock market, buy low sell high if possible. Or lose your investment when you sell.

cperry7467 · Jan 28, 2017

I feel the same. One of our LFS was selling large acro colonies for $200-300 that didn't even look very good so no one would buy them, now they've stopped selling them. I made a trip an hour away today for my daughter's track meet and found another store that had a very large acro colony for $75 that looks great!

nex64 · Jan 28, 2017

Going more off what Luis said- which I believe is one of the many issues with price , is individuals trying to get something back from their investment instead of just spreading the love.