First time frag fest
- Thread starter Derek siskey
- Start date
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ZoWhat
10K Club member
Get a map, if available, on booths and figure out who are hobbyists, who are professional vendors selling corals
Typically hobbyists have cheaper prices bc they dont have the overhead.
If you see smthg you like and its $100. You only want to spend $70.... make an offer. The sales floor is an open market. The person selling will tell you if their price is nonnegotiable. Be bold in your negotiating skills. I've walked away from a booth bc we were on two different prices....only to return 2hrs later and they took my offer.
Better prices can be negotiated if sales are not going as expected. In fact I'm surprised attendees dont collude together and not buy anything for the first two hours....you'd see prices drop IMO.
Most negotiations are better for you if you wait until LATER in the event. 1st hour vendors usually get top dollar bc ppl are HYPED and wired-for-sound making not-so-smart decisions
You can also BUNDLE deals together. If you see a coral for $100 and another for $60.... offer them $140 for both. Most times they'll take it. They wanna move as many corals as possible and will discount a little.
Just be patient...but know if the coral is a one of a kind it may be gone quickly
Typically hobbyists have cheaper prices bc they dont have the overhead.
If you see smthg you like and its $100. You only want to spend $70.... make an offer. The sales floor is an open market. The person selling will tell you if their price is nonnegotiable. Be bold in your negotiating skills. I've walked away from a booth bc we were on two different prices....only to return 2hrs later and they took my offer.
Better prices can be negotiated if sales are not going as expected. In fact I'm surprised attendees dont collude together and not buy anything for the first two hours....you'd see prices drop IMO.
Most negotiations are better for you if you wait until LATER in the event. 1st hour vendors usually get top dollar bc ppl are HYPED and wired-for-sound making not-so-smart decisions
You can also BUNDLE deals together. If you see a coral for $100 and another for $60.... offer them $140 for both. Most times they'll take it. They wanna move as many corals as possible and will discount a little.
Just be patient...but know if the coral is a one of a kind it may be gone quickly
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ZoWhat
10K Club member
Ooooh. If you do buy from a hobbyist (or even a vendor) best to dip-the-coral before mounting it into your tank.....
Many hobbyists literally frag'ed the coral they're selling right out of their Display Tank. Lord knows what pests, hitchhikers could invade your tank.
Pro vendors usually do a better job selling clean coral. It's their livelihood and cant afford a bad reputation.
So if you buy from a hobbyist, d.i.p.
Hth
.
Many hobbyists literally frag'ed the coral they're selling right out of their Display Tank. Lord knows what pests, hitchhikers could invade your tank.
Pro vendors usually do a better job selling clean coral. It's their livelihood and cant afford a bad reputation.
So if you buy from a hobbyist, d.i.p.
Hth
.
OP
OP
Derek siskey
Active Member
will I be carrying around a lot of individual bags or do I need to take something to carry all the bags in?
rogersb
Well-Known Member
Take a small insulated bag to put the frags in. If you're after regular corals then walk the whole place to get a feel on prices. If you're after something special then you may want to get it when you see it or it could be gone when you get back to it.
I take a small igloo cooler. +1000 on bargaining. I like to take a quick run through the place to see what there is to see before I buy anything. Often one vendor will be asking $$$ for coral X and another two booths away will have the same thing for $.
Have fun, don't over-buy, and remember that they will have the blue lights boosted to maximize color pop.
Have fun, don't over-buy, and remember that they will have the blue lights boosted to maximize color pop.
Opus
2500 Club Member
That is very very true. I can't tell you how many times I've been looking at a frag trying to decide if I really want to pay XXX for it and the person beside me buys it before I can decide.
I'm all for negotiating, but please don't be the person that keeps the vendor busy for 30+ minutes trying to save $5. Also, as I stated in another frag fest thread, don't discuss your tank history with the vendor or try and get him/her to solve a problem you are having in your tank. Be mindful that there are a lot of other people there trying to look at the frags and ask prices.
As for prices, most vendors will not have prices posted on every frag. You will have to ask the price of a lot of them. It doesn't bother me but I know some hobbyist really hate that.
LobsterOfJustice
Valuable Member
Go buy an powerful pocket LED flashlight at Home Depot and bring it with you. You can shine it on corals you are considering to see what they look like under whiter light. All the vendors will have the blues cranked up to 1000%. You can also ask them to turn on the whites to get a better idea of color but the flashlight is sometimes easier.
