Help me price this HUGE hammer colony

[Eagle_Steve]

I'm failing to see the point here. You disagreed with my original price assessment, in a market you don't actually understand. You made it very clear quoting website pricing.

There are what now five or six actual buyers and sellers in this thread, buying or selling heads at around and Way under my assessment.

This reminds me of a great quote from an American Hero. "Don't be in a rush to speak in an educated manner about something you know nothing about" -Andy Stumpf


You can disagree with My assessment. I could care less. The People who are actually buying and selling these are the ones setting the market. Not someone who doesn't own them, doesn't buy them, and only looks at Retail pricing and try to apply it to bulk buys.

Average of 250 bucks for something that size landed with a typical order of mine. While I am ordering in a large qty and there are minimums for orders, still no way in heck to sell that piece for full retail being as big as it is.

Here is the reason large colonies are chopped up.

- Better to sell individual heads, as more likely to sell
- Hard to find someone with enough tank space to house a full colony makes it harder to sell as a whole.
- Much easier for a noob to swallow 20 bucks a head, as if it dies due to whatever, it is only 20 bucks.

In short, it all goes to demand. Not much demand for a massive colony, but tons of demand for a 1-3 head bit of it. As for setting the market, this is where it gets complicated and I will leave it for anohter day, but leave this. Add a name and triple the price lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Average of 250 bucks for something that size landed with a typical order of mine. While I am ordering in a large qty and there are minimums for orders, still no way in heck to sell that piece for full retail being as big as it is.

Here is the reason large colonies are chopped up.

- Better to sell individual heads, as more likely to sell
- Hard to find someone with enough tank space to house a full colony makes it harder to sell as a whole.
- Much easier for a noob to swallow 20 bucks a head, as if it dies due to whatever, it is only 20 bucks.

In short, it all goes to demand. Not much demand for a massive colony, but tons of demand for a 1-3 head bit of it. As for setting the market, this is where it gets complicated and I will leave it for anohter day, but leave this. Add a name and triple the price lol.

Forgot to add that I would never land a basic hammer like that, as plenty of it in tanks all around and that stuff is easy to grow. Basic hammers and frogs are good for local trades, store credit at an LFS, feeding my general stars in the sump or the skeletons for my calcium reactor.

 

[snorklr]

I’d disagree looking online heads are around that price depending on what kind. You will find very few for around $20 but most are more even in person too. And I’ve never seen a $20 hammer frag at least near me or even at a show.

just got one at Reefsmart show in Raleigh a couple weeks ago...nothing exotic just a regular bright green hammer....about golf ball sized for $20

 

[sfin52]

Forgot to add that I would never land a basic hammer like that, as plenty of it in tanks all around and that stuff is easy to grow. Basic hammers and frogs are good for local trades, store credit at an LFS, feeding my general stars in the sump or the skeletons for my calcium reactor.

Are you advocating killing coral for a calcium reactor And you feed them to stars. That's priceless.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Are you advocating killing coral for a calcium reactor?

If I frag it and cannot sell it or carry it to the LFS or give it away locally, yup.

Feed the general stars the frags.
Then put skeletons in calcium reactor.

Are we not trying to keep a natural reef? In nature stars eat corals, skeletons fall into places and degrade due to low PH or other corals grow over them. Just keeping it natural.

 

[sfin52]

If I frag it and cannot sell it or carry it to the LFS or give it away locally, yup.

Feed the general stars the frags.
Then put skeletons in calcium reactor.

Are we not trying to keep a natural reef? In nature stars eat corals, skeletons fall into places and degrade due to low PH or other corals grow over them. Just keeping it natural.

Thats a great issue to have. Goals

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have seen colonies like this go for $100 locally.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I didn't read through all 3 pages so this may have been posted already, but that is not a hammer colony. Looks more like cristata. Heads are a lot smaller than hammers. Since frags of these won't grow into the larger hammers you usually see, they generally don't sell for as much either.

I have seen colonies like this go for $100 locally.

I thought the same when first looking at it. I had to DL pic then zoom in to see it was actually a hammer. Just a basic bi-color, but a hammer.

zoomed in snip of origianl pic (looks resized, so very low res)

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I thought the same when first looking at it. I had to DL pic then zoom in to see it was actually a hammer. Just a basic bi-color, but a hammer.

zoomed in snip of origianl pic (looks resized, so very low res)

Yes, I just did the same, and edited my post.
Still, $100-$125 is the most I'd expect to get for this.

Thanks for the correction though

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Yes, I just did the same, and edited my post.
Still, $100-$125 is the most I'd expect to get for this.

Thanks for the correction though

As a colony, I agree. Hard to sell something that takes up so much space and not many have tanks big enough to house it now days.

Chop it up, throw 10-15 a head/two heads and call it a day. Sell 10 of them at already at full colony expected price. Not a bad way to do things. Even fragging and carrying to LFS for credit will reap better results than trying to sell the whole colony. Most LFS eat up stuff like that, as they give you 5-10 per frag, sell for 20 and list them as "beginner" to sell the snot out of them. Either is a win in my book lol.

 

[Jeffcb]

 

[razorskiss]

I typically see frags on sale for $30-50 per head unless its an exceptional morph

 

[Bfragale]

My two cents:

I think if it’s fragged up -$20-$25 per head is fair. Stores may sell for a bit more (my local lfs sells regular green hammers for $20 a head) not $100-$200 like others have mentioned. I’m in Los Angeles, that may have a small part to play in the price- but keep in mind: fish stores and online vendors are selling top dollar- but they also have overhead like rent, electricity, insurence, taxes, labor, DOA policies, shipping, etc.

For a hobbyist to sell to another hobbyist- anything over $20-$25 a head for frags is over priced in my opinion. And large colonies like $5 a head is not unheard of


I just picked up a large colony- maybe 25 heads for $50. That’s a steal! I’m not buying to resell, and I know that’s a great deal- but just to show that online prices and lfs prices is not the same as hobbyists selling them.

there may be one or two suckers out there that will over pay. But most reefers that shop around and do a lot of trading with other hobbyists know regular hammers are very common.

just my two cents

 

[AydenLincoln]

just got one at Reefsmart show in Raleigh a couple weeks ago...nothing exotic just a regular bright green hammer....about golf ball sized for $20

Well that’s not near me it really does depend on location too.

 

[AydenLincoln]

There’s so many factors! My point is that near me something like would go for $1,000+ retail. And I’ve never seen $20 heads either retail or even at shows at least near me. A simple Google is how I got the prices and of course it will vary significantly.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

There’s so many factors! My point is that near me something like would go for $1,000+ retail. And I’ve never seen $20 heads either retail or even at shows and simply googling is how I got the prices.

Easton. PA? I so, are you not a little bit of a drive from NYC, Philly, Trenton, Newark? Just asking, as if I had a crap selection locally, I would drive somewhere to get better deals and just get all I needed in one trip. This would easily make up for gas if the prices are that out of whack where you are.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

There’s so many factors! My point is that near me something like would go for $1,000+ retail. And I’ve never seen $20 heads either retail or even at shows and simply googling is how I got the prices.

Point is, it likely wouldn't...

Not sure how you don't get that by now but whatever.

There is a preponderance of information here, Being given free of charge from people who actually do buy these things, sell these things, understand the market.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Easton. PA? I so, are you not a little bit of a drive from NYC, Philly, Trenton, Newark? Just asking, as if I had a crap selection locally, I would drive somewhere to get better deals and just get all I needed in one trip. This would easily make up for gas if the prices are that out of whack where you are.

About an hour and half but I personally probably wouldn’t other than a show. I have a limited selection not that I have a bad selection. I have a fantastic fish store near me. Like I mentioned there’s just so many factors.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Point is, it likely wouldn't...

Not sure how you don't get that by now but whatever.

There is a preponderance of information here, Being given free of charge from people who actually do buy these things, sell these things, understand the market.

Not that it would sell but it could be listed as that. I’ve seen them listed as that and more so it’s based on what I’ve seen. From perspective you have to look at factors like is there a lot of competition around…is reefing popular in that location the answer for me is no so it will cost more in person. And a frag is $70 but again the way I look at it is you aren’t paying for shipping you don’t have to travel far and they have a great reputation.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

About an hour and half but I personally wouldn’t. I have a limited selection not that I have a bad selection. I have a fantastic fish store near me. Like I mentioned there’s just so many factors.

Not really that many factors in regards to this coral. The general consensus from all over is about 20-30 a head for a frag and less than 350 for the colony.

You say you have a nice fish store, but how nice is it if they are really gouging prices like that. If they are who you are referring to for pricing that thing out. To me, they may be "nice", but if I was ripping people a new one for corals, I would be "very very nice" if they were buying them.