How!?!?

[Tamberav]

Honestly, I'd try to explain it using something he may be able to understand like why some art pieces are worth a fortune when other, arguably comparable pieces of art aren't worth the canvas they're painted on - it's essentially a collector's market and whatever the collectors decide should be expensive is expensive (regardless of quality).

If you were in the U.S. I'd say to explain that it's like baseball cards, where even though every card is about a pro baseball player, some cards are worthless and others are extremely valuable. It's all about what collectors are willing to pay for specific pieces.

This is a good answer. Collector's market indeed.

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Never really thought of my personal fish/coral as something I could sell. Just paid for them and that's it.

I did end up selling / giving away a lot of fish when I tore my system down. Sort of had to since some of the fish were $$$$$.

Point being if you can get anything for not so desirable coral, go for it!

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

A shop is a brick and morter store, they get people coming in and out every day to buy salt or whatever... they can also get impulse buyers.

Selling on facebook or whatever is not the same and I would expect prices to be better there. For example gold torches are about $100 a head on facebook but $200+ at the LFS.

Also a name drives a price. A RBT nem is not the same price as a Black Widow nem. Yes, they are slightly different, but still different and one is simply in more demand.

If the prices are to high for a local hobbyist then you get people saying they want to buy and "ok I will meet you at 1pm on blah blah" only to cancel or not show up at all. They had time to shop around and the impulse wore off. They do this even when prices are low and tbh... I don't like to deal with a bunch of people so I just trade my corals into the LFS for store credit. Yes, they sell them at a big mark up but I get convenience of just unloading all my frags in one go.

Exactly. Theres a lot of things i know i pay a little more for at the LFS and im ok with that. I dont have to rearrange my schedule to meet a guy, i can just show up during their posted hours. Plus its nice to browse a wide variety of stuff. Im definitely guilty of going in for some salt and leaving with a coral. Plus for dry goods, if im looking at a new piece of equipment, its often worth a few extra bucks since i can open it and play with it before i buy it. And theyre more than willing to help with all kinds of random issues.

 

[wiktor]

My response to this is simply no. This is some of the absolute worst advice I've ever heard. Why do you think his father has an opinion at all?? It's because he cares and doesn't want to see his son being taken advantage of! Why on Earth would you regard this man's father as "stupid"???? Furthermore, why would you ever encourage anyone to quote "Let him destroy your corals and never respect him again."? Are you truly advocating for the OP to completely disregard his father's opinion even if it leads to a fundamentally disfunctional family bond?

To the OP: explain to your father how this particular market functions and seek to reach common ground. I assure you that if he was truly indifferent to you he would also be indifferent to whatever you sold your corals for. DO NOT cause any conflict between your father and yourself based on something so petty. Your father is simply concerned about what is in your best interest.

Yeah that was a brutal response in my opinion, i prefer the 2nd option. Too harsh. Why would i just shut him down like that and tell him to f off

 

[wiktor]

agreed.

i think the post was understood. It’s just he finds it difficult to tell the difference between an experience coral and a common one

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hi guys just been selling some of my corals to make a switch to more complex corals with brighter colours. My dad has been on my **** for selling my corals cheap, i have a softie tang with common corals like xenia, rhodactis mushrooms, anenomes. We went to the shop and he was baffled with prices but how can i explain to him that me selling a xenia frag for £5 isn’t a stealcheap price and that people asking for £40 for frags at shops for similarly colourful corals but i ofc understand it’s more uncommon and complex couloir patterns but he doesn’t get that. for example I sold my anem for £25 medium size rbta (bought at £25) but it’s similarly as colourful as some things they charge 400£ for a coral similar size ( they were some very nice looked like a skittles acans) .

Lol if you read that far might aswell reply and help me lol

1. Did you spend your own $ to buy the original coral?

2. Are you going to spend your own $ on new coral?

If the answer to both is yes, then sell your frags for whatever price you want. Especially if you might be fostering relationships with other hobbyists that might give you a good deal in the future!

 

[Reefing Madness]

Hey gang, lets keep it to what the OP posted, not what your making up and arguing about.

 

[VSVP bet]

i think the post was understood. It’s just he finds it difficult to tell the difference between an experience coral and a common one

Corals are priced differently for a lot of reasons.

1. Where you buy it.
- Retail brick and mortar is most expensive, they have bills to pay, employees etc. And generally, the store is their main source of income.
- Retail online can be cheaper, but you cover costs of shipping, etc. Sometimes this is a side project by a very experienced hobbyist or a full-time operation.
- If you buy a frag from a hobbyist directly, usually get the best deal, they usually don't have margins like a retail operation and want to make extra money on the side.

2. The type of coral.
- Corals differ in growth rates, faster-growing corals are cheaper (increased supply, i.e. economics)
- Some corals are more "rare," and some prices are inflated because of this (like gold torches, and corals in demand, some corals go through price cycles)
- Others are just purely less common in the hobby and are priced accordingly.


The best option as a hobbyist is to sell to reefers directly. You will make more than selling to a store, but dont expect to charge retail pricing. Stores will sometimes buy bulk from hobbyists, but in this instance, you will be given wholesale pricing, as the retail store needs to upsell your coral to be able to hit margins and stay in business.

As a seller, you have the power to charge any price and choose who you sell to. So you will have to make choices when it comes to pricing, buyer, etc.

My tank usually runs net even, meaning I sell enough coral to cover the cost of salt, water, new livestock. I sell to reefers directly (this gets the most money), and I sell bulk to stores (they give store credit and I use this to buy salt, equipment, or livestock). This strategy has worked for me and many reefers. I wont be a millionaire of coral, but I can offset the cost of this hobby. That is how i approach reefing from a "business" perspective.

Business, economics, geopolitics, etc.