hype threads

MoneyPit · Feb 12, 2011

btkrausen said:
Some great responses. I'm going to put blue LEDs on my sand and sell it as Ultra Rainbow LE Live Sand

Alright put me on the list. lol

jledon4 · Feb 12, 2011

btkrausen said:
Some great responses. I'm going to put blue LEDs on my sand and sell it as Ultra Rainbow LE Live Sand

You should also get a blacklight on top of that!!! the colors will really pop!!! you might even call it something like: Tyree LE Rocky Roads :moneygrubber:

Speg · Feb 12, 2011

btkrausen said:
I think the sponsors sell some nice stuff, but what kills me are some of the adjectives that they use....Extreme, Ultra Extreme, Sexy, Ultimate, etc.

To me, a strawberry Shortcake frag/colony is a strawberry shortcake frag/colony. Just cause one was held under different lighting or came in a bit brighter than the other doesn't mean its an Ultra Extreme Strawberry Shortcake frag and worth an extra $50.

I agree here. One that really upset me is when a vendor used the word "free" and then in the message wrote (not 100% word-for-word) "basically free coral because they're so cheap!". That just wasn't right at all. I was a little surprised that this particular vendor used that tactic...but I won't say the name.

.. I hate to complain, but also when a vendor goes OMG LOOK AT THIS NEW CORAL!!! and then you open and it's a picture of their new dog...sorry, but that stuff belongs in the lounge. Sponsors aren't restricted from the rest of the forum and their section should only provide saltwater fish/coral/inverts/equipment...in my opinion of course.

Jcr's Reef · Feb 12, 2011

So hobbyist shouldn't be able to post what we like best in our tank? That might persuade "hype" based on what is viewed and what other well respected hobbyist value in their tanks.
I like the freedom we have on here on R2R. I am not a vendor, just a true hobbyist, but I love seeing what everyone else has to offer here on one site, both hobbyist and vendors. Its all eye candy and everyone has their own opinions, but my opinion is the only one I truly value, not hype. If I like it and it's pleasing to my eyes, I buy it. Some of the prices are ridiculous and there is a lot of pieces I would love to have, but I'm not dropping all of my pennies based on what is in demand. Trust me, I'm not a high roller when it comes to corals. I'll wait for the fad to die out.

btkrausen · Feb 12, 2011

Jcr's Reef said:
So hobbyist shouldn't be able to post what we like best in our tank? That might persuade "hype" based on what is viewed and what other well respected hobbyist value in their tanks.
I like the freedom we have on here on R2R. I am not a vendor, just a true hobbyist, but I love seeing what everyone else has to offer here on one site, both hobbyist and vendors. Its all eye candy and everyone has their own opinions, but my opinion is the only one I truly value, not hype. If I like it and it's pleasing to my eyes, I buy it. Some of the prices are ridiculous and there is a lot of pieces I would love to have, but I'm not dropping all of my pennies based on what is in demand. Trust me, I'm not a high roller when it comes to corals. I'll wait for the fad to die out.

I get what you are saying here, and totally agree. My point about hyping stuff up was in relation to selling the coral. I'm all for seeing peoples collections under some blue LED or actinics which make them glow, I love it. But when a vendor puts a mediocre piece under some LEDs to make it look like an "Ultimate" thats when it irks me. To me, its like painting a piece of plywood and selling it as cherry. Bad example, but you know what I'm getting at

PR_Reefers · Feb 12, 2011

btkrausen said:
just because its something that everybody does still doesn't make it the right thing. For example, i look at these subway commercials with a sub chock full of meat for a particular sandwich, and then you get there and end up with a premeasured amount of meat, to what looks like a third of what they show on tv.

I agree that if you want to sell, you get better results to hype it up, but blatantly lying about a products looks or contents is just wrong.

lol

SDguy · Feb 12, 2011

I don't really care if the coral is hyped, as long as there is a price. I get a bit frustrated about pictures with no prices.

fab1971 · Feb 12, 2011

I say quit complaining. If you don't want to read it, then skip it and check out the next thread. They pay money to be sponsors and are allowed to advertise their corals. Sponsors aren't here to rob us or trick us. They're here to offer us a wide variety of corals, fish and services at discount prices. It's up to the consumer to choose which ones they wish to do business with.

btkrausen · Feb 12, 2011

fab1971 said:
I say quit complaining. If you don't want to read it, then skip it and check out the next thread. They pay money to be sponsors and are allowed to advertise their corals. Sponsors aren't here to rob us or trick us. They're here to offer us a wide variety of corals, fish and services at discount prices. It's up to the consumer to choose which ones they wish to do business with.

Thats one of the best parts of R2R, the many corals that they put up. That was one of first stops when coming to R2R, checking out the sponsor forums. I do enjoy the WYSIWYG posts, just have to be fast to snatch up the good stuff

maharsreef · Feb 12, 2011

I like the cheap and entertaining hype. Im a big boy, i can weed thru the B.S. and if i like it, ill buy it.

thewackyreefer · Feb 12, 2011

I don't mind the hype really but the hype combined with ridiculously blue and over-photoshopped corals is pretty absurd and annoying. Half the coral I end up with never end up looking like they do when they're presented it seems.

CHALICEKEEPER · Feb 12, 2011

sdguy said:
i don't really care if the coral is hyped, as long as there is a price. I get a bit frustrated about pictures with no prices.

+1 and pics with no names

reefkoi · Feb 12, 2011

And colony shots................I'm a WYSIWYG buyer :nerd:

cee · Feb 12, 2011

There are a lot of good points here and I'm glad to know I'm not alone in feeling this way. It's very rare anymore that I'm impressed by a coral and even rarer that a vendor impresses me when they ship me said coral and I place it in my tank. That is why when I sell corals I try not to misrepresent them and always give the buyer the option of changing their mind after they see the coral first-hand. I just see way too much photoshopping, heavy actinic lighting in pictures, misrepresentation of sizes, etc. Actually, while we're on the subject, this site has more "hype" than most. Half of the home page is direct links to vendor forums which I don't see on other sites and a lot of those are hyped up as well. I have nothing against advertising but out of respect for the consumer keep it honest, to the point and always put yourself in the buyer's shoes. You'll certainly be more likely to get my business

Maximus · Feb 12, 2011

I like to be entertained. When I open some of the vendors threads, I am highly entertained.

Can't beat free entertainment!

twinspots_goby · Feb 12, 2011

Maximus said:
I like to be entertained. When I open some of the vendors threads, I am highly entertained. Can't beat free entertainment!

I'm with you on this one. :wink:

korndogg091 · Feb 12, 2011

cee said:
There are a lot of good points here and I'm glad to know I'm not alone in feeling this way. It's very rare anymore that I'm impressed by a coral and even rarer that a vendor impresses me when they ship me said coral and I place it in my tank. That is why when I sell corals I try not to misrepresent them and always give the buyer the option of changing their mind after they see the coral first-hand. I just see way too much photoshopping, heavy actinic lighting in pictures, misrepresentation of sizes, etc. Actually, while we're on the subject, this site has more "hype" than most. Half of the home page is direct links to vendor forums which I don't see on other sites and a lot of those are hyped up as well. I have nothing against advertising but out of respect for the consumer keep it honest, to the point and always put yourself in the buyer's shoes. You'll certainly be more likely to get my business

...............+1

cmcneil · Feb 12, 2011

fab1971 said:
Sponsors aren't here to rob us or trick us.

that may be true but some sponsors do alter the pics.case in point i saw a sponsor selling an acro and hypeing how red it was,but its hard to believe the color when your hand holding the coral is red too :squigglemouth:.that is an obvious attempt to trick the customer and the pic DOESNT represent the coral truely.i have NEVER seen a camera red a pic out,i have seen cameras blue out pics.so i have to believe the pic was photoshopped and i pass.

korndogg091 · Feb 12, 2011

fab1971 said:
I say quit complaining. If you don't want to read it, then skip it and check out the next thread. They pay money to be sponsors and are allowed to advertise their corals. Sponsors aren't here to rob us or trick us. They're here to offer us a wide variety of corals, fish and services at discount prices. It's up to the consumer to choose which ones they wish to do business with.

Really? Then why charge $1500/eye for chalices and $300/polyp for a zoas and palys?

revhtree · Feb 12, 2011

Actually the "half" of the home page sponsor links are on purpose.

Advertisers pay for exposure and they get it. You can always skip straight to the forums page and never even open a vendors forum. Differencing advertising is something I like to do to pay for the site and all the work that goes into it.

On another note it seems that there are many people who just love to find faults.