Is anyone else frustrated with the "per polyp" game?

[NeedMoreReef]

Should I check my attitude or are there other folks that get irritated with this?

I have a modest household income; when I go to a frag swap/show with 1k I want more than 10 corals.

My intention is not to bash any specific vendor! just curious if I'm the only one out there...

 

[VR28man]

If were talking about Zoas and LPS, how would you propose pricing them?

Also, while I assume the most expensive stuff will easily cost multiple $10 bills per polyp, there’s a lot of nice stuff that you can get, especially a club swaps, that won’t be anywhere near that expensive.

 

[NeedMoreReef]

VR28man, I don't have an easy answer for that... supply and demand?
thanks for the advice to attend local swaps, I should do that

 

[Waynerock]

Should I check my attitude or are there other folks that get irritated with this?

I have a modest household income; when I go to a frag swap/show with 1k I want more than 10 corals.

My intention is not to bash any specific vendor! just curious if I'm the only one out there...

You have good taste and that costs unfortunately, I am in the same boat though

 

[andrewkw]

If this comment was pre May 2018 I would agree more, but now with no Indo or Fiji corals buying frags is the only way to get many different corals. You can still buy Aussie colonies but those are always going to cost more anyway.

 

[TheHarold]

Thats is totally your choice, if you decide to spend $100 per polyp. Dozens of vendors at frag swaps have less-rare zoanthids at $20 for ~8 polyps.


It sounds like you feel the need to get the most expensive ones . Do you think that just because it is expensive, it is the "best" one?


Here you go:

https://aquasd.com/collections/zoas-palys-frags

Colonies are probably around a buck per polyp

 

[User1]

I would say it is par for the course although I personally don't agree with it. My advise if you are trying to fill out a tank is to stay away from the chop shops and designer corals. Has VR28man said you will get more bang for your buck shopping around with some ground rules on what your personal thresholds / limits are. Ebay is a good source has are local clubs.

I'm going to throw out the bloody P word here as much as I hate to say it patience is really the key here. If you shop around and not buy on impulse you can get around some of the price per polyp or get some pretty good deals. Take a Duncan for example. I've seen some selling them for $25 bucks a head and others $140 for 7 to 12 heads. Then add in coupon/codes and also free shipping it can save you some money.

There are similar threads about where the industry is headed, price for corals, what some are willing to pay, what others are willing to ask for, etc. Set your limits and you should be fine. Best of luck.

 

[TheHarold]

I would say it is par for the course although I personally don't agree with it. My advise if you are trying to fill out a tank is to stay away from the chop shops and designer corals. Has VR28man said you will get more bang for your buck shopping around with some ground rules on what your personal thresholds / limits are. Ebay is a good source has are local clubs.

I'm going to throw out the bloody P word here as much as I hate to say it patience is really the key here. If you shop around and not buy on impulse you can get around some of the price per polyp or get some pretty good deals. Take a Duncan for example. I've seen some selling them for $25 bucks a head and others $140 for 7 to 12 heads. Then add in coupon/codes and also free shipping it can save you some money.

There are similar threads about where the industry is headed, price for corals, what some are willing to pay, what others are willing to ask for, etc. Set your limits and you should be fine. Best of luck.

Here in florida, Duncan goes for $10 per head! I gotta start exporting to where you are

 

[marlinmon]

As long as there is a buyer willing to pay the price... why is a Homewrecker frag $500?

 

[User1]

Thats is totally your choice, if you decide to spend $100 per polyp. Dozens of vendors at frag swaps have less-rare zoanthids at $20 for ~8 polyps.


It sounds like you feel the need to get the most expensive ones . Do you think that just because it is expensive, it is the "best" one?


Here you go:

https://aquasd.com/collections/zoas-palys-frags

Colonies are probably around a buck per polyp

On a more comical note last time I went scuba diving I didn't identify any corals with any of these names such as Gator Glitter or Rainbow Combo X, Y, or Z. Nor did they look like some fisherman or fisherwoman lost a bag of skittles...

Things look so much different underwater /boggle. Those are decent prices btw.

 

[User1]

As long as there is a buyer willing to pay the price... why is a Homewrecker frag $500?

If photos are taken it will cost you more than $500 once you head to divorce court...

 

[ca1ore]

Should I check my attitude or are there other folks that get irritated with this?

Irritated …..no; I do regularly get a good laugh out of it though. My advice: don't play. I don't.

 

[Salty Lemon]

On a more comical note last time I went scuba diving I didn't identify any corals with any of these names such as Gator Glitter or Rainbow Combo X, Y, or Z. Nor did they look like some fisherman or fisherwoman lost a bag of skittles...

LOL!

 

[Dan I]

In my opinion, a lot of people are looking into corals as a way on how to profit in the future. Understandably, a lot of pricey corals do look amazing but there are a lot of great average price corals that can grow into great display pieces. Unfortunately, I am a sucker for pricey corals too and I wait for live sales to snag them at a fraction of their original cost.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Shop with local hobbyists instead of the big name coral vendors. Or even your LFS. You can get many of the nicer corals for much less than an online vendor. Once their sales back off so will their exorbitant prices.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

In my opinion, a lot of people are looking into corals as a way on how to profit in the future. \

Not that great of a strategy. Take that Homewrecker mentioned above. Two years ago I saw three pieces for sale from the man himself for $800 $1000 and $1200 each. Now, I could find you the same size pieces for under $200. It's a depreciating item, the more people out there that have them and are cutting frags, the cheaper they get.

Me personally I don't get into the high end acros so I don't worry about their crazy prices. I have monti growing like crazy but I'll kill the toughest acro you can throw at me...

 

[NeedMoreReef]

Thanks for some good replies.lol
In the past posting opens you open to some harsh criticism!

What a fun forum!

 

[NeedMoreReef]

Thanks for some good replies.lol
In the past posting opens you open to some harsh criticism!

What a fun forum!

 

[NeedMoreReef]

Thanks for some good replies.lol
In the past posting opens you open to some harsh criticism!

What a fun forum!

 

[CMO]

The most frustrating thing to me is to pay a high price only to find out they're in fact weed polyps that grow like crazy. For a unique slow growing zoa I can understand the high price but for most it's just silly. I have one zoa for example that has literally made 1 polyps in an entire year - now that is something I can understand a high price for.

I've paid up for some high end zoas and can honestly say they are no better than my inexpensive zoas. Also, the same zoa is going by different names at drastically different prices across vendors - the fox fairy tales come to mind lately which I've seen from $5 upwards of $80 for a few polyps.

This is especially hilarious to me seeing the same coral by different names and different prices at the same vendor....

 

[NeedMoreReef]

Yeah. I’d buy a home wrecker if I thought i could keep its color and grow!

 

[lapin]

Im not sure about how else you would price other than per head or something.
But I have to agree with others that the coral game pricing is way off for what you get. If you are a fixed income you dont buy much and certainly not the 1mm sticks for $100+