Most Overrated and Underrated "CORALS!"

[wolfthefallen]

Personally I believe corals are both, overrated and underrated. Personally I believe this is due to the cause of the hype around the current trending coral(s). These trending corals get really overrated cause the "I must have for my tank" to have a "Popular" piece that will diminish and then become underrated when the next "Must have" piece is being promoted.

Remember when purchasing any piece in the end is, are you personally willing to pay that price, secondly are you doing it cause you like the piece or are you doing cause you want something to show off. .. at least thats my 2 cents.

 

[shrimped]

I don’t get the hype for those shrooms that come with a pretty price tag (Electus, jb, bounces). Sure they are nice looking but I don’t think $600 usd is worth a 1” x 1” tri-colored shroom.
I think nps coral are pretty underrated in the hobby atm. Most of them come with a reasonable price point due to the rarity and over all weirdness (NOT COUNTING SOME RHIZOS LOL*)
I enjoy the challenge to get Tubastraeas, dendrophylias, and other large polyp stony nps coral to eat. It’s cool how people first start with something like fat head dendros and after a while of success you have a first taste of np sea fans/gorgs so it’s kinda like a game or competition of skill and knowledge rather than wealth.
I also hope to find some undefined coral from Japan import to the US.

 

[Hemmdog]

Not to get stuck on the technicals, but if you buy a coral that's been color enhanced or Photoshopped to a point where its colours are not (or likely not) obtainable, regardless of price, by definition, it is overrated. The coral being purchased is not the determining factor, its dependent on what is being advertised to what your actually getting.

The definition of over-rated is: to praise too highly, exaggerate the merits of, over-praise, oversell, glorify, magnify.

If a vendor is photoshoping coral to the point the colors aren’t obtainable they could easily be sued for fraud by anyone, even with the worst lawyer. People just assume it’s just to much “work” so no one does it, that is why it continues to happen. This industry isn’t regulated like most products. Just like all these “named” corals aren’t actually named, I’ve checked the us patent & copyright office for all big name corals. There’s none. If you really want to claim a legit name people can’t take with a description of the coral you could and should theoretically get a copyright on that variant. So other vendors couldn’t sell “knockoffs” it would be a copyright violation and they would get sued for like $100,000-1mil no problem.

If I’m wrong about any of these details I’m sorry this is just what I know to the best of my knowledge. Not a lawyer, just a VC.

 

[MnFish1]

Well the $1000 was mostly just exaggeration but I was referring to all the designer corals (mostly acros, chalices and bounce shrooms) that have really high price tags attached to them and are usully pretty small frags. I have to disagree with "If someone is paying $1000 for a frag - by definition it can't be overrated" I dont really see how it cant be overrated if someone buys it. These corals get hyped up as the best looking/must have corals, which leads to the inflated prices, leading to someone buying it at the inflated price. Something can be both overrated and overpriced, they are mutually exclusive

We dont disagree - I was curious to know what you meant. BTW - what I meant is that to the person paying the $1000 its not over-rated. To the person buying the cheap leather coral it is not 'underrated'. If you are a person on hospice dying - all coral is probably overrated.

Again the issue is overrated or underrated on what criteria? You picked Price. An extremely wealthy person may pick something much different like color. etc etc

Take the example of Beanie Babies - they sold for $3-4. People bid up the price in the secondary market to thousands of dollars. Were any over rated - or were some just overpriced? Or were people just crazy. Some people said all beanie babies were overrated (they didnt buy them at retail price in the store) etc etc.

The coral price craze to me seems like the tulip bulb craze of the Netherlands - where a particular colored tulip could sell for huge amounts of money - just because someone was willing to pay that price for it. Seems like it's the same for some of these corals.

 

[CC13]

If a vendor is photoshoping coral to the point the colors aren’t obtainable they could easily be sued for fraud by anyone, even with the worst lawyer. People just assume it’s just to much “work” so no one does it, that is why it continues to happen. This industry isn’t regulated like most products. Just like all these “named” corals aren’t actually named, I’ve checked the us patent & copyright office for all big name corals. There’s none. If you really want to claim a legit name people can’t take with a description of the coral you could and should theoretically get a copyright on that variant. So other vendors couldn’t sell “knockoffs” it would be a copyright violation and they would get sued for like $100,000-1mil no problem.

If I’m wrong about any of these details I’m sorry this is just what I know to the best of my knowledge. Not a lawyer, just a VC.

I agree, it will continue to happen unless buyers stand up and either demand a change to the way corals are advertised or someone gets sued.

And your right, since either of the above has never happened, most vendors continue to lie about what they are advertising for sale.

 

[mbmax]

Most corals sold online are over rated. All heavily Photoshoppe with a big price tag.
You think the coral will look like in the pictures but it looks very different, you start thinking is your tank until you see pictures from other reefers and you find out that none look like the original picture.
Very sad.

 

[damselindistress]

I don’t think the intent of @revhtree ‘s poll was meant to be so granular...it’d be easy to get way down in the weeds on what each reefer values or places priority on. I think the poll is meant to be generalized and to get a conversation going about what we are seeing in the marketplace. I work in real estate (not a realtor) and know the market will bear what a buyer is willing to pay. Its what led to the over valued housing resulting in the mortgage crisis a few years back. But the market will also eventually correct itself. You can’t compare corals to houses because obviously it’s not apples to apples, but their respective markets do share similar traits across periods of time.

 

[Hemmdog]

I don’t think the intent of @revhtree ‘s poll was meant to be so granular...it’d be easy to get way down in the weeds on what each reefer values or places priority on. I think the poll is meant to be generalized and to get a conversation going about what we are seeing in the marketplace. I work in real estate (not a realtor) and know the market will bear what a buyer is willing to pay. Its what led to the over valued housing resulting in the mortgage crisis a few years back. But the market will also eventually correct itself. You can’t compare corals to houses because obviously it’s not apples to apples, but their respective markets do share similar traits across periods of time.

True but you can’t photoshop a house when a client is on tour lol

 

[MnFish1]

Step one to fixing the hobby: Start prizing individual corals less and the artistic expression of the coral grower more.

Curious - can you explain what this means? Is the hobby 'broken' somehow? If I grew coral I would charge whatever price I could get. For you its a hobby. For people who grow/frag corals is a business. Note - I'm not suggesting that taking fraudulent pictures is justified. Like I said previously - If I were buying an even $500 frag (and I wouldn't - not because of price - but because I like buying larger specimens) - I would ask for a picture under various lighting not just trust whatever picture the vendor puts up. This is also the reason I don' usually buy coral online.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I see a lot of reefers talking about how underrated the soft corals are but whenever I check out the soft coral forum it’s like a ghost town.

 

[MnFish1]

I don’t think the intent of @revhtree ‘s poll was meant to be so granular...it’d be easy to get way down in the weeds on what each reefer values or places priority on. I think the poll is meant to be generalized and to get a conversation going about what we are seeing in the marketplace. I work in real estate (not a realtor) and know the market will bear what a buyer is willing to pay. Its what led to the over valued housing resulting in the mortgage crisis a few years back. But the market will also eventually correct itself. You can’t compare corals to houses because obviously it’s not apples to apples, but their respective markets do share similar traits across periods of time.

Its not really clear what the intent was - which was my point. Thats not meant to be critical - just more philosophical. It seems like most people are complaining about the price of various corals - and perhaps false photography. Price is dictated by the market ie what the seller is willing to sell for - and the buyer is willing to pay. To use the real estate example - Is a 1000 sq foot house in Seattle selling for $1,000,000 overrated? To someone living in a 3000 sq foot house in the suburbs of Seattle selling for $400,000 it might be overrated. To someone living in a 1000 sq foot apartment in New York costing $2,000,000 the Seattle house might be underrated. If the 1000 sq foot house in Seattle had solid gold shingles it might be underrated. etc etc. it all is based upon the criteria on which the rating is supposed to be based (IMHO)...

 

[tnyr5]

Hmm...trying to see if this thread is a trap.

Overrated: Cut shops, boutique or designer corals. Example from yesterday Electric Daisy Stylocoeniella (sp).
Underrated: soft corals. Example Sansibia

Funny you should mention that stupid electric daisy thing. I have essentially the same coral that I got at a lfs as a fist-sized chunk for $60 about a year ago. You will NEVER convince me that that coral is worth $800 a frag.

 

[tankstudy]

I see a lot of reefers talking about how underrated the soft corals are but whenever I check out the soft coral forum it’s like a ghost town.

That's because they are under rated.

 

[Hemmdog]

That's because they are under rated.

Where do you even get them? Most shops don’t even carry soft coral around here.

 

[CC13]

Curious - can you explain what this means? Is the hobby 'broken' somehow? If I grew coral I would charge whatever price I could get. For you its a hobby. For people who grow/frag corals is a business. Note - I'm not suggesting that taking fraudulent pictures is justified. Like I said previously - If I were buying an even $500 frag (and I wouldn't - not because of price - but because I like buying larger specimens) - I would ask for a picture under various lighting not just trust whatever picture the vendor puts up. This is also the reason I don' usually buy coral online.

For me at least, it doesn't bother me when people or vendors set high prices. Its their corals to sell, and they can set whatever price they feel its worth. Me being the consumer, I can assess whats being sold and determine if I want to buy it or not.

I think for the majority of people, the issue is being lied to. Regardless of price, when something is enhanced or photoshopped, your actually being sold something that is in no way what you were being told you were buying.

Its no different than being shown and buying a 2-tone Rolex only to receive one that's actually all stainless steel. Its still a Rolex, but its not what you were told you were buying.

 

[MnFish1]

Funny you should mention that stupid electric daisy thing. I have essentially the same coral that I got at a lfs as a fist-sized chunk for $60 about a year ago. You will NEVER convince me that that coral is worth $800 a frag.

I agree - I wouldn't buy an $800 frag - But - as an example - I bought a nearly fist sized heart of the ocean from an LFS - was a beautiful blue stunning Cost $50. I lost it during a power outage after it had doubled in size. I went to replace it a couple months ago at the same store - and they had one frag left. I asked the price - they said - they wouldn't sell it for any price - then changed to $1000. They have become difficult to get (at least for them) - and on the internet as well (in any larger than a pencil) size. Of course I wouldn't buy it - but it illustrates how supply and demand works. If enough people like those frags and buy all of them - and he price goes up - that does not make it overrated or over priced - it is just in high demand and low supply (IMHO). Again - Some people are talking about dealers 'over-rating' their corals (i.e. photoshopping/manipulating color, etc) - I dont think (though again IM not sure - that was the focus of the poll) - I think its more about buyers 'overrating' or 'underrating' coral.

 

[tnyr5]

Well, with speculative bubble & ponzi scheme overtones...

 

[CC13]

Well, with speculative bubble & ponzi scheme overtones...

Don't forget fraud. lol

 

[sde1500]

Corals that are called rainbow and have 3 colors are overrated. Excuse me but rainbows are ROYGBIV, that coral is YGV at best, how do you justify calling that rainbow?

 

[Hemmdog]

Well, with speculative bubble & ponzi scheme overtones...

Lolol