Thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot to us!
I tell you, it's sometimes tough to even charge what we do for a high quality frag like this at times, but the economic and market realities are what they are. Unique Corals is not the cheapest vendor out there, and we are certainly nowhere close to the most expensive. We do have some pricey stuff, but that is not our primary market focus, as you can probably tell by now. There is always a vendor out there that wants to race to the bottom of the market and go bankrupt faster by chopping up a freshly-imported chalice and gluing a few slivers to frag plugs, cutting his/her prices to rock bottom, and tossing them out into the market, with poor quality and lack of service along with it. We're not that vendor, either.
On the other hand, we are frequently amused (well, actually, appalled) at the insane prices that some vendors charge for slivers or "eyes" of chalices that are decidedly common in the trade, or at least available from a number of vendors under different common names.
For example, we got a great laugh recently at seeing what we call the
"Eye of the Storm" chalice (Echinophyllia) and charge $38.00 for a 3/4" encrusted frag every day listed with some other name, at over $400 per "eye". It's a nice coral, but seriously? Yes, I'm a business person and capitalism is a great thing, but I'm also a consumer, a several-decades reef hobbyist, and a 7 time MACNA speaker who has travelled around the world and seen and owned plenty of reef tanks in his time. I've learned one great thing from all of that experience- and that's to always think for yourself in the hobby, with a skeptical eye when necessary. Just be careful out there.
Granted, there are plenty of amazing vendors out there, many who are on this very Forum, and have the highest levels of integrity, quality and service. Please support each and every one of them when you can. And quite frankly, there are some corals out there that, for a variety of reasons do warrant carrying high price tags...Supply and demand being just one of the reasons. But do be careful, as there are a lot of unscrupulous ones out there too who operate on the principle that a fool and his money will always part for the benefit of an over-color-saturated, absurdly priced piece with a fancy name! Just be careful. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. On the other hand, if you feel that the item is worth the price because of its attributes- then by all means support the vendor and purchase it! Everyone likes to have cool stuff, and that is a part of the "collectors" mentality in our hobby. It's healthy.
Wow! I'm really going off on this! Bottom line is that I want hobbyists to enjoy their corals and still be able to pay for more important things in life- Your family's needs, your supportive spouse, your other insanely expensive hobbies (LOL)...This is the part where I should be altruistic and give away my inventory for free, right? LOL...better quite while I'm ahead! Would be a fun ongoing discussion topic, at the risk of hijacking my own thread! LOL
Bottom line: Some corals are expensive but worth it (and everyone ascribes a different value to "worth it"). Some are overpriced and not worth it (apply the aforementioned caveat)...Please decide what is "worth it" and vote with your wallets and purses!
Thanks for listening!
Scott
