Online vendor Acro frags are sure getting pricey$$$$$$$$$$

[foxt]

lol , , , , , , , Wait.........

THIS ISN'T A RARE GYPSY TOXIC GREEN SPACE BALL CORAL WORTH $225 ?????

No, but it is nice anyway.

 

[vetteguy53081]

No, but it is nice anyway.

Was a joke but an example of what vendors would name it

 

[adam finley]

This thread cracks me up! Prices have always been high for years. Most of you seem to be new im guessing. All the cheap frags now used to be well over 200 when they first came out probably just saying . I pay top price because its gonna be nice. Just like a car or any other hobby. You can go the cheap route or go the expensive way. Not everything is for everyone unless you wanna spend i love high end rare stuff most dont have. I'll pay for it and i sure aint rich

Well your just the person I want to sell coral too. I have a super rare krypto green banana boat reverse bounce shroom for 500 bucks. It’s only rare because the name I gave it.I bet since I named it that “which makes it rare” you wanna buy it for 500. Lol just teasing. I agree with most that corals pricing is getting way out of control. Renaming a coral doesn’t make it more rare where you can charge a premium. If it’s truly rare then absolutely but most of the time that’s not the case. However, if people are going to pay it they are going to keep charging it.

 

[Kurt Grant]

I think people like wwc, Jason fox sent this hobby down a road we will never recover from I dont think they are responsible with they're pricing at all.. I was talking to a dealer friend today about getting a homewrecker he told me the guy he get them from want 450 and he really changes 800 .. 450 800 for a 1" frag!!!? I think we as the buyers should just stop paying these kind of prices for something they only spend 40 or 50 dollars for 1000% mark up this isn't a hobby anymore ITS OUT OF CONTROL

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

its not just the jason fox, WWC, cherry corals, vivids of the game, it is also the nature of the hobby in general. People used to trade more, help people out, just share the excitement in general. I feel when you pay a lot for a frag you are a lot less likely to just give frags away, have to try and recoup your cost...and in the end, perpetuate increasing prices.

It is all whatever to me though. People blow money on all kinds of stupid things. Ridiculously priced frags are the equivelant of lifted 4x4's in my mind.

 

[Cujo#31]

I think at the end of the day it’s up to the individual. If you see it, and like it, and think u can grow it, go for it. If you want it bad enough, you will pay. But like so many have said, knowing your vendor, or using a trusted vendor of a group is always the best assurance of quality and value.

 

[Ellery]

I agree with Brian. I've been in the hobby for almost 30 years and I like going back to the true frag swap/Trading days. I don't care what the market price is - if you like something I have and I like something you have we should just trade inch per inch. Simple... I don't trim too often (and most frags are broken by stupid big fish anyways) I would sell a mini colony for a price of a 1" frag I see online. But I'm OK with it since the more successful hobbyists = more demand = lower costs as a consumer - back to basic economics. I only buy/Trade locally anyways since I like to see what I'm getting and try to bring the community back together again away vs. just communicating on the screen.

I do agree that the name game is getting ridiculous and is starting to spread to other species like clams now too.

As others have stated - "Do what you want, it's your money..." I personally won't pay for anything too costly.

Not to hijack the thread but wouldn't having local hobbyists who can grow stuff like weeds supply LFS help provide supply and lower costs for everyone (especially if they have their own online distribution presence to not saturate the local market)? Unless there's some unspoken agreement to not dilute the price like MAP Pricing concept?

 

[James Johnson]

You know it’s strange, when I go look at Rolex watches they are soo darn expensive I mean really?? Charging thousands of dollars for a simple wrist watch that takes them a fraction of the cost to make.... I mean you can buy a watch that keeps the same time from Target for only $10.
That’s highway robbery, why do they sell watches for soo much when target sells them for $10-$20. I just don’t understand why they charge soo much.

It always seems to be the same argument on here. Why are frags so expensive? Why do vendors charge so much?

It seems like no one took highschool economics. Remember when your teacher taught you about supply and demand. The reason prices are high is because there is a high demand(lots of reefers) and a low supply(indo ban). You also need to take into account inflation, aka the reason why bread is not $ 0.10 anymore.

Also is the average reefer that has a 40-60g tank gonna import corals? Do you have the budget to drop thousands of dollars for an order that would be big enough for a farm to want to export to you? The answer is no. So who does? Well an entrepreneur that wants to make some money. Now is he gonna invest his money to import corals to give them away? Nope. He’s gonna want to make some money or he’s gonna do something else with his money. So if there was no profit to be made then there would be no importing. If there is no importing our hobby will die.

Do you remember your first time seeing fish in aquariums? I’ll bet it was at a fish store, well fish stores just like all businesses need to make money otherwise they go out of business. No more fish stores, no more importing and again our hobby will die.

Instead on coming on here and complaining about what you cannot afford, just don’t buy it. If no one buys it at that price then the price will go down. Again, highschool economics here, low demand( no one buying it) and high supply( lots of frags not selling) equals low prices.

I would love to know how many people complaining about frag prices on here own an iPhone.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Just did some shopping this past week and a bit shocked again at some of the prices. Having started in the hobby in 2001, I have to say if coral was a stock, it would have blown Apple, Google ect away. It really is crazy how expensive a nubbin with 10 polyps to show some extension, freshly cut named “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Kids College Fund, Endgame Hallucination, blah blah blah” go for.
I understand inflation and issues with bans also the costs with farming. But I also feel that some of these people are missing out on some of the beautiful bread and butter corals we used to be able to get. The stores (locally) seem to have less diversity in stock, sometimes even low stock due to the fact that they are farming slow growing expensive pieces.
Beyond all of that, I have yet to see large colonies grown from these nubs that look like the original pics. I feel that when I’m reading an article from some of the legends in the hobby, most of their pieces are 10/15/20 years old and traded or given to them through friends. When you are able to sustain pieces for that amount of time, that’s why they look how they do.

Absolutely the truth here.

Most people on r2r are new to the hobby, less than 2 years, sooo they have no idea what it was like many years ago. People wouldn’t dare try and sell a one inch or smaller nub, back in the day. Also, local forums were king, as were local frag SWAPS, not the frag CRAPS of today... then the big forums gained traction such as RC, saltwaterfish.com, r2r and general social media sites , etc.

As for lives sales, go through wwc love sales and just see the share amount of just plain ignorance of people buying corals as fast as they can without regard to money. They just have to “win” and get that coral for some odd reason. For me, I only buy certain pieces based on certain characteristics.

Now you can have anything you want when you want, for a price of course and it’s extra special snowflakes that have to have to show off thinking they have something nobody else does... The days of trading and enjoying fish/coral in the hobby as true hobbyists are long gone.

A market was created, unfortunately due to the hobby getting popular, now with salt water becoming as easy as fresh water.

I actually discourage people from getting in just due to this. Back in the day if you had a saltwater tank it was a big deal, not soo much any more, they are a dime a dozen now.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

the thing is, many of the things they are selling are not rolexes, they are timex corals they cut into pieces and are selling under the name "ultra rainbow rolex".

$40 for a green slimmer frag? come on...

 

[User1]

You know it’s strange, when I go look at Rolex watches they are soo darn expensive I mean really?? Charging thousands of dollars for a simple wrist watch that takes them a fraction of the cost to make.... I mean you can buy a watch that keeps the same time from Target for only $10.
That’s highway robbery, why do they sell watches for soo much when target sells them for $10-$20. I just don’t understand why they charge soo much.

I hear what you are saying. But you wouldn't go diving with that $10 power ranger swatch. It wouldn't last a second once it hit the water let alone depts greater than 130'. Yes, I dive with my watch... But to your point, yes. Time is time within reason although build quality is different. You know that. Coral is a crop.

It seems like no one took highschool economics. Remember when your teacher taught you about supply and demand. The reason prices are high is because there is a high demand(lots of reefers) and a low supply(indo ban). You also need to take into account inflation, aka the reason why bread is not $ 0.10 anymore.

Indo ban has nothing to do with botuique coral pricing. Corals banned do not have fancy made up names. They have something like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, etc - wikipedia because I don't remember. But you get the idea.

Instead on coming on here and complaining about what you cannot afford, just don’t buy it. If no one buys it at that price then the price will go down. Again, highschool economics here, low demand( no one buying it) and high supply( lots of frags not selling) equals low prices.

Two answers here - I think it is a discussion, not complaining. Second, we agree. Don't agree with the price then don't buy it. This isn't a can, cannot issue.

I would love to know how many people complaining about frag prices on here own an iPhone.

I see where you are going but totally unrelated. Phones are PDA's on steroids and just don't dial Jenny (867-5309) anymore. It would be interesting I guess to know what sort of fish kept Again, I'm in the camp that doesn't like the pricing but also won't pay it. To answer your question I don't own a iPhone, I have a older one - I keep them a long while - and my most expensive fish is $54 bucks I think. A Lt. Tank. I bought a $89 dollar Purple Tang from LA but it didn't make it and it was refunded.

Beyond that I've got nothing. I think this has been a rather interesting discussion personally.

 

[Tklb]

Man, I don't even understand this thread. If you think it costs too much then don't buy it. It really isn't that hard. I think a Bugatti costs too much, so I don't have one. It doesn't really do me any good to complain about the price. I am sure to some it is worth it, and some can afford it much easier that I can. If it was that important to me, I would find a way to get it. And if it was worth it to me, then it is just that, worth it.

So many people blaming the vendors for the price. It is the consumers. The vendors can't force anyone to buy the stuff. If nobody buys homewreckers, what will happen to the price?

Sorry for the way I am coming across, but man it gets old with everybody complaining about everything. Anyway, I am off my soapbox now. Happy Christmas all.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

it is only a forum to discuss things and chat folks....

the ridiculous prices are a thing in the hobby just like anything else.

You could start a million threads about the cost of things and you could always say "dont like it, dont buy it.

I think the OP was just starting a discussion. No reason to get all upset about anything.

 

[Amado]

I think this is not just in our hobby. This is just how this generation shops.
Paying $400 for a pair of Nike is crazy especially when it cost theme $8 to make the sneaker.
Paying $200 for beats head phone when they cost less than $12 to make.
Paying $25 for avocado toast lol
Apple has everyone buying $1,000 phones every year. Phones use to be free.

 

[stacksoner]

It's only a matter of time before they all fall on their swords. Aside from the photoshop misrepresentations, which I find to be a little uncouth, I am disgusted by the fact that absolutely no duty of care is exercised to ensure their products aren't infested with tank-crippling pests that end up costing us everything.

It's absurd that we need to setup separate quarantine tank systems just to ensure their products last for more than 15 days. And the fact that all vendors have a 15 day survival return policy is a testament to exactly what they know about their infested systems and the 30 day hatching cycle of tank-terminating parasites. The hitchhiker thread is a sad and nauseating sampling of the countless hobbyists who were duped.

Vendors love playing the plausible deniability card (ie-we don't have pests to our knowledge, but dip your corals to be safe....you must've got the infestation from somewhere else as they have been in your tank for 30 days with no issues). The truth is that they know EXACTLY what's going on in their systems. The even sadder truth is that aquarium pests are introduced to our tanks from these vendors. The hobby wouldn't know these wallet and morale draining issues if they managed them correctly.

So how are the vendors going to fall on their own swords? Because at a certain price point, hobbyists will eventually take their chances in getting corals elsewhere. I believe that this demand for corals will be crowd-sourced (ie fulfilled by hobbyists). Over time, people will be MUCH happier with the corals they get from hobbyists as they'll likely be both less expensive,pest-free (not subjected to parasite cesspool propagation), and have much better merchant guarantees (I'll replace it if it dies within 60 days if you send me your Apex Trident log etc. and it shows all parameters were stable and within an acceptable range over that period of time).

 

[stacksoner]

I think this is not just in our hobby. This is just how this generation shops. Paying $400 for a pair of Nike is crazy especially when it cost theme $8 to make the sneaker.
Paying $200 for beats head phone when they cost less than $12 to make.
Paying $25 for avocado toast lol
Apple has everyone buying $1,000 phones every year. Phones use to be free.
Paying $400 for a pair of Nike is crazy especially when it cost theme $8 to make the sneaker.

If coral vendors sold Nike's, this is how'd they'd be advertised online:

And then they'd arrive in the mail looking like this:

Paying $25 for avocado toast lol
If coral vendors sold food, the avocados would contain lethal amounts of arsenic that should've been washed off. If one happened to die while eating the avocado toast, the deceased could only qualify for a $25 refund if one sent them back a notarized copy of their death certificate, a selfie holding their Driver License w a copy of today's newspaper, and the digested remnants of the avocado toast.

Apple has everyone buying $1,000 phones every year. Phones use to be free
Technology is one of the few sectors where consumers demand that the product size significantly decreases and features offered increase year over year. I think every hobbyist would be okay with paying more for a smaller, more interesting frags that grew 3x faster than it's predecessors.

 

[peder]

Nice Aussie Sps frag in my Lfs here in Denmark, Price: 50$, i Think prices is rediculous in USA!

 

[emilios_reeftank]

YES YES YES!!!!!! I %100 agree with you.

I think people like wwc, Jason fox sent this hobby down a road we will never recover from I dont think they are with they're pricing at all.. I was talking to a dealer friend today about getting a homewrecker he told me the guy he get them from want 450 and he really changes 800 .. 450 800 for a 1" frag!!!? I think we as the buyers should just stop paying these kind of prices for something they only spend 40 or 50 dollars for 1000% mark up this isn't a hobby anymore ITS OUT OF CONTROL

 

[Jonreefer]

Would be nice to see some of these cool color acro taken pics not under 100% blues and nothing else. If the vendors did that they couldnt name them all these ridiculous names since they wouldnt look so neon and glowing under a more whiter color spectrum.
Also i dont get the comparison of the prices of these corals to products that are produced. Like Watches, cars, car parts. These items are something that was created by someone. Who took time to design develop research test and produce. They are made of many things all of which cost money to purchase and fabricate. Also the persons time to make it all work and what you buy is what you get. They are not advertising one thing and you get something that looks totally different. Like I buy a blue truck and deliver a red one to me. Corals are living things we throw some light on them and in the water and they grow and cut and sell. There is no major cost of research/ design and testing. that was all done with the makers of the hardware Ecotech/Coralvue etc... not that i agree with Ecotech prices either but atleast its a product that was research/deveolpment and tested which cost alot of time and money. The vendors buy the few products to get a system running and after that its very little cost. At the prices they sell corals at they probably recoup the cost of one frag tank in maybe 10 frags they sell.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the free market. This is how our economy works. If you're selling clothes and can't keep them in stock because of the demand and people keep wanting, you raise the price. If it keeps up, you raise it again. If people are willing to pay the money, by all means, charge whatever you want. No judgement from me on these businesses doing smart business.

Personally I can't afford the trends, so I buy brownouts and nurse them into nice pieces. I'll wait a few years until those Walt Disney's grow out and sell cheaper once the market is saturated. Also, the acro craze will fluctuate as always. I used to get acro colonies for 40 bucks. Like real colonies that were softball sized.

Also, the high dollar frag thing has been around for dang near a decade. Ya'll remember everyone trying to get a chunk of red dragon however many years ago that was?