Paying before cutting - your thoughts?

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I dont buy anything without seeing it 1st. Thats the way I sell them and thats what I expect in return. Now I had people PM me asking for me to frag something and if I can I will most I make pay before fragging but a few that I trust Ill let them wait. As soon as they are cut I send them a pic to make sure okay with the frag.
I dont like fragging anything and having to hold it to heal because I dont like having to hold the money in my PP acct until I ship it. I dont spend the money until they have there frag and are happy.
 
i think fish n frags did this and peeps got screwed. i could see a small deposit but no way paying for the whole frag to heal and such. Then again it depends on your relationship with the person/vendor.

FnF is it's own crazy story- I wouldn't use that situation as frame of reference here.

Personally, I agree most of the time that I want WYSIWYG, fully healed frags I can pay for. And when im selling or trading, that's what I prefer to provide.

But certain colonies I don't like fragging if there's no interest... I'd rather leave the colony in tact than hack away at it.

In the above cases, I'll put up a coral and if there's interest I'll frag it and if anyone wants to put a down payment on a frag while it heals (not full price but something enough to show commitment), I'll do that. Since I take payment through paypal if you never see the coral from me you can file a claim against me via paypal and get your money back (up to a certain amount... def. enough to cover any frag I would sell).

Anywho... that's my 2 cents.
 
In general, I agree with the sentiments expressed here. I do believe, though, that it does depend on the type of coral to some degree.

For those coral that are sold in a fairly standardized fashion (ie high-end chalices are typically sold at a certain size for frags and usually include at least one eye, but are rarely sold with several), I can see how it really makes the most sense to make the frags, let them heal, and then offer them for sale. However, for something like high-end zoanthids where they are typically sold by the polyp and someone might want anywhere from one to 10 depending on price, it is harder to pre-determine a good selling frag size, and it is common practice (and makes sense) to post a morph for sale with a per polyp price and allow buyers to decide how many polyps they want cut for them. In this case the frags are going to be custom, and it only makes sense that the frags will need to be cut and allowed to heal after the order is placed.

I don't think this is anything new or unusual. Online vendors typically have shopping carts setup on their sites and you place your order and pay and in many cases the frags are not pre-cut. I actually wish more vendor sites would enforce/allow a waiting period after the order to allow the frags to heal. I don't like getting fresh-cut frags the day after. A few days allowance for healing, or even a week wouldn't bother me. Again, in the case of chalices (which people on this thread seem mostly to be referring to) and other lps where they are usually sold in a fairly standard quantity, and where they have a more intensive healing to undergo, it does make less sense to pre-sell, IMO.
 
I agree with all thats been said also. I put up a thread recently with some pics of my colony's to see if there was any interest in frags. These are colony's I prefer not to frag if there are not any buyers for them. I think a pic is in order for the buyer to be sure they will be happy with their purchase or a refund should be made. And if the frag does not make it. Either offer them another frag of equal or greater value or refund their money.

I have tried fragging in advance and have sold some wysiwyg. Some sell and the rest sit in your tank and grow until you are willing to just about give them away to get them off your frag rack. I think any funds prepaid should not be spent until the buyers have received their purchase and are happy with it. If you trust the seller and they have a good reputation there won't be any problems.

With the economy the way it is these days. It just does not make much sense to frag up a lot of nice chalices to sit in your tank and not sell. So I can understand the guaging for interest before fragging. Thats my thoughts....
 
I find it interesting to see both sides of things. Me being a farmer I rather have the frag healed and sell it as a WYSIWYG and have a waiting list for people that would like a pice. I Know bigian and he is a honest person and he has nice stuff. But I dont want to be responsible with some ones money if something goes wrong. That can cause hard feelings when you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of dollars. I know that there are some corals that are well invested and cut up but if for some reason that coral happends to bleach or change colors wow I would not want to have that over my head.
 
I think any funds prepaid should not be spent until the buyers have received their purchase and are happy with it. If you trust the seller and they have a good reputation there won't be any problems.

That is the whole enchilada right there. I was involved in the FnF/Jabawaki mess. FnF had a good reputation, which is why I prepaid for the frag, and it was stated that if there were any issues with the frags a full refund would be issued, which implied that funds would be there for refunds, and we all know how that turned out. So lesson is even a formerly good Vendor can go south.
Dave
 
That is the whole enchilada right there. I was involved in the FnF/Jabawaki mess. FnF had a good reputation, which is why I prepaid for the frag, and it was stated that if there were any issues with the frags a full refund would be issued, which implied that funds would be there for refunds, and we all know how that turned out. So lesson is even a formerly good Vendor can go south.
Dave

Did you get a refund from them? Just curious how that went...
 
Fnf sucks!!!Matt sold me a 1 eyed frag of the pink ******* for 400 bucks that didn't even have a shot at survival. I would normally never bad mouth someone but fnf is just bad!!
 
I think we are getting off topic, what Matt F&F did doesn't concern this discussion let's not derail this thread in bashing someone, now I like buying WYSWYG but I also have prepaid for corals from people that are trusthworthy.
 
I think we are getting off topic, what Matt F&F did doesn't concern this discussion let's not derail this thread in bashing someone, now I like buying WYSWYG but I also have prepaid for corals from people that are trusthworthy.


But what it does reinforce is that whether you prepay a Vendor OR individual before they cut is TOTALLY a matter of trust, and that even currently trustworthy people/Vendors can turn bad, so Caveat Emptor.

Every coral purchase we make is a risk.
 
I have mostly Zoas/Palys in my tank, and more than once I have listed what I have for sale, how many polyps are available, and the price. People then send me their "orders" of what they want and how many polyps, and I cut them. In all of my postings, however, I request that they give them at least a week to heal before I ship, usually longer. If for some reason the frags don't make it, then I will certainly offer a full refund or offer to make them another frag. This has worked just fine many times in the past and people are typically satisfied with what they get.
 
Every coral purchase we make is a risk.

True, but I think we can all agree there is a LOT LESS risk if a frag is already cut, healed, and ships as soon as payment is received.


I like Fonda's statement a lot, and can very much relate...
"I have tried fragging in advance and have sold some wysiwyg. Some sell and the rest sit in your tank and grow until you are willing to just about give them away to get them off your frag rack. I think any funds prepaid should not be spent until the buyers have received their purchase and are happy with it. "
 
People in legitimate business look at things differently than a hobbiest. A hobbiest looks to frag a LE coral to share and make some money to support their system, for the most part. A business looks at a coral as profit, plain and simple. If a business has a LE colony, it is either sold at a premium or fragged. There is no "guaging interest" in the market. Risk vs. reward, frag or sell whole.

I too have been scammed in this ponzi sceme and warn it is the wrong way to do business!!
 
What You See Is What You Get (ie - a picture of the actual frag you are buying)
 
I've never sent money before seeing a frag and would never ask anyone to either. I generally only buy, sell, and trade for WYSIWYG. Now if I found a piece I couldn't live without, I would pay a small refundable deposit to hold it, but would never send the full amount until I see what I am paying for.
 
I have some corals that I do not frag except when asked, then they get to share that risk by paying at least 1/2 before I cut, cuz the whole thing could die, then neither of us have any.:sad:

Corals that I choose to frag and sell or trade are all wysiwyg.
 
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True, but I think we can all agree there is a LOT LESS risk if a frag is already cut, healed, and ships as soon as payment is received.


I like Fonda's statement a lot, and can very much relate...
"I have tried fragging in advance and have sold some wysiwyg. Some sell and the rest sit in your tank and grow until you are willing to just about give them away to get them off your frag rack. I think any funds prepaid should not be spent until the buyers have received their purchase and are happy with it. "

Yeah, WYSIWYG is better for the Buyer, but potentially a PIA for the Seller.
 
I have some corals that I do not frag except when asked, then they get to share that risk by paying at least 1/2 before I cut, cuz the whole thing could die, then neither of us have any.:sad:

Corals that I choose to frag and sell or trade are all wysiwyg.

I definitely understand not wanting to frag certain corals, but I still don't think the buyer should ever be responsible if the seller kills their own piece by fragging it. Yes it can be a risk, but you get paid for it or get a trade once you deliver on your end. It's simple risk vs. reward. A buyer should have no risk until they get what they paid for.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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