"Resonable Expectations..."

[homefry319]

I prefer seeing the details with macro shots. As long as you provide the information on the products page I don't see being misled. Maybe confusing for some customers.

Could you possibly just add a couple shots to the product with more realistic size shots? ( I know more time )

Honestly I think showing the proper color is more important at least for me it is. I had an order a while ago and one item didn't even look close to the picture it was kind of upsetting, was from an honest seller with great feedback.

 

[Acroholic]

One thing Unique corals, or any other Vendor cannot guarantee by way of pictures is color. Every tank is different with different chemistry and different lighting. What looks like darker red in one tank may be light pink in another.

But what Unique Corals or any other vendor can show via pictures is color potential. Keeping it as realistic as possible in their pictures is a matter of personal ethics of the Vendor, IMO.

From my own experience, sometimes the color of the coral is way different in my tank than in the Vendor's pictures. Sometimes worse, sometimes close, and sometimes better. I personally cannot hold the Vendor accountable for color variations once the frag is in my tank. But I do not and will not buy from any Vendor I suspect of photoshop or color manipulation in any way, unless it brings the colors inline with what they actually see in their own tank under a normal daylight spectrum..

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Bottom line is : People just don't read I have posted and read post by others in different forums. A question is asked about the post, and I am like, didn't you read the post, your answer is right there in black & white.

What did you say was the bottom line? :tongue:

 

[currentking]

I believe a buyer buys something online and sees the incredible picture and justifies paying $300 for a 1/4" frag of something. The consumer is mostly aware of the size but disregards it because of its beauty. The consumer then waits patiently at home for the FedEx truck looking at their tank impatiently visioning the piece in their tank. The consumer then waves to the driver, runs in and opens the box and hopefully places the piece in a container for acclimation anxious to see the color under the correct lighting. They then place the coral in the tank, take a step back and realize the piece doesn't stand out like they invisioned thinking to themselves they can't believe they just spent that much on something that gets lost in the tank and feel ashamed to show their wife what they got for $300.
I know this happens because it happens to me every time I order. I don't place blame on the vendor, I just imagine how great the piece will look in a year or 2.

This goes far beyond this hobby. I paid $175 bucks for my daughters 1 year birthday cake. That is a lot of $$$. I went and picked up the cake and saw how incredible it looked and felt it was totally worth it. When I got home and sang the birthday song we cut the cake. When the blade of the knife cut the first piece, I then felt like an idiot for spending so much and realized the cake was not worth it.

 

[TWT5011]

I know we've made some suggestions here concerning size. The vendor such as Unique will need to decide if it's "worth" the time to offer more info... Written and visual, to help the customer during the purchase. It does mean more time involved with documentation for the vendor... Which may mean more cost passed on to the customer. I think the customer has to be responsible when making a purchase to read and understand what they are to receive. Ultimately there has to be a trust developed/established between the vendor and customer. If the vendor says its 1" you should believe it's 1". Color of corals is a whole different ball of wax. Honesty and trust should probably be all that's necessary... Not a ruler.

 

[eg8r210]

I cannot stand when a vendor says high light and high flow. These things mean something different to different people. I usually will discuss with the vendor my equipment and see what the recommendations are based in what I have. I know this might be too much for all orders a vendor has but as long as te vendor is willing to discuss if time is available then that would be appreciated. I have seen a few blow me off and I have never ordered from them again. I also like to see two images, one normal blue one everyone likes to offer and then one in more white light. I don't have a blue tank and want to know what the coral will look like
Under 14k lighting.

 

[uniquecorals]

I prefer seeing the details with macro shots. As long as you provide the information on the products page I don't see being misled. Maybe confusing for some customers.

Could you possibly just add a couple shots to the product with more realistic size shots? ( I know more time )

Honestly I think showing the proper color is more important at least for me it is. I had an order a while ago and one item didn't even look close to the picture it was kind of upsetting, was from an honest seller with great feedback.

I agree about the color being almost paramount...The size needs to be explained, but color cannot be an issue..

 

[uniquecorals]

One thing Unique corals, or any other Vendor cannot guarantee by way of pictures is color. Every tank is different with different chemistry and different lighting. What looks like darker red in one tank may be light pink in another.

But what Unique Corals or any other vendor can show via pictures is color potential. Keeping it as realistic as possible in their pictures is a matter of personal ethics of the Vendor, IMO.

From my own experience, sometimes the color of the coral is way different in my tank than in the Vendor's pictures. Sometimes worse, sometimes close, and sometimes better. I personally cannot hold the Vendor accountable for color variations once the frag is in my tank. But I do not and will not buy from any Vendor I suspect of photoshop or color manipulation in any way, unless it brings the colors inline with what they actually see in their own tank under a normal daylight spectrum..

SO important...And your points are good...I think, yet again- we need to provide "reasonable expectations" for consumers...The color needs to be as accurate as possible, to at least give the customer an idea of what to expect. And you are correct about the potential variations in color between what the vendor shows in his tank and lighting versus the customer's tank. However, obviously obscenely-manipulated coral pics are the bane of everyone's existence, as we've covered many times before here!

-Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

I believe a buyer buys something online and sees the incredible picture and justifies paying $300 for a 1/4" frag of something. The consumer is mostly aware of the size but disregards it because of its beauty. The consumer then waits patiently at home for the FedEx truck looking at their tank impatiently visioning the piece in their tank. The consumer then waves to the driver, runs in and opens the box and hopefully places the piece in a container for acclimation anxious to see the color under the correct lighting. They then place the coral in the tank, take a step back and realize the piece doesn't stand out like they invisioned thinking to themselves they can't believe they just spent that much on something that gets lost in the tank and feel ashamed to show their wife what they got for $300.
I know this happens because it happens to me every time I order. I don't place blame on the vendor, I just imagine how great the piece will look in a year or 2.

This goes far beyond this hobby. I paid $175 bucks for my daughters 1 year birthday cake. That is a lot of $$$. I went and picked up the cake and saw how incredible it looked and felt it was totally worth it. When I got home and sang the birthday song we cut the cake. When the blade of the knife cut the first piece, I then felt like an idiot for spending so much and realized the cake was not worth it.

Excellent points and example; we've all felt that. I think that the problem is that we as vendors simply need to make it as clear as possible to the consumer about what to expect. That being said, perception varies- and your thinking is much like mine- I see the potential in a frag about what it will look like in 6 months or more. I don't buy a frag to enjoy a tank full of frags. I buy a frag for it's potential to turn into an exceptional colony over time. That being said, it would be arrogant for me to expect that everyone has the same expectations as me...I think the "happy medium" is to give the consumer as much information as they need to make a good decision. In the end, no one is "pushing" the consumer, and if someone want's to pay $500 for a 3/4" frag of something, that is there prerogative. There will always be a certain "personal value" ascribed to various characteristics of a coral, and that is what makes the "eagle Eye Zoa" as sexy to one reefer as the "Bali Shortcake" Acro is to another. That's the beauty of the hobby, too. Right?

-Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

I know we've made some suggestions here concerning size. The vendor such as Unique will need to decide if it's "worth" the time to offer more info... Written and visual, to help the customer during the purchase. It does mean more time involved with documentation for the vendor... Which may mean more cost passed on to the customer. I think the customer has to be responsible when making a purchase to read and understand what they are to receive. Ultimately there has to be a trust developed/established between the vendor and customer. If the vendor says its 1" you should believe it's 1". Color of corals is a whole different ball of wax. Honesty and trust should probably be all that's necessary... Not a ruler.

I really appreciate the feedback. And you're right, some of those extra steps require much more labor...And as you know, labor is a component of cost, so there is a fine line between providing a lot more information and pics, and not enough for a consumer to make a good decision. In the end, I think there is a lot to be said for spelling out the size, as we do, and then providing a nice accurate photo to show morphology and color. Believe me, Joe and I agonized over stuff like this for a long time. In the end, we felt that providing as much transparency and info as possible, coupled with a great photo, should do the trick. It has...but the issue I bring up in the post is one of those things that makes you re-think your philosophies now and again! Glad to receive the input from everyone here!

-Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

I cannot stand when a vendor says high light and high flow. These things mean something different to different people. I usually will discuss with the vendor my equipment and see what the recommendations are based in what I have. I know this might be too much for all orders a vendor has but as long as te vendor is willing to discuss if time is available then that would be appreciated. I have seen a few blow me off and I have never ordered from them again. I also like to see two images, one normal blue one everyone likes to offer and then one in more white light. I don't have a blue tank and want to know what the coral will look like


Under 14k lighting.

I agree about the ambiguity of "high light" and high flow"...unfortunately, they mean different things to different people. If we were smart, we'd have a lexicon on our site to describe what these terms mean to us, and then the consumer would at least have a basis for consideration. Of course, our willingness to discuss our corals with our clients is high, so that helps, too...Always feel free to call us before, during, or after a purchase. You are not just "a customer" or "a sale" to us- you are a relationship, and interaction with you is the whole ball game!

Thanks,

Scott