Successful sellers: whats the best method youve found?

[afamousjohnson]

There seems to be a handful of options when it comes to selling corals. What have you successful sellers found is the best way to go? Obviously CL which is easy but seems to suck.lol,selling to your lfs or vendor, ebay, etc. Obviously I would think online would get the best exposure for what your actually selling and in comparing it to its actuall asking price.

 

[Smnparish]

This should probably not be in the Market place forum, but I've had success selling here or local forums.

 

[ihigh]

Local forums and craigslist are my first go to places because those are the ones with cash in hand, no shipping so a less chance of the coral/fish dying due to stress, the customer actually sees what they're buying, not just a photo, and when the deal is done, it is done. they had their chance to say no if they saw something wrong, or if they kill something in the few hours of their possession you aren't responsible for it.

On here/national forums, you take the risk of that one person that will screw the seller over by claiming something on paypal, and it becomes a long fight for your money. I have had luck selling equipment on this site, and purchasing equipment also.

 

[afamousjohnson]

This should probably not be in the Market place forum, but I've had success selling here or local forums.

Ya I wondered on forum choice but this seemed most relivent to the question.?. Forums definitly seem where its at as its full of us fish nerds. The whole shipping thing does seem to involve a lot of headaches.

 

[k2parkstar]

Reef2reef is the only place I sell.

 

[Smnparish]

Ya I wondered on forum choice but this seemed most relivent to the question.?. Forums definitly seem where its at as its full of us fish nerds. The whole shipping thing does seem to involve a lot of headaches.

I recently started shipping my corals and once I got it right a few times I felt/feel confident to ship anywhere in the states haha. IMO if someone, either the seller or buyer, makes a bad shipping experience even harder on the other person, their reputation here can reflect that they shouldn't be dealt with

 

[hermesfansf]

U also have to make sure no haters attack on your corals, otherwise it will be hard for u to sell.

 

[afamousjohnson]

All good points. That is basically the gist-is that I am trying my hand in shipping and will be selling via ship soon and figured the only way to learn what I(the seller) need to be weary of without failing first is get input from those that have already been through it-as I have also learned goes hand in hand with a successful reef tank. Experience is something you get right after you need it unless you ask. As far as the bad name goes I don't sell for more than I would pay(in most cases-hype is hype but I will leave that to those who really want it and I don't throw bugger frags even though I have never had a problem with starting something from almost nothing-so hopefully that in the long run will build a confidence. I also don't have enough to deem a website for sales but I have enough to share the wealth every few months. I almost need a seller horror and success thread to read to know what to do and what not to do

 

[afamousjohnson]

One question I have always had when it comes to shipping tho is how do you figure a price when shipping is involved? Tacking an easy $40 on top makes me question even the best pricing. I guess it would have to always be sought out items for it to not be an issue. You don't see to many starter packs out there which is an unhit avenue it seems but would raise hesitation when it came to putting an extra $40-60 on top of a killer deal.

 

[Smnparish]

You mean how to calculate shipping costs or how to get people to still want the coral even though they have to pay a lot for shipping?

Ill assume the latter...unless it's already a really cheap frag, I'd try to make the coral your selling as good a deal as your willing to make so that with shipping it's still a good price. This can't always be done, so its good to have freebies your willing to include to offset shipping prices...you can mention these later to sweeten the deal. Then, IMO for pieces that are multiple hundreds of dollars it's best to just include shipping in the price.

 

[gregoryleonard]

There seems to be a handful of options when it comes to selling corals. What have you successful sellers found is the best way to go? Obviously CL which is easy but seems to suck.lol,selling to your lfs or vendor, ebay, etc. Obviously I would think online would get the best exposure for what your actually selling and in comparing it to its actuall asking price.

Do your best to include high quality macro photo's. It's always bugged me when someone wants you to spend big $$$ on frag packs with only names of corals listed and not good quality WYSIWYG photo's of the pieces someone will spend their hard earned $$ on. My 2 cents worth.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Or sell 1 polyp of outrageously priced zoas and you have made your sponsorship payment and be legit.

 

[afamousjohnson]

Agree on the photo-its those that have people dropping $300 a polyp for colors you don't see right off the bat with the eye and it also has what is actually the size of less than a pea looking like a ¢50 piece. Heard that 1 a couple times. Like the freebie idea. Already utilizing that with home sales and not only is it good faith but you want a happy returning customer and who doesn't like free stuff

 

[afamousjohnson]

Or sell 1 polyp of outrageously priced zoas and you have made your sponsorship payment and be legit.

Lol. Or just send the rev a duplicate of the best sellers as good faith one of these days I will be at that point. Hobbies become passions and passions pay off.

In the end I guess it comes down to clientel. I make friends with most that have reef tanks I meet. I can't do anything but give amazing deals to those that are friends-hence a sale I made today-cant even endulge because the price point was sickening-but that's what friends do and the excitment they have is something I remember and still get from time to time worth more in the gratitude bank.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

All joking aside, the forums here are for overgrown corals and recouping some money that has been sunk into the hobby. If you're looking to turn profits then you should not be selling here unless you decide to take it to the next level and open you a store and become a sponsor.

 

[afamousjohnson]

No the ambishion to sell comes from overgrowing of course. Shortly after picking up the hobby I starting becoming more involved with the actual purpose of clubs in spreading knowledge and supporting self propigation to do your part with the things that are being taken from the reef(I plan on diving a few and want them to be there) Believe me all profits generally go into the next necissary purchase to continuely sustain my reef-I bartend and that is where the income comes from. That being said I have thought about how great having my passion pay the bills and do what I love everyday would feel but I am know where near there-a frag pack here or there to someone that doesn't have readily available pieces is my limit. That's why I figured I would give the first step a try and ship. Who knows where I'll be in a few years but ill take the experience. I've read up on packing and different successful methods of it so now I was looking for actual sale incedents,actions,etc to avoid.

 

[cdness]

I sell corals on Craigslist as well as local forums. However I have only shipped once. It was successful, but with all the people pulling the chargeback and paypal transaction disputes it makes me leary of shipping anything anymore...

Of all the good sellers that I see on Reef2Reef there are some common things I see. First make sure you have good images that are clear, accurate, and not over-saturated. Next offer the corals in a pack as not many people will buy just a single coral and pay shipping unless it is a very expensive coral. Price your corals as a hobbyist to recoup some operating costs, not as a business to make profit off your frags and people will jump all over your thread as it will be affordable for them. Make sure your terms of sale are written out well in the first post like shipping details, delivery details, guarantees (if any), etc. And last but not least, communicate with your customers and don't drop the ball in the communication. Many hobbyists are understanding with shipping delays, etc but they lose patience when communication halts...

Good luck selling! If you need someone to test a pack with you feel free to ship one my way to make sure it arrives alive

 

[afamousjohnson]

Thanks for the advice cdness and I agree with the weary factor the more I've been searching on it-I might just have to turn the shipping venture into more of a trade relationship for the majority. Seems a lil bit more ledgit. Ya I grabbed a couple members already to do a trial run(seemed like a good idea)-or you would have one coming your way.lol. excited to see how it goes. Gotta give to get in this hobby.