BlennyTime
Well-Known Member
I saw one was planning to offer a 10+ year financing plan for the charges. Just craziness. Sure hope something will be done about it.
The misrepresentation is astounding!
- Thread starter Dj City
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Dennis Cartier
Valuable Member
I think the problem goes deeper. The sellers have bought into the idea of extreme value in corals as well. This past weekend I was visiting a coral vendor and asked about a colony he has had for awhile. I was thinking it would be $200-250 dollars. He confided in me that he had paid $2000 for the colony. At which point I laughed and told him he was crazy for paying that much. The colony was nice, but nothing special or even rare for that matter.
When they start drinking their own kool-aid, then the crazy prices just keep getting crazier.
Dennis
When they start drinking their own kool-aid, then the crazy prices just keep getting crazier.
Dennis
Yes sir, but this is their business. If you work or do business you try to get the best price you know it, When experienced seller meets not experienced buyer seller gets money and buyer gets experience
Lovefish77
Well-Known Member
I honestly love those torches but because i font know a lot i am always scared to pay $300 for a torch that would normally sell for $90 lol.
There are a lot of sexy names for torches and the filters to match lol. I am for using filters to correct the blue hue we have in tanks (as cameras WB cannot handle and not designed to handle them by default) but you should only do filters to correct that misrepresentation and not to entice people with colors that you would PROBABLY only see under royal blue.
There are a lot of sexy names for torches and the filters to match lol. I am for using filters to correct the blue hue we have in tanks (as cameras WB cannot handle and not designed to handle them by default) but you should only do filters to correct that misrepresentation and not to entice people with colors that you would PROBABLY only see under royal blue.
gray808
Active Member
OK, I'll bite.
Any coral is worth exactly what you are willing to pay for it.
Should the torch I got for $40 cost more, or less? No idea. It was worth $40 to me. I'd have probably paid $100. If they had tried to charge $5000 for it, I'd have snorted and walked on down the tank.
Don't want them to be be expensive? Don't sell them for high amounts. Or heck, give em away free if you want.
--Gray
We’ve done this to ourselves with the new leds out there. I think it’s rad, but unfortunately I’ll never be able to afford these holy grails, hellfire and indo golds. I did buy a Rasta torch online which turned out to be a 250$ green tip with a mollusk growing in its mouth. It eventually died after 3 months and the shop ghosted my emails. I’m happy with my plain green torches. They add a beautiful movement to the tank and grow well.
MONTANTK
Valuable Member
I don’t have an issue with prices as much I do with the photos being taken. I see way too many filters being used that make torches look more orange than they really are or even red!!! As soon as I see that I avoid the seller all together. I notice it a lot with acros as well. The naming of corals is become quite exhausting simply because every variation has at least 4-5 different names at 4-5 different prices
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Just another girl who likes fish
Same with other euphyllia, especially "octospawn" that's really frogspawn. And don't get me started with all the overpriced "frammer" varieties! I have no problem with someone not knowing what they have and mis-naming it, but I've recently seen "kingspawn", "godspawn" (for euphyllia; I know there is a mushroom by this name), etc, and other made up names that the seller insists are accurate. Even saw one guy selling a "super rare" variety of euphyllia that was "a cross between an elegance and an octospawn"... it was actually a stressed out frogspawn with a gaping mouth. smh
burton14e7
Community Member
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All the torches I see online were $10 for a couple heads when I got into reefing so I just chuckle every time I see them.
RichardinTN
Active Member
I have been in the reef hobby for over 30 years and have watched this getting worse and worse for pretty much all corals. One of the biggest driving factors I see is that too many people think it’s some kind of status symbol to have spent $1,000, or $2,000 on a coral for their tank. I see time and time again, people talking down to others on these forums “bro if you can’t afford this hobby then don’t get started”. It’s ridiculous. It turns into a D measuring contest for too many people with whoever spends the most somehow being the “serious” reefer. Personally, I’m more impressed with the reefer that can grow an awesome tank of corals using aqua lifter pumps and timers to dose (yes, I’ve done this) than someone that throws thousands of dollars at a tank and thinks that’s success. As long as we keep celebrating and equating spending big $$$$ with being a “real” reefer, people will be willing to pay for that status.
ADAM
@AK_Reefs on Instagram
I'll sell all my torches for $1,000,000.
Local pickup.
My GPS says I should be there in 6.75 hrs.... bag’m up!
ADAM
@AK_Reefs on Instagram
Exactly where are theses Holy Grails everywhere?
Pauley
Community Member
Lol, living in Orlando, I have several “major vendors” in the area. (I won’t name them, cuz they’re R2R sponsors, and I’m sure their money is worth more than my opinion). However, over the years I’ve seen them transition from cool hobbyists to greedy mega-vendors. The prices have absolutely skyrocketed, because people are willing to pay them. It’s not that their costs have skyrocketed - it’s that they‘re constantly expanding their operations, and paying for it by overcharging customers. They’ll mark up corals, give customers a 20% discount to make the sale, and still turn a crazy profit. Basically, it’s an aquatic used car lot.
Ultimately, it is supply and demand. They can only charge what people will pay. If they misrepresent corals, word would get out, and people would be informed as to the risk. Theoretically, that should hurt them long term. However, so many hobbyists (new or otherwise) continue to pay big prices, so I don’t think it hurts them. Personally, I’d rather buy from a fellow hobbyist than give my money to support these sell out companies, but that’s just my opinion. Obviously I’m in the minority, looking at industry prices.
Ultimately, it is supply and demand. They can only charge what people will pay. If they misrepresent corals, word would get out, and people would be informed as to the risk. Theoretically, that should hurt them long term. However, so many hobbyists (new or otherwise) continue to pay big prices, so I don’t think it hurts them. Personally, I’d rather buy from a fellow hobbyist than give my money to support these sell out companies, but that’s just my opinion. Obviously I’m in the minority, looking at industry prices.
ADAM
@AK_Reefs on Instagram
1. They won’t understand.... they’re using the most aggressive examples to plead their case. I lost faith in this thread when they used pics from extreme corals as a representation of what the average seller is using for a sales photo.
2. Let us not forget that ASD Holy Grails were not $1000.00 when they were named that originally.
3. You can take a “Holy Grail” and turn it all green with poor lighting and/or poor water chemistry, however you cannot take a fairly standard green torch and make it a “Holy Grail”. Nor can one take any vibrant green and make it gold/yellow in any form of a realistic looking picture to the point anyone, even the newest newb, would/ should be fooled.
4. If your lighting and water quality cannot support the colors than that is not a problem of the seller.
5. Whoever is taking about Octo, Frog, Hammer, Frammer, etc... should educate themselves a little more before claiming others are trying to rip people off. There are plenty of articles about Euphyllia subspecies cross breeding, Frammer is not a “new” term made up by someone who was trying to make a quick buck. Reference to 2013 Reefbuilders Article where cross euphyllia specimens are mentioned. https://reefbuilders.com/2013/10/29/gold-euphyllia/
Yes there are numerous people trying to mislead people at any given point over any given item and most of the time it’s the popular coral of the time. A few years ago it was Ananthestrea and Micromussa, however saying there is not a true genetic difference in one torch or another is blasphemy. For reference my Indo Pink tip green torches grow new heads 10x faster than my Indo gold variants, which those Indo Golds grow new heads 10x faster than my “grails”... err go some price difference. People want them and they grow far slower in 99% of systems so many will equate a value on care given to raise each head. Why does a basic red discoma cost $19 when a jawbreaker cost $150? Both “shrooms”....the speed of growth.
P.S. The purple torch would be about 119.00 at the popular bigger vendor and likely 59.00-69.00 everywhere else.
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JohnnyBlowfish
Active Member
As a graphic designer by trade, I find it disgusting that vendors misrepresent corals with the use of lightroom and photoshop. However, I do find color correcting to compensate for blue lighting to be acceptable.
As for the prices, there are many reasons that people will pay a premium for corals. For instance, I pay a little more to buy from JF. Not because of the over-enhanced photos, but because his shop is close by and the corals are less stressed during shipping. As a bonus, I have never received any pests from his shipments. So for me, it is worth paying a little more.
As for the prices, there are many reasons that people will pay a premium for corals. For instance, I pay a little more to buy from JF. Not because of the over-enhanced photos, but because his shop is close by and the corals are less stressed during shipping. As a bonus, I have never received any pests from his shipments. So for me, it is worth paying a little more.
OrangeCountyReefer
Well-Known Member
AK Reefs that you???
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