This hobby is getting even more ridiculous with pricing......

[BigJim]

Matchbox cars are classic.... maybe you just need to shift your expectations!

Unfortunately I was a destructive kid and destroyed all of mine. I guess I could start over.

 

[tautog83]

i agree about the trends too. its funny to see someone buy a $500 frag and their tank looks like swamp thing . thats what makes me shake my head a little . its just the nature of the beast you cant control people making bad decisions , only your own . I agree the lfs and retailers arent getting rich but if i can order a fish online , pay $40 for shipping and it still be 20-30 cheaper i feel that something is broken there . there are some websites that sell a green slimer for 79 a frag and its justfied because they have their name in front of it like its some sort of super strain. its all about doing your own research and hunting for good deals and not getting sucked into the madness .

 

[Elder1945 Verified Sponsor]

i agree about the trends too. its funny to see someone buy a $500 frag and their tank looks like swamp thing . thats what makes me shake my head a little . its just the nature of the beast you cant control people making bad decisions , only your own . I agree the lfs and retailers arent getting rich but if i can order a fish online , pay $40 for shipping and it still be 20-30 cheaper i feel that something is broken there . there are some websites that sell a green slimer for 79 a frag and its justfied because they have their name in front of it like its some sort of super strain. its all about doing your own research and hunting for good deals and not getting sucked into the madness .

The strain you pay for could be a stronger more robust or colorful strain.. WWC for example sell amazing looking coral and I would trust there strain over the same looking coral I buy from a lfs. I would assume I would have more "Luck" or "potential" with a WWC Green Slimer. If I take this statement at face value WWC Green Slimer would cost more then others..

I just randomly picked WWC

 

[tautog83]

and i choose to believe thats a bunch of bs lets face it they are living creatures and nobody can say for sure its going to react or color up the same way in everyones tank . its plain silly to believe that . would i buy a slimer that was grown in someones tank over a maricultured or right out of the wild piece, for sure!!! just because you buy an $80 frag doesnt mean its going to look like and "respond" like you think an $80 frag should

 

[Geno]

Pricing is out of control. It won't be long till manufactures have shelves of inventory, they can't sell. I can't afford half the stuff out there. Including corals. Especially when you consider that one small mistake can kill a fish or coral. I for one, don't have thousands to set on fire for no good reason. That's why I've decided to get out of the hobby. Way too pricey guys. Sorry. Was fun while it lasted. But some of the prices on things are borderline ridiculous.

 

[Brew12]

and i choose to believe thats a bunch of bs lets face it they are living creatures and nobody can say for sure its going to react or color up the same way in everyones tank . its plain silly to believe that . would i buy a slimer that was grown in someones tank over a maricultured or right out of the wild piece, for sure!!! just because you buy an $80 frag doesnt mean its going to look like and "respond" like you think an $80 frag should

Not sure that is any different than buying a yellow lab from a reputable breeder or a puppy mill. You could get a great dog from either, but you have a better chance if you go to a reputable breeder imo.

There are some differences with coral so it isn't a great analogy, but I think it does work to a limited degree.

 

[Paul B]

. Getting out of the hobby is an option. I would love to collect classic cars but it's a hobby I cannot afford.

I love those and want a Model A Ford. It is not the money, but the garage. I doubt my wife would let me leave her new Jeep Cherokee out in the weather to put a 100 year old car in the garage.

 

[Willz]

Not sure that is any different than buying a yellow lab from a reputable breeder or a puppy mill. You could get a great dog from either, but you have a better chance if you go to a reputable breeder imo.

There are some differences with coral so it isn't a great analogy, but I think it does work to a limited degree.

I dunno, are fellow reefers the "puppy mill" in the analogy? I personally buy at least 75% of my coral from other reefers over corporations. I honestly think you are going to get a better quality coral from an established reefer, and have a better chance of getting an in depth pedigree and a detailed explanation of how to care for the coral from an individual. In Elder1945's example above, are you really going to have a chance to research and make an informed decision when the company is having a live sale and selling out in less time than it takes most people to click the link?

Full disclosure, I bought corals in the last live sale. And I'm guilty of spending way too much on frags. I'm part of the problem here. Heh.

 

[Willz]

Pricing is out of control. It won't be long till manufactures have shelves of inventory, they can't sell. I can't afford half the stuff out there. Including corals. Especially when you consider that one small mistake can kill a fish or coral. I for one, don't have thousands to set on fire for no good reason. That's why I've decided to get out of the hobby. Way too pricey guys. Sorry. Was fun while it lasted. But some of the prices on things are borderline ridiculous.

Sorry you're getting out. That sucks....

 

[tautog83]

if you buy from a reputable breeder then feed it garbage and never take it to the vet, in the end does it matter? .. not really . big companies that charge that kind of money have optimal pretty much everything and the normal reefer probably doesnt. there are plenty of people on here that can take that crappy slimer from your lfs and turn into something that looks just as good as wwc or whoever . its that kind of hype around that kills the hobby.

 

[Elder1945 Verified Sponsor]

I dunno, are fellow reefers the "puppy mill" in the analogy? I personally buy at least 75% of my coral from other reefers over corporations. I honestly think you are going to get a better quality coral from an established reefer, and have a better chance of getting an in depth pedigree and a detailed explanation of how to care for the coral from an individual. In Elder1945's example above, are you really going to have a chance to research and make an informed decision when the company is having a live sale and selling out in less time than it takes most people to click the link?

Full disclosure, I bought corals in the last live sale. And I'm guilty of spending way too much on frags. I'm part of the problem here. Heh.

This is true, some stuff can sell out and or be gone before you can even update... Buying form WWC or any other place that had a reputation of amazing coral and strong strains in colour and or lifespan there is little research to be done. Pick 4-5 retailers research the hell out of them and there you go.. Hunting for the cheapest price sometimes is not the best thing to do in this hobby.

My first taste of this was with Moorish Idols.. I could never keep them until I found a supplier that charged about double but had massive success with keeping them. Long story short I got one and it did amazing for over a year and is still kicking. I payed at least double if not triple for the idol but in the end I had a better chance of keeping the animal alive. This I think is worth quite a bit especially in this hobby.

If i can buy a coral and or fish with even a 10% better chance of living in my home reef it is worth a premium.

 

[Brew12]

I dunno, are fellow reefers the "puppy mill" in the analogy?

Not at all, although I guess they could be. You could have a neighbor that bred dogs and did a wonderful job. A guy down the street could do a terrible job raising dogs.

I'm sure some reefers are much better than others at maintaining a healthy coral and doing a quality job fragging the corals. Just like I'm sure some reef shops are better and keeping and maintaining corals where others are more interested in selling frags as fast as possible.

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Equipment is WAY too expensive. There are far too many poorly designed and cheaply manufactured pumps, Controllers, Lights (LED especially), filter ect. The cost to make these things is incredibly low, and the tech used is often outdated or badly executed and filled with glitches. Obviously the tooling for injection molding is incredibly expensive even over in China. But everything else is old, proven tech that is practically dirt cheap (for example, there's no reason a power head should be anywhere near 50$ Retail much less 300. And they break far too easily and quickly).
Manufacturers and retailers are charging exorbitant rates because they can and this is a niche market.

Live stock on the other hand I think should be as expensive as possible. Keeps people from phillipantly buying a fish or coral and then letting it die. You're gonna baby a coral you got for $100 more than one you got for $10. Hopefully higher prices on livestock will help cut down on careless waste and encourage more aquaculturing and less wild catching.

 

[Willz]

If i can buy a coral and or fish with even a 10% better chance of living in my home reef it is worth a premium.

Agreed!

Manufacturers and retailers are charging exorbitant rates because they can and this is a niche market.

You're gonna baby a coral you got for $100 more than one you got for $10. Hopefully higher prices on livestock will help cut down on careless waste and encourage more aquaculturing and less wild catching.

Agreed!

And @Paul B had a point earlier saying that people buying corals and fish like cut flowers and just replacing them once they wilt is irresponsible and terrible for everyone involved in the hobby as well as the reef.

 

[tautog83]

sadly probably most of the people that go out and buy more corals, are the ones that are buying the overpriced frags . instant gratification for the loss

 

[Willz]

sadly probably most of the people that go out and buy more corals, are the ones that are buying the overpriced frags . instant gratification for the loss

I know I do, haha....

 

[HiddenUser]

This is why I wait for vendors to have live sales, eBay auctions, or I try to have some of the vendors build me a package deal.

I'm just not confident enough in my reefing skills to be dropping 1,2,3,400+ on a small piece of coral. Even if I was confident enough, I wouldn't do it. I told myself that I would never spend more than my dogs cost on a frag or a fish.

 

[lolgranny]

This is my outlook- you buy nice things from vendors at a cost because you want them. you dont have to, they arent making you. I own a bunch of Dairy Queens and i look at our markup along with any food place. So there isnt much difference with this hobby or anything for that matter.

So people buy what they want because they want it. The coral people buy most then grow them out and sell them at the same cost that they bought them at that because of the time / $ its taken them to grow them out. Plus the fact alot of people want to keep the market where it is. It is what it is. Somethings get crazy, montis that cost 100's of dollars and are basically weeds. I dont get the pricing of those thing, but hey thats why i dont buy them lol.

Ive always taken this approach, i buy corals, grow them, try and make some $ but i sell them much cheaper then i bought them so i can share what i have with others who cant afford the expensive name brand stuff.

 

[Willz]

This is why I wait for vendors to have live sales, eBay auctions, or I try to have some of the vendors build me a package deal.

I'm just not confident enough in my reefing skills to be dropping 1,2,3,400+ on a small piece of coral. Even if I was confident enough, I wouldn't do it. I told myself that I would never spend more than my dogs cost on a frag or a fish.

Me either, but I do have a Maltese. I actually traded a 260g acrylic tank I had hand polished and cash for her. True story.

 

[Paul B]

Most of my powerheads are 15 or 20 years old so they cost me practically nothing. The new ones are garbage so I would rather try to find an old one used than buy something new.
You can get some of that stuff for practically free when people get out of the hobby. I got a lot of stuff from LFSs going out of business as they do all the time.

You can also get nice fish for free or practically free. When I see fish in a store that have obvious ich I offer the owner $5.00 for it. Usually they are glad to get rid of it because they don't have the time, or knowledge to treat it.
I can cure that in a day or two and that is how I got quite a few fish.
I recently got a copperband butterfly for $5.00. Great fish. I gave it away because he was to small for my tank as my large one would kill it.
I also got a filefish for less than that.