When did online corals become "Instagram vs. Reality" ?

[Tamberav]

It looks like the right coral to me. It is just photo'd under macro from top down in the 1st pic with blues which is how things have been done for a very long time.

You can buy in person at frag swaps but know that many venders there have everything under heavy blues too.

Try not to get sucked up in this and that because sometimes venders label something rainbow/ultra and it is only really noticeable under macros or up close and its small details are not something that is going to stand out from across the room. Ofc you can buy these and also take macro shots to flex on the forums.

I try to stick with well known pieces or old school pieces. My 24k lepto is bright yellow, my oregon tort is a deep blue, my orange yuma is orange, utter chaos look like utter chaos and rasta look like rasta and so on... but a coral with a wild name you never heard of before under macro's may be a disappointment. If it is the hottest new thing, shouldn't they be growing it out in the back?

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

I started a thread like this a few weeks ago.
It got shut down by the mods because it degraded into politics and capitalism.

Good luck with this thread.

I’m back to have this one closed to, I have a good closing streak but I’m gonna try and be kind and polite lol ;Blackeye

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

The image manipulation has been going on for a long time and will continue as long as there is a large pool of newcomers continually entering the hobby. People who have been in this hobby for a while have learned to spot the photography tricks (most of the time) and so know what to look out for if they order online, or they just don't buy online, period.

Personally, after my last online coral purchase that bore little resemblance in real life to what was shown online, I'm done with it. I frag more of my current livestock to fill in the tank and patronize my local LFS's. While they might not always have what I'm looking for at the moment, at least I can see what I am getting and I can also ask them to show the coral under less blue light for a better representation of what the coral will look like in my aquarium.

I definitely agree. I think most of the time you can tell when a photo has been edited or altered and that definitely comes at the cost of newbies. On a side note I got fooled recently despite being a hawk on eBay and buying tons of corals even now I am fooled. IMO most of the time you can tell but even a keen eye can’t see through a brick wall. One was $250 (sale) the other was $80 on eBay auction that I won last week...

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

Yes,
It's the newcomers those hype sales vendors are targeting. The see a live sale and under the pressure to pay quickly so they don't loose it to someone else.
Next time you see a live sale here, notice the the date most of the participants joined the forum. I would say 70 to 80% are under a year's on here. I know it's not gonna stop the vendors from theses sale events, but they also know it's trickery.
They are preying on a human weakness.

I think some of the vendors and live sales are really good, they’re fun exciting, definitely a push to buy now and buy fast but there are genuinely good prices and good deals and giveaways also! Not all bad IMO

 

[Frogspon]

It looks like the right coral to me. It is just photo'd under macro from top down in the 1st pic with blues which is how things have been done for a very long time.

You can buy in person at frag swaps but know that many venders there have everything under heavy blues too.

Try not to get sucked up in this and that because sometimes venders label something rainbow/ultra and it is only really noticeable under macros or up close and its small details are not something that is going to stand out from across the room. Ofc you can buy these and also take macro shots to flex on the forums.

I try to stick with well known pieces or old school pieces. My 24k lepto is bright yellow, my oregon tort is a deep blue, my orange yuma is orange, utter chaos look like utter chaos and rasta look like rasta and so on... but a coral with a wild name you never heard of before under macro's may be a disappointment. If it is the hottest new thing, shouldn't they be growing it out in the back?

The whole lighting scenario just doesn't hold up. The vendor knew what they were doing in this case.

Look at how VIBRANT this [store bought] orange ricordea is compared to my ric from the vendor. And the store bought one is not a special ric by any means.. it's just as plain jane as any other ric I've ever seen in a LFS.

They are under the same light (AI Prime), and one is basically gray, while the store bought one looks decent because it has to if the store ever wanted a chance at selling it in person.

 

[William Morris]

The whole lighting scenario just doesn't hold up. The vendor knew what they were doing in this case.

Look at how VIBRANT this [store bought] orange ricordea is compared to my ric from the vendor. And the store bought one is not a special ric by any means.. it's just as plain jane as any other ric I've ever seen in a LFS.

They are under the same light (AI Prime), and one is basically gray, while the store bought one looks decent because it has to if the store ever wanted a chance at selling it in person.

How long has the vendor's coral been in your tank?

 

[Tamberav]

The whole lighting scenario just doesn't hold up. The vendor knew what they were doing in this case.

Look at how VIBRANT this orange ricordea is compared to my "awesome" ric from the vendor.

They are under the same light (AI Prime), and one is basically gray, while the store bought one looks decent because it has to if the store ever wanted a chance at selling it in person.

It looks like a yellow-ish one and not orange. It may color up in time as I have had corals look blah after shipping but turn out decent. If it turns out to be a decent yellow then I would be happy as yellow ricordia are a harder color to find. Ricordia do come in pastel colors though.

I am not saying what the vender did it right but that coral doesn't look ugly to me and would look awesome in a garden like this one.

 

[brahm]

I'd be bummed if a coral that I purchased never looked like it does in a photo. I think that's the line we need to draw in the sand. Is it achievable with weird lighting, looking from the top-down, funky water conditions, whatever that's fine tell me what those are so I can replicate if I want to. However, if it's not possible to replicate how it looks in the photo with the naked eye, that that problem... (if you're selling it).

 

[JosephM]

Heavy blues, top down, a little color correction... all you need

 

[threebuoys]

I know it's a pipe dream, but I would love to see a voluntary vendor code that, at the least, would have two requirements:
1> two photos required for each frag offered- one blue light, one white light
2> a visual scale, eg, include a dime in the photo.

A possible third requirement would be a minimum size perhaps by coral family, eg 10 polyp minimum for a Zoa.

I suspect vendors that adopted a standard code, and advertised as such, would build a sizeable loyal customer base.

 

[missourimud]

This type of information is super helpful. As a newbie I too hopped into a few online sales, one was amazing and while not nearly as pictured they were pretty close (I like a more white light) but the others have all been downright crazy price. Like a single head zoa like a speck on a plug and “super sale” of $40 just crazy. I lucked out by happening on a good one to start!

 

[ReefBeta]

There are vendors trying to do as well as they could on that front. Like Tidal Gardens have pictures in different lighting temperature. Battlecoral have pictures in blue and in white. If you keep looking you will find vendors that do that. Then support them with your purchase. Just stop buying from sellers with practice you don't agree. That's how free market works.

 

[JaimeAdams]

My problem is being the LFS people will come in asking if we have any rastas. When I point them out to the customer I get they no that's not them response. It's almost like you need to show them a macro pic on a 4 foot screen not a 1/4 inch polyp 2 feet away for them to believe that they are the same thing.