While I do have certain visceral reactions to some of the high prices, in the end I feel one has to respect the right of consumers to set their prices. As Victor said in the My Miami thread, people have offered him $1,500 for a frag and he has turned them down. He didn't approach them asking for it. (yet?)
I have seen this discussion come up many times. I recently went through this with someone via email, and below is part of what I said.
"As to prices, yes, there are many perversions in the marketplace, I agree, but as with art or anything of beauty or value, some things will hold a higher value than others, and at least some cost is associated with getting and keeping anything alive. Most people pay it, some complain and go without. Clove polyps are not a rare species, but some color forms are rarer than others. If red and neon green cloves came in with regular orders, most assuredly you and others (and I) would simply go buy them there and get a rock with 100+ polyps for $30. I manage a local retailer, and I know from 15 years experience that they do not. Palythoas are also not rare, but to anyone who says this and claims the price of true Armageddon Palythoas, or any other “rarity†within the hobby is unjustified, let them go to their lfs and try to buy some for $20 for a rock and then let them sell--or give--me some in good spirit. Again, working in retail, doing imports from around the world, I know that in thousands of rocks of cherry zoas, only a few ever turn out as nice as something like an Armageddon or captain America, or Chong Bong, or Zenon Red. They are a rare morph, or they would be everywhere and would be cheap, and we could all come by some easily enough. On the contrary, I have yet to find one of these people preaching that brand of gospel that has all these “common†palys to sell to me for a few bucks. Again, no need to take offense, just my views and experiences. This is a common academic discussion that comes up pretty often.
The thing is, much as many hobbyists want to take the dollar out of the hobby, the same principles apply here as in the free market economy at large. Without a “rewardâ€, without compensation, there would be no motivation for anyone to bring in new corals, or do anything. Divers in Indonesia will not and cannot collect corals and send them here out of the goodness of their hearts, even ugly ones. Importers, wholesalers, and retailers cannot and would not bring in these corals and distribute them for the enjoyment of mankind, and the courier services of the US would not send them about for free simply to spread the beauty. If we want beautiful and especially colorful corals, then there must be a higher compensation associated with finding, obtaining and distributing them, and this will in turn encourage the continued import of new and ever more wonderful finds. If people would only ever pay the price of a rock of brown zoas, then that’s all they’d ever get, and in large part why more lfs’ don’t get anything more than that."
So to be perfectly honest, I don't think it would be right at all to limit the take a seller can obtain for his goods, yet I somehow feel some common sense would limit a person from asking above a certain amount. Like, it just doesn't seem right to ask for over $1,000 for a single polyp of a coral with 20+ polyps on it. Then again, this common sense could be asked of the buyers too, and we shouldn't complain because we're not up for the expense right away.
