Controversy in the reef keeping hobby and industry.

[uniquecorals]

I just realized I was supposed to test cal, alk, etc "today" and it's 2am the next morning, so I don't really have time to read the responses as I usually do...but my two cents is that I trust you more for these write-ups and discussions that push people to think. Yeah, some are gonna hate it, but some of us actually love to learn and adjust our thinking XD

...And the beauty? Even if some people don't like what you have to say, you've made your opinions known and maybe provoked someone to discuss something that would otherwise be left in the dark, and you learn what other people's positions are on the subject at hand. Win-win.

 

[Rjedreski]

Scott - I'm back into reef keeping after a 14 year hiatus ,wow have things changed , technology, corals, fish ,reef husbamdry and of course the online forums. The hobby is awesome there is more than enough info to learn and develop. I have dealt with a number of on line sellers and can tell the difference when I send an email i get a thoughtful response from Unique Coral not a canned blow you off response if one at all from other vendors , when's the weather is cold or hot I get a call comcerning should we ship or not, or there was an order not fulfilled right but there was a call in advance of a problem and surprise bonus coral sent for the trouble . The prices appear to be fair and the definition of were the corals originated are clear . In my mine Unique coral will survive and the hobby will be prosperous ( be it some bumps in the road) because you & your team care about the customer and the animals you sell , speaking out and being involved in the forums also speaks volumes about your concerns for the hobby and a good debate ,so keep up the good work , the market has a way of weening out the weak ( only in it for the money) and supporting the strong that are more strategic in their decisions and concerns for there products and customers . It's obvius there are only a few excellent online suppliers and many poor ones that probably harp on your comments because they don't get it.
Stay Involved- Rob jedreski

 

[PedroYoung]

Scott - I'm back into reef keeping after a 14 year hiatus ,wow have things changed , technology, corals, fish ,reef husbamdry and of course the online forums. The hobby is awesome there is more than enough info to learn and develop. I have dealt with a number of on line sellers and can tell the difference when I send an email i get a thoughtful response from Unique Coral not a canned blow you off response if one at all from other vendors , when's the weather is cold or hot I get a call comcerning should we ship or not, or there was an order not fulfilled right but there was a call in advance of a problem and surprise bonus coral sent for the trouble . The prices appear to be fair and the definition of were the corals originated are clear . In my mine Unique coral will survive and the hobby will be prosperous ( be it some bumps in the road) because you & your team care about the customer and the animals you sell , speaking out and being involved in the forums also speaks volumes about your concerns for the hobby and a good debate ,so keep up the good work , the market has a way of weening out the weak ( only in it for the money) and supporting the strong that are more strategic in their decisions and concerns for there products and customers . It's obvius there are only a few excellent online suppliers and many poor ones that probably harp on your comments because they don't get it.
Stay Involved- Rob jedreski

+1 on that rjedreski!

 

[dankreef]

A lot of people like to resell or trade in this hobby obviously. If you invest in a good coral from a brand name company that is known for top notch pieces you can expect that you can sell it down the line or trade it for something else someone paid a pretty penny for. That's why people get so mad about imitations. The people that
consistently deal with acros can see one that is just a everyday posted with bla name and not even look at it twice. Then theres the gems that some sellers put out on here ( BC, TCK, RR, RMF ) you go :tongue: every time. I guess what i'm saying is, get the good pieces and let your corals speak for themselves. You got to build a brand on here as many have & build value buy putting out stunners :amen:

 

[uniquecorals]

A lot of people like to resell or trade in this hobby obviously. If you invest in a good coral from a brand name company that is known for top notch pieces you can expect that you can sell it down the line or trade it for something else someone paid a pretty penny for. That's why people get so mad about imitations. The people that
consistently deal with acros can see one that is just a everyday posted with bla name and not even look at it twice. Then theres the gems that some sellers put out on here ( BC, TCK, RR, RMF ) you go :tongue: every time. I guess what i'm saying is, get the good pieces and let your corals speak for themselves. You got to build a brand on here as many have & build value buy putting out stunners :amen:

Good points...I agree about brand building through consistent quality...But I also think that reliance on hype and enhanced editing of photos can be misleading, even if a fancy name is not applied to the cora. There is definitely a balance, which many vendors seem to have found, for the good of the hobby!

-Scott

 

[650-IS350]

Good write up and thread.

This seems almost like standard industry practice now a days:tongue:

hype and enhanced editing of photos can be misleading

When people stopped falling for the purple colored "White frag disk/tiles or Blue hands/blue glowing racks. Now you see photo's of the same things with black backing or the photo's edited to not to show back ground. Every picture you see now a days are all blasted in blue or super atinic.

Every " Newly released, new collector piece " 1/2" turd of a frag or single polyp automatically commands a 200-500 per cost? based on what factor or comparison? Last time I checked corals are not governed by KBB LOL. Same corals named various names depending on which vendor is hyping said coral and at ridiculous prices. That's what I've seen in this hobby in the past 10 plus years, been in the hobby longer than that but I seen it since then and has gotten worse every year. Is it going to stop, no as the big main factor driving all of this. " $$$$$ ".

When does the hobby stop being a hobby and become a business?
I only buy coral now once in a while, seldom and only support the people that don't engage in this type of practice or abuse it.

 

[dankreef]

Good points...I agree about brand building through consistent quality...But I also think that reliance on hype and enhanced editing of photos can be misleading, even if a fancy name is not applied to the cora. There is definitely a balance, which many vendors seem to have found, for the good of the hobby!

-Scott

For sure some of those people do 100%. But there are also some that do not. Luckily after dealing with some specific vendors on here I know that frags that don't look like they do on the pictures arn't most likely from shipping. I've received many frags that look 100% like the picture. That is another part to me of the major part when it comes to choosing of whom I order from. I know the frags are most likely not infested with pests, will come looking exactly like the picture, and if there are any problems them will be replaced with no questions asked. To me that is what creates a brand. There are lots of reefers that don't play on that level and will send frags out once, looking unhealthy and blame it on shipping, then if something happens not replace them. That to me is what sets vendors apart. Honestly if you are selling me insane looking coral, have good customer service and are willing to make sure I have no complaints, I will most likely spend 2-300 for a frag if I really want it because I know that I will get taken care of if theres any problems. :tea:

 

[dankreef]

Good write up and thread.

This seems almost like standard industry practice now a days:tongue: When people stopped falling for the purple colored "White frag disk/tiles or Blue hands/blue glowing racks. Now you see photo's of the same things with black backing or the photo's edited to not to show back ground. Every picture you see now a days are all blasted in blue or super atinic.

Every " Newly released, new collector piece " 1/2" turd of a frag or single polyp automatically commands a 200-500 per cost? based on what factor or comparison? Last time I checked corals are not governed by KBB LOL. Same corals named various names depending on which vendor is hyping said coral and at ridiculous prices. That's what I've seen in this hobby in the past 10 plus years, been in the hobby longer than that but I seen it since then and has gotten worse every year. Is it going to stop, no as the big main factor driving all of this. " $$$$$ ".

When does the hobby stop being a hobby and become a business?
I only buy coral now once in a while, seldom and only support the people that don't engage in this type of practice or abuse it.

I agree sometimes its out of control. But what a lot of people don't realize is if you buy a couple really good sought after pieces, you can trade yourself to victory after you put in a little. !