Are these prices serious? Who buys this stuff?

[DSC reef]

Yes you are right . And that’s exactly why I won’t be the idiot to buy it

If someone has the means then why are they labeled an idiot to buy a 2 million dollar car if it's worth it to them? Makes no sense to name call for a purchase that doesn't concern you...

 

[Jess Ramirez]

I don't really understand how the value of a coral is determined? There needs to be a "Kelly blue book" for corals.

 

[mattzang]

it's not my business how others spend money, but i did find it funny when i went into my lfs (who frequently laments about how hard it is to run an lfs these days due to indo ban and what not) and they were acclimating a koi tang while boasting about it costing $10,000. so do as you please, but don't seek sympathy with me when you buy a fish that costs almost as much as my car

plus as far as $10k fish go.. man that thing sure wasn't worth it. brown/yellow/white isn't what i got in the game for

 

[luv2lopeqhs]

I buy that stuff. I'm a sucker for tracks and lobos

That still seems high imho I just bought this Trach from RAP Orlando for $220....I think it’s way nicer for a lot less $$ and I still thought that was a lot of money to pay for a coral but I loved it so I bought it....it was the only coral I bought at the show.
There were a lot of really nice trachy’s for reasonable prices there on Sunday.
One image taken at the show and one all fluffed out in my tank....it’s really very yellow!!

 

[PranK]

Holy smokes, I'm stunned by these prices.

Unfortunately, I can foresee our local Aussie market increasing in price as our reefs bleach en masse. We also do not import any livestock to Australia as it's illegal, so we're stuck with local only (which is fine so long as they survive).

 

[KorD]

Krud.... and I thought my wife was totally insane for spending $200 on the RBTA she bought for our tank... I only shop what I can afford... I like the $15 frags on the bottom rack! they grow out after a while and look the same as the larger frag for $100

 

[MnFish1]

IMO
The supply and demand argument has flaws when applied to a hobby of living animals, after all we are not talking durable goods here. you can't buy an i phone, cut it in half and resell it after all

The problem as I see it is that some people buy a coral with the expectation that they will be able to grow it out, frag it and make money. The hobby/business

Example:
Hobbiest "A" sees a super blue wango tango on a vendors site for sale for 500$. They buy it expecting to be able to make two frags in less then a year and sell them for say 400$, make a profit, and still have their specimen. Many good hobbyist are very successful doing this.

The vendors know this mentality in the hobby, they also know when they sell they no longer become the sole distributor any more and are in a way selling the "patent rights" as well, and therefore know they can charge whatever they want for . Since they are a living organism tht is capable of reproducing - supply will always increase, so the window of big money sales is limited by time.

Hobbiest "B" who is kinda new, sees how the system works and wants in. They think that this is the way of things and buy in, expecting to make money off their hobby. They feed the price increases by thinking everyone is willing to pay this much.

This system has a natural built in positive feedback loop that ensures prices will always rise for certain corals. The day people started talking about "collector corals" is when the hobby changed forever. People expect collector items to appreciate in value!

Once you've been in the hobby long enough you see this happen again and again. Zoas, chalice, acans and now shrooms and torches.

I am not making any judgment nor being critical ... just an observation from someone who's been around a while...

expect to pay to play - if you want in on the name game collector corals

This is IMHO not correct - for every 'buyer' many will fail - let alone reproduce the coral. If it were this easy - the prices would be lower - because - the average person would just 'wait' until the prices come down - yet they are going up - because the demand exceeds the supply. Given the regulation - you will see the prices of everything go up. IMHO

 

[MnFish1]

I don't really understand how the value of a coral is determined? There needs to be a "Kelly blue book" for corals.

Its called what ever a buyer will pay. How much is a Picasso valued at - is there a blue-book?

 

[Elliott Comans]

Spot on. We have clowwnfish for example in Australia, abundantly. But we still import cheaper ones from indo and Fiji cause someone will dive, tnt corals and collect heaps for $0.30 per fish, no collector in Aus is doing that. You pay decent per hour cost on labour then get hit with huge export and shipping. Corals ain't going to be to cheap otherwise some poor country is being exploited and they're all starting to wise up to the profits and sustainability

10 years ago you could also buy huge colonies for $40 and sometimes even less. Even if the ban is lifted those days aren’t coming back.

If the ban is not lifted and new sources of export like Solomon Islands and Malaysia don’t open up and meet supply the prices originally posted in this thread will become the norm.

WWC is name brand so a lot of stuff there will always be more that is what this thread was originally about.

Aquaculture is also always going to be more. Everyone talks about how great aquaculture is and I’m not saying it’s not I would love to have a coral farm myself one day but it too is more resource dependant and costly then importing then even last years Indo pricing.

The bread and butter corals that used to come from Indo and a lesser extent Fiji now have to come from Australia, as already mentioned freight is always going to be more from there. Additionally they are a rich country where no one is going diving with compressors for pennies an hour. Over the years Indo corals got more expensive likely a combination of stores realizing they can charge more but also the suppliers realizing how much more they are being resold for.

The fact that the band just happened and there was no notice also really hurts. Even me as a hobbyist would have bought a ton more coral if I had known this was it. Same goes for places that sold pieces they could have since farmed.

Things are never going back and I suspect pricing will continue to rise, by how much depends almost entirely on supply. If they open up mariculture which can be done much cheaper then aquaculture there is likely more hope for some stabilization.

 

[Opus]

You have absolutely no basis for such a silly statement.

Which part, the econ 101 part?

 

[mich2599]

While I might not like it, the prices are what some people will pay so prices will be "high" as long as that is the case.

However, I do agree with some others about pictures with colorization that may not be a reasonable representation of the actual coral.

Agree. I’ve learned my lesson about buying from certain online retailers. I won’t mention by name but one is in Cali and the other in Florida. The only online retailer I shop from now is located in Ohio.

 

[ChaseBurke]

The WWC page you posted is of their colony frags. I am willing to spend the $$$ at wwc for a number of reasons. Their customer service, quality of corals, selection of corals, and what they do to help improve the hobby. The BRS/WWC 750xxl series has some excellent info in their that is invaluable to a new comer to the hobby. Question for the old time reefers here. Do you feel like the quality and diversity of corals is greater that what it was in the 90's or early 2000's ?

 

[11cmortarman]

I agree prices are crazy. The whole torch thing right now is ridiculous and crazy. The only thing that really bothers me is the renaming of common corals. Insert vendor initials and name it some marvel character name and mark it up by 1000 percent. I am very lucky that I have a great group of local fish stores near me. I feel sorry for people that have to rely on online vendor pricing. Not saying that all of them are bad. IMHO if pricing continues they way its going this hobby will be out of reach for a lot of people.

 

[ChaseBurke]

What about the 1 million dollar acro frag?????
https://battlecorals.com/products/fairy-food

 

[Keepswiming]

I’ll just leave this right here for your viewing pleasure... 20% off right now, better act fast ...
I just notice the financing add cut off the bottom prices! They are tastefully priced at $2000 and $1000 :/

 

[Opus]

The WWC page you posted is of their colony frags. I am willing to spend the $$$ at wwc for a number of reasons. Their customer service, quality of corals, selection of corals, and what they do to help improve the hobby. The BRS/WWC 750xxl series has some excellent info in their that is invaluable to a new comer to the hobby. Question for the old time reefers here. Do you feel like the quality and diversity of corals is greater that what it was in the 90's or early 2000's ?

I personally don't think the quality is really any different but the diversity is many times better. I remember when the first green finger leathers started showing up. Loved them but hated that they were so much more expensive than the normal finger leathers.

I remember when the first duncan corals hit the market at $200+ a polyp and we had these exact same threads saying how the vendors were robbing everyone.

 

[tautog83]

Sure aquasd has some crazy priced stuff but they also have 600 other corals that at least are in the ballpark . Frag packs that come out to like 15 bucks each or whatever it is . Honestly they are the only vendor that has figured out the whole live sale thing . Heres 700 corals you choose what you want no sitting in front of your computer for 10 hours . These didnt sell during the week we mark them.down 30%. I get it by dragging it out across 10 hours you create hype and competition but I dont have that kinda time . Think the point of the thread was not to show what vendor sells the most expensive coral but to show the ones that sell cheap corals for expensive prices .

 

[DSC reef]

Sure aquasd has some crazy priced stuff but they also have 600 other corals that at least are in the ballpark . Frag packs that come out to like 15 bucks each or whatever it is . Honestly they are the only vendor that has figured out the whole live sale thing . Heres 700 corals you choose what you want no sitting in front of your computer for 10 hours . These didnt sell during the week we mark them.down 30%. I get it by dragging it out across 10 hours you create hype and competition but I dont have that kinda time . Think the point of the thread was not to show what vendor sells the most expensive coral but to show the ones that sell cheap corals for expensive prices .

The same can be said about world wide and any other large store...

 

[tautog83]

I've never witnessed this at wwc , so not sure what your saying . That's fine if you go.there and find some pieces in store but for the sake of the conversation lets just go with we all can see and that's the online variety

 

[DSC reef]

I've never witnessed this at wwc , so not sure what your saying . That's fine if you go.there and find some pieces in store but for the sake of the conversation lets just go with we all can see and that's the online variety

Really? Your right, they have no good deals online happy reefing, lol.