No, we're not entitled to "affordable" anything. And in fact, price caps usually end up having the opposite of the intended effect.
Artificially setting the price of anything - whether food, fuel, or hobby supplies - almost always ends up either overcharging people or severely restricting the supply, forcing people to either go without something or turn to less-than-legal pathways to obtain what they need.
If we want lower prices, there are only two reliable ways to do so: Increase the supply, and reduce barriers to entry to the
marketplace. When suppliers don't face competition and can simply dictate their terms, prices soar. But when they have to fight to protect their
market share, prices come down and supply and innovation increase, to the limits of current raw materials and technology.
Retreating from abstract principles and moving back to reefing-specific topics:
The answer to high-priced named corals is for those of us who have the skills and willingness to cultivate corals to do so and sell them at a price low enough to steal
market share. If a Walt Disney frag sells for $150, but you can produce enough of them to sell at $125 and steal the
market from other vendors, the price will fall. If regular hobbyists can't make enough of a dent in the
market to drop the price of that coral, then we might just need to accept that $150 is a fair price for that coral given the difficulties in growing it. If you can't afford $150 for a coral, then you just need to accept that you can't have that coral and be happy with the ones you can afford.
And even if you don't want to sell corals yourself, support the vendors who you feel are charging a fairer price for their corals. Prices come down when consumer action forces them to, so be the change you want to see. If that means you buy from Queen City Corals instead of
WWC, then buy from them.
And likewise with reefing equipment. Nicrew instead of Ecotech; Hygger instead of Maxspect. When there's a cheaper option that works just fine but doesn't carry the brand name, don't just pay more. That's not to say you can't buy from a premium vendor if you feel like their product really does earn its pricing premium. But make sure you're actually getting your money's worth and not just paying a premium for a name.
