Buy or Sell: Is holding on to expensive Coral like playing the stock market?

Do you think buying and selling coral is similar to playing the stock market?

  • YES

    Votes: 106 23.4%
  • NO

    Votes: 220 48.6%
  • Kinda

    Votes: 122 26.9%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 5 1.1%

  • Total voters
    453

revhtree

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So I have this rock that has a few pretty big WWC Bounce Mushrooms on it that I have grown out over the past few years and I'm thinking of selling it. Thinking of selling it though got me also thinking about coral and how you might "liken" it, somewhat, to the stock market. You can hold and hope for more growth/value or you can sell and cash out while the prices are good or before a tank crash takes out your prized coral. Let's talk about that today!

1. Do you consider the "risks" when holding or selling coral that is a HOT MARKET coral?

2. What do you think about comparing buying and selling coral to playing the stock market?



image via @WWC
WWC_OG_Bounce_Mushroom_WCS07119-SM.jpg
 

[Cameron]

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Some coral pricing is ridiculous and is essentially market bubbles that constantly burst. The torch bubble still amazes me as those used to be dirt cheap. I suspect that bubble will bust eventually.

There are some livestock that have gone up and will likely never go down such as the Yellow Tang. I can remember when you could get a free one when spending over $100 at a LFS but then Hawaii shut that down.
 

MONTANTK

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Tastes in the hobby don’t change fast enough to do that and generally have only been changing due to government policies such as what has happened with Indonesia. You can always make a decent amount of money growing and fragging acros, but again prices drop fast as more and more people get frags. Walt Disney was $1200-1500 and now it’s only $150 or so. I’d imagine the same will happen to rainbow splice. In my opinion, it’s very realistic to pay for the hobby via dragging and selling but very difficult to make a noticeable profit
 

Pntbll687

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It can be like playing the stock market, IF you only invest in stocks for short term gains and want to dump it before it plummets. Like investing in that company called Signal after Elon Musk said to "use signal". The price of acros and torches may fluctuate a little over time, but I don't think we'll see a big drop anytime soon in prices. I actually think it will go the other way. Hawaii bans the collection of fish for the pet trade, it's only a matter of time until there are Ausie and Indo bans on coral again, which will drive the price of aquacultured pieces even higher.

Tastes in the hobby don’t change fast enough to do that and generally have only been changing due to government policies such as what has happened with Indonesia. You can always make a decent amount of money growing and fragging acros, but again prices drop fast as more and more people get frags. Walt Disney was $1200-1500 and now it’s only $150 or so. I’d imagine the same will happen to rainbow splice. In my opinion, it’s very realistic to pay for the hobby via dragging and selling but very difficult to make a noticeable profit
Acros drop faster in price because they grow relatively faster than lps like torches, so the price drop is expected as people frag them out and sell them through the FB communities and other platforms.
It may be hard to turn a profit as someone working out of their display tank with a few frag racks and a limited selection. But it can be highly profitable if investments are made, ie WWC and TSA, even smaller operations (single person) can be highly successful like FishofHex.

We all like to talk about the $1200 acro frag or $900 torch that someone sold, but we never talk about the 1,000 other $20 frags that sold in the same time frame.
 

MONTANTK

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It can be like playing the stock market, IF you only invest in stocks for short term gains and want to dump it before it plummets. Like investing in that company called Signal after Elon Musk said to "use signal". The price of acros and torches may fluctuate a little over time, but I don't think we'll see a big drop anytime soon in prices. I actually think it will go the other way. Hawaii bans the collection of fish for the pet trade, it's only a matter of time until there are Ausie and Indo bans on coral again, which will drive the price of aquacultured pieces even higher.


Acros drop faster in price because they grow relatively faster than lps like torches, so the price drop is expected as people frag them out and sell them through the FB communities and other platforms.
It may be hard to turn a profit as someone working out of their display tank with a few frag racks and a limited selection. But it can be highly profitable if investments are made, ie WWC and TSA, even smaller operations (single person) can be highly successful like FishofHex.

We all like to talk about the $1200 acro frag or $900 torch that someone sold, but we never talk about the 1,000 other $20 frags that sold in the same time frame.
Yes that is true to. $20 and $30 frags go a long way depending what they are. The difference though between TSA and WWC and someone just setting up shop is those two places (and a few others) have built relationships with wholesalers and exporters so the “good” stuff typically goes to them. Although, some wholesalers have began to hoard the good stuff because there’s more profit in it that way
 

danschoenherr

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Yes, I believe it is very similar to playing the stock market. To put it in perspective, I am a zoa guy. I have had probably 175 different varieties, but many of them do not hold much value. Just like stocks, a person needs to research the possible value and "dividends" so they can invest wisely. The value I look for most is that it is a coral that I personally like and want in my tank. Only then do I think about fragging future growth to sell so I can reinvest my dividends on others.
I also look at availablity in my area of the types of zoas that I keep. Are the message boards flooded with Rastas? Are Aphrodites still selling for $80 a polyp? Does every dealer have frags of Acid Reflux, Or, Wow! Little Shop of Horrors are nowhere to be seen and I have a hundred polyps! Thats just supply and demand, but research is needed. So....my take:

Penny Stocks = Texas Trash Palys, Pandoras, Mohawks. Sure, you may get someone to buy them from you, but may never buy from you again as they now have a tank full of them. I learned that lesson and will not keep those.

Crypto Currency = these would be the high priced and known to melt if you look at them too much. Stratospheres come to mind....there are others, but I have no experience with these types.

S&P 500's = These would be your proven, good growing, attractive and dividend providers. Varieties like Utter Chaos, Pink Zippers, Rastas, Rainbow Infusions and on and on. Good Investment here.

Mutual Funds = Now this is your best value. Buy a pack of say 8-10 different frags from a hobbyist here on R2R and you can get a great variety of quality frags and maybe even a high end or two for a decent price.

IPO's = These are the high priced polyps that are really nice, but do you take the risk buying high and 2 months from now, every other dealer will have them for half of what you paid.

In conclusion, you can make money selling frags. Researching what you grow and how you will sell those helps a lot, just like the stock market. And remember, that hot coral you saw selling for $100/polyp at last years frag swap, may only be selling for $10/polyp now because everyone has it.
I just wish for once, Jim Cramer would start shouting about my zoas on his show!
 

sfin52

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So I have this rock that has a few pretty big WWC Bounce Mushrooms on it that I have grown out over the past few years and I'm thinking of selling it. Thinking of selling it though got me also thinking about coral and how you might "liken" it, somewhat, to the stock market. You can hold and hope for more growth/value or you can sell and cash out while the prices are good or before a tank crash takes out your prized coral. Let's talk about that today!
We all would like to believe you. But you don’t have a build thread and you post others pics. We know it’s not all about you.
we have a saying pics or it never happened.;)
@revhtree i hope you get your money back plus some if you do decide to sell it.

I don’t look at coral for money. I want colonies and a full tank of mature coral and fish. When I run out of growing room I’ll worry about it than
 

ca1ore

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Stock market ..... not really. Had a debate years ago about whether a fish or coral collection was analogous to stamps or comic books .... any collectible item frankly. There is a speculative element to it, I suppose, though we ultimately concluded that the analogy was weak at best. With the recent Hawaii fish ban, how about buying up a bunch of yellow tangs and reselling them at some point in the future for a premium LOL? Trouble with corals is that today’s hyped rarity is tomorrow’s commodity.

It has been my long held view that the very best way to suck all the enjoyment out of a hobby is to make it into a business. I buy fish and corals because I want to keep them. If a coral grows to the point that I need to get rid of frags I either trade them or give them away locally.
 

Chasenm

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I feel like when a coral “stock” becomes more of a fad bubble, it won’t pop like markets will. It seems to me like the demand will slowly fade back to just above the original pricing before they gained popularity.
 

Rubymoon286

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I think somewhat. My partner has a business buying and selling trading cards, and I often feel like it's more like buying and selling Pokemon cards than stocks. Some older cards with pokemon will always be high because of the nostalgia factor/difficulty to get like indo corals right now, while new cards that are actively playing and winning tournaments are high because they're the hot new thing. With new releases happening quarterly, that meta changes, and the hot cards change, much like the shifting current of coral popularity. If you don't sell while it's hot, You're going to get stuck with a lot of something that no one really cares about.

The stock market is a bit similar, but I don't get a tangible product when I buy stocks, and once I sell some of a stock, my stocks don't grow out for me to cut more frags off of it ;)
 

Pkunk35

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What a gorgeous piece!

I think pieces like that or extreme high end pieces will always have value over time with the crazies of the reef world (that would include me and many others on this forum) just like jewelry, shoes, furniture, etc. Whether or not you make money with it I think depends a lot on who you are and who you sell to.

I personally would NEVER sell that how dare you even think of it!
 
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