Coral Business
- Thread starter DD Corals
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officialreefbros
Valuable Member
Good luck! I'm interested to see how it goes. I've been tossing around the idea too but still trying to learn more while selling/trading a little!
VintageReefer
10K Club member
I wanted to do this and was excited to be a reputable online dealer to the community and my LFS
In a nutshell here was what happened
Wanted a coral, about 1.5 years ago. Paid 400$ for it
Over the course of a 10 months it grew from 1 head to 5 heads
Check online, still selling for 400 a head, some places asking more
Think to myself if I had a grow out tank and invested $8,000 and bought 20 heads of these, and grew them out for a year, in a dedicated species tank, I could then have 100 of them, valuing $40,0000
I could them sell them for $250 a head and undercut the competition, and reduce my total value to $25,000
I would charge the standard 50$ sh but each shipment would need box, styrofoam, heat pack, poly bag, etc and the sh charge for overnight from me to Cali is actually around 80$. I realized some overnight shipments would actually cost me 90$ once I factor in everything, if the person lived very very far from me. So I said if customer is paying the first 50, let’s assume each package the costs me on average an extra 25$ to ship. 100 corals x 25 sh loss = 2500. My coral value now is 22,500
Still not bad for a first year as a side huddle
Then…I noticed the coral online stated being offered for $240.00. Meaning as a new seller with a reputation to build, I would have to sell for 150. Now my super quick profit estimate is 100 x 150 - 2500 = 12,500. And then there are losses that hopefully don’t happen, but inevitably will. And then shipping charges increased.
Once my profit model got down to the 10k mark with things out of my control I realized…for me, it’s a hobby and supposed to be fun and I’m going to keep it that way
*** I contacted the seller who had it for 250 to ask if it was a sale, he said he’s overstocked and his facility has over 150 of these alone and he will be selling them for 250 for the future and might even drop more as business is tough and he only sells them here and there.
My Local saltwater fish/coral/reptile store also told me, not interested. Their business is to sell coral not buy it, and they don’t buy coral from customers.
I realized if a pro with a reputation is having trouble and my LFS won’t buy anything then I don’t think I really should be getting into this
In a nutshell here was what happened
Wanted a coral, about 1.5 years ago. Paid 400$ for it
Over the course of a 10 months it grew from 1 head to 5 heads
Check online, still selling for 400 a head, some places asking more
Think to myself if I had a grow out tank and invested $8,000 and bought 20 heads of these, and grew them out for a year, in a dedicated species tank, I could then have 100 of them, valuing $40,0000
I could them sell them for $250 a head and undercut the competition, and reduce my total value to $25,000
I would charge the standard 50$ sh but each shipment would need box, styrofoam, heat pack, poly bag, etc and the sh charge for overnight from me to Cali is actually around 80$. I realized some overnight shipments would actually cost me 90$ once I factor in everything, if the person lived very very far from me. So I said if customer is paying the first 50, let’s assume each package the costs me on average an extra 25$ to ship. 100 corals x 25 sh loss = 2500. My coral value now is 22,500
Still not bad for a first year as a side huddle
Then…I noticed the coral online stated being offered for $240.00. Meaning as a new seller with a reputation to build, I would have to sell for 150. Now my super quick profit estimate is 100 x 150 - 2500 = 12,500. And then there are losses that hopefully don’t happen, but inevitably will. And then shipping charges increased.
Once my profit model got down to the 10k mark with things out of my control I realized…for me, it’s a hobby and supposed to be fun and I’m going to keep it that way
*** I contacted the seller who had it for 250 to ask if it was a sale, he said he’s overstocked and his facility has over 150 of these alone and he will be selling them for 250 for the future and might even drop more as business is tough and he only sells them here and there.
My Local saltwater fish/coral/reptile store also told me, not interested. Their business is to sell coral not buy it, and they don’t buy coral from customers.
I realized if a pro with a reputation is having trouble and my LFS won’t buy anything then I don’t think I really should be getting into this
Last edited:
MrPike
Active Member
I’d just point out others have made a living selling coral, and you can too. Make all the business plans you want, but you will have to expect to confront things that are completely unexpected. You need to be a voracious researcher and be willing to change methods that you thought were bulletproof.
What I would not do is take a giant financial risk, if what you estimated is money you will safely recover from then go for it. As someone who has done basically what you are planning ,I would caution you from doing too much DIY equipment and stick to the classifieds. Liquidating actual equipment is much easier than something you cooked up in your garage.
What I would not do is take a giant financial risk, if what you estimated is money you will safely recover from then go for it. As someone who has done basically what you are planning ,I would caution you from doing too much DIY equipment and stick to the classifieds. Liquidating actual equipment is much easier than something you cooked up in your garage.
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