Coral pricing?

[Griff]

since I started in this hobby 3-4 years ago I feel like pricing has sky rocketed. Is it just me? Is anyone else feeling this way?

I understand some of the high pricing on some really rare pieces. That being said I'm seeing standard acans, favia, euphyllia, mushrooms, and zoas for 2-4 times the price I used to pay.

By the time I figure in loses here and there and shipping costs I'm spending a ton on coral. I'm beginning to feel like i need to set aside 300-500 a month for my tank to get it where I want it. I unfortunately don't have many local reefers in the area so trading isn't really an option.

Thoughts on pricing getting higher? If you agree what do you think the reasons are?

 

[nex64]

Personally I think it's a big food chain but of coral and how it is distributed.


Pricing is definitely relative in this hobby.

For example, seller A thinks his tyree lemonade acro is worth $100 per inch while seller B will sell an inch of his acro for $20. So I think the ultimate answer is essentially if the buyer thinks the coral is worth that much and will pay for it , then by all means it will be sold for a pretty penny.

For me - I'm all about patience and waiting. Remember when those red hornets were fetching $100+ per polyp, well now we can barely give them away.

 

[Luis Figueroa]

So it's kind of like the stock market, buy low sell high if possible. Or lose your investment when you sell.

 

[cperry7467]

I feel the same. One of our LFS was selling large acro colonies for $200-300 that didn't even look very good so no one would buy them, now they've stopped selling them. I made a trip an hour away today for my daughter's track meet and found another store that had a very large acro colony for $75 that looks great!

 

[nex64]

Going more off what Luis said- which I believe is one of the many issues with price , is individuals trying to get something back from their investment instead of just spreading the love.