This past weekend I attended Reefapalooza NY. There were tons of vendors, some speakers, and thousands of hobbyists attended.
Every year it's really a fun time and great to see so many of our regular customers and so many of my fellow vendors I've known for decades. The majority of vendors are just like me, enjoying the event and showcasing their products, unfortunately others have different methods. While most hobbyists are quite savvy and have a good BS detector, there is so much misrepresentation that goes on at these events.
I walk around all the vendor booths and check out their wares. From the standpoint of corals, it's all pretty much the same. Each year there are more high-priced Euphyllia and mushrooms. The market can really only take so much! Many vendors have insanely high prices for anything slightly out of the ordinary or anything really colorful. By the end of the show much of that is still sitting there. Many other vendors offer non-photosynthetic animals that they sell cheap, are usually very colorful, and also totally unethical to sell to the average hobbyists that will kill them within the month.
Then there are vendors that just flat out lie to customers. That's right, I said it! Standing at their booths some vendors will say anything to sell and some customers will buy it. Each year there are returning vendors to these events but also many new ones. Since last year's event was not profitable for many vendors there was a much larger crop of new vendors this year than in previous years. Every one trying for that grand slam in sales and most never achieving it, but doing whatever means necessary to try.
Let's take clams for example. I always bring lots of clams to sell at this event. This year I brought 200 and sold about 125. Several other vendors had some clams for sale. A few had wild collected Tahiti clams, but decided it was best to misrepresent them as cultured. Having set up the clam farm in Tahiti about 15 years ago and collected many hundreds of them, I know what they look like and know how they are handled nowadays and all are destined to die soon. Another vendor had a larger selection of clams, maybe 50-75, and was telling customers he breeds them himself! All I can say is "Wow, really? Over the years I've handled many tens of thousands of clams and the myths and misinformation is staggering, and then there's outright fraud.
Anyway, I've attended 20-25 swaps a year for 20 years and this one was my last. I still love what I do and an still awed by the beauty of the creatures. I don't believe in so-called "high-end" corals or designer names, or selling our animals on auction sites, or so-called "live sales". Every weekend, and now many weekdays, we have "live" events on this forum with giveaways, prizes, and games. If the animals are so good, then why the need for all that stuff?? Why the need for super blue saturated pics and insane names?
I'm sorry, to me it turns the animals into inanimate objects. To me you might as well be selling Beanie Babies! I still have respect for the animals. More power to any other vendors and hobbyists that feel differently with their 99 cent auctions and 90% off so-called "live sales". No apologies, just my opinion. I've been a marine aquarium hobbyist since 1965 and I'll still sit in front of a tank for hours just taking in the amazing colors and interactions. Heck, I stare at pulsing Xenia pumping away in our greenhouse and still get mesmerized! OK, so I'm a sentimental old fool. You are free to laugh at me or with me.
While I won't be seeing my friends at these events in the future, feel free to stop by our facility on Saturdays 11-5. There will be a few dates this summer and fall we'll be closed as Rachel and I visit the grand babies and that info will be posted on our Facebook page.
Now, go out there and sell something!
Every year it's really a fun time and great to see so many of our regular customers and so many of my fellow vendors I've known for decades. The majority of vendors are just like me, enjoying the event and showcasing their products, unfortunately others have different methods. While most hobbyists are quite savvy and have a good BS detector, there is so much misrepresentation that goes on at these events.
I walk around all the vendor booths and check out their wares. From the standpoint of corals, it's all pretty much the same. Each year there are more high-priced Euphyllia and mushrooms. The market can really only take so much! Many vendors have insanely high prices for anything slightly out of the ordinary or anything really colorful. By the end of the show much of that is still sitting there. Many other vendors offer non-photosynthetic animals that they sell cheap, are usually very colorful, and also totally unethical to sell to the average hobbyists that will kill them within the month.
Then there are vendors that just flat out lie to customers. That's right, I said it! Standing at their booths some vendors will say anything to sell and some customers will buy it. Each year there are returning vendors to these events but also many new ones. Since last year's event was not profitable for many vendors there was a much larger crop of new vendors this year than in previous years. Every one trying for that grand slam in sales and most never achieving it, but doing whatever means necessary to try.
Let's take clams for example. I always bring lots of clams to sell at this event. This year I brought 200 and sold about 125. Several other vendors had some clams for sale. A few had wild collected Tahiti clams, but decided it was best to misrepresent them as cultured. Having set up the clam farm in Tahiti about 15 years ago and collected many hundreds of them, I know what they look like and know how they are handled nowadays and all are destined to die soon. Another vendor had a larger selection of clams, maybe 50-75, and was telling customers he breeds them himself! All I can say is "Wow, really? Over the years I've handled many tens of thousands of clams and the myths and misinformation is staggering, and then there's outright fraud.
Anyway, I've attended 20-25 swaps a year for 20 years and this one was my last. I still love what I do and an still awed by the beauty of the creatures. I don't believe in so-called "high-end" corals or designer names, or selling our animals on auction sites, or so-called "live sales". Every weekend, and now many weekdays, we have "live" events on this forum with giveaways, prizes, and games. If the animals are so good, then why the need for all that stuff?? Why the need for super blue saturated pics and insane names?
I'm sorry, to me it turns the animals into inanimate objects. To me you might as well be selling Beanie Babies! I still have respect for the animals. More power to any other vendors and hobbyists that feel differently with their 99 cent auctions and 90% off so-called "live sales". No apologies, just my opinion. I've been a marine aquarium hobbyist since 1965 and I'll still sit in front of a tank for hours just taking in the amazing colors and interactions. Heck, I stare at pulsing Xenia pumping away in our greenhouse and still get mesmerized! OK, so I'm a sentimental old fool. You are free to laugh at me or with me.
While I won't be seeing my friends at these events in the future, feel free to stop by our facility on Saturdays 11-5. There will be a few dates this summer and fall we'll be closed as Rachel and I visit the grand babies and that info will be posted on our Facebook page.
Now, go out there and sell something!
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