Have you ever been scammed or felt cheated?

[erk]

I guess I'm lucky, maybe. I've never bought coral and felt I was scammed. Then again, I like to buy cheap brown coral and see what happens.

As for equipment, when almost all of your stuff is DIY, hard to get scammed.

 

[Sipec]

I once ordered a "pick your own frag pack" of acans from a "reputable" online vendor. they showed you photos of 10 different varieties and said pick 5. we picked 5.
once they arrived at the house, i couldn't pick a single frag that looked like any of the photos they posted.
when asked about it, i was told the photo is just of part f the colony they were cut from..... my mistake.
they basically took photos of a section of the colony that had new growth (acans new growth tend to be more colorful then adult polyps) and then chopped up the older parts so none of the frags looked like the parent colony
Needless to say, i no longer support that company and have been very weary of ANYTHING for sale online that isnt a WYSIWYG

One thing to remember though is corals don't always look the same in different tanks, for example, if you bought a coral and put it in your tank it could look different due to different factors in your tank vs. the sellers tank. They might just color up nicely in your tank too once they get bigger

 

[Whisnantrider]

Several years ago I purchased like new, used products from a guy I met on a local forum. There were a couple of transactions as they were always pleasant, reasonably priced and the seller was a nice guy. I asked how he aquiared the equipment. He replied that he buys full setups to get certain items and parts the rest out to help pay for the hobby. Logical explanation and frankly not a bad idea.

We were a few cities away from each other so I would usually meet him but on one occasion he drove out to my area. I met him and he asked about our local stores. I recommend my, at the time very small lfs and we went our ways.

Some days later I go to the lfs as usual and talk with the owner. He tells me someone had stolen a light fixture from his store and he had it on video. Shows me the video and it's the guy. Plain as day waits until the owner is occupied by another customer, then takes the light off the shelf and walks out. He comes back in with no light and continues to browse. What a @#$& bag.

He eventually gets arrested for it after I helped with identifying him and turns out he has been stealing products from lfs in his area and selling them.

Some of these lfs are doing all they can to keep doors open at times. We were never able to determine where the items I bought came from but I can't help but feel anything I purchased from him was stolen.

In the end I guess he didn't really scam me but who knows how much he got from stores and knowing the property I received was very likely stolen really didn't sit well with me.

 

[actik]

I would say my own fault but lesson learned...purchased shape life rock from states, had to use fishisfast to then ship it to canada because original company didn't go that far, so shipping was as much as the product but they took pictures and repackaged it nicely. AFer that it was finally shipped to canada, after another shipping fee ofcourse for it coming into the country...so this rock was looking really expensive at this point and when I opened the package everything was destoyed. Fishisfast was good enough to wanna cover the price of rock but not all the shipping costs again. I dug my hole deep enough at this point so that was my mostly costly mistake in the hobby so far...lol. and yes I glued together all the broken pieces haha

 

[ca1ore]

I like to buy cheap brown coral and see what happens.

An excellent approach - me as well! Sort of like pot luck. Two of my favorite colonies came in very pale and stressed and have colored up spectacularly. Of course, there are also some that came in beige ..... and stayed that way.

 

[Nokiaec11]

Good tip to keep from being scammed...Don't spend ridiculous amounts of money on equipment that you know will eventually break, or become less effective, and by all means don't pay $1500 dollars for 3" fish just because someone told you it's soo rare...Have seen Jem Tangs everywhere, I don't see the rarity at all.

 

[GlassMunky]

One thing to remember though is corals don't always look the same in different tanks, for example, if you bought a coral and put it in your tank it could look different due to different factors in your tank vs. the sellers tank. They might just color up nicely in your tank too once they get bigger

yes im aware corals can change color but this was straight up misdirection and unhonest sales. none of the frags lasted more than a month or so, all died as they were still fresh cut frags not allowed to heal before shipping. live and learn

 

[reefwiser]

Wow a lot of the hobby is learning how not to be scammed. There is so much scamming going on the hobby could be called Scamwater.

 

[erk]

An excellent approach - me as well! Sort of like pot luck. Two of my favorite colonies came in very pale and stressed and have colored up spectacularly. Of course, there are also some that came in beige ..... and stayed that way.

Lol, yeah I've had many that just stay beige. Then I start wondering if maybe I'm not doing something right to make them color up. That's when I get in trouble.

 

[Reefahholic]

Got scammed on some LR being sold out of Florida. I won’t mention a name here. You can check my YouTube channel if you’d like to know.

I will only deal with TBS for LR from this point forward.

 

[Nokiaec11]

Got scammed on some LR being sold out of Florida. I won’t mention a name here. You can check my YouTube channel if you’d like to know.

I will only deal with TBS for LR from this point forward.

Yeah, rock can be hit or miss when ordering...I started asking the places to send me pics to select from.

 

[Nep2nRevision3]

There are a lot of reputable frag sellers in the hobby, no doubt. But there are a ton more that are scammers. The shame is that you pay a premium for that piece of mind, bargain shopping is hit and miss. I've tried the ebay thing with about 50/50 results. Got a few nice pieces, got a couple that were a bad joke. When you gamble you win some you lose some. To me it's often not so much the money spent as the disappointment. You spend hours surfing to find a particular piece at what seems to be a fair price, wait a couple of weeks for the seller to "cut and heal" the frag, then shipping time. Then the excitement of receiving this piece you've looked so forward to getting sinks into your shoes when you open the container to find something that is less than expected. Case and point, purchased a Fox Flame this way recently only to receive a frag so small it was one of those laugh or cry moments. Healthy, but REALLY!?!?! Definitely felt scammed.

 

[bobyboy]

100% agree to a forum rule of no filters on images and pic under white most be included!

 

[Sir Chris]

I believe I’ve been taken advantage of many times but don’t know.
Well, I had won a WYSIYSG sale, but won the 1st bid from an error of not in 5$ increments.
I purchased 2 more corals to help our a vendor with the odd win and obtain a few nice corals.
When questioned I was told it didn’t survive when returned from a weekend trip.. so sent the 2nd wysiwyg frag that didn’t sell but survived.

For sale on his site for 30x what I paid..

I can’t get angry for him even following through on the sale and honering the mistake by people not him.
I purchased a few months later. was absolutely delighted with what was received.

I will also now ask for day whites and tuned spectrum pictures to clear up any ?s up unless I know said coral

 

[Nep2nRevision3]

Wow a lot of the hobby is learning how not to be scammed. There is so much scamming going on the hobby could be called Scamwater.

A real shame but true, pure greed. If there's a way to make a dishonest dollar, someone's try it. But to be fair, everything in life, not just this hobby.

 

[Nokiaec11]

There is a difference between being scammed, and just assuming...Ask any and all questions about what you are buying...There is another Thread about Yellow Tangs, and someone insisted that those are still being shipped from Hawaii, but more than likely they ne er asked the seller where the Yellow Tang came from, see below:

Most people just read the main print, and look at the pretty pictures, but it is your fault for getting what you think you getting if you don't read every single word in an ad, or you just assume just because.

 

[Medic58]

I was looking at some places to get discount frag packs online, but after reading this I think I'll just wait for the next WWC live sale. lol

You better believe it. After reading all this I will just pay full price for my stuff.

 

[mibwb]

2. What are some good tips to keep from being scammed or cheated?
If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is. And - Even the most trustworthy looking nicest person can scam you. Lastly - look before you leap!

Sounds like someone met my Ex....

 

[MnFish1]

Unvetted freelancer services.
We tend to trust other who share us the same hobby...

I own a well maintained aquarium. hardy fish, Many master scolys, high end and some rare sps colonies, high end chalices

This guy agreed to host my coral and fish with him for couple of months. As I was going through house transition. I knew him through my fav fish store where he worked there for some time.
He positioned himself as experienced, have multiple systems at his place and keep many fish across multiple systems, so all should be good. We also agreed that he will decide the payment amount and I will oblige.

After we transferred all the coral and fish to his place, every time I ask about the live stocks he tells me all good and coral are growing and doing great.
WHen I was ready to take my stuff back. whenever I ask for my live stocks I get excuses pushback that let's do it next week and week after..etc.
One day I started getting worried so I pressured the guy in to giving me my stuff and asked for pictures of how my coral doing. He was pushing back saying lets take it slow so we do not impact my system, then started fake planning with me what should he bring first. while I was pressing him politely to give me my stuff back, he started saying he lost some pieces..
I asked which pieces,
Out of the blue He said...ALL of the coral

He claimed that he lost all my coral a week ago during one day.

I am experienced enough to know it's very hard to lose all this coral and fish in one day event especially if you have back up systems as he have claimed.

Needless to say I was shocked because a day earlier he was pretending that all is going well and fake planning with me on the transfer.

Then next day he also claimed that he lost all my fish as well. Even though earlier the same day he was promising to bring me back my fish..

I demanded evidence on what happened. "If you have system crash that bad with customers stuff I would expect you to document it". He claimed he do not have pictures.
He then gave me some dead skeletons of my coral which looked old and covered in green and Caroline algae which indicate it is an old dead skeletons not something that died recently.

Days after I got to know that this guy have done this to couple other ppl. Where he promis to take care of their stuff only to claim they died when owner ask to get their stock back..

Hopefully you took him to small claims court. If he is a business - he should be insured against this type of loss as we'll

 

[Pauley]

Scammed? Well, I remember this one time I purchased a new cutting-edge controller at a sweet "introductory price". The controller didn't actually work, but instead of a refund, the company claimed I'd receive an even sweeter and more cutting-edgy controller in the very near future. The company has continued to make that claim weekly for two years. Does that count as a scam?

In seriousness, I've had great luck with hobbyists and small time growers. I don't know if it falls under "scam/cheat" so much as "caveat emptor", but all the big-business saltwater stores in the Orlando area will sell you anything you're willing to buy, regardless of whether or not it is appropriate for your setup. I hear them talking to the less knowledgeable customers all the time, and instead of educating, they run up the bill, downplay any potential issues, and basically unload fish/corals that they know have no chance of survival. Probably not a scam so much as a complete lack of scruples due to greed.

How to keep from being scammed/cheated: Educate yourself, so you don't have to rely on the word of others, and recognize when something isn't right.