Hobby costs are soaring?

[Opus]

In all seriousness though, I do believe prices will settle out in time due to competition. More and more hobbyists are starting to sell from their own tanks and start their own side hustles or genuine business, and, eventually people will begin to catch on that corals by a different name are just the same coral under different lighting and in different water chemistry.

Look at all of the variations of holy grail torches there are out there. It’s all name gaming and different tank conditions for the most part, yeah there are a couple true variants, but not the 10+ different names out there. Eventually there will be so many names out there people will loose track. As another example, do a google image search for a mummy eye chalice and take a look at how many color variations there are.

Everyone that is a "garage" seller in my area is bringing stuff in wholesale from the same places the LFS get their stock. The only reason they are cheaper is because they are not getting the permits and paying their fair share of the taxes. Some even tell you that if will pay cash or send the money as a gift they won't charge sales tax. Some even do raffles which I believe is illegal in TX or it used to be. I know our reef club ran into some trouble many years ago for having them at the monthly club meetings.

 

[kingranch2003]

We had our roof done 2022 15k with new gutters and half the plywood replaced. My daughter just paid 32k this year and she lives across the street. Same size roof. The only difference was they replaced all of the plywood and adding insulation.

In 1986 Copenhagen cost .99 a can. Today 10.00. in 1980 a candy bar was a quarter today over 2 dollars. In highschool we would go to Denny's and get coffee for .35 and hang out until 2am . Today 3.00. in the late 80's, also in high school, a 12 pack of beer beer was 3.00 today 18.00. my family's first new car was 6500.00 that was 1984. Funny thing is, hotweels cars in the early 70's was a dollar. Today 1.25, kinda makes you go hmmmm

And the hot wheels today are garbage. They weigh half what ours did in the 80s. I get these big elaborate hot wheels tracks for my 8 year old and the cars are too light to make it all the way down them. Lol

 

[AetherealKnight]

Right next to a $10 20g tank?

What do you mean?

 

[dakoop]

We should all stop buying and force prices back down. That will show them

 

[Bob Weigant]

My answer for this problem was a major downsize. Big tanks are gone and now Im in a 35L. Buying only a few fish and you can only fit so many corals. Getting close to retirement and money will not be the same

 

[jft]

I remember I could buy Hagen aquaclear 110 filters for 39.99. Now You cannot find them for less than 92 to 110 dollars. Geez

 

[BeanAnimal]

I remember I could buy Hagen aquaclear 110 filters for 39.99. Now You cannot find them for less than 92 to 110 dollars. Geez

That is pretty much inline with inflation. Your $40 power tool is now $110 also, as is your $40 pair ofd shoes.

 

[Northern Flicker]

I can live with some of the equipment costs.

What kills me is how it now costs $60 CAD for a tiny nub on a frag plug. Especially painful with most local gorups no longer functioning so it's hard to frag swap.

 

[X-37B]

Here is a piece of paper from the mid 90's I kept all these years in an old reefer book.
These are early to mid 90's tanks I was looking to buy back then.
Back in the 90'' vs now, today $20 an hour for fast food workers.
My old $130,000 house from 90's is now $650,00.
Glad I provided for retirement and have everything paid off with zero debt.

 

[Reef keeper 103]

We should all stop buying and force prices back down. That will show them
[/QUOTE]
The price is determined by how much you are willing to pay.
It may work.

 

[Gudhjem]

I was keeping saltwater fish in the 80s, then left the hobby for about 20 years and started up again in 2011. I never bought coral in the 80s, but I remember being struck by how little fish prices had gone up in the intervening years. From 1990 to 2011, most were only a bit more expensive, and some had not changes price at all. That seems to have changed in the last 5 years of so, since Covid. Fish prices have generally gone way up, like more than doubled (with some exceptions about breeding and scarcity, like gem tangs and non-designer clowns).

Some corals have increased a lot in the past 5 years as well, but I don't think it's really true that they are much more overall than a decade or two ago. I can buy frags locally at any one of several stores for $10-20. Those might not be what I want, but a lot of them are frags of what people were buying 15 years ago. It's the high end and whatever is in fashion that has the sky high prices.

Now, back to trying to find a truly yellow torch...

 

[areefer01]

That’s fair. But why do the manufacturers and the vendors continue to take advantage? It will flush more people out and their profits will drop to the point they go out of business. We have seen it with a few manufacturers already.

I can't speak to the comment as to why manufactures and/or vendors take advantage. I have no visibility that they are, or are not, to be honest. I do not mean my reply to sound confrontational. I think a lot of points have already been made about inflation, total hobby size, competition, social media influence, marketing, and more. I don't think I can add anything to that.

I do find some aspects of the hobby strange in that we complain about the price yet willing to subscribe, become a member, or a patreon for badges or gated content/access. Social media, games, etc. We can more or less let them know by our reefing budget allocation. Maybe they will catch the hint, or not. Again I'm not sure.

Hope your day is well.

 

[braaap]

I can't speak to the comment as to why manufactures and/or vendors take advantage. I have no visibility that they are, or are not, to be honest. I do not mean my reply to sound confrontational. I think a lot of points have already been made about inflation, total hobby size, competition, social media influence, marketing, and more. I don't think I can add anything to that.

I do find some aspects of the hobby strange in that we complain about the price yet willing to subscribe, become a member, or a patreon for badges or gated content/access. Social media, games, etc. We can more or less let them know by our reefing budget allocation. Maybe they will catch the hint, or not. Again I'm not sure.

Hope your day is well.

Well I can tell you one thing I’m not buying all the BS subscriptions people are selling. If I have to subscribe I’m not getting it. Everything has a subscription now. Hell restaurants have them for cheaper drinks etc. It has gone too far.

Hope you are enjoying your day too

 

[Paul B]

This may be an expensive hobby to start like many hobbies, but after you fill your tank and fit in all the fish you want, as long as you can keep them for their full lifespan, they are not expensive at all. If you buy a copperband for $50.00 and it lives for 10 or 12 years, it seems cheap to me.

I am still running powerheads and heaters for over 20 years so they are also cheap.

Fish food is expensive for sure just like printer ink, but I suppliment it with fresh clams and live worms. Not because I'm cheap or can't afford it, but because it's what keeps my fish living to their full potential.

I can't remember the last time I bought a piece of reef equipment and I buy fish when something dies, hopefully from old age. And I am old.

 

[Doctorgori]

It’s not just the prices, but the mean time between failures for some of this expensive crap is insane…
Some of the Neptune gear has been inop out the box….
My wife bought a Aquaclear in the friggin 80’s and it still works…
same for some Maxijets, Jaeger heaters, et…
Anymore I give some Jebao and Hypergrow stuff 3months

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s not just the prices, but the mean time between failures for some of this expensive crap is insane…
Some of the Neptune gear has been inop out the box….
My wife bought a Aquaclear in the friggin 80’s and it still works…
same for some Maxijets, Jaeger heaters, et…
Anymore I give some Jebao and Hypergrow stuff 3months

Many of my reef tanks parts were bought 12 - 13 years ago. My heater controller just failed a few days ago after 12.5 years. I had an identical model as a spare. Did not and would not hesitate to use that same model again. Product that lasts over a decade? Yea. I got my 50$ out of it and am happy.

Still on the original finnex titanium heat element also. Slapped it right onto that replacement controller and moved on.

My mp10 and mp40 are 10+ years old. Running every single day since I got them. I don’t think most stuff today is made to last.

 

[areefer01]

I don’t think most stuff today is made to last.

Maybe. On the other hand maybe the issue is installation, maintenance, and care? Saltwater, evaporation, humidity, small spills, failures, and more all take their toll on the equipment we use. I often wonder how many product failures we would see if the equipment was moved away from the display. Only essential equipment in the sump, or under the display, or on the side vs dedicated room, space, cabinet, with proper ventilation, etc.

I don't disagree that there is cheaply made product(s) only noting that saltwater can be a harsh environment and cause wear and tear at an accelerated rate when not properly cared for. Ever live on an island? Washing and waxing cars and airplanes a lot...

 

[Doctorgori]

use. I often wonder how many product failures we would see if the equipment was moved away from the display. Only essential equipment in the sump, or under the display, or on the side vs dedicated room, space, cabinet, with proper ventilation, etc.

This is almost a understatement…
Added….one tell sign is rusty screws…. A LOT of Sino/Amazon gear doesn’t use stainless steel appointments or the metals are cheap and not nearly as rustproof or salt resistant as it should be ..

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

The cost of these rimless tanks is unbelievable. Some corals are at least 500 percent higher than they were ten years ago. I didnt add anything to my tank for about six years and I just got a new tank and was urprised at some of the prices and theories. Nitrates are good now? lol. I have had this Kole, my boy Rocky, for 8 years. I paid forty dollars for him and he now would cost 400-500 if you can find one.

 

[Jimbo327]

I would now categorize saltwater reefing as a luxury hobby. And the demise of the in-person local reef clubs/meetings has really increased the cost of the hobby. My local reef club is now just some zoom meetings with instagram of their tanks, it's a shame that they collect dues from members as they don't even provide proper website or information on their meetings or activities.