Hobbyist pricing and handling

[DJF]

I live in an area where there are plenty of hobbyists. On our local forum coral typically sells cheaper than the national average. Everyone in this hobby understands its price tag. Even being cheaper than the average, our local coral is not cheap. I’m not in this hobby to make money; I love coral for many reasons but not because it lines my pocket book. I’ve been fortunate enough to have success to the point where I’ve been able to frag and sell my coral (not to the point where it covers electricity yet). Understanding the prices and wanting to be encouraging to hobbyists, I’ve always priced my coral low. On more than one occasion I’ve sold coral where the “hobbyist” turns around and sells it on forums for a profit. It really bums me out because my intent behind the low price wasn’t so that the person could make a buck. These are the same people that commiserate about how expensive it is to have a reef tank. My question to the group:

How do you balance pricing/selling coral so that a hobbyist is able to enjoy and appreciate a deal without an opportunist turning it into a money grab?

 

[T-J]

I've given stuff away to fellow reefers. Haven't sold anything....yet.
I am setting up a frag system, simply because some of my stuff is growing too much. So I'll frag it and sell it for crazy cheap. Just enough to cover some of my costs.
Not going to be doing shows. Not shipping corals. I'll put stuff up in the local FB group as I have it for like $10-$20 for a frag.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree it does suck but I think those people are the few, hopefully it doesnt ruin your good nature going forward.

But if you're fragging because you have too because its getting too big, then selling it cheap or giving it away is better than throwing it in garbage. IMO

 

[DJF]

But if you're fragging because you have too because its getting too big, then selling it cheap or giving it away is better than throwing it in garbage. IMO

Fair point. I guess it shouldn’t bother me that it resells; I didn’t kill it which I suppose was the alternative.