How much do you pay?

[kellyjn]

my car needs so many repairs, my wife wants to go on a trip, my PS3 is broke and needs fixing, my student loans need to be paid, etc etc etc etccccccccc......all of this stuff needs money and yet, I'm too broke to get any of it done...but it always seems like I have money for new coral :tongue:

Wow, not trying to be mean, but you definitely have a major problem if you can't handle your financial responsibilities, but yet have money for coral. Any responsible person would tell you the same exact thing.

Can I ask a few questions here(to all)? I've always wondered these things.....

Does having a certain piece of coral in your tank fill some kind of void you have in your life? Do you sleep better at night? Do you get paid more at your job b/c you have a certain piece? Do you get more women b/c you have a certain piece of coral? Do you make friends easliy b/c you have a piece of coral? Does your car get better gas mileage b/c you have a certain piece?

Do you think you love corals more than someone else b/c you are willing to drop mega $$ on a collection of hyped up corals that you think are "elite or rare"?

Would you buy corals if you knew you could never ever sell them?

 

[clowns101]

Wow, not trying to be mean, but you definitely have a major problem if you can't handle your financial responsibilities, but yet have money for coral. Any responsible person would tell you the same exact thing.

Can I ask a few questions here(to all)? I've always wondered these things.....

Does having a certain piece of coral in your tank fill some kind of void you have in your life? Do you sleep better at night? Do you get paid more at your job b/c you have a certain piece? Do you get more women b/c you have a certain piece of coral? Do you make friends easliy b/c you have a piece of coral? Does your car get better gas mileage b/c you have a certain piece?

Do you think you love corals more than someone else b/c you are willing to drop mega $$ on a collection of hyped up corals that you think are "elite or rare"?

Would you buy corals if you knew you could never ever sell them?

I dont want to sound rude,but please exusse your additude.

Alot of us buy rare,expensive,exotic corals because of their beauty they behold.I think some of the cheap corals are still nice,by all means.I think its nice to have a hobby in life to keep our selves occupied and out of bad or horrible things.I think most people would think the same thing.I dont blame people for spening $200 on a coral.Why?Thats how many cases of Drinks that they just didnt buy because they bought a coral that they will have for ever,and know they wont have a hangover in the moring and cant go to work.

I think this hobby just like any other,will have people who spend more,make more,and really probobly only want to make a buck off of the hobby.But I think there is no problem with spending money one stuff we enjoy,thats like "buying a new Race Car when you dont even like racing".Why spend your money else where when you can spend it on somthing you will enjoy.

And yes mabey,spending money to some helps some feel better,mabey it does help some sleep at night,and yes mabey it does make some look better and bigger,but when I put my head on my pillow at night,I know I enjoy my hobby and dont care what others buy,say,spend on corals.And I think any one who is dedicated to this hobby will tell you the same thing,"WE BUY CORAL FOR THE BEAUTY AND ENJOYMENT".If they dont,then they buy to make a buck.But I know I buy coral for enjoyment and the fun of the hobby.

Thank you,I hope you understand

 

[cody6766]

When I was buying when I wanted I spent probably around $500/yr on coral. I like to pop into the LFS and snag great looking $10-30 frags and watch them grow. I also bought from locals a lot. I didn't spend big bucks online, so that helps. Also, I like chalice pics more than having them in my tank.

Lately I've been spending next to nothing. My wife and I decided that it was time to get out of debt so we're hitting it hard. We aren't broke to begin with, but we make too much money to be tight. Now we're self imposed broke so i'm not spending money on anything reef related except the essentials to keep it healthy. I treated myself to a nice $10 favia the other day, but that was the first thing in several months. I'd rather not have payments on anything than buy new coral. I've also been aquascaping so that I'm pressed for room for the coral I have so i'm not tempted to get more. It's all about restraint and strategy :)

 

[Speg]

Wow, not trying to be mean, but you definitely have a major problem if you can't handle your financial responsibilities, but yet have money for coral. Any responsible person would tell you the same exact thing.

Can I ask a few questions here(to all)? I've always wondered these things.....

Does having a certain piece of coral in your tank fill some kind of void you have in your life? Do you sleep better at night? Do you get paid more at your job b/c you have a certain piece? Do you get more women b/c you have a certain piece of coral? Do you make friends easliy b/c you have a piece of coral? Does your car get better gas mileage b/c you have a certain piece?

Do you think you love corals more than someone else b/c you are willing to drop mega $$ on a collection of hyped up corals that you think are "elite or rare"?

Would you buy corals if you knew you could never ever sell them?

lol, I really don't take offense to this because this is exactly what my friend would say to me.

Obviously the financial responsibilities I have that REALLY matter get taken care of. My wife isn't starving and there is no threat to losing our house or anything in it. I'm actually fairly responsible when it comes to bills, I'm a full-time college student with a 3.9 GPA, work full time, take care of things that need taken care of, etc. The only thing is, I have a love for the hobby--and mostly the coral part of it.

I guess it's hard to explain to someone who hasn't had a hobby where they collect stuff...It's almost like when I was a kid and there was that toy that I REALLY wanted just sittin on the shelf and I would beg my mom to get it for me :)...

oh...and no, I probably sleep worse at night because I hope the coral is ok ;) but I have been known to dream in coral--and that's fun.

 

[Speg]

I was doing some thinking today about coral, how much we spend, and the prices of some coral. I know that a couple places are attempting to offer a sort of "coral authentication" and I was wondering if people would be more likely to spend a lot of money on one piece of coral if it had some sort of paper with it that basically reassured you that it was rare/worth the money?

I think it would push me to make more high-priced buys for sure.

 

[CoralBandit]

it is an addiction, the chemicals are just made in your brain not taken exogenously, same thing for eating, and gambling, nothing to do with responsibility or common sense we just.... want it. Who cares anyways you only live once might as well satisfy those things that make us happy. lol

 

[clowns101]

I was doing some thinking today about coral, how much we spend, and the prices of some coral. I know that a couple places are attempting to offer a sort of "coral authentication" and I was wondering if people would be more likely to spend a lot of money on one piece of coral if it had some sort of paper with it that basically reassured you that it was rare/worth the money?

I think it would push me to make more high-priced buys for sure.

Its like dogs.All of my dogs linage can be traced back to China,Mexico,Asia,etc.So with corals,corals can be traced back to Greg Caroll,Steve Tyree,Jhon Danakan,etc.I would pay littel bit more to make sure its the real deal as I dont wat to get a fake peice.If it looks like it thoug,I have no problem saying its My Miami or something like that,but I wont put the JF name on it.

 

[Reefboy20]

I have spent some money in the past on high price corals and realize it was stupid! All it took was one to recede and die to say what the heck am I doing here? Who sees the coral anyway? If I post a pic of it it I might get and "awe" or a "wow", "nice frag dude" and then the question "Can I be in line for a frag?" If company comes over they would think I was crazy if I told them what I spent on each piece. Well no more for me and more for you guys willing to spend the $$$.

Goodluck, good hunting and finally Good Spending!!!

 

[KLR]

I understand what your saying, ithink it depends on how you feel on the hobby....if you just like the colors there are tons of corals with awsome color that dont cost over $20,if you want to "collect them all" you tend to like ...tend is a key word...the corals that have high and keep their value for some time there for making you an awsome collector,some people just like to collect corals with certain looks which isnt always expensive, then some people just buy differant things not on their value but how they will look in their display at home,some buy the "pop" corals just because they can make nice profit off of them for a year,i know there are other types of collectors i didnt mention, and some people like myself are a mix, it just depends on your opinion, i mean i know people who will spend thousands of dollars on their audio in their car, which i think is pointless,but they probably think that spending hundreds of dollars on tiny pieces of coral is pointless...it just depends on you,everyone has differant thoughts on the subject

 

[Speg]

I'm glad to see that a majority of the votes are for spending over $2001 on coral. I can show this to my wife now and try to convince her that I need to buy more to meet "the average" :)

 

[reefsmokinFOOL]

I am kinda surprised at these results. This poll should be given for the next couple of years around December. I think that it would be interesting to see the changes in our spending habits as a whole. jmo

 

[revsgirl]

This is actually what my husband spends! But when I get my nano, it just might double!! :D

 

[5oclocksomewhere]

I think the real key here is don't even worry about what you spend as long as you are spending ENOUGH on maintaing what you have. This is one of the hobbies(addictions) that keeping up with the Jones can easily develop and before you know it you are impulse buying something because the next person standing behind you may want it.

I have been in this hobby since 82' and i remember mowing lawns to get enough money to buy fish....and now i would have to sell a kidney to get a Zoa polyp!!!

Enjoy what you have and the best reef systems are established over time. i guareentee to you if you bought a whole system at once you would not have the deep appreciation of watching polps grow and damsels breeding in you tanks. This is what the hobby is about to me...watching the evolution of a reef...and appreciating the power and beauty of nature.

 

[MarkL]

My wife doesnt mind what I buy. She got me into this hoby

 

[encieno]

It all depends here too, depends on what I see online or at the local LFS.

 

[Appaloosa1224]

I rarely spend money on coral. If you know the right people and can frag stuff in your tank to trade I don't really see a need to. Basically my tank pays for itself. Luckily I don't care about designer corals. Part of the fun for me is bargain hunting, too.

 

[saltwaterfishes]

I spend way too much $ on corals. There's always a zoa/paly I want.

 

[xmjxflipx]

+1 on buying alot of corals.....always a sps or chalice thats really nice

 

[spspirate]

Hope my girl friend does not see this!...LOL!! I do have to say I do make a lot of money back selling fragz....:tongue:

 

[Dalbery]

I hate this poll!! It's so much easier just buying the corals you desire and not thinking about adding up the $$. I voted $1000-$2000 but I'm sure I'm lieing to myself and it's much more outgo than I think.