Question for all the vendors..."collector status"

[Troylee]

Maybe a few people on here also... Lol
How does one become a private collector and get the goods like those amazing acans austin aqua farms just posted??? I have saw that line a few times it was sold to a private collector...
What qualifies a person as a private collector???
How can one become a private collector etc????
Is it all about spending money or what??? I
Consider everyone on here a collector of some sort...
I spend a lot of money and so do most People on this forum I'm curious!!!!!!

 

[clowns101]

ITS ALL ABOUT DA MONEY!!!!

Thats all it boils down to,however,I do consider a private collector someone who gets the coral before anyone else gets it,or pays a premium price for somthing.I guess you could even say a private collector is someone who cherry picks from wholesalers cause they have the money to.

I could go all day on what they are,but it boils down to the money IMO.

 

[thewackyreefer]

It seems to me that once you begin ordering from someone repeatedly and spend a reasonable amount of money they want to help you out more and may offer you pieces before they go on sale to others or larger pieces than they would normally sell to someone else. There are a couple retailers that I order from frequently and will help me out if I have a request. It's all about getting in good with the retailer, making friends and spending some $, which makes sense to me.

 

[Troylee]

Really there is plenty of people on here that drop thousands including me I'm not on any special list that I know
Of.... Besides Ians lol... Even there I don't get first pick...:(

 

[clowns101]

I spend alot of money myself,but I agree,Im not on a list either,I do get alot of the info those from some places who I have bought from,Ill get a phone call "Hey Austin-We got in this crazy Favia,what a piece?" and thats about the extent of it for me I guess,its honestly all about who you know to.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Ya know, I think a lot of time's it's just simply asking the question as well. A lot of times I'll see acans I like, shoot the vendor a message and work something out with them to get a pack together.

 

[Troylee]

guess im dealing with the wrong vendors....:( i had a talk with one vendor in particular a favorite of mine and he was like yeah i got it but i need to fetch this amount etc to make some money.... what it really boiled down to was friendship hes a good friend of mine and wouldn't tell me about stuff because he needed to charge x amount of money to make a profit and he want's to hook me up etc.... what i got from it was your my friend ill give a deal on this and this but i cant on this for the reason mentioned above.... im not looking for hand out's or a better price than everyone else i just want a sick piece before it's all gone... dunno......*deprived* buhahahahahah

 

[Tabasco1]

My take.. from an "art" world stand point... one of my good friends sells high end pieces of art.. the ones that sell from between $10k & over $100k. She will work with "private collectors" and it is all about the $$. I don't think that most private collectors are getting any kind of deal or discount, but simply offered first dibs because they are willing to pay a premium, unless they have spent an ungodly amount of money with a particular artist. I manage property and one of my owners is a private collector of art glass.. in similar price ranges and from what I gather from them it is the same sort of thing. They are offered pieces first, but not really at a discount. So the exclusivity is merely having the opportunity to have a special piece, not a hook up. So if you are on a phone list, you are probably considered a "collector" from that vendor because they are hoping to sell it to you at a premium.

 

[KLR]

I think it is
1.The money,and lots of it!
and
2.You have to personally know the right people,not know of them,but actually know them as a friend or whatever..then those people can help you get your name out and then things build up

 

[Troylee]

^^^^^ that's what i want..... not looking for handout's just a sneak peek and chance to buy before going live and releasing it lol.... oh well....

 

[clowns101]

^^^^^ that's what i want..... not looking for handout's just a sneak peek and chance to buy before going live and releasing it lol.... oh well....

haha...that isnt always whats its played out to be...Im sure you know what Im talking about...if not PM me...

 

[Troylee]

Oh i know Austin!!!! i guess it's got to be your friend also so there is no surprises...:(

 

[Troylee]

Maybe I got it all wrong here....
Is there really such a thing as a "a-list" or is just friends?????

 

[Ian]

maybe they're people that aren't on forums... they do exist ;)

 

[drainbamage]

The simple truth is the best pieces come straight from importers. What you see shown off is not the VAST majority of the pieces they bring in. That's why I always find it funny that people get angry at high mark-ups on the sweetest pieces- they don't realize that the same vendor who's marking up heavily on one piece, is making close to nothing on all the cruddy pieces they have to bring in to get the few nice ones.

Other option is to live near a grouping of major wholesalers, such as the ones near LAX. In that case, all you need to do to get the sweetest pieces, is have a wholesale permit, meet their minimums (usually $300-$500 a place,) and check in there almost daily as they get new shipments pretty often. Even then, their sales people get first dibs for their top clients, so you might be better off becoming a top client, e.g. a place that spends close to a grand a week at the same place. When I used to buy for a local shop, spent around 1200 a week with the same wholesaler, and still wasn't one of their top clients.

Otherwise-just make good contacts with sellers and remember, if they only send you their cherry pieces, they'll run out of customers pretty quickly. It's a fine balance the sellers have to walk of keeping everyone happy by disappointing everyone equally.

 

[clowns101]

On the wholesale side of things,you have to spend some crazy money to get the top dog pieces,I know some stores will drop $10,000k a trip out to their wholesalers,and its crazy,but it gets us what we want doesnt it?

 

[Troylee]

maybe they're people that aren't on forums... they do exist ;)

So that makes them private collectors???? I smell bs!!!! Lol who asked you anyways man I get your spam mail but nothing that's not already on the site.... lol!!!! You know I love ya bro..;)

 

[droblack]

I think most of us are "private collectors" imo. If you collect corals and are an individual not associated with a store, you are a private collector. Now, to get vip treatment for various vendors, that takes building relationships with the vendors or wholesalers.

 

[reefkoi]

I believe the term is whale.

 

[AquaWorldPSC]

I spend alot of money myself,but I agree,Im not on a list either,I do get alot of the info those from some places who I have bought from,Ill get a phone call "Hey Austin-We got in this crazy Favia,what a piece?" and thats about the extent of it for me I guess,its honestly all about who you know to.

Austin you hurt my feelings now. You're OFF the LIST!!!!!

haha