The misrepresentation is astounding!

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Dj City

Dj City

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I'm might come up with a fancy name for my torch along with a fancy high end price and post it for sale to see what happens.

I won't sell but since we like to experiment and investigate in this hobby, I think it might be a worthwhile experiment/ investigation.

I would be sure to come back to this thread to let you all know what happens.
 

zalick

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It's about supply, demand and unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of people that either don't know better or are straight lied to about what they are trying to buy.

A brown torch is NOT a gold torch but with the right lights and the right filters plus a little bit of photoshop, I could sell multi-colored rainbow skittles torches for thousands!
Really it's about the fraudulent color manipulation. Who really cares about what price someone is selling it for if the photo is representative? If people don't like it, they won't buy it. If they like it but can't afford it, then it has the value the seller is asking. If they like it and buy it then the value proposition was appropriate and buyer and seller both win.

$1000 to one person may be less a burden on them than $100 to another. It's all relative regarding price/value.

But fraudulent representation has no place in the hobby and is a crime.

I would personally give my coral frags away to friends or for like $10 a frag to people in my local reefing community.
 

1guydude

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Lol! Dont get me started on the bounce mushrooms.
Just 2 weeks ago in the marketplace here i saw mini red carpet nems for $800-$1200 i think it was. I can drive twi citys away right now and buy those for $100 from an old reefer. Lol

It is supply and demand. What maybe available to you and i. Might not be to them.
Most i was ever gonna pay for a coral was $275 i think it was maybe 5yrs ago for a yellow flabellum coral. I did not buy.

As reefers we need to be in the habit more of paying if forward and trading with other reefers we think might have good success with our corals.

Buy ora. Buy local. Buy fish breed by a local reefer. My thoughts.
D
 

Weasel1960

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It is all greed and keeping up with the Jones’s. There is no reason to charge big bucks for a coral that has been fragged nearly to death in the name of making money just because it has some fancy name. I watched the WWC coral sale this past weekend. I can wait for one of those sales or not have it.

Similarly fish prices, if it is rare it should stay in the ocean. Yellow tangs, a month ago was $120 for captive bred and $99 for live caught. Since the ban its $450 live caught and $275 for captive bred. What changed for live caught?

I get it that there is work involved which is worth something but 20 frags off a colony doesn’t justify hundreds for each plug. I am going to be vey selective when I start buying livestock and I don’t Ned designer anything so I can be like Jones.
 

Mr_Knightley

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The overclocked pictures and fake vendors are the bane of this hobby, especially when they are used to manipulate gullible (often younger) hobbyists out of their money. But many vendors really do believe that they're stock is worth the price, and there are thousands upon thousands of buyers to prove that belief. The beauty of this hobby is that if something is too expensive for you, you don't have to buy it. Look elsewhere for something you can afford from someone you trust. Another thing to remember is that people who love and value their hobbies a lot are often okay with spending more on them. Case in point, I spent $500 on an Acantophyllia and I couldn't be more happy with my purchase. It brings me joy and is therefore worth it to me. I'm currently eyeing some plants that are valued at over $300, because I love them and am willing to spend that much to get them.
The scam vendors ( or even larger companies like WWC and ASD) that cheat people with tiny frags and jumped up colors make me mad, but as I said there are people who love their products and trust the companies enough to spend thousands with them. It all comes down to personal likes and dislikes honestly. I would never spend more than $50 for a torch because I don't like them, but I've also spent ten times as much money on a coral I valued more and, therefore, am happier with.
 

zalick

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Theres an easy way to hopefully ensure you get what they are claiming:

Insist they take a picture of it with something white next to it, then you can color correct. If they refuse, don't buy.
 

BobbyCline

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I'll sell all my torches for $1,000,000.

Local pickup.

20210221_202004.jpg
 

subzero

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Coral prices are disgusting. People attach a fancy name to a regular coral and charge up the wazoo. I remember a toadstool was $10, simple blue/red shrooms that grow like wildfire were 20 for a full rock!

now a toadstool is $50!!! Simple Zoas going for $50 for like 2-3 heads... unbelievable
 

subzero

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Livestock is the same... yellow tang and cleaner shrimp used to be $20.. now $80 and $40... don’t get me started on the “designer” clowns
 
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mdb_talon

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I really dont care the slightest what people charge. Yes some are misrepresented and that I have an issue with. However if it is a gold torch they sell for $300 and it is a good torch you get then great for both parties.

As for me I am very patient. I remember when rastas became the big thing i thought they were one of most amazing zoas i had seen(still do), but i had no issue waiting a couple years until they were reasonable priced.

I will also point out that wholesalers dont sell the expensive items cheap anymore. They are on the bandwagon for "rare" and named coral also. That $300 gold torch probably cost them $150 from the wholesaler and a 100% markup is entirely reasonable in an industry with high inventory "spoilage".
 

1guydude

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Native americans have been selling chinese fireworks forever! We still buy it... dosent make the 300+% mark up fair or good or ok in my mind.

As consumers its time to say enough is enough but we dont. We continue to buy and support.
D
 

Waynerock

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who is the worst offender? The one attempting to sell something for that much or the DA paying? Those overpriced corals seem to get bought pretty quick. If someone has the money and has there heart set on it the sky is the limit. Be it corals, Ammo, weapons. It’s just the way it is. No point of complaining. It’s bad people are selling those torches for hundreds but it’s even worse that people are lining up to buy them for that. I wish it would stop though I really would like a HG.
 

SamMule

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who is the worst offender? The one attempting to sell something for that much or the DA paying? Those overpriced corals seem to get bought pretty quick. If someone has the money and has there heart set on it the sky is the limit. Be it corals, Ammo, weapons. It’s just the way it is. No point of complaining. It’s bad people are selling those torches for hundreds but it’s even worse that people are lining up to buy them for that. I wish it would stop though I really would like a HG.
So true.... A year ago, 5.56 was less than $.30/rd. Last week a coworker of mine sold some reloaded .223 to another co-worker for $.80/round. People get worked up into a frenzy over whatever the latest hype is and common sense goes right out the window....

After the indo ban let up, every indo "gold" torch was a "Dragon Soul".
Now, they've discovered the "Holy Grail" and suddenly, dragon souls arent as common, but the $1k/head holy grails are everywhere. Supply and demand, add a little "indo ban" hype and a some good ol photo misrepresentation and we're left with outrageous prices for some fairly common goods.


And don't even get me started on toilet paper!
 

OrangeCountyReefer

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I've seen sooooooo many posts where someone is selling torches for $275 to $400 and up.

They slap a fancy name on it and take a pic with blue light or use a filter to make the coral look slightly different but the problem is....
Is just a torch coral!
Nothing special about it at all.

It breaks my heart to see people on R2R activity trying to rip people off.

Torch coral is not the only coral I see people trying to catch unknowing suckers with but it has to be about the most egregious.

I'm not going to point anyone out or name names but it really is a sorry state of affairs.
Lol nothing special about a torch coral? I was at the west coast coral show this weekend and there were 20 vendors there with every coral under the sun. But you know what booth stole the show? The vendor who had the high end torches. I walked around and looked at everything there and nothing even compared to the torches. Nothing. No filters or anything, they were the most beautiful corals there with your own eyes. I do agree there is color manipulation going on and price gouging forusre around here. Also I have some 50 dollar torches next to some $500 dollar torches and they are not even remotely close to one another.
 
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