This hobby is out of control

[Eddie7144]

I been in this hobby since 1998, it is an expensive hobby for sure, but things have gotten out of hand. I'm all for making money and sellers can ask set what ever price they want, but take a look at these prices, am I over reacting ?

 

[Eddie7144]

I been in this hobby since 1998, it is an expensive hobby for sure, but things have gotten out of hand. I'm all for making money and sellers can ask set what ever price they want, but take a look at these prices, am I over reacting ?

 

[James M]

Just put a fancy name, big price tag, lots of blues and People will buy them.

 

[ndrwater]

The price is driven by what the market will bear. Kinda doubt those numbers will be fetched for those zoas, but.... Ya never know..

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I agree to a point. Prices are expensive, but so is the research and materials that go into stuff compared to years ago. You imagine them trying to sell an UGF for $299.99 today?

I will say it can be as expensive or cheap as you want. I run a skimmer and a reactor on the cheap. My big $ is only in my lights. Others spend 1k plus on apex or other monitors to help. It’s all about what the end goal is. I buy frags, others buy colonies. I buy common, others buy rare.
Unlike a marathon reef keeping has several ways to get to the end results desired.

 

[Salty Lemon]

The most I ever spent on a zoa was $100 -- and even now I hold my head in shame. It is a beauty though and looks great in the garden.

 

[scriptmonkey]

The most I ever spent on a zoa was $100 -- and even now I hold my head in shame. It is a beauty though and looks great in the garden.

any pics of the Garden?

OP, the hobby is out of control as you let it get. One thing I am finding with corals is the price will fall... once you have the original frags getting sold and then that generation getting frag'ed and sold the supply will outstrip the demand and prices will fall. I find something cool in the super uber price range and I add it to a list, once it hits my acceptable price then I will buy in. Or.. you can always look and see if you can find a kind soul that will either swap you a frag or is just feeling generous.

When my frag seeds get larger, the first frags will be to some I trust local as a contingency if I ever have a tank crash. It will be awesome to have a starter pack to bootstrap from.. Wish more thought like that.....

 

[Pntbll687]

Something is only worth what another is willing to pay.

I agree that prices are crazy. So I simply don't buy items that I don't see a return on my investment.

And it's a hobby for me to enjoy. If I'm questioning myself when picking it out, I know I either don't really need it or can't justify the money. And if in stressing over costs, then you can bet I'm not enjoying my tank.

 

[lolgranny]

No different from anything else bud, look at cars now, clothes, gas, food, milk. In 1998 they were all much cheaper.

 

[Sod Buster]

That GodBeast is two truck payments. I already eat a cheeseburger for lunch instead of a steak. Good luck

 

[Eddie7144]

That GodBeast is two truck payments. I already eat a cheeseburger for lunch instead of a steak. Good luck

You must have a nice truck lol

 

[Sod Buster]

I like my truck over any hobby, that helps pay my Williams being a farmer. Ha, Virginia just got beat by FSU in the ACC tournament. I walk away from a $100 frag, then my gf does something to bring it home. Lol. She is a haggler if her mouth, I'll stop right there.

 

[Reefahholic]

I’ll never pay that for a coral. I appreciate even the low end corals. Once they are thriving they’re all pretty to me.

 

[Sod Buster]

I like a green slimer anyday over a WD. $20 or $200? Or homewrecker.

 

[Jmareef1022]

You just have to know how to play the game nowadays. For me would be buying frags growing them then selling and trading.

 

[Sod Buster]

Something I should keep to myself, but just crazy for WYSIWYG. If I cut off my pinky at the beginning of the fingernail is bigger than that, I wouldn't trade.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

I been in this hobby since 1998, it is an expensive hobby for sure, but things have gotten out of hand. I'm all for making money and sellers can ask set what ever price they want, but take a look at these prices, am I over reacting ?

I've been doing this for right at 30 years, and I've yet to purchase a named coral. I buy SPS and LPS softball-sized colonies, and "zoa rocks" about as big as your fist if something in the LFS catches my eye. I've never purchased a frag. The colonies I refer to are about $100 - $200, possibly as much as $300 if it's a nice wild coral from Australia. I'm not frugal, and most of my tanks are fairly high-end from the standpoint of the tank itself and the equipment.

What I'm getting at is that there's a few different "cultures" in reefing; there are those that are collectors of whatever has the most inventive name and is perceived to be "rare", there are those that are into specific fish (some of which can be very rare and really pricey) and the coral is just a backdrop, and there are those that fall into my camp, where the objective is to create the most natural looking biotope that the available animals and technology will allow.

If you're a collector, then you may well be interested in rather small samples of the latest 'n greatest, and the price tag that goes with it. But that's a small subsection of the hobby that gets the most press, since most of the vendors that exhibit at shows and conferences are frag sellers. If you think about it, frag selling makes the most sense at shows; a whole-colony seller would have to set up massive tanks to equal the same $$$ in inventory that a frag seller can do in a 3' x 4' x 6" tank.

To each their own, but I can assure you that there are lots of people like me out there don't care for wildly-colored "Dr. Suess Tanks" and just aren't interested in a "homewrecker" - even if someone gave it to me.

 

[scriptmonkey]

Something I should keep to myself, but just crazy for WYSIWYG. If I cut off my pinky at the beginning of the fingernail is bigger than that, I wouldn't trade.

Ok...that frag is ridiculous! Looks like someone wiped a booger on a plug.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

That GodBeast is two truck payments. I already eat a cheeseburger for lunch instead of a steak. Good luck

What's wrong with cheeseburgers?!?

 

[Medic58]

Is That store is located in Manhattan NY. If so they gotta pay that high rent Some people in Manhattan have a lot of money and probably don’t know better or don’t care about the price.