Times have changed - Very disappointing

Lbrdsoxfan · Nov 19, 2022

adam87 said:
Noopsyche just raised the prices for their lights, then posted a code for 39% off on their FB page. Which brings the price back to the original price. How can they call it a "sale" then. :thinking-face:

That's the point of the thread, lol.

adam87 · Nov 19, 2022

ninjamyst said:
Can you blame them though? It's a classic marketing sales tactic that's shown to work...

I know but to me it's kind of deceptive. But do own the K7 mini and it's been good so far.

thatmanMIKEson · Nov 19, 2022

Wait these aren't sales? Why would they do this!!!! Everything goes up but wages :(

thatmanMIKEson · Nov 19, 2022

@Bulk Reef Supply shipping is ridiculous I ordered 800$ worth of stuff off them yesterday before noon of course I picked free shipping, then directly after I ordered cpex ball valves off saltwateraquarium.com because they are on sale there, i spent around 100$ of course free shipping again, today I got a shipping notice from saltwateraquarium and an expected arrival for not next week, but the following week from brs. BRS could get up to speed with shipping its always like this especially since they started the 1.99$ "faster" shipping, its almost enough to send me somewhere else in fact this might be the last year with them there's so many other vendors... venting is now over

Tamberav · Nov 19, 2022

It has always been like this with the chop shop type that get in mariculture/wilds. I think they trick newer hobbyists more often. Someone who is newer to the hobby has a tank to fill and probably doesn’t have much idea what the actual market value for some corals are or how the prices fluctuate on the website often.

The store Kohls does the same thing all the time. Hehe.. probably others but that the one I check prices often enough that it becomes obvious.

The aquaculture heavy stores like battlecorals and cultivated reef have actual sales as they don’t jack up the prices. The stock stays the same price. Might be the only type places I didn’t notice inflation unlike the grocery store. :p

SteveMM62Reef · Nov 19, 2022

When I was in my late 20’s early 30’s a box of cereal was filled to only 50-55%. Took a job in a Restaurant, after being laid off. Took a Cereal Bag out of a Restaurant Pack box, it was so full, I couldn’t get it back in the box after several bowls were filled. Some Settling of contents, yea right. Also what is it with Mushroom Corals, can’t believe the ridiculous prices on them? Used to be they were the cheapest corals. Now the vendors slap a fancy name on them, and $$$$$$

BroccoliFarmer · Nov 19, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
@Bulk Reef Supply shipping is ridiculous I ordered 800$ worth of stuff off them yesterday before noon of course I picked free shipping, then directly after I ordered cpex ball valves off saltwateraquarium.com because they are on sale there, i spent around 100$ of course free shipping again, today I got a shipping notice from saltwateraquarium and an expected arrival for not next week, but the following week from brs. BRS could get up to speed with shipping its always like this especially since they started the 1.99$ "faster" shipping, its almost enough to send me somewhere else in fact this might be the last year with them there's so many other vendors... venting is now over

Outside of Black Friday, they are pretty good. Putting odds that they are specifically slowing things down (like last year) so that the gift card arrive AFTER the Black Friday sale.

Dburr1014 · Nov 19, 2022

Kyl said:
Sounds like we need an 'Ethical Coral Vendor' badge. Make it cost something like $100 a month to weed out the not ethical ones!

The only ones that can afford them are the ones are not ethical

doubleshot00 · Nov 19, 2022

Steve2020 said:
I feel you pain on the price of Torch's. I have a Cotton Candy I purchased a year ago that was a single head for $89.99 from one of my LFS's and I actually felt $100 per head in todays market is a good deal but I didn't know for sure so I looked up some of the top sellers online and found that the $200 for two heads may be a good deal for you. Without mentioning names these prices are some of what I found for a SINGLE HEAD Cotton Candy: $249.99, $169.49, $156 and $139.99. Shipping not included. I did see a single head on eBay for $69.99 but that's eBay and it looked in bad shape. Only one was shown in stock and that was the $249.99. Wondering if these are becoming hard to come by.

Sure for a LFS but just some guy growing a few frags from there colony with no over head. I think not.

Lbrdsoxfan · Nov 19, 2022

doubleshot00 said:
Sure for a LFS but just some guy growing a few frags from there colony with no over head. I think not.

The problem is that the guy growing this in his garage is charging like he has LFS overhead, lol.

TheReefDiary · Nov 19, 2022

i have only bought or traded with local hobbyists for this reason after my first two online purchases. ive gotten a ton of great corals this way and get to keep money moving between fellow hobbyists. there are a few vendors who ive purchased from and would happily purchase again (aqua sd seems to have relatively decent pricing most of the time - although they constanly run the on sale gimmick, but regardless prices dont seem astronomical compared to some of these other vendors).

mdb_talon · Nov 19, 2022

BroccoliFarmer said:
Simple answer to most of this...stop buying it. Blaming 'greedy corporations' is a nice tagline, but ultimately, most of the business here are small 'mom and pop' hobbyist who have had success and made a business out of it. Their costs have gone up so too. If you think that some of the vendors here are price gouging, dont buy. It is pure economics at play here...pricing will be what the market will bear. and if the consumer is willing to pay more, the seller is going to be willing to increase their prices.

sorry..I hope you dont think of this as an attack. I promise you it is not meant to be. But there are some real issues at play here that extend beyond someone taking advantage of people in this industry..which to be honest, is a luxury industry.

I actually agree with you, but I also agree with the OP in terms of how some of the "sales" practices are done. Just because it can be done does not mean it should be done. Most of these live sales that are massively discounted are just some made up price that often never are even offered at that "original" price. Wasn't that long ago Amazon was forced to pay a fine and promise to stop their deceptive sales practices that are quite similar to the way some of the vendors here sell.

I am all for supply/demand and letting the market decide. Even a bit of hyperbole and exaggeration in marketing is understandable. I consider a lot of what I see to be more than that and often deceptive and taking advantage of people new to the hobby

workhz · Nov 19, 2022

Only thing really left is to add a grub hub or Uber eats to corals sales. Let’s add another layer and inflate prices further.

Yes, I know the original post is about raising prices and then having fake sales but since this seems to now be a festivus type thread I’m throwing my hat, for these new delivery/order companies, into the ring.

Lbrdsoxfan · Nov 19, 2022

workhz said:
Only thing really left is to add a grub hub or Uber eats to corals sales. Let’s add another layer and inflate prices further.

Yes, I know the original post is about raising prices and then having fake sales but since this seems to now be a festivus type thread I’m throwing my hat, for these new delivery/order companies, into the ring.

I loved Jerry Stiller!

Battlecorals · Nov 19, 2022

Dburr1014 said:
The only ones that can afford them are the ones are not ethical

This has actually been brought up, for the most part in serious discussion a handful of times over the years, at least the last 10 -12 that I've been payingg attention. I mean the idea of a "credible vendor" certificate or aquaculture certificate. something like that. Seems like it fizzles out every time though unfortunately. kind of a tough thing to really make a reality.

edit. sorry for the lack of context. I quoted a reply to the quote I was referring to that said this "Sounds like we need an 'Ethical Coral Vendor' badge. Make it cost something like $100 a month to weed out the not ethical ones! by Kyl

Om84 · Nov 19, 2022

@vetteguy53081 , Thank you for this thread. These have been exactly my sentiments.

I will not buy coral from the general vendors we see. I will buy from guys like Adam @Battlecorals, and Tim @therman over and over again. Someone mentioned above that even local hobbyists are price gouging. I used to be a reefer from the late 2000's and how the hobby scene has changed after I returned. I understand the commercialization has also brought tech and advancement of the hobby but these prices and fake sales...

Rico's Reefnecks · Nov 19, 2022

Does anybody keep a public track of prices of some of the more classic "named" corals from multiple vendors? If not camelcamelcamel, maybe coralcoralcoral?

I saw today that new england power suppliers looking to up rates 20%+ this winter (seeking 40% in MA). As several in this thread have alluded to, hard to figure out to what extent this is operating expense increase vs black-friday shadiness without having some kind of historical reference.

ninjamyst · Nov 20, 2022

Here's a perfect recent case. I won't name the actual vendors but....

Last week, vendor A is selling utter chaos zoas for about $5 a polyp in their live sale. $15 for 3 polyps, $24 for 6 polyps.

This week, vendor B is selling utter chaos for about $15 a polyp. $70 for like 4 polyps.

People will buy from both vendors. I don't blame Vendor B. They built up their name and they take pretty pictures. If they can sucker people to pay $15 a polyp, why wouldn't they. Business is business. It's up to you as consumers to find the best deals.

WheatToast · Nov 20, 2022

Rico's Reefnecks said:
Does anybody keep a public track of prices of some of the more classic "named" corals from multiple vendors? If not camelcamelcamel, maybe coralcoralcoral?

I saw today that new england power suppliers looking to up rates 20%+ this winter (seeking 40% in MA). As several in this thread have alluded to, hard to figure out to what extent this is operating expense increase vs black-friday shadiness without having some kind of historical reference.

You could try checking the saved pages on the Wayback Machine internet archives for past online prices.