Vendors Gone Insane?

[TheOne]

I don’t do business with wwc. The only way they do so good is they have deep pockets. They spend the most at wholesellers so they get first dibs on coral. So that’s why your local reef stores don’t get as good of corals as they use too. I another reason is the staff are some of the stupidest people in are hobby. They don’t care about coral just there pockets. Easy fix don’t buy nothing from them. BAN WWC

Yeah, It's called price gouging and it is done every time the next hot item is about to be released. You say you can't find a trident in stock anywhere? That's because some clown bought them all up and is now selling them on ebay for twice the price. When these vendors buy up all of the corals as soon as they are unloaded in the states then they can charge whatever they want. I agree it is ruining the hobby and the only way to stop it is to stop supporting the practice. I guess when Money stops being the main motivator in life it will change. It was and never will be about preserving the hobby. In the simplest form it is nothing but greed.

12 Sold, Shortage yeah ok?

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[boacvh]

They (WWC and other vendors) haven't gone insane, it's the consumer that buys those tiny overpriced frags that has gone insane.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I made the mistake of visiting WWC with my wife when on vacation from the UK. Now she thinks any coral I buy costs hundreds of pounds.
Some of their corals are insane when compared to what we have got in the UK, but $650 for a 1" frag, that could last a week on your display, well that's just ridiculous in my opinion.

To gain her trust, now she needs to accompany you to LRS . You messed up, comrade. Hahaha

 

[fcmatt]

In some shape or form this has been going on after the hobby started in more recent times. At first it was crazy fish prices. People used to talk about and want rare fish, beautiful specimens, and etc... back then people were paying big bucks for fish in early 1990s dollars which when discussing inflation means they have not gone up much. I say the 90s because in the 80s it was still pretty niche. 90s to me represents the era the average joe could get in easier even though in the 80s you could as well with proper information.

Now when keeping coral became possible for the average hobbyist the same thing happened. Basically fads that come and go and in some cases the market flooded and prices crashed. This happens in every hobby when some type of "collecting" takes place.

And that is the key idea behind my post. People want a "collection" of the currently most desirable faddish corals and fish. Until that changes we will continue to see this discussion forever or the market is flooded with everything. I offer no solution. It is what it is.

Edit... some things deserve high prices in the hobby. Like finding a healthy red haddoni or a colorful gigantea carpet anemone. Certain rare hard to get fish. Most coral we buy today? Only for a while.

 

[vetteguy53081]

As this Thread is flowing and reading the many comments, I hope vendors realize there is No one vendor singled out and we are not Cutting down vendors in any manner.
WE ARE SIMPLY STATING THAT WE LOVE THIS HOBBY BUT IT IS BECOMMING UNAFFORDABLE TAKING AWAY THE FUN AND EXCITEMENT OF BUILDING A PIECE OF THE OCEAN WITHIN OUR HOMES.
Part of the reason we REEF is to collect and grow many types of coral and beautify our tanks and homes to make it an enjoyable show piece.
Sad is, seeing torches at $1200 -$1400, My daughter and I can go to Montego Bay, Jamaica. . . All-Inclusive (air/hotel/transfers/all meals drinks and entertainment) for just under that price !!!!

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I see a lot of nice reefs in this forum with really high end stuff and always wondered what some of you pay for it. I can’t justify buying any frag over $50 honestly. I have mostly what you guys consider low end corals but man they are just as beautiful as the others that I see labeled as high end . Beauty is in the eye of the beholder .

I understand rarity but $650 for a frag is disgusting lol

 

[ca1ore]

Trident is an interesting analogy. While I would neither engage in profiteering by listing one on eBay nor would I buy one for such a premium, I really see nothing wrong with it. I don’t really see this as price gouging - to me that is gasoline or bottled water (thus essentials) after a hurricane.

 

[declanisadog]

These price winging threads pop up with regularity and the answer is always the same ..... supply and demand! If there are people willing to pay $500 for a little finger frag, other people will be only too happy to sell it for that. Friend of mine would always rail against frag prices while he was building up his system, now that he’s there and selling frags apparently the practice is less egregious. Although I’ve paid moderately silly $ for tiny frags, I don’t do it anymore. I just trade now.

Every day there’s a new one. Why is this always presented like a new issue? We get it. Corals are sometimes expensive. Easy solution...don’t buy them. The continual whining about does nothing except make me (And I assume others) not want to participate on these forums. It’s infuriating. It’s almost as bad as political ranting on Facebook.

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

To gain her trust, now she needs to accompany you to LRS . You messed up, comrade. Hahaha

That's exactly what I had to do.

 

[Grigs]

I don't think you added anything to this thread other than a bunch of rhetoric that means nothing.

Here is the point he is making. WD frag on Ebay Buy it Now for $195. In his feedback there are several instances of people buying WD's for $170.

While we may be able to watch WWC's price move up and down by visiting the site on different days, you never really know what the value of the frag is, ie what someone paid for it historically. That's all.

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[S2G]

A few days ago that EXACT frag was $899.

Serious?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

That's exactly what I had to do.

You guys are whipped. Hahaha

 

[foxt]

Every day there’s a new one. Why is this always presented like a new issue? We get it. Corals are sometimes expensive. Easy solution...don’t buy them. The continual whining about does nothing except make me (And I assume others) not want to participate on these forums. It’s infuriating. It’s almost as bad as political ranting on Facebook.

I agree completely - the market is at work here, and as long as people are willing to pay up for something, someone will be willing to take their money. Tulips come to mind. You don't like the price, don't buy it. It will most likely correct itself some day. Bubbles always burst eventually.

That said, same thing applies to the threads about insane pricing. You don't like the topic, don't read the thread! They are easy to skip ...

 

[lakai]

Yeah, It's called price gouging and it is done every time the next hot item is about to be released. You say you can't find a trident in stock anywhere? That's because some clown bought them all up and is now selling them on ebay for twice the price. When these vendors buy up all of the corals as soon as they are unloaded in the states then they can charge whatever they want. I agree it is ruining the hobby and the only way to stop it is to stop supporting the practice. I guess when Money stops being the main motivator in life it will change. It was and never will be about preserving the hobby. In the simplest form it is nothing but greed.

12 Sold, Shortage yeah ok?

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Yeah anyone able to get 12 tridents to sell is not just "some clown" but some vendor being a clown.

 

[eea60123]

I hate that you see beautiful frags that there is no way the average person can afford. It can make you think less of what you have in your tank. Also scares me to death to think that I could wipe out a $200 frag while a $15 frag grows beside it.

 

[TheHarold]

Yeah anyone able to get 12 tridents to sell is not just "some clown" but some vendor being a clown.

Yeah, reselling 1 or 2 is fine but 12 is overkill

 

[Rscott]

despite how nice it is I will never buy from wwc
Because the prices are soooo off the walls nuts
Wwc is for the super rich guy and his Ferrari and his reef tank that he doesn’t even maintain and drops $2k a month to have someone else care for

they don’t care about the average hobbyist and only care about who they can gouge

$150 for a one head Zoa frag?
$500 for an acan frag?
Yea no thanks

even when they have a 50% off sale the prices are just barley normal

no thanks wwc
No one will dispute you have nice stuff
But you won’t see any of my hard earned money

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Ahh the daily “EVERYTHING IS TOO EXPENSIVE” thread on reef2reef. I don’t disagree with the premise but this forum should have an official, stickied thread for the topic at this point.

 

[Rscott]

My favorite is the $ 80 green slimer . It's just laughable . The only time I look is when they have a 30% off sale just to laugh at the "sale price ". I mean it's a top tier store , all healthy stuff , knowledgeable but pricing is a bit extreme imo.

Bought a super nice slimmer from my lFS the other day for $20 was borderline a small colony

no thanks wwc

 

[Jared's Little Reef]

I don't get it...if you think someone is charging too much for a coral don't buy it. If someone wants to pay $500+ for a coral or a fish they can.
You can spend your money on whatever you want to. I buy from wwc because I never have to worry about coral health or parasites coming on my frags.