We could use a little help!

[uniquecorals]

Hey everyone,

We're busy working on getting you the highest quality stuff we can, on a consistent basis. We try very hard to create a good customer experience, and you're responding very favorably, for which we are grateful! Thank you! Our growth has been much faster than we expected! We have received your valued feedback, and have tried to act on as much of it as has been reasonably possible. Many of you have become customers, and know what we're all about.

Our biggest concern is to keep you, our customers, fans, and "brand advocates" happy. We want to stay relevant to your hobby experience. We believe that a combination of high quality, accountability, integrity, personal service, fair pricing, and variety is the key to successs for both our company, and our clients. We will continue tweaking this formula to make things better and better for you. To this end, we'd appreciate a little feedback.

Please take a few moments to provide us with some feedback, so we can make Unique Corals even better for you in 2013!

Our question is, what kinds of items do you want to see from us moving forward?

CORALS

*More WYSIWYG specimens?

*More frags in general?

*More WYSIWYG frags?

*More coral variety (ie; more in each category - LPS, SPS, Softies, Zoas, etc.)?

FISHES

You'll notice that we aren't offering a ton of fishes at the moment. We launched with the PNG sustainably collected fishes. Unfortunately, they are not being shipped with any real regularity at this time. We have a very robust fish quarantine and holding system, running largely empty at the moment. We would like to continue to offer a variety of fishes. We are curious about what fishes you are interested in:

*Captive propagated varieties (mainly Clowns, Gobies, Blennies, Cardinals, etc.)?

*Unusual WYSIWYG specimens (unique color morphs, aberrant specimens, rare, hard-to-find ($$) things

*"Standard" reef fishes (ie; Damsels, reef-safe Wrasses, Dwarf Angels, etc.) that you'd want in a reef system

*Excellent quality specimens of common hobby favorites (i.e.; Grammas, Damsels, Basslets, Tangs, etc.)?

*A full spectrum of fishes of all types (i.e.; responsibly sourced reef fishes, some WYSIWYG specimens, and captive propagated fishes)?

Again, thank you for your support, feedback, suggestions, constructive criticism, and friendship that you have provided thus far. We look forward to continuing to serve your marine livestock needs.

Warm Regards,

Scott Fellman
Joseph Caparatta

 

[jackers]

Two things I would like to see but never do.

A "normal" picture of a coral beside the "glamour" shot. I love buying corals from private folks on these forums because the pictures they post really look like the corals I get. I don't mind the touched up, blued, fancy shots, but I'd recommend taking a look at the individual sale threads and how their pictures look.

In your defense, your pictures are a lot less "dressed" than most.

 

[uniquecorals]

Two things I would like to see but never do.

A "normal" picture of a coral beside the "glamour" shot. I love buying corals from private folks on these forums because the pictures they post really look like the corals I get. I don't mind the touched up, blued, fancy shots, but I'd recommend taking a look at the individual sale threads and how their pictures look.

In your defense, your pictures are a lot less "dressed" than most.

Thanks for the feedback and good suggestions! Yes, we do very minimal photo editing, and have taken great pride and considerable expense investing in equipment and education to do great photo work! It's never perfect, and sometimes stuff gets a bit blued out under the lights despite our efforts to counteract it...I do see what you mean about "raw" shots. One of the gratifying things that we hear all the time are that the corals that our customers receive look exactly like what we're showing on the site, so thats a good thing! Visitors to our facility tell us the same thing, so we're happy to hear that...but there is always room for improvement, and coral vendors need to be vigilant about photo "realism" and quality.

Definitely a fine line between too refined and too raw, isn't there? What we REALLY would like is for our customers out there to submit shots of the corals they purchased from us in their own reefs, for us to place on the website right along with the "hero" shots! That would REALLY be cool! So, any customers with cameras, high resolution shots of our corals are always welcome! You'll even get a photo credit! Submit them to me by email: scott @uniquecorals.com.

Thanks!

 

[Davesgt]

I must say the corals I got from you Scott are just as amazing in my tank as they are on your site. I've been waiting on one if those wild looking maroon clowns and maybe some more clams on your site. I know you probably have some beauties hiding somewhere lol

 

[uniquecorals]

I must say the corals I got from you Scott are just as amazing in my tank as they are on your site. I've been waiting on one if those wild looking maroon clowns and maybe some more clams on your site. I know you probably have some beauties hiding somewhere lol

Thanks for the kind words, Dave! We hope to have more crazy Maroons at some point in the near future. As for the clams...yeah- we've got soem really cool ones that we'll be placing on the site in the next few days...Example:

As always, we appreciate the feedback!

Scott

 

[buddythelion]

More corals in all areas, you can never have to many.

But I really like the idea of the WYSIWYG unusual/harder to find fish. Doesn't have to be necessarily expensive, just not something you find everyday in your LFS. Wrasses, uncommon gobies, pair of clownfish, lots of options. Diver's Den is an amazing example of this, and it would be a great idea if someone else could offer something similar if it's possible since I don't know many sites like that, and they probably have a good reason too. I'd love to have a second site to hceck often to see if they were able to get a certain fish I've been looking for.

Btw, are those the $50 shortcake frags on the left? There are some big encrusted pieces I see!

 

[Pkunk35]

That clam is so sick. We need more of that!

I'm all about variety and WYSIWYG so anything that aids in those concepts I think helps online customers.

I agree with buddy on the fact that DiversDen is just a great example of a way to sell fish online. It is the only online retailer that I will actually consider purchasing fish from.

 

[Michelle Lemech]

Scott, you MUST give photo credit ANY time you use someone's photo. When you say "You'll even get photo credit!" You make it seem like you are doing the person a favor. You are not. You are required to do this or potentially face some unpleasant consequences. Glad to see others asking for realistic photos. This is essential to your business strategy. It is imperative that photos accurately reflect the product.

Thanks for the feedback and good suggestions! Yes, we do very minimal photo editing, and have taken great pride and considerable expense investing in equipment and education to do great photo work! It's never perfect, and sometimes stuff gets a bit blued out under the lights despite our efforts to counteract it...I do see what you mean about "raw" shots. One of the gratifying things that we hear all the time are that the corals that our customers receive look exactly like what we're showing on the site, so thats a good thing! Visitors to our facility tell us the same thing, so we're happy to hear that...but there is always room for improvement, and coral vendors need to be vigilant about photo "realism" and quality.

Definitely a fine line between too refined and too raw, isn't there? What we REALLY would like is for our customers out there to submit shots of the corals they purchased from us in their own reefs, for us to place on the website right along with the "hero" shots! That would REALLY be cool! So, any customers with cameras, high resolution shots of our corals are always welcome! You'll even get a photo credit! Submit them to me by email: scott @uniquecorals.com.

Thanks!

 

[uniquecorals]

Scott, you MUST give photo credit ANY time you use someone's photo. When you say "You'll even get photo credit!" You make it seem like you are doing the person a favor. You are not. You are required to do this or potentially face some unpleasant consequences. Glad to see others asking for realistic photos. This is essential to your business strategy. It is imperative that photos accurately reflect the product.

Absolutely correct, Michelle! The idea of giving customers photo credit is not an afterthought. In fact, we feel that by having our customers offer some photos, they are almost "investing" in us to some extent. Sorry if the "You'll even get photo credit" could be interpreted as if we are doing people a favor. The thought there is that lots of people enjoy seeing their name in the spotlight and appreciate a bit of recognition for their credits. Thanks for the good feedback!

Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

That clam is so sick. We need more of that!

I'm all about variety and WYSIWYG so anything that aids in those concepts I think helps online customers.

I agree with buddy on the fact that DiversDen is just a great example of a way to sell fish online. It is the only online retailer that I will actually consider purchasing fish from.

Thanks for the feedback, Paul! We agree that more information is going to be a better aid in helping our customers make good decisions. Kevin and crew at L.A. are the class of the industry, and many of their practices are worth studying and emulating!

Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

More corals in all areas, you can never have to many.

But I really like the idea of the WYSIWYG unusual/harder to find fish. Doesn't have to be necessarily expensive, just not something you find everyday in your LFS. Wrasses, uncommon gobies, pair of clownfish, lots of options. Diver's Den is an amazing example of this, and it would be a great idea if someone else could offer something similar if it's possible since I don't know many sites like that, and they probably have a good reason too. I'd love to have a second site to hceck often to see if they were able to get a certain fish I've been looking for.

Btw, are those the $50 shortcake frags on the left? There are some big encrusted pieces I see!

Thanks for the great feedback as usual, Buddy! I agree, the idea of WYSIWYG for select fish is great! And not just rare stuff is my thinking, too. I mean, really nice Blennies or Cardinals or fishes like that...Nice specimens of Grammas or Wrasses.

Good eye- those are the Strawberry SHortcakes you are spying in the underwater shot. They are really coloring up and growing out nicely! We are probably going to offer this next batch as WYSIWYG, but at the same price point...You'll just be able to choose your exact frag from a small selection. We'll see how that goes.

Thanks again!

Scott

 

[Michelle Lemech]

Any time anyone allows you to use one of their photos they are doing you a favor. They are giving you something. Photo credit is a necessity. They should be compensated in some way and at the very least thanked. When my photos where used by That Fish Place I received gift certificates. You might want to consider doing this to keep up with your competitors.

Absolutely correct, Michelle! The idea of giving customers photo credit is not an afterthought. In fact, we feel that by having our customers offer some photos, they are almost "investing" in us to some extent. Sorry if the "You'll even get photo credit" could be interpreted as if we are doing people a favor. The thought there is that lots of people enjoy seeing their name in the spotlight and appreciate a bit of recognition for their credits. Thanks for the good feedback!

Scott

 

[buddythelion]

Any time anyone allows you to use one of their photos they are doing you a favor. They are giving you something. Photo credit is a necessity. They should be compensated in some way and at the very least thanked. When my photos where used by That Fish Place I received gift certificates. You might want to consider doing this to keep up with your competitors.

I'm 1000% certain that the Unique Corals family will definitely thank customers for taking photos.

Unique Corals already does something that most vendors don't, which is constantly asking for feedback and even showing us how they maintain and care for their livestock. Real unique stuff right there! But I don't mind getting a GC if I just take pictures of pretty corals all day that you guys did all the work growing. :wink:

 

[uniquecorals]

I'm 1000% certain that the Unique Corals family will definitely thank customers for taking photos.

You're 100% correct, Darwin! Definitely important to have a happy, thriving online community and fans. Credit will be given where credit is due!

Thanks!

Scott

 

[Davesgt]

Being the company Unique is and outstanding person Scott is, im sure they appreciate any pics they get and help represent what fine specimens they have. Having your name on their site should be considered an honor also, especially as respected and as frequently viewed site they have.

Any time anyone allows you to use one of their photos they are doing you a favor. They are giving you something. Photo credit is a necessity. They should be compensated in some way and at the very least thanked. When my photos where used by That Fish Place I received gift certificates. You might want to consider doing this to keep up with your competitors.

 

[Thamastachef]

I regular your site often! I yet to purchase. But love your frags(encrusted!!!!!!)
Plan on purchasing from you after move. Sorry I don't have any hands on review..

I would love to see someone offering mated pairs. Mandarins, leopard wrasse(let me know if you find em!!!) pretty much any fish!

 

[skinz78]

Thanks for the kind words, Dave! We hope to have more crazy Maroons at some point in the near future. As for the clams...yeah- we've got soem really cool ones that we'll be placing on the site in the next few days...Example:




As always, we appreciate the feedback!

Scott

I likey!

 

[Pkunk35]

Thanks for the great feedback as usual, Buddy! I agree, the idea of WYSIWYG for select fish is great! And not just rare stuff is my thinking, too. I mean, really nice Blennies or Cardinals or fishes like that...Nice specimens of Grammas or Wrasses.

Good eye- those are the Strawberry SHortcakes you are spying in the underwater shot. They are really coloring up and growing out nicely! We are probably going to offer this next batch as WYSIWYG, but at the same price point...You'll just be able to choose your exact frag from a small selection. We'll see how that goes.

Thanks again!

Scott

while on the topic of fish,
I'd love to see more offerings of smaller reef fish as you suggested...IMO the blennies, gobies, wrasses, etc are often hard to find in healthy condition whether online or at the LFS.
I'd love to see your fish holding system (which already seems perfect for smaller reef fish) filled with little colorful guys (and why not some designer clowns while at it :xd.

I do remember seeing those dragon faced pipes when i was there last...they were pretty sweet. Need more of that!

I think offering healthy reef fish at reasonable prices and shipped from the west coast would really help set you apart further.

Happy weekend, I'm OUTTA here!

PS. On crediting pictures...just put a watermark on it! no worries after that.

 

[Ricks Reef]

Id like to see a wide selection of fish.I have a 180 gallon Fowlr along with a reef.I think theres alot of people that do the same.

 

[uniquecorals]

I regular your site often! I yet to purchase. But love your frags(encrusted!!!!!!)
Plan on purchasing from you after move. Sorry I don't have any hands on review..

I would love to see someone offering mated pairs. Mandarins, leopard wrasse(let me know if you find em!!!) pretty much any fish!

We look forward to working with you! Thanks for the feedback!