What are the coral sellers that offer financing, and have any of you guys used that option?

[jmichaelh7]

I could see financing your dream tank, whatever it’s going to be your daily thing I don’t judge. But corals that may die if parameters or something messes up and your payment is due still? Lol

 

[NowGlazeIT]

The wife would kill me, but my credit card buys me a month or two so that’s about as close as I get to financing coral I should not be buying haha

 

[Daniel@R2R]

People going to be paying for corals they killed 4 months ago. The turnover rate is already high in this industry with people knowing they burned past tense cash. When they see they are making payments on skeletons this will increase early exits

Haha! I hadn't thought about this. I guess if I'm going to invest high dollar in corals, I'd be sure they're pieces I am confident I could keep alive. However, I do understand this point.

 

[ADAM]

There’s no “free lunch”…. the financing cost is inherently built into the price. If they offer financing with a great rate or same-as-cash option you can best believe the finance company is getting a piece of the action. While you can’t legally figure in the cost of financing you can certainly calculate it into your operational cost (smokey mirror right?)
If they’re offering a great financing deal on whatever you purchase anywhere and you’re paying cash you should certainly ask for a non-financing (cash) price.

Personal Credit Cards are NOT cash and cost the seller to process as well… same theories apply.

 

[Doctorgori]

…pimps, pushers and arms dealers now offer multiple payment and finance options including 90 days same as cash, credit card payments and disease insurance

 

[vetteguy53081]

Coral and fish financed - NEVER

BUT To answer question. I have. To be precise, I bought the APEX 2016 when it first came out and wanted to get it. It went on sale via Marine Depot with AFFIRM, and I mainly did it because I wanted to establish a history with Affirm and also boost my credit score, in which instead of 12 payments, I paid it in 6 payments.

 

[MaxTremors]

I have never used these services and likely never would, but the amount of people shaming those that do use these is services, is frankly, gross. While I don’t recommend that people go into to debt to finance their hobby, I’m not going to demean them either. The idea that if you don’t have the money up front or need (or even want) to finance something that ‘this hobby just isn’t for you’ is elitist and classist. I don’t believe that not being able to pay for hundreds of dollars of coral up front should exclude you from the hobby. Being poor sucks so I don’t begrudge anyone for using some financing to get some enjoyment out of life doing a hobby they enjoy. I don’t believe that anyone is going to somehow get out of poverty if they just deprive themselves of all luxuries and forego any hobbies. The core root of most poverty isn’t people living outside their means or being lazy, it’s because #weliveinasystem that requires inequity to function.

When you consider that 50% of Americans would have difficulty paying a $400 emergency expense (with 20% being unable to pay the expense at all) and that only 40% have enough money saved to go without work for 3 months, it’s obvious why these sort or financing options are popular. Again, I’m not advocating for people to spend money they can’t afford or don’t intend to pay back, but using financing, even for a hobby, is not proof of that.

But back to the topic of corals specifically,
coral prices are getting crazy. A lot of people don’t have local a LFS, and when buying online, it’s hard to justify the shipping for $50-$100 worth of coral, buying a few hundred dollars worth is the only way it makes sense. So I can why vendors offer financing and why people would use it, and I don’t see an issue with using this kind of financing responsibly.

 

[FishRN]

I have used affirm to buy a large coral shipment mainly just to try it out the cost was the same whether I paid it all up front or over 6months. Some times it’s nice to just see little payments come out over time than see a giant bill all at once. Now when it comes to building my next big tank I will definitely be using affirm.

 

[jhuntstl]

I've never financed coral, but I've use Amazon's 6-12 month 0% financing a few times for large purchases.

This is my speculation, but if an Affirm rep walked into your coral shop and showed you the potential increased sales numbers by adding a financing option, you'd probably be silly not to accept. These are nice options to have, but there's a reason you can finance everything nowadays. Is it predatory? Debatable. It's up to the individual consumer to make a purchase within their budget.

 

[Naso110]

I already have a serious coral addiction. Definitely not interested in someone fronting me to further that addiction, thank you.

 

[Funston07]

I have used it a few times. I've used Klarna on corals anonymous not because I couldnt afford it but I would put the payments to come out of my cash back cc so I wouldn't have a huge balance to pay off right away but I still basically get a discount on the coral. I pay all my cc off before the end of my billing cycle so I never pay interest. It's a win win honestly but it's not for everyone. If your not good at managing finances then I wouldn't even think of doing it.

 

[peffy03]

I use financing for everything I can if the terms are favorable. My money made 13% year to date in investments, and I borrow at 0-4%. It’s a no brainer.

 

[workhz]

20+ years ago I got 0% APR from meineke or something similar (in college and broke). It was either for brakes or exhaust. Can’t even remember now.

That 0% was good for like 3 months but if you didn’t pay the full amount by a certain date they collected something like 20%+ Apr for those 3 months. Ended up costing me quite a bit more than if I had paid up front.

I’ve seen vendors offer it. Never looked close enough to see if there was any extra baked into the split payment price.

I’d just caution against it but if you do it make sure you read the terms and make the payments.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Used to think coral was expensive and then I got into airplanes…

 

[Pico bam]

I use financing for everything I can if the terms are favorable. My money made 13% year to date in investments, and I borrow at 0-4%. It’s a no brainer.

This is exactly what I was thinking! I'm already making money on my money the more I have available the more I make! This is where debt can be leveraged into earning. You simple have to be smart about it. Not sure its really worth the hassle unless its a large purchase though.

 

[Waynerock]

Finance no but I did do the 4 payment option on TSA. Then the wife saw 4 corals sales I got over a 8 week period that just happen to cost the exact amount. She does not ask thank god. I just made sure there were 4 corals on the order and every once and a while I pointed out the “new one” so not financing I guess but the hit in the wallet was not as bad. These guys that are financing a couple HG’s and thousands of dollars in corals are asking for it. Especially if they are bad reefers cause you are still paying on skeletons.

 

[ReefingwithO]

I remember a very similar thread on ReefCentral when MarineDepot started offering financing the shaming of people who would use these services was disgusting and it came off elitist and was one of the reasons that turned me off from that site.

I wouldn’t because it’s a hobby and it’s not something I “need”. But I’ve financed couches, coffee makers and beds and other crap on Amazon so who am I to judge.

Im going to dig up that thread and see the list of people who were shaming folks then for financing lights for something that is now commonplace.

 

[ReefingwithO]

Double post

 

[GuppyHJD]

To me this is a clear indication that the "marketing names" put on corals and the ridiculous pricing has gone too far. The CC is paid off every month. The only thing I would finance is perhaps a house. Although my advisor had to be consulted - pull the funds from the portfolio or write a check for the house.

I did put money at risk this past weekend for some coral chances. I bought five raffle tickets at a local club meeting that had frags in the prize pool. I ended up with some Brightwell chemicals, some coral dip and one coral frag for $5.

 

[NDIrish]

Equipment I can understand for short term, but not for livestock that could perish next day.