What's the BIGGEST drawback of buying livestock from fellow hobbyists?

[ScubaFish802]

Not gonna lie.. I have been surprised before at the amount of red planaria worms in a coral dip with no mention to look out for it from the seller so I chose pests

 

[vetteguy53081]

Photoshopping and the huge looking specimen that arrives smaller than a dime in size

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

I voted other, because I've had better luck with other reefers than my LFS when it comes to pests, and honestly I'm going to dip and quarantine everything that goes into my tank anyway so who cares.

To me the biggest draw back from fellow reefers is lack of selection. If I'm looking for a specific thing I'm going to need to go to a vendor.

 

[Sump Crab]

Meeting up with random ppl around town

 

[M Stein]

LFS
Pros
You get to see the coral as it really is before deciding to buy.
Is generally cheaper than online venders.
Cons
More likely to have pests (from all the randomly sourced corals going through their system)
More expensive than Hobbyists.

Online Vender
Pros
More variety available.
Cons
More pests.
More expensive.
Corals rarely look the nearly as good as they do in the photos (even WYSIWYG).
Need to pay extra for shipping (unless you're ordering a lot)
Frags tend to be tiny.

Local Hobbyist
Pros
Cheaper.
Less likely to be pests (most hobbyist don't have as much coral going in and out of their system, and if they find a pest are more likely to eradicate it)
Bigger frags/colonies.
Usually look better in person than in the picture.
Cons
Less variety.
Many hobbyists don't mind having a small amount of Aptasia or Bristle worms in the tank; so if you're getting anything with rock, watch out, there likely is something undesirable there.

 

[Tamberav]

I have had issues with shipping before. Heat or cold packs used at wrong times or not wrapped properly, etc. No issues locally.

 

[konatown]

LFS
Pros
You get to see the coral as it really is before deciding to buy.
Is generally cheaper than online venders.
Cons
More likely to have pests (from all the randomly sourced corals going through their system)
More expensive than Hobbyists.

Online Vender
Pros
More variety available.
Cons
More pests.
More expensive.
Corals rarely look the nearly as good as they do in the photos (even WYSIWYG).
Need to pay extra for shipping (unless you're ordering a lot)
Frags tend to be tiny.

Local Hobbyist
Pros
Cheaper.
Less likely to be pests (most hobbyist don't have as much coral going in and out of their system, and if they find a pest are more likely to eradicate it)
Bigger frags/colonies.
Usually look better in person than in the picture.
Cons
Less variety.
Many hobbyists don't mind having a small amount of Aptasia or Bristle worms in the tank; so if you're getting anything with rock, watch out, there likely is something undesirable there.

Are people not liking bristle worms lately? I thought they were good and to let them be? I’ve only been doing this a year and a half tho.

my vote is that there’s not much drawback to buying from local reefers. I save some money on livestock and equipment, and usually get bigger coral. One drawback I can think of is meeting random people and sometimes going into their home, but I’m careful about that usually.

 

[M Stein]

Are people not liking bristle worms lately? I thought they were good and to let them be? I’ve only been doing this a year and a half tho.

my vote is that there’s not much drawback to buying from local reefers. I save some money on livestock and equipment, and usually get bigger coral. One drawback I can think of is meeting random people and sometimes going into their home, but I’m careful about that usually.

There is a biological benefit to having bristle worms, and they're not exactly ugly in my view.
Still, many people (myself included) would prefer not to have to watch their hands when sticking their hands into the tank or refugium.

 

[Wolters_88]

People calling things lineage (named) coral and sending you bad pictures to sell you said coral at a premium only to not be willing to refund your money when you find out it’s not what they are claiming. Second would be the venders pushing wilds and not letting them aclimate so as soon as you get them the stress kills them. I learned my lesson and always ask for flesh pictures now.

 

[moorjames]

This is a poor and loaded question. Every single option is something I have had worse issues with buying online vs from fellow hobbyists.

- bad photos: online retailers oversaturate and rarely provide a frag that looks like the photo. Local hobbyists have "bad" photos only cause they are sometimes washed out in blue but are at least realistic representations of what you will get.

- shipping reasons: local I pick up so no need to ship at all. Vendors cost $50+ to ship and many DOA guarantees don't cover shipping a replacement.

- over pricing: coral vendors are more than double local pricing typically.

- coral pests: far more common from vendors IME. Start zooming in on a WWC video and notice all that aptasia. Mariculture vendors are the source of most nudis and redbugs in the hobby.

- Frag sizing: If I order from a big name coral vendor, a $100 frag of Disney is at best a pea sized nub that isn't even encrusted on the plug. You are almost never pleased with getting a larger frag than you expected.

-

I've wondered about this- I thought maybe, just maybe, they would be pest free. I go to my local shops and they ALL have tons of aptasia, bubble algae, worms, etc. was hoping a place like WWC would have better- glad I checked

 

[littlebigreef]

9 times out of 10 its going to be inexperience in shipping. While this is most often see with people still learning, I've had some established sellers do questionable things as well.

Specifically, smaller boxes or amounts of water, heat packs inside the wet bag, not using a wet bag to hold all the other bags, hand warmers instead of actual heat packs, improperly sealed bags (electrostatic), ziplock bags (ugh), poorly cut styro inserts (I'm fine if the seal is tight), not using paper or peanuts to create space between the coral(s) and the heat/cool pack. Most notably not having a reliable 3rd party service for your labels. Everyone who does this regularly knows who Marcos is and that he's a freaking magician when your box gets stuck or delayed. FedEx and UPS aren't going to do a thing to expedite your order for you. Having someone in your corner to at least get the box to a place where it can be picked up is worth their weight in gold.

All things being equal hobbyists (garage growers if you must) have their role in the hobby just like the lfs and online vendors. It feels good to support and reward other hobbyists that have been good stewards of these animals and its generally pretty apparent the type of person you're working with.

 

[konatown]

There is a biological benefit to having bristle worms, and they're not exactly ugly in my view.
Still, many people (myself included) would prefer not to have to watch their hands when sticking their hands into the tank or refugium.

I set up a new tank, and trying to keep pests out this time. However I moved over my large gsp mat and it’s got some bristle worms, so I know I seeded the tank with some. I don’t mind though. I’m just careful where I stick my fingers!

 

[nomad6]

Got some good sized green digis from a local reefer. He insisted on selling me a setosa colony but I declined when he finally let me see his tank which had a cyano outbreak . He broke off a chunk and gave it to me (decent sized)… I thought I’ll be ok a little extra in the dip (iodine/coral rx) should do it… nope! Week later full blown cyano which I beat pretty quick. His tank gave mine cyano… really hesitant about trading/buying but same can be said for some lfs. I will now start using hydrogen peroxide when I get frags from local reefers

 

[nomad6]

9 times out of 10 its going to be inexperience in shipping and while this is most often see with people new to it I've had some established sellers do questionable things as well.

Specifically, smaller boxes or amounts of water, heat packs inside the wet bag, not using a wet bag to hold all the other bags, hand warmers instead of actual heat packs, improperly sealed bags (electrostatic), ziplock bags (ugh), poorly cut styro inserts (I'm fine if the seal is tight), not using paper or peanuts to create space between the coral(s) and the heat/cool pack. Most notably not having a reliable 3rd party service for your labels. Everyone who does this regularly knows who Marcos is and that he's a freaking magician when your box gets stuck or delayed. FedEx and UPS aren't going to do a thing to expedite your order for you. Having someone in your corner to at least get the box to a place where it can be picked up is worth their weight in gold.

All things being equal hobbyists (garage growers if you must) have their role in the hobby just like the lfs and online vendors. It feels good to support and reward other hobbyists that have been good stewards of these animals and its generally pretty apparent the type of person you're working with.

Shipped with no cold packs lol arrived like this out of 9 frags only 1 Mille made it (peaches and crème I believe)

 

[nano reef]

I only have 2 vendors I buy from now and have great deals but they are basically fellow hobbyists that have websites! My problem lately has been people trying to lure me from Ebay and offer to sell it to me on here or Instagram then not end up selling the corals! Of corse they were ones that went off way cheaper then they hoped! Happened 3 times in the last 2 months! Might have even happened today! We will see if he follows through but he did cancel my win on ebay when I asked about buying more then what was listed! The one b4 I should have known better when he offered to sell a rb chalice with about 10 eyes for 130! Its been over 2 weeks since I heard back but last message he said he never received payment when my paypal shows its sitting there waiting for him to collect! Its hard not to fall in to that trap because they offer you such great deals...LOL

 

[nano reef]

Got some good sized green digis from a local reefer. He insisted on selling me a setosa colony but I declined when he finally let me see his tank which had a cyano outbreak . He broke off a chunk and gave it to me (decent sized)… I thought I’ll be ok a little extra in the dip (iodine/coral rx) should do it… nope! Week later full blown cyano which I beat pretty quick. His tank gave mine cyano… really hesitant about trading/buying but same can be said for some lfs. I will now start using hydrogen peroxide when I get frags from local reefers

I received some last week with red on the posts, he claimed his system grows red coraline. Might be true but I dont want red coraline either. I almost switched the plugs because I have a lot in my sump but I just overbought and wanted to get in the tank in a hurry so just dipped in coralrx! Does peroxide directly on the plug kill cyano/coraline or are you speaking of dipping in peroxide and tankwater? I know it kills algae on plugs!

9 times out of 10 its going to be inexperience in shipping and while this is most often see with people new to it I've had some established sellers do questionable things as well.

Specifically, smaller boxes or amounts of water, heat packs inside the wet bag, not using a wet bag to hold all the other bags, hand warmers instead of actual heat packs, improperly sealed bags (electrostatic), ziplock bags (ugh), poorly cut styro inserts (I'm fine if the seal is tight), not using paper or peanuts to create space between the coral(s) and the heat/cool pack. Most notably not having a reliable 3rd party service for your labels. Everyone who does this regularly knows who Marcos is and that he's a freaking magician when your box gets stuck or delayed. FedEx and UPS aren't going to do a thing to expedite your order for you. Having someone in your corner to at least get the box to a place where it can be picked up is worth their weight in gold.

All things being equal hobbyists (garage growers if you must) have their role in the hobby just like the lfs and online vendors. It feels good to support and reward other hobbyists that have been good stewards of these animals and its generally pretty apparent the type of person you're working with.

Who Is marco? LOL Seriously I am not a vendor or seller at least not yet!

 

[BelieveInBlue]

Idk if I've ever had a bad experience buying from hobbyists. The only real issue is distance/travel/timings since people are busy and you can't just drop by like you can with a store.

However if that's the only downside to getting larger frags and small colonies at significantly lower prices than so be it. Pest-wise I've found that stores tend to have more pests just because they're constantly getting in new coral, and there's not as much incentive to eradicate everything they see before it reaches plague portions.

Photo wise most of the pictures from hobbyists are more accurate than online stores. Some online vendors heavily edit their pictures or something, especially when it comes to yellow coral it seems.

 

[OlafsReef]

Pests... but If I'm fare, hobbyists tend to have healthier things than most any LFS.

 

[Helter Skilter]

... not supporting your brick and mortar LFS.

The independent stores need your business, and the future of the hobby depends on them. The vast majority of us wouldn't be here had we not wondered into an independent LFS and been absolutely amazed. Most also depend on their guidance as new hobbyists. The independent LFS are the pillars that hold this hobby up and make it possible.

 

[Toob]

This is a poor and loaded question. Every single option is something I have had worse issues with buying online vs from fellow hobbyists.

- bad photos: online retailers oversaturate and rarely provide a frag that looks like the photo. Local hobbyists have "bad" photos only cause they are sometimes washed out in blue but are at least realistic representations of what you will get.

- shipping reasons: local I pick up so no need to ship at all. Vendors cost $50+ to ship and many DOA guarantees don't cover shipping a replacement.

- over pricing: coral vendors are more than double local pricing typically.

- coral pests: far more common from vendors IME. Start zooming in on a WWC video and notice all that aptasia. Mariculture vendors are the source of most nudis and redbugs in the hobby.

- Frag sizing: If I order from a big name coral vendor, a $100 frag of Disney is at best a pea sized nub that isn't even encrusted on the plug. You are almost never pleased with getting a larger frag than you expected.

-

Agree….these R2R polls are pretty eyeroll.