Why do some people charge so much for corals?

[WT INC]

It was just an expression. I would much rather have a Lamborghini. :wink:

The only people i know who have Lambor, Porche, Ferrari are my customers ! :wink:

 

[inactive]

Yeah, upkeep is too high to make any money off these stupid corals. Dude selling 500/eye frags prolly has a 1.5k a month power bill hahahah

 

[Aloha Corals]

The only people i know who have Lambor, Porche, Ferrari are my customers ! :wink:

lol! Quoted for truth!

 

[inactive]

^Okay guy with a lambo worth of scientific names in his tank. hahaha j/k Kev :D

 

[Aloha Corals]

^Okay guy with a lambo worth of scientific names in his tank. hahaha j/k Kev :D

:) Here is a pic of my Purple Lambo my coral paid for... Yes, its purple... WHAT!?

Ok, well not a Lambo... doesn't mean i can't drive it like one.

hehe

Kevin

 

[inactive]

Yes!!!!! hahaha.. I drift a cherokee so....

 

[Speg]

You hit 3 cones....

 

[Aloha Corals]

Yes!!!!! hahaha.. I drift a cherokee so....

SRT-8?

As far as my tank... It's more like having a good day job.

You hit 3 cones....

Come on! I only hit one cone that day... lol

Purple Neon, aka "Cone Killa" hey, i won my class that day.

 

[SunnyX]

I can't believe the prices that some people, mainly retailers, are charging for corals. I have seen many corals that are being sold for insane amounts. I understand that some corals demand a higher price, but aren't we getting a little out of hand? These retailers pay very little money to import these corals and then charge crazy dolars per eye/head etc. Geez, it's no wonder that these people drive nice cars and have nice homes that they post pics of, all the while laughing at you because you made it happen. Now, I must say that I have paid for some expensive corals before (BPC Flamethrower, Pink *******, etc.) to name some of the most expensive, but I didn't buy them for the name...I bought them because I love they way they look. I guess some people love the way that some of the "way overpriced" corals look and can afford them, but I just don't understand some of these prices. Am I the only one that feels this way?

I just wanted to add my experience. Yes, vendors do get corals for discounted prices, but you cannot use that as a base to measure the price/cost of a coral. Many factors are involved when pricing a coral, including:

-Shipping costs(material,etc)
-DOA's
-New corals browning
-Overhead(bulbs,salt,supplements,electricity,rent,etc)
-And many more variables......

One thing to rememebr as well, once the coral is named the price for us vendors can double and triple. So, only the first first vendor/person to find and name the said coral actually makes out well. Before selling corals I had the same assumptions as you, but I have learned that I was wrong. If we were selling a dry good then we would likely be having a different conversation. But with a live animal you have so many other cost and variables that you would not have with a dead inanimate object.

Oh, and selling corals isnt as profitable as you believe. You can make decent money, but most of us do this because we have lost our minds and want our hands in all aspects of reefing, lol. :D

 

[Reef Pets]

I think if more hobbiest realized that corals are bought either two ways- transhipped or through a wholesaler., and the costs associated with both, there might be a few less complaints (though people will always complain about money, it's what we do.) Through a wholesaler, you're paying diver-holding facility-exporter-shipper-importer-wholesaler-retailer. That's a long chain of mark-ups.

If you buy direct, you're buying stock by the Kilogram. That means you're telling a guy half-way across the globe "can I get this many kilo's of corals, oh, and pretty please some nice ones too?"

You might get a 5x markup, or even an insane 10x mark on a few cherry pieces, but for every nice piece, there's a couple kilograms of things you're lucky to make a profit on at all.

Now to both of those factor in overheads/employees/paying off the debt of starting the place (several hundred thousands in loans takes awhile to pay off) and it's easy to see why the best way to leave the industry with a million bucks is to come into it with three million.

No, it's not a sob-story for the retailers-it's a living, but thinking of them as these slick "big coral" fat cats sitting in a smoking room laughing maniacally as they talk about profit margins? Just fantasy.

A hobbyist that understands how it truly works.

 

[Reef Pets]

The Purple Cone Killa, I like it!

This is my new pimp ride.

 

[WT INC]

So in the end what makes it worth it ? If you aint getin rich....

I guess for me it would be working for myself.

i am sure all or most vendors have the same /similar answer :


-We thought we could make alot of money before we stepped into this business!
-Enjoy what we do
-freedom and flexibility
-No one to boss you around
-Not have to worry of being laid off, you always have your job even when you don’t make any money! LOL.
-No office politics


Its also a lot of hard work, long hours, every weekend but it’s worth it for some vendors like us ,Gary and others. If I have to take off a day or two to go somewhere I can , if I feel tired I can rest for a few hours.

Someone brought it up earlier that you see several vendors come and go as you might see few importers come and go because most are very tight financially right now. I meant they are seriously tight and trying to stay afloat .

They have been laying off a lot of employees. Few BIG importers want to sell their business and I wish them luck!!.

That shows you even the guy on the top who bring in millions of dollars worth of corals are not rich. They can make decent income of course .

Ask every vendor for honest answer who has been around retailing for more than three years FULL time and see if they think they can be rich .

Expensive to buy corals , expensive to run the business with high electricity ( I pay $ 1,500 -$ 1,900 per month ), gas ( $ 400++ in winter ) , overhead, shipping that we cover for free when you buy minimum usually runs about $ 40-$ 60 not counting the cost of styro box and heat packs that adds up to about at least $ 10 -$ 15 each set order. If corals die we have to replace and eat a second shipping cost . OH..we all forgot about TAXES !! ..business taxes we have to pay . I have to renew my corporation every year and it costs me almost a grand every year just for that .


There are so much overhead cost that you don’t see when you are not in our shoes to see that it’s impossible to sell every coral cheap .We have to try to make up profit somewhere so we can last in this .There is no way you can last for a long time in this business having to spin around your money when you only make very tiny mark up . In the long run, it won’t cover and it will force vendors to go out of business eventually. Some might try to push for several years but eventually the money will dry out and gone.

If the vendors do so well , you won’t see us constantly on the forums to keep their threads up so they can sell and pay their bills ( BTW, if the sale is slow ,well we might have to stay up until 2-4 am just to make sure the thread is on the top and hits a few more sales :wink:) ,you wont see WAR going on trying to be on the front page so they can make a living . You won’t see them flying all over to the shows ,why ?..because it costs a lot to do shows and it’s a lot of work. Sometimes we break even and a few times we could lose money . We do it because we hope to make good money to pay our overhead expense!!! period ..lol..its a lot of hard work.

This is not a dream business with easy money. If you truly are not coral addicts , you won’t last.

We all hope to make a lot of money but ...we all know that its just a strike of luck!.

 

[pac_island_aquatics]

Prices are dictated by:

1) base cost - dont forget shipping and import fees!!
2) how rare it is - is it hot, do people constantly ask for it, or is it an everyday item?
Generally it is about a 200-300% mark up (roughly) depending on where/what it is.

There are some things bought for 5$ and sold for 15-20$. But another item for 5$ could be super cool and someone will pay 100$ for it... whose to judge? :)

Shipping and other fees are the worst, that have to be factored into everything.. you dont really expect those until you break it all down.

 

[MoneyPit]

Prices are dictated by:

1) base cost - dont forget shipping and import fees!!
2) how rare it is - is it hot, do people constantly ask for it, or is it an everyday item?
Generally it is about a 200-300% mark up (roughly) depending on where/what it is.

There are some things bought for 5$ and sold for 15-20$. But another item for 5$ could be super cool and someone will pay 100$ for it... whose to judge? :)

Shipping and other fees are the worst, that have to be factored into everything.. you dont really expect those until you break it all down.

I'm sure that 200 - 300 percent is an 'average' mark up for retail items in most settings. It is in mine.

 

[Sea MunnKey]

I was once as naive as anyone who didn't understand why coral prices are expensive and until a few years later after getting to know my local LFS owners do I finally realised the "behind-the-scenes" a whole lotta paperworks, preps, daily chores (maintenance, keeping up with dry goods and livestocks), unexpected shipping days or late nites back and sometimes forth to the airports to upload and unload corals ... sometimes dead and stinking ammonia stench in your face when you open the bags with dead corals inside ... phheww. It's a not an Eye Candy play house that's for sure ... IMHO.

And yes I sincerely agree with all what the vendors have put down in words here ... it is a tough trade indeed! Collectors are getting smarter too!

Paul

 

[inactive]

This mortgage is not gonna pay for itself.

 

[sexycorals]

Ill have to say.. premium stuff dont come cheap. When i cherry pick i pay 5-10 times the wholesale price..

Other vendors are being nice when they say they get 1 nice one outta 10 corals that come in. I am picky and i would say its more like There is 1 nice sexy coral outta 30-40 corals that come in for me and i just basically give the rest away or take a lost and sell them to the LFS.

 

[Friday Night]

This mortgage is not gonna pay for itself.

+1 N Greed...

As long as little timmy pays the asking price it will continue...............

 

[hawkfishman]

my local retail store in denver will meet or beat any internet deal. people will get by with what ever they can. i've seen single zoa polyp online sold for more than a rock of several dozen at my local shop & don't get me started with these goofballs on craigslist that sell out of there moms basement, who the hell buys from these guys!!

 

[beaslbob]

Why do people charge so much for corals?

Same as any other business.

1) they think they can get that price.

or

2) they really don't want to sell them to begin with.


my .02