you (those being negative) guys are mixing up two things-
lineage and price on corals.
Lineage matters when : trying to find an exact coral specimen- this has come about thanks to the glory of the internets where instead of us just seeing our own stuff, or stuff at the LFS, we're not sharing pictures across the country of ONE exact coral specimen. When someone wants to purchase this coral, they want to know they're getting that EXACT coral specimen. Not a similar one, not a nearly close one, they want THAT exact coral they've seen. Why they want it is up to them- calling someone stupid for how they enjoy their hobby is really not needed, and typically shows off more about the person doing the name calling than the person who's having a good time. One reason people like buying lineaged coral is as simple as knowing how a coral will look in their tank. Thanks again to the interwebs, I can go find a picture of a Howard Johnson Spaceship Chalice and see how it looks in a variety of conditions and tanks, based upon all the other people out there who have purchased it. There's more reasons, but at the end of the day, that's a basic one.
Now- for priceing. Want to see a reason some corals are expensive? Go look at the AquaSD rainbow milli. He had way more people who wanted it, than coral to sale. In a free-market, that's called supply and demand. If you REALLY wanted that piece, it may be worth some X value to purchase it. That's how price works- money is a reflection of one's ability to attain goods. When it comes to "LE, rare, named, lineaged, etc" corals- you're trying to buy a piece of ONE coral specimen, hence the exact name attached. Now realize that you are not the only person out there, that we're on a national website meaning you are essentially competing with everyone else in this country who would also like a piece of that EXACT coral. How do you decide who gets to have it? Well, here in America, we're capitalists, so we use money. It's that simple-really. I've never taken an economics class, but I know that much about supply and demand. The great thing about it? Unlike other collector items (like stamps, comic books, diamonds, old cars) corals grow. So instead of increasing in value, as the number of specimens of that EXACT coral grows, the price (because the supply has grown) comes down. Great huh?
Now- can you find other corals that are similar/identical/nearly-identical to those named corals? of course! mother nature is the one who created them, so sure, you'll find other ones out there. Again, the high dollar comes from people trying to by THAT EXACT coral. If you don't want to buy it, don't. Simple.
