WWC pricing is going through the roof

[1stNoel]

Pesos, right? Dern, I had no idea it was that bad.

I just see it this way...

All of the big name retailers created the market. And if they can charge $800 a coral, then that leaves opportunity for a secondary market.

 

[boacvh]

They are usually too expensive for me, but I would argue if they are selling their inventory then they are not overpriced at all. If there are customers out there that like and buy their inventory, why would they lower prices? They are running a successful business, good for them.

 

[131696]

Everything is about to go way down even live rock they opened up that part of the ocean over there for harvesting.been banned for a long time now its opens up

 

[Daddy-o]

WWC is also an importer? so we do have to give them props for bringing in some really nice corals. With this in mind, they should be a little more expensive that guys that just grow stuff out?
Cheers! Mark

 

[Crotalus]

Shipping costs put me off so I have never bought from them. I just looked and their pricing is breathtaking. I've only ordered frags a couple of times. Most of the time I limit myself to local swaps or trades with the LFS. As a result my one year old tank isn't filled to the waterline with corals like some people. I'm envious of some that are until I realize that those people are probably buying a lot larger colonies than I can afford.

 

[FunnierThanUThink]

I am honestly surprised to see a thread like this, but not at the same time. After being in this hobby for many years and through other life experiences, I have learned that you get what you pay for. I have never ordered from wwc, but plan to. If you think the price is too high, then buy cheap and plan to deal with pests. I’d rather pay top price for a clean coral then to deal with pests. Think of the price you would pay for qt. Tank + decent lighting + multiple water changes (ro water + salt) + dip solution / medication + your own time. These things add up quickly. Then you have to wait 3 months of dipping every two weeks to make sure pests are removed and may even have to clean more than just the coral if pests are attached to the tank or frag racks. Even more pricy could be introducing pests and killing your entire tank. There are definitely other places online that have pest free corals that are slightly less expensive, but you will still be paying top dollar and probably have to pay for shipping. There are other options like frag swaps and shows that will be the least expensive. I think it is worth the price for a beautiful coral that comes with peace of mind.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I am honestly surprised to see a thread like this, but not at the same time. After being in this hobby for many years and through other life experiences, I have learned that you get what you pay for. I have never ordered from wwc, but plan to. If you think the price is too high, then buy cheap and plan to deal with pests. I’d rather pay top price for a clean coral then to deal with pests. Think of the price you would pay for qt. Tank + decent lighting + multiple water changes (ro water + salt) + dip solution / medication + your own time. These things add up quickly. Then you have to wait 3 months of dipping every two weeks to make sure pests are removed and may even have to clean more than just the coral if pests are attached to the tank or frag racks. Even more pricy could be introducing pests and killing your entire tank. There are definitely other places online that have pest free corals that are slightly less expensive, but you will still be paying top dollar and probably have to pay for shipping. There are other options like frag swaps and shows that will be the least expensive. I think it is worth the price for a beautiful coral that comes with peace of mind.

Eh, I disagree. You are assuming that only very high priced corals are quality and pest free when there are plenty of that right here.

WWC isn’t doing anything special that we can’t or don’t do. There are sellers here that are well known and offer very choice stuff at a fraction of what WWC offers.

I honestly believe that it boils down to people that either don’t do their homework or just don’t trust sellers on forums.

$800 for a WD frag is 8 times higher than the quality sellers ask here on this forum.

People with money didn’t get that way by being bad at business. Paying 8 times as much, to me, is ignorant. I’ve LITERALLY seen people from these shops come HERE to buy their corals!

 

[FunnierThanUThink]

Eh, I disagree. You are assuming that only very high priced corals are quality and pest free when there are plenty of that right here.

WWC isn’t doing anything special that we can’t or don’t do. There are sellers here that are well known and offer very choice stuff at a fraction of what WWC offers.

I honestly believe that it boils down to people that either don’t do their homework or just don’t trust sellers on forums.

$800 for a WD frag is 8 times higher than the quality sellers ask here on this forum.

People with money didn’t get that way by being bad at business. Paying 8 times as much, to me, is ignorant. I’ve LITERALLY seen people from these shops come HERE to buy their corals!

I agree with you that it is ignorant to pay $800 for a frag that you could source someplace else for $100 of the same quality. It has been blatantly stated that coral sellers jack up prices on high end corals to pay for what little profit they make off generic corals. It is no different than any other hobby or market. You pay top dollar for a name brand. Is it a ridiculous price to pay? Yes it is! They are not pricing corals to help anyone out but themselves, that is business, I would expect nothing less.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I agree with you that it is ignorant to pay $800 for a frag that you could source someplace else for $100 of the same quality. It has been blatantly stated that coral sellers jack up prices on high end corals to pay for what little profit they make off generic corals. It is no different than any other hobby or market. You pay top dollar for a name brand. Is it a ridiculous price to pay? Yes it is! They are not pricing corals to help anyone out but themselves, that is business, I would expect nothing less.

I think that they are counting on their customers to either mistrust forum sellers or to buy their corals blindly.

I don’t think that what they are doing is wrong though. No one is being forced to buy their $800 WD frag. If someone isn’t willing to do their homework, then they deserve to pay extra. No free lunches in business; either you do your own homework or you pay someone else to do it for you.

Capitalism will fix this soon enough As an example: I was recently in the market for a WD frag. I looked around and settled on a seller here, on this forum, for 1/8 the price of WWC. No pests, no stn, no problems, fully colored up.

What’s that expression about a fool and their money?

 

[Bpb]

All the talk of peace of mind and paying for quality just shows a lack of research plain and simple. Every vendor, even the highest of high dollar places will carry SOMETHING that COULD be a plague in your system.

I won’t name other names but I’ve heard of direct accounts from real life friends in the hobby of acquiring aiptasia, bryopsis, and even flat worms when purchasing sps frags from some of the gold standard high end coral companies, many of which have been mentioned in this thread. You’re fooling yourself if you think buying from any aquaculture shop absolves you of any risk.

...and on the Walt Disney issue. I’m sorry. But in no world is Walt Disney worth $800 an inch. No amount of false peace of mind is worth paying that for a common coral.

 

[Perry]

I suspect, like it or not, what you see today was the vision from the start. Period! The modern reefer was born.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I am honestly surprised to see a thread like this, but not at the same time. After being in this hobby for many years and through other life experiences, I have learned that you get what you pay for. I have never ordered from wwc, but plan to. If you think the price is too high, then buy cheap and plan to deal with pests. I’d rather pay top price for a clean coral then to deal with pests. Think of the price you would pay for qt. Tank + decent lighting + multiple water changes (ro water + salt) + dip solution / medication + your own time. These things add up quickly. Then you have to wait 3 months of dipping every two weeks to make sure pests are removed and may even have to clean more than just the coral if pests are attached to the tank or frag racks. Even more pricy could be introducing pests and killing your entire tank. There are definitely other places online that have pest free corals that are slightly less expensive, but you will still be paying top dollar and probably have to pay for shipping. There are other options like frag swaps and shows that will be the least expensive. I think it is worth the price for a beautiful coral that comes with peace of mind.

Nonsense. Just nonsense.

You will still find 100 people say you still have to quarantine coral from WWC just as you would from any other source.

I don’t quarantine coral or fish, just dip coral, but WWC or others don’t make the need to dip or qt any less.

Basically WWC has a great track record for healthy/pest-free coral, but it doesn’t mitigate the price of home qt setups, if qt is your thing.....

 

[LARedstickreefer]

Nonsense. Just nonsense.

You will still find 100 people say you still have to quarantine coral from WWC just as you would from any other source.

I don’t quarantine coral or fish, just dip coral, but WWC or others don’t make the need to dip or qt any less.

Basically WWC has a great track record for healthy/pest-free coral, but it doesn’t mitigate the price of home qt setups, if qt is your thing.....

I don’t even dip. I buy small frags and examine them very closely though. I used to go for large mini colonies until I got bit and got me some Montipora nudis. Now I go for frags that are small enough that I can easily see what’s on them. I also do a fair bit of research on the member to see if they have ever mentioned pests.

 

[Joedubyk]

I can tell that many in here don't own their own business, nor have the capacity to think like a business owner. Now, I don't mean that as an insult, but many of you just aren't thinking about this logically.

1. Consider the fact, they need either a warehouse, OR a building for all their product -- THAT cost money
2. Consider the fact, they need all the equipment , a lot of tanks, lighting, fish , ALL the things we need to propogate corals -- THAT cost money and you know this.l
3. They also need to hire a staff to maintain tanks, clean the facilities. -- that cost a lot of money
4. They also have website/shippers/ marketing team -- that cost money

So do you guys want cool corals for 30 dollars and expet them to be able to put food on the table? lol

 

[amoore311]

I ordered from WWC for the first time during one of their live sales in february/march of this year. I feel the pricing was fair, but the corals were FAR from pest free.

Just about every single frag had bubble algae on it. Some of which got through QT and I'm of course now fighting it in the display.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I can tell that many in here don't own their own business, nor have the capacity to think like a business owner. Now, I don't mean that as an insult, but many of you just aren't thinking about this logically.

1. Consider the fact, they need either a warehouse, OR a building for all their product -- THAT cost money
2. Consider the fact, they need all the equipment , a lot of tanks, lighting, fish , ALL the things we need to propogate corals -- THAT cost money and you know this.l
3. They also need to hire a staff to maintain tanks, clean the facilities. -- that cost a lot of money
4. They also have website/shippers/ marketing team -- that cost money

So do you guys want cool corals for 30 dollars and expet them to be able to put food on the table? lol

Their OH is non of my concern. I don’t pay prices with their costs in mind, I pay based on the market. If they can’t make money based on the going rate, then they need to hang it up.

My old LFS was able to sell frags for half the price that this forums own sellers sell for. He was making enough to stay in business.

I’m talking JF Fox flame, ASD rainbow, Maleficent, etc for $30

 

[Joedubyk]

Their OH is non of my concern. I don’t pay prices with their costs in mind, I pay based on the market. If they can’t make money based on the going rate, then they need to hang it up.

My old LFS was able to sell frags for half the price that this forums own sellers sell for. He was making enough to stay in business.

I’m talking JF Fox flame, ASD rainbow, Maleficent, etc for $30

OK and your old LFS isn't a nationwide coral farmer.

 

[Perry]

Business vs. Hobbyist.
I think actually some are really missing the point, yes its business, a business that has put many businesses out of business. We are talking about a hobby, in order for the hobby to sustain, it just cannot be dependent on a very few. This is where it

 

[Joedubyk]

Business vs. Hobbyist.
I think actually some are really missing the point, yes its business, a business that has put many businesses out of business. We are talking about a hobby, in order for the hobby to sustain, it just cannot be dependent on a very few. This is where it

How'd selling cheap corals work out for your LFS?

In order for the hobby to sustain, we need a LOT of coral farmers. Especially if they start closing more imports down, due to the health of the reefs.

We will be able to sustain, but that will mean paying higher prices for people to farm corals, not just rip a bunch out the ocean and sell for 30 dollars.

 

[Perry]

He’s a young dude.

I am not, but would still treat him with respect!