What wholesaler does your lfs use?

[bribo12]

Just curious if anyone knows the main wholesaler their lfs uses. My favorite store gets almost all their fish from Quality Marine. Quality quarantines and has excellent stock.


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[mr_X]

Usually Quality or sea Dwelling Creatures are what most use. I prefer the trans shippers myself. At least for corals.

 

[bribo12]

Usually Quality or sea Dwelling Creatures are what most use. I prefer the trans shippers myself. At least for corals.

Qualities corals are pricey and mostly colonies. I agree, I've kinda gotten to the point of not buying corals at retail price as it gets way more expensive. Try to trade or wait for swaps...or friends who donate free ones


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[mr_X]

Many folks want colonies over frags. Ask your LFS to order from Underwater World. They do offer assortments of frags.

-edit....I think they all do. It's just not a common practice to order in frags because most want larger pieces.
What I would do is get a couple local reefers to split pieces you like. Then you can frag it 2 or 3 ways and there's your cheap frags.

 

[bribo12]

Many folks want colonies over frags. Ask your LFS to order from Underwater World. They do offer assortments of frags.

-edit....I think they all do. It's just not a common practice to order in frags because most want larger pieces.
What I would do is get a couple local reefers to split pieces you like. Then you can frag it 2 or 3 ways and there's your cheap frags.

I've recently started seeing more reef gen and ora frags at places actually. But yeah I agree on the whole colony thing. Most ppl do want bigger stuff to fill out the tank.


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[mr_X]

ORA only sells frags, and they have nice stuff, but 40 and 50 bucks a frag is a bit hard to swallow, for me at least. These are the guys responsible for the whole price gouging trend you see now....300 dollars for a single eye of some chalice.....insane! I refuse to pay those ridiculous prices. That's the reason I got a retail license in the first place.

 

[bribo12]

I agree the market on some stuff is insane. The whole chalice craze has gotten a bit out of hand


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[mr_X]

Chalice, zoas, acros, acans, anemones....you name it.

 

[treemanone2003]

Chalice, zoas, acros, acans, anemones....you name it.

I'd have to agree 100%. And then you get somebody with the illustrious idea to make up some whacked out name. This is a situation that turned me off saltcritters.com. They did an "experiment" by creating the "Collectors Corner". It was the same frags listed in another section, but they were charging upwards of 4x the actual value just because of a "name". I asked if they revealed what the actual price was during checkout and charged the lesser of the two. Their reply was simple. "If you weren't smart enough to look around and see the same frags at lower prices, then it's your fault". So, I won't be shopping with them.


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[Sniperhank]

Be that as it may, it all depends on the market. Would I pay 60 bucks for an frag I think is amazing? With no availability of coral around me the answer is simple, yes. Would someone who is living down somewhere near the ocean and there are several LFS to choose from with huge selections? Probably not. Do people who can attend frag swaps or other events? Probably depends on the rarity of the piece.
That said, do I think some prices are way out of control? Definitely. Hundreds of dollars for anything that we put in our tank is too much. If something is THAT rare, then it should be housed at an aquarium or museum for public viewing.

 

[SeanMonster]

Be that as it may, it all depends on the market. Would I pay 60 bucks for an frag I think is amazing? With no availability of coral around me the answer is simple, yes. Would someone who is living down somewhere near the ocean and there are several LFS to choose from with huge selections? Probably not. Do people who can attend frag swaps or other events? Probably depends on the rarity of the piece.
That said, do I think some prices are way out of control? Definitely. Hundreds of dollars for anything that we put in our tank is too much. If something is THAT rare, then it should be housed at an aquarium or museum for public viewing.

Or not collected at all. I'd love a Scoly but I'm seeing in excess of $300 for an Aussie Scoly in my area. That is a lot of coin.


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[mr_X]

I'd have to agree 100%. And then you get somebody with the illustrious idea to make up some whacked out name. This is a situation that turned me off saltcritters.com. They did an "experiment" by creating the "Collectors Corner". It was the same frags listed in another section, but they were charging upwards of 4x the actual value just because of a "name". I asked if they revealed what the actual price was during checkout and charged the lesser of the two. Their reply was simple. "If you weren't smart enough to look around and see the same frags at lower prices, then it's your fault". So, I won't be shopping with them.


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It's not Saltcritters....It's you, and every other consumer out there that is dying for tank "bling", forcing them to do this.
A perfect example:
Years ago I was selling a lot of corals to this local reef club. They cursed the fact that I was pulling corals from the ocean, and yet they were my biggest customers...lol. Anyway, I had a pretty interesting chalice. It was green and gold. Far away it just looked green, but close up you could really see the beauty. I offered the entire 4" diameter piece for 50 bucks. No one wanted it..Then, knowing that these knuckleheads were all about name brand corals, I cut the piece in 4, and re-listed it for sale as "the official Green Bay Packers Chalice", at 40 dollars for a 2" square frag. I sold them all in under an hour. Retarded IMO, but this is the way of the world.
BTW, I'm glad I saved a lot of pictures...here it is-

 

[mr_X]

Or not collected at all. I'd love a Scoly but I'm seeing in excess of $300 for an Aussie Scoly in my area. That is a lot of coin.


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Depending on the scoly, they are paying anywhere from 60 to 250 for them. The more colors, the more money...

 

[treemanone2003]

It's not Saltcritters....It's you, and every other consumer out there that is dying for tank "bling", forcing them to do this.

Honestly, you're correct to a degree about a name in my tank. And the only one I'll pay decent money for is Stendker Discus. In the SW tank I'm not into names at all and looks only. 2- 3 headed Duncan's, $15 each. 2- 3" ricordea, $20 each. A pistol shrimp for $15, a paired goby for the same price and a torch frag that was a $10 cover to attend the "learn to frag" seminar at one LFS. The freebies include a 6" tall x 8" wide green Nepthea, a lobo of unknown variety, and a something else that didn't last which I believe was light related. They came as frags from another reefer that got freebies from other when he was new to it like myself. "Pay it forward" approach to say.

When it comes to "other" names, you're absolutely correct !! Those are the names that make my day easier and I'll gladly pay for them. Buckingham Spurs and saddles, Stihl chainsaws, Fisher plows, Brush Bandit chippers, Oregon skip tooth chain, Kask helmets. That's the only time I'll easily pay for a name.


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[mr_X]

Spurs and saddles...lol. We certainly live different lives! I was just making a general point...not really singling you out. My point is it's the consumer that makes a need for these name brand corals, not the stores.

 

[bribo12]

I like that "GB" chalice X...lol. The market has gotten out of hand though. Most aquacultured "named" stuff isn't rare anymore so kinda absurd at the prices ppl charge.


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[mr_X]

And, they all come from the ocean anyway...and it's not like these guys naming these things are diving for them even...they simply make coral orders, receive something nice (which there is plenty of in the ocean), and call it their own and a "limited edition". Nonsense IMO.

 

[bribo12]

Anything with a tyree, LE or so on label is stupidly expensive. At the swap in October a guy had LE Rastas for $20 per head. A guy 2 booths down had the exact same Rastas with 5 polyps for $15. So stupid but some ppl buy into it. Heck I got the ORA red planet for $10 for a nicely encrusted piece whereas I see it for $70-100 retail regularly.


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[treemanone2003]

Spurs and saddles...lol. We certainly live different lives! I was just making a general point...not really singling you out. My point is it's the consumer that makes a need for these name brand corals, not the stores.

Understand totally what you're saying and took no offense but didn't mean to be offensive either But saddles and spurs are the story of my life. Today being a fine example of such, were eight hours away from another snowstorm and thanks to last nights winds, I'm going out to do but emergency tree removal. Been there too many times in the last month for the same tree and they finally get the big picture. Looks like it'll be a 36 hour day instead.


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[Flaxon-Waxon]

ORA, ReefGen, and tank teardowns (lol)...