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View Full Version : Is there a "Price Guide" for Rare Corals anywhere on the Internet? Prices at Swaps ca


that Fish Guy
01/12/2014, 09:47 PM
Is there a "Price Guide" for Rare Corals anywhere on the Internet?

It seems everything collectible (Baseball Cards, Autographs, Star Wars Toys, Coins, etc.) all have Price Guides but I have never seen anything for Coral and I feel that would be invaluable to us Reefers.

Prices at Frag Swaps and the LFS can be all over the Place. It is very hard to gauge actual Worth of what the Coral you want to buy is worth.

I am looking for something to help me out as this is very frustrating.

How do I know if I am getting a Good Deal on a Coral or are being Ripped Off?

Does such a Price Guide exist somewhere?

If not somebody should make one.

syrinx
01/12/2014, 10:16 PM
coral has no intrinsic value really. It is all about the eye of the beholder, and what the market will bear. Most morphs of chalices, zoas, acan etc are all the same animal after all. Prices vary at LFS because of business model. Prices vary from private and online due to ethics and cost of the specimen.

ingtar_shinowa
01/12/2014, 11:49 PM
If you like it buy it.

keepswimming
01/13/2014, 12:02 AM
Well that wasn't very helpful haha! I would recommend finding a retail store and use them as a quick reference to what retail should be around, anything lower is a decent deal. Live aquaria usually has a large variety for reference. Remember, purchasing from local forums is usually the cheapest route.

ingtar_shinowa
01/13/2014, 12:21 AM
What else do you tell a guy like that other than surf the forums everyday and look at what people are selling things for. I live in Montana, say I want to sell some rastas.... who else has them? I COULD charge 50pp and that would be cheaper then someone getting them online, but I wouldn't do that.

Its all about supply and demand. 10 years ago PPE palys were expensive, everybody got them, and then they became so cheap people no longer were fraging them for sale I paid 45 for a polyp because I couldn't find it anywhere else cheaper.

that Fish Guy
01/13/2014, 12:22 AM
I do not mean "Set in Stone" Price. I know people have different opinions on things.

That is why it is a guide.

For instance you can ask whatever you want for a Coral for instance here at this Link below:

http://sexycorals.com/Sexy_Zoos_Palys.html

You will see that Rastas are 55.00 a Polyp and Red Hornets are 195.00 a Polyp.

Well they are worth nowhere near that.

Red Hornets are 10 each at any Swap I go to. Even my LFS wants 10 each and LFS sells stuff for way more than Swaps.

But if somebody does not know any better and orders from this guy and pays 195 for a Coral he can get anywhere else for 10 he obviously got ripped off.

Point number two

I see a Coral I like but am not sure of its worth so I shop around at a Swap and see that everyone else is selling the Coral for double that so I run back to the first one I saw for half price and it is gone. Now I am forced to pay double or not get it all. Had I had a Guide that listed it for 100 and saw it for 50 I would know that it was a good deal and immediatly bought it instead of Shopping Around to other dealers for a better price that I may or may not find. I hate when that happens.

Or worse yet you see the Coral at a store but there is nothing to compare it to because only the store is selling it. There are not 50 other table to compare prices with.

This is where a Price Guide would come in very handy.

Someone needs to write a book on this they would make a lot of money.

ingtar_shinowa
01/13/2014, 12:31 AM
until the next week when the latest and greatest is out. As For Sexy Corals, that site hasn't really been updated for 3-4 years. He does most his buisness on another forum and at his store. I get tons of great deals from him.

Reefer54
01/13/2014, 12:41 AM
The issue with pricing coral is that it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Albeit that some corals do demand a range of prices like acans, chalices, acros, etc, coloration and how big the coral are play huge factors. I saw a 3in. plate coral sell for over 1000 bux last month. yep THOUSAND plus.

search a number of sites and you will get a feel for what seems high and what seems low. some stores also have better shipping prices and packaging practices than others too. so find a store you like the price of then research it on the forums.

good luck. if you have a specific coral in mind, that may help a bit more for what the peeps here think is reasonable.

Spyderturbo007
01/13/2014, 08:08 AM
I've found that it's only expensive if you slap a stupid name on it and say it's rare. :P

I think it's really a matter of what you like and what you are willing to spend. I didn't mind spending $100 on my Bleeding Apply Scolymia but other people might think I'm crazy.

that Fish Guy
01/13/2014, 09:58 PM
until the next week when the latest and greatest is out. As For Sexy Corals, that site hasn't really been updated for 3-4 years. He does most his buisness on another forum and at his store. I get tons of great deals from him.

So how much does he sell Rastas and Red Hornets for now?

that Fish Guy
01/13/2014, 10:00 PM
I've found that it's only expensive if you slap a stupid name on it and say it's rare. :P

I think it's really a matter of what you like and what you are willing to spend. I didn't mind spending $100 on my Bleeding Apply Scolymia but other people might think I'm crazy.

100.00 who would say that is stupid.

I have never seen one for less than 300.00

buffalo123
01/13/2014, 10:22 PM
Its all about what they think you will pay. Prices can vary greatly. What you may have in your aquarium worth lots of cash someone else may be selling frag for ten dollars. Or may have lots of it and can't get rid of it because most hobbyist in his area already got some.

keepswimming
01/13/2014, 10:38 PM
You will get a feel for who's prices are high and who's are fair. The best deal is usually local reefers fragging their grow outs!

GroktheCube
01/13/2014, 10:51 PM
I get dramatically better prices at LFSes than what I see online from big vendors. The most expensive LFS around here still charges at most 3/4ths of what I see online, and usually 1/2 or less. The less expensive LFSes, including those that do their own fragging, are usually charging 1/5th what online vendors are, sometimes less.

For really rare stuff though, it's tough to say.

buffalo123
01/14/2014, 08:20 AM
If you use the words "rare corals" the sky the limit. If its rare it should be hard to find. So it what you willing to pay. Ive seen frag of corals that are fairly common quite over priced to me ;but to the unknowing they buy . I walk away.
If you collect certain kinds of corals and see one you don't have you may be willing to pay top price because you want it and may be gone if you leave it.
The people who would be setting the price for the price guide would be the one selling them . So it comes down again to what you're willing to pay.
I had a LFS coral importer tell me , he use to buy corals by the lot for one price, he said that changed and they charge by the color of a particular coral now. And charge by the piece . He had coral he told me he wanted $400 - $800 for but would rather frag them than sell the colony. Only thing i knew was i was not buying them for sure.

FTDelta
01/14/2014, 02:45 PM
ROFL! Seriously????

mayjong
01/14/2014, 02:53 PM
it also depends on where you live.
i know that here in the sacramento area, it seems like "everyone' has jawbreaker mushrooms. i couldn't sell them for $60 each. if i sell them in the national forums, i could get over $200. somebody just did!
i won't ship, too much trouble...

mess7777
01/14/2014, 07:56 PM
I think a site like this would be nice not only for tracking average prices but to keep track of the "named" corals. However, who has the time to set this up and maintain it...seeing as it changes on a constant basis.