Why are Corals up to 20 Times more Expensive in Florida / California than in Michigan

[that Fish Guy]

I have seen Crazy Prices for Corals in Markets like Florida and California.

For instance I have seen 20 Polyps of Armor of Gods go for 400.00

I have bought the same 20 Polyps here in Michigan for 20.00

Heck even my LFS sells 20 Polyps for 30.00 and everything that an LFS sells is much much more than that at a Frag Swap.

I am tempted to buy Corals here and take them to Florida to Sell and make a ton of money. LOL.

Why do people pay so much?

Is it that nobody sells stuff cheap in those Two States?

I just don't get it?

I mean not everything here in Michigan is Cheap but at a Swap I can see a guy selling a Coral for 10 a Polyp and go to the very next table and get 10 Polyps of the same Coral for 10.00 (90 Percent off by just walking 5 Feet).

How do Frag Swaps work in Florida and California?

Does everyone just charge crazy prices because people are willing to pay that?

Or can good deals be had?

I feel bad for any Reefer Living in those Two States.

I mean I know Cost of Living is Higher there than here in Michigan but people are paying 20 Times what I pay for the Very Same Thing!

That is Crazy!

[Balletomane]

It may be that a large wholesale operation is located in Lansing (A & M Aquatics). Michigan stores will save a ton on shipping costs.

[thegrun]

I'm not sure where you are looking, but AOG's are regularly posted around two dollars on the RC local SoCal forum. We do see more high end corals here sice LA is a port of origin and there are more reefers here to drive up costs.

[that Fish Guy]

It may be that a large wholesale operation is located in Lansing (A & M Aquatics). Michigan stores will save a ton on shipping costs.

I am sure there are many more Wholesalers in Florida and California since there are a lot more Reefers there so it should be even cheaper if anything.

And I am referring to Private Hobbyists that Wholesalers do not sell to anyways.

The LFS statement was just to give an idea of how crazy the prices are.

As LFS charge more than Private Collectors since they have many many expenses to cover that the individual hobbyist does not have.

And these private collectors are getting way more than LFS are.

[thegrun]

I just don't see those ultra-high costs in my experiences here in SoCal. I'm not saying the latest fad corals are not priced at outrageous prices, but most corals are reasonable priced, actually on the low side in the two reef clubs I am a member of.

[Fish Biscuit]

I don't see anything out here priced outrageously, all our LFS seem to average about the same depending on the neighborhood you're in. I agree that it's just the corals that are all the rage that seem to be high right now like pectinias & acans out here.

[that Fish Guy]

I just don't see those ultra-high costs in my experiences here in SoCal. I'm not saying the latest fad corals are not priced at outrageous prices, but most corals are reasonable priced, actually on the low side in the two reef clubs I am a member of.

Well how much do you see Armor of Gods going for where you are at??

I mean they have been around for many many years and are quite common.

They are by no means the Krakatoa.

[tmantaylor18]

Well how much do you see Armor of Gods going for where you are at??

I mean they have been around for many many years and are quite common.

They are by no means the Krakatoa.

Im in CA and theres no way I could sell my AOG's for more than a dollar or two a polyp. They're everywhere and grow like weeds. :lolspin:

[AdamNC]

Supply and demand of the area.

[that Fish Guy]

I went to a guys house last week and this is what I got.

Red Hornets - 25 Polyps - 20.00 (0.80 a Polyp)
Rastas - 9 Polyps - 15.00 (1.67 a Polyp)
Fruit Loops - 26 Polyps on Three Frag Plugs - 40.00 (1.54 a Polyp)
Miami Vice - 38 Polyps - 20.00 (0.53 a Polyp)
My Clementines - 15 Polyps - 30.00 (2.00 a Polyp)
L.A. Lakers - 11 Polyps - 10.00 (0.91 a Polyp)

And I did not even try to Haggle with him.

I paid his asking Prices.

What would you guys have paid for that stuff in Florida?

20 Times what I paid for the very same thing?

Are there no Casual Reefers at all there? There are a ton of people like this person that I visit here in Michigan.

Is everyone just in it for the Money?

I feel bad for people in Florida.

[that Fish Guy]

Here is another one to prove my point.

After visiting a California Web Site I saw that Rastas were 55.00 a Polyp!

Meanwhile a guy in Michigan has a Rock with over 100 Rasta Polyps on it.

Originally he wanted 300.00 for the Whole Rock (Less than 3.00 a Polyp).

But it sat and sat and sat because nobody in Michigan would pay 3.00 a Polyp even though people in California pay 55.00 a Polyp.

Now he has it listed for 150.00 for the Whole Rock of Over 100 Rastas and guess what it is still for Sale (Less than 1.50 a Polyp).

Is there any Logic in this?

The Guy in California should buy it for 150.00 and sell it for over 5,500 for major profit.

I have the Link just in case you guys do not believe me.

[Crooked Reef]

Supply and demand of the area.

This. Plus cost of living. Look at it this way, I was in Fort Meyers Naples area this week. The exact same steak at the store were $13.00 a pound as ones that would be $9.00 a pound in St. Louis. If people have more money to spend on things they will spend it and not think anything of it. If people have more disposable income in Florida and will spend if on corals then the sellers can charge more. If people in Michagen don't spend their extra income on corals then the seller can either drop their price or not sell it.

[that Fish Guy]

This. Plus cost of living. Look at it this way, I was in Fort Meyers Naples area this week. The exact same steak at the store were $13.00 a pound as ones that would be $9.00 a pound in St. Louis. If people have more money to spend on things they will spend it and not think anything of it. If people have more disposable income in Florida and will spend if on corals then the sellers can charge more. If people in Michagen don't spend their extra income on corals then the seller can either drop their price or not sell it.

I understand cost of Living.

But cost of Living is not 36 Times what it is here.

I mean a McDouble here in Michigan that sells for 1.19 is not 42.84 in California.

[thegrun]

I'm sure you can find someone in Michigan selling corals at outrageous prices just like you did in California, but to say that those are common prices in California is incorrect. The going prices for the corals you listed is around $5.00 a polyp but you can find better deals especially if you purchase a large colony.

Plus at the end of the day you are still stuck in Michigan instead of living in California!:spin3:

[Crooked Reef]

The McDonalds corporation also sets prices so that all or their stores sell their products at the same prices. Different places/wholesalers that sell corals can set their own prices as well. Cattle farmers sell their beef to the McDonald corporation for a set price wherever they are and McDonalds averages the prices and sells the product to the independent stores or smaller companies that own multiple stores and has contracts that decide what the store can sell the product for. If not you can bet that some stores would sell the burgers for a higher price in high dollar neighborhoods. Cattle farmers can sell to different grocery store chains in different regions at whatever the supply and demand and cost of living is. Same with coral farmers and there are no contracts with lfs and suppliers of corals on what they can sell the product for, no matter what the lfs pays for it.

[xtm]

The same reason why you can find $1 houses in Detroit. Not trying to be funny, it's just the state of economy. CA as a whole has a higher spending capacity than MI, and that affects not just the reefing hobby, but the whole retail market as a whole. Your McDonalds example is a bad one, since the whole company has price control on merchandise, kinda like how Coke is $0.99 /can in the whole country.

The answer to your question is "location" and "spending capacity". The same reason why a burger in LA costs $5.00 but in Beverly Hills, the same burger can be $20.00. Because people in BH has the spending capacity and will not complain about local prices.

[anbosu]

You may see people that list crazy prices for corals in Florida, but I doubt they get them. Those prices are way above retail in Tampa.

[Rollins4Miles]

The prices you got on the corals listed above are unbelievably great on your end. It's almost like they were given away. I'd become real good friends with that person, lol. There's a lot of variables that determine price, but perhaps the most influential is the location.

I live in West Palm which happens to be in a more affluent county. Prices here are a lot higher than when I lived in Orlando. For example, when I had to purchase new filters for my RO/DI system, the prices in the West Palm area were literally double that of the prices in Orlando. The same thing goes with liverock and other products. When I lived in Orlando, you couldn't drive more than a few miles without hitting a reef store of some sort, whether it be a brick and mortar or someone's house. They are/were everywhere in Orlando when I lived there. There's also a higher level of camaraderie in Orlando amongst fellow reefers than there is down here; meaning that fellow hobbyists were more inclined to sell higher end pieces for basement prices just to get the coral out in the community. There's also a lot less money in Orlando than there is in the West Palm area. With that said, it was very easy to find larger pieces of coral for less cost in Orlando than it is in West Palm. I still check Orlando CL for coral and I'll be more than happy to take the drive up there and make a weekend out of it.

Unless I find an amazing deal on coral, I'll never buy it from a store. I always use CL or the local forum to shop around. I understand stores need to cover overhead expenses in their price, but a lot of the prices stores charge are astronomical for what you're receiving. For example, trendy fad corals. $100 for a 1/2" piece of Joe Schmoe Psychedelic Backscratcher SPS? Sure, why not, lol! A lot of the pricing has to do with branding a piece of coral to the point that people with a lot of disposable income pay these ridiculous prices and set the bar way too high. This is then reflected on the hobbyist level when s/he in turn frags the coral and resells it. Since there is a lot of money in South Florida, stores charge more at their level and it just snowballs.

I'm curious as to whether the $55 polyp from the California store was an online price or in-store price. Corals online are more expensive, from my experience, than they are in the store. Another fun example, when I lived in Orlando I would frequently visit WWC. I would get the same corals that are posted online but for a cheaper price. Online sales cost more because stores have to offset their risk of loss. There is zero liability once that customer walks out the front door with the coral. If you ship the coral and it dies, the store either has to refund you or send another piece. There's also other reasons why they cost more online, such as basic supply and demand to locations without many, if any, reef stores near by.

And that's my unwarranted novel for the day.

[Rippinfrags]

Plus at the end of the day you are still stuck in Michigan instead of living in California!:spin3:

Hahaha, now that's funny:lolspin: