# Coral Prices



## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

Is it just me or are prices getting out of hand on some stuff. For example I was in Canada Corals yesterday and they are selling ricordea for 55 - 70$ each. Is this the ripple effect of the bounce mushroom or are we just doomed to see regular coral prices become this expensive?

BTW the ricordea were not amazing colors or anything just a regular blue one.


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## BIGSHOW (Sep 10, 2011)

nc208082 said:


> Is it just me or are prices getting out of hand on some stuff. For example I was in Canada Corals yesterday and they are selling ricordea for 55 - 70$ each. Is this the ripple effect of the bounce mushroom or are we just doomed to see regular coral prices become this expensive?
> 
> BTW the ricordea were not amazing colors or anything just a regular blue one.


Ricordea are becoming extremely hard to collect in Florida due to over collection. As a result, supply has dwindled and prices have risen. Our dollar is also crap which doesn't help the cause, but specifically in regards to ricordea there seems to be a supply issue.


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## Patwa (Jan 30, 2014)

nc208082 said:


> Is it just me or are prices getting out of hand on some stuff. For example I was in Canada Corals yesterday and they are selling ricordea for 55 - 70$ each. Is this the ripple effect of the bounce mushroom or are we just doomed to see regular coral prices become this expensive?
> 
> BTW the ricordea were not amazing colors or anything just a regular blue one.


I call bullshit -> Cornbred-effect. God, I hate that guy and what he's done for the regular hobbyist experience over the past few years (the whole 'bounce craze' notwithstanding). Monkey see, monkey do....prices jumping up and down left-right and centre....and certain LFS's just doing what they're in business to do: make money and make up excuses (some legitimate and some laughable) for why prices are where they are and why they need to stay there.

Walked into to RR once and Jay was telling me he had spoken to Cornbred and dude mentioned my name LOL ...and that he'd like to have a chat with me based on some of the stuff i've posted about him.....crissakes, Cornbred! HAHA

Our dollar has been crap compared to the USD for a long time....but it fluctuates, that's obvious. But coral prices don't fluctuate, they've instead, steadily increased.........that's why I implore reefers to frag, frag, frag and create our own stock, and our own (reasonable) prices. Long live the basement chop-shops. IMO, their continued success indicates to me that bigger retail shops are still completely missing the point.

Plus, if there's some well-to-do reefer with more money than common-sense, you can blame them too. If a LFS wants to sell coral "A" at some higher than normal price and some Scrooge McDuck walks in and slaps down $3000 for it, of course said LFS will continue that approach to pricing....who gives a crap with a reefer who spends $200 every 2 months, when the other guy spends $1,500-$3,000 in the same period.


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## Rookie2013 (Jan 17, 2013)

As much as i like to support local stores it has come to a point where the price structure just does'nt makes sense. i agree with Patwa and hence i have stopped buying corals from retailers anymore..you get good deals from fellow reefers with good size frags...


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## CanadaCorals.com (May 12, 2013)

*Pricing*

Hello all, 
Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday.
Thought I'd chime in on this one:
Our dollar in 2012 was at par with the US dollar.
Our dollar in 2017 is worth .73 US cents.
It has steadily declined by 25-30% over a 5 year period.
Easily confirmed: http://www.canadianforex.ca/forex-tools/my-fx-dashboard

Pricing, unfortunately, is directly tied to the US currency as most imported coral is purchased in US$. Your groceries etc are no different.

Much like BigShow, Canada Corals is here to support hobbyists.
Without question, the business is appreciated - I say this almost every day to our customers. Truly appreciated. We spend hours every day discussing/supporting/answering questions and the team on this end loves it.

All the best, Rob


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## BIGSHOW (Sep 10, 2011)

Rookie2013 said:


> As much as i like to support local stores it has come to a point where the price structure just does'nt makes sense. i agree with Patwa and hence i have stopped buying corals from retailers anymore..you get good deals from fellow reefers with good size frags...


Unfortunately Patwa doesn't know everything about the business side of the hobby, we were in Florida at both the divers and the distributors and they both have said the same things in regards to ricordea. They are in high demand with a small supply. This is a fact, not some bullshit. Can you find ricordea for $20 still? for sure, but I can guarantee you that person is selling them is making a low percentage and they maybe don't give a crap. Is this person going to have a sustainable business? likely not. Of course if your come from a wealthy background you can afford to make slim margins just because you don't need the money to live. Mommy and Daddy will just supplement it for you.

Stores can sell things at whatever price they seem fit, as stores are all different in terms of operating costs. If it wasn't for us importers there would be slim pickings, the hobbyists are not going to sustain the hobby, I don't disagree with you that buying from hobbyists is cheaper, but that is for an obvious reason. If there are no more stores it will be a sad, sad day.

Some of us retailers go to great lengths and take unprecedented risks with importing livestock that costs more then your car you drive. With these kinds of risks we expect some kind of return. I wouldn't expect you to fork over 20k and ask for a 5% return with some extremely large risks. I don't believe you would ask the same from a business.

As I have said numerous times on these other threads the biggest factor in coral costs is the internet and what suppliers see corals sell for. Some stores/retailers take advantage of people and when a supplier sees one of there corals sell for 10x the price they sold it for, well the next order they ask for a higher rate. This has been going on for sometime now and is not going to change.

The good old cheap days are well behind us and its time to move on and realize that you are not going to buy a Rainbow Acan colony for $200 anymore, its just not going to happen.

Now does this mean you should be gouged on things? of course not, but you as a consumer can make that choice. Just make an educated one and respect the fact that stores are not usually going to sell corals for the same price as a hobbyist stores have numerous costs a hobbyists doesn't

Not trying to offend anyone, but this is more or less the way it is these days.


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## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

CanadaCorals.com said:


> Hello all,
> Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday.
> Thought I'd chime in on this one:
> Our dollar in 2012 was at par with the US dollar.
> ...


Sorry please explain further, your math doesn't add up.

ricordea used to cost on average 17.50 that is between 15 and 20 bucks which was the norm so if we apply your 40% US conversion we get a new total of 24.50$, a 7 dollar increase from our terrible dollar, if we add a 2% increase for inflation from the past 5 years we are at .49 cents per year so add another 2.50$ and we are at a whopping 27 dollars. so you need to make a profit(this was still being done at 17.5) we can round up and say 30$(That`s a 17% return) so 30$ should be the cost today of said ricordea.

BigShow provided a much clearer and truthful answer. Internet is providing higher costs for each product which will be passed down ultimately on us which is normal in all industries. Divers and collectors see the 6k bounce mushrooms and 1k Jason fox Homewreckers being sold and they want a bigger cut.

My final rant is pricing is all over the place.

CC your selling a wwc Bezerko Cyphastrea for 324.99$
Big show is selling an identical one for 50$
Fragbox is selling WWC Bezerko Cyphastrea for 75$

Shouldn't pricing be more in line with each other like how gas stations compete with prices.


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## BIGSHOW (Sep 10, 2011)

nc208082 said:


> Sorry please explain further, your math doesn't add up.
> 
> ricordea used to cost on average 17.50 that is between 15 and 20 bucks which was the norm so if we apply your 40% US conversion we get a new total of 24.50$, a 7 dollar increase from our terrible dollar, if we add a 2% increase for inflation from the past 5 years we are at .49 cents per year so add another 2.50$ and we are at a whopping 27 dollars. so you need to make a profit(this was still being done at 17.5) we can round up and say 30$(That`s a 17% return) so 30$ should be the cost today of said ricordea.


Your math is fine, but the cost of ricordea has gone up quite a bit, the cost increase has nothing to do with inflation it has to do with availability and demand and somewhat the dollar, but realistically its supply/demand that is driving up the cost supply being the bigger issue here. Remember when you saw ricordeas all the time? It was a staple for every store, now you barely see them. A bunch has hit the Canadian market in the past month, but its been a while since we have seen this many.

17% return rate is not sufficient for a business to survive, especially on livestock. Think about the cost to keep livestock, hydro, DOA, water, chemicals, salt etc. 300% is not realistic either. Every seller has its target percentage and that is based on there own formulas that fit there business model



nc208082 said:


> BigShow provided a much clearer and truthful answer. Internet is providing higher costs for each product which will be passed down ultimately on us which is normal in all industries. Divers and collectors see the 6k bounce mushrooms and 1k Jason fox Homewreckers being sold and they want a bigger cut.


This is very true, even when you talk with suppliers they will quote these outrageous prices it is crazy.



nc208082 said:


> My final rant is pricing is all over the place.
> 
> CC your selling a wwc Bezerko Cyphastrea for 324.99$
> Big show is selling an identical one for 50$
> ...


Ours is not from that lineage so we don't charge that outrageous price. It looks exactly the same to me, but I didn't buy mine from WWC, so I don't call it that. Cyphastrea is a very fast and easy to care for coral, those outrageous prices will not be sustainable due to this fact. A good example will be the Jfox Lepto. it used to be about $180-$200 per tiny frag, your now looking at around 80-$120ish for a decent size frag. I know I used to sell them for that high $200+, as I paid a high amount to get a piece, but again, its a relatively easier coral to keep and grows quite quickly, so my price has dropped with cultivation as has others.

I am not justifying any price, what I am trying to do is get people to look beyond just the basics. Again, as a consumer the card is in your hands, don't buy and stores will be forced to drop prices or shut down. Price drop is great, but shutting down stores is not a good thing. Store(s) = Competition and competition is good for the consumer.


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## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

Thanks for contributing to this Dave, I respect exactly where your coming from because we all have to support LFS or else there will be no supply. 

I know 17% is not enough lol, just throwing out the math because I am sick of people blaming US exchange rate when there`s many other factors at play. Many of which you pointed out and explained which gives us hobbyists a bigger piece of the picture.

I honestly feel lineage is losing its value these days too. More and more retailers are pushing the same pieces with different names and slight color differences. your point was it exactly, your piece is identical to theirs but your not charging an arm and a leg.

Back to my point though, it is not showing any lineage or any wwc name in front. So why is it store one charges 325$ and you charge 50$ with no `lineage`to why this piece is so expensive I just look at as taking advantage of the hobbyist.


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## BIGSHOW (Sep 10, 2011)

nc208082 said:


> Thanks for contributing to this Dave, I respect exactly where your coming from because we all have to support LFS or else there will be no supply.
> 
> I know 17% is not enough lol, just throwing out the math because I am sick of people blaming US exchange rate when there`s many other factors at play. Many of which you pointed out and explained which gives us hobbyists a bigger piece of the picture.
> 
> ...


Great discussion Nick. I always participate in these as I was once just a hobbyist like you all here. I feel I have some pretty good insight with what I have learned from moving from a hobbyist to a retail seller.

I in no way justify a price tag that high, but maybe CC paid a ridiculous amount to get that cyphastrea with that specific lineage. They in turn need to sell it for a high price. Again I don't know but that maybe the case.

Lineage is a crazy thing, and it's not going anywhere soon as people love to say I got Jfox this and WWC that. I appreciate the lineage on specific Acros and one off oddities as I have learned that to get a wild Acro to develop into its full potential takes a lot of time and perfect tank conditions, even with a perfect tank the death rate is significant so to me with my experience a 8month+ wild piece that is fully coloured and somewhat adapted to aquarium life justifies a larger price and maybe even a fancy name  Even with the mariculture it is extremely difficult to get them to keep there colours and sometimes it can take months for them to go from great looking (fresh import) to brown to back to great looking. During this process the death rate is high and to me that justifys the higher price.

Dave


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

Patwa said:


> I call bullshit -> Cornbred-effect. God, I hate that guy and what he's done for the regular hobbyist experience over the past few years (the whole 'bounce craze' notwithstanding). Monkey see, monkey do....prices jumping up and down left-right and centre....and certain LFS's just doing what they're in business to do: make money and make up excuses (some legitimate and some laughable) for why prices are where they are and why they need to stay there.
> 
> Walked into to RR once and Jay was telling me he had spoken to Cornbred and dude mentioned my name LOL ...and that he'd like to have a chat with me based on some of the stuff i've posted about him.....crissakes, Cornbred! HAHA


wow dude, you're that famous? I didn't know! LMAO


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

Just my 2 cents. There's definitely been pricing inflation in "designer" corals. (what constitute as "designer" is worth another thread). Prices just keep going up and up. we just have to look at pricing posted on different forums over the years to see the progression.

The only one who's in denial about inflation is Bank of Canada.


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