[cschweitzer]

Hey, don't get me wrong, I understand why dendro's are more expensive than sun's. I understand why pink acan is more than red acan. I understand rarity and I understand commercial gain and profit. I'm not saying I would only pay $20 for a nice coral. I'm not that interested in acans myself and to me, I would not buy THAT acan for $800/polyp. I also would not pay $600 per polyp of orange envy zoos. I'm not saying corals cannot demand a price, I'm saying they should not demand such an absurd price. Because someone can get away with it doesn't mean they should. I also understand that it's all about when and where you are. I've been involved with businesses on almost any level and my severe distaste for what happens in some of them still runs deep.

I especially see it here too often. Too many times someone gets a score of a deal from somewhere and then comes right back here to pay their rent for the next year. On top of that, most are not considered retail and therefore get away with it without paying taxes, without any guarantees, and without an ounce of integrity. If you bought a polyp for $800, then by all means make a little money off the first few babies that sprout. But come on, when you "find" a 30 polyp piece in some store for $100 and you realize it's a nicer coral, either hook your fellow reefers up or keep it for yourself. don't break off polyps and sell them for $500 each.

I understand a product is worth what someone will pay, but if people stopped always thinking about themselves and their profit, this hobby would be much more open to other people which would increase production and aquaculturing of these "rare" corals and would only help our efforts. You talk of saving the ocean, but that means giving up some financial opportunity and allowing these rare corals to continue to propagate, not upping a price so only certain people can help the ocean or gain from this coral.

By the way, I'm not one of those cheap reefcaretakers that tries to get away with brown corals and creates a tank for as little cost as possible. I have spent countless thousands of dollars on my 6 reef setups. I have bought many hundred dollar frags. That being said, I would never charge what some do for the same exact thing. I also try to give free frags to friends and club members and try to help out any newcomer get started with some corals. I would rarely ever sell a coral per polyp for more than I paid per polyp. I'm a big believer that if everyone charged less than they bought it for, every coral would be thriving right now and everything would be as cheap as possible for all of us reefcaretakers.

I challenge everyone to try this: if you buy a polyp for five bucks and it turns into three, sell the other two for four bucks each. You've made your money back, you've helped the hobby, you've given others the opportunity to continue to make this hobby thrive, you've done well for our oceans, and you made a little bit to help pay for the cost of raising it(although keeping coral alive and healthy should be reward enough in itsself).