[GreshamH]

How does info from someone who gets a few shipments a month show anything?

The real evidence is from those who do it day in, day out. I see 40 - 50 boxes a week, 10 to 20 of which are inverts. Even at that, I still don't see the 100's that the LA wholesalers see almost every day.

The real death is from collector to exporter. The value of the coral at that point is extremelly minimal for both the exporter and the collector. Many, many exporters get whats called freight kick backs, meaning, for every x amount of kilos, they get money back. They make money on freight and goods. If the goods die and they loose a customer so be it, theres 10 more behind him, Theres only so many export quotas floating around. The exporters know they can sell ALL their quotas, regardless of buyers abroad. Heck, if they loose all their abroad customers, they still can move their quotas locally.