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OP
OP
Hey, I get it...And you aren't being rude, and I respect that you are looking for items not offered on the website. You are ALWAYS, ALWAYS welcome to post your opinions here. I do respect you for that. You do bring up an amusing idea- perhaps featuring some "special" stuff that's only available to R2R members, and such...Point very well taken, thank you! On the other hand, signing up for our email blasts (you can do that on our website), will bring you lots of cool corals for sale, sent right to your email every week. That's really the best way to get the hookup on unusual stuff or things not yet available.
I do appreciate your coming by regularly despite the apparent dislike of my rants and such. I derive a great deal of enjoyment providing our readers with stuff to keep them thinking and occasionally "poking the beehive." And, based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback that we've received over the past couple of years on this forum, I'd say we're hitting our mark. We have spend many thousands of dollars and lots of hours managing our website and uploading new corals, adding new features, etc. for the expressed purpose of selling corals. We have a "new" section right on our home page, which highlights the latest arrivals to our site. That is our primary selling platform...it's designed to sell corals, provide ordering information, and pricing. We have chosen to use R2R as a platform to reach out to our customers and engage them, not just to sell to them. People come here because they enjoy being here, not because they want to be bombarded with nonstop sales pitches. Are we missing some opportunities to hook you on new corals? Maybe. Maybe not. We do make announcements of such things as sales and upcoming releases here, just not non-stop..
I have to respect you for coming on here over and over., although I can't help but think of the quote attributed to some smart person, ""The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
I mean, I will probably not change our content dissemination and marketing strategy any time soon...it's working pretty well. I will not change the way we've set up this forum to be a place to interact and communicate with our customers and fellow reefers. I won't turn this into a one way conversation, as would be so easy to do by just placing posts about corals for sale here.
However, I will entertain your idea about special offers and such..I kinda like that!
Anyways...reef on, and thanks for the feedback. And yes, tomorrow you'll come here and see another rant...just a warning...
-Scott
OP
OP
Just the coral! Cool! Would be easy to handle but a real tricky thing to ship...Frag plus are a necessary evil, IMHO..IN fact (sorry coralsandmore) I've ranted about it before...LOL
LAman1214
New Member
I can not speak highly enough of Scott and the crew at Unique Corals (I have also personally spoke with Donna and she is extremely nice and helpful). I am a relative newbie to the hobby at just over two years in but up until a little over a week go I had only picked up frags from LFSs here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area if I came across something interesting. I have become a regular at a couple of them and at each place I have made friends with the staff. Unfortunately the local wholesaler here in the DFW area packed up and shipped out and the coral frag well sort of dried up here about 6 months ago. Those friends of mine at the LFSs were the first to tell me that the place to go was online to get the good stuff as far as coral goes. But, as a new reefer I was nervous and reluctant to order from online and have corals shipped to me. The cost investment (but lets be real what part of this hobby isn't a serious investment anyway), the lack of a guarantee outside of any WYSIWIG item that what you receive would compare to what you see in a stock photo, and the perils of shipping mishaps all frightened me away from ordering online.
Well after much research and a lot, AND I MEAN A LOT of bouncing back and forth from many corals sites I finally decided to bite the bullet and order online from Unique Corals. Boy am I soooooo happy that Unique Corals was my first experience ordering online. I seriously felt spoiled! The first time I tried to order the website was having a couple of issues (as they tend to do sometimes) and after a couple days of not getting through on the site I used the live chat feature and was lucky enough to get Scott on the line. Now despite him being a lowly UCLA Bruins, me being the magnanimous USC Trojan that I am, I was able to put our differences aside and get to the root of things. HAHA! Just kidding Scott! I ended up getting Scott on the phone directly and he could not have been more helpful, accommodating, informative, or just a general all around nice guy. We got the order processed and my first foray into online coral ordering was underway.
The frags arrived the next day and my excitement was high! I opened the package like a little kid excited on Christmas morning. I had order five frags and one after another came out looking fantastic until I got to the final one, what was to be a beautiful Tricolor Valida and....OH NO!!! It had somehow shattered into several pieces.
I salvaged what I could and I am still waiting it out to see if any piece makes it. Well I called that day (having not looked up the shipping guarantee yet) to see what could be done if anything and that's when I got Donna on the line.
Now to get a super helpful, kind, and accommodating staffer on the line once is great on it's own, but to get TWO back to back was AWESOME! Donna was GREAT! She took great care of me. I can personally vouch for what Scott wrote above about if something goes wrong during shipping Unique Corals will do everything they can to take care of you. I couldn't be more impressed with the customer service I have received from Unique Corals. I am already working on my next order and will likely be placing it in the next day or two. I have a feeling it will be hard to beat the experience I have had with Unique Corals and it will be very difficult to go anywhere else. Unique Corals' selection is outstanding, the shipping rates are hard to beat, and the staff is AMAZING!! They really are a win, win, win on all accounts. I have already recommended Unique Corals to all of my friends and will again and again. I was sad to find that many of my reefer friends had not hear of Unique Corals or were only slightly aware of them. Hey Scott! If you need a marketing guy to get the ball rolling here in the south I'd be happy to go on your payroll ha ha.
All in all as I said before I can not speak highly enough of Unique Corals, their selection, and their staff. I will be a repeat customer many times I am sure and look forward to getting more great pieces from Unique Corals.
Sincerely One Very Happy and Satisfied Unique Corals Customer,
Andy
PS: For those who might complain about Scott's long posting....ummm knowledge is power in all things. Rather than complaining you should appreciate the advise and USE IT! I know I will be.
PSS: Ditto on the TERRIBLE ORA frag plugs. Will be looking forward to the day when my frags overgrow them
Well after much research and a lot, AND I MEAN A LOT of bouncing back and forth from many corals sites I finally decided to bite the bullet and order online from Unique Corals. Boy am I soooooo happy that Unique Corals was my first experience ordering online. I seriously felt spoiled! The first time I tried to order the website was having a couple of issues (as they tend to do sometimes) and after a couple days of not getting through on the site I used the live chat feature and was lucky enough to get Scott on the line. Now despite him being a lowly UCLA Bruins, me being the magnanimous USC Trojan that I am, I was able to put our differences aside and get to the root of things. HAHA! Just kidding Scott! I ended up getting Scott on the phone directly and he could not have been more helpful, accommodating, informative, or just a general all around nice guy. We got the order processed and my first foray into online coral ordering was underway.
The frags arrived the next day and my excitement was high! I opened the package like a little kid excited on Christmas morning. I had order five frags and one after another came out looking fantastic until I got to the final one, what was to be a beautiful Tricolor Valida and....OH NO!!! It had somehow shattered into several pieces.
I salvaged what I could and I am still waiting it out to see if any piece makes it. Well I called that day (having not looked up the shipping guarantee yet) to see what could be done if anything and that's when I got Donna on the line.Now to get a super helpful, kind, and accommodating staffer on the line once is great on it's own, but to get TWO back to back was AWESOME! Donna was GREAT! She took great care of me. I can personally vouch for what Scott wrote above about if something goes wrong during shipping Unique Corals will do everything they can to take care of you. I couldn't be more impressed with the customer service I have received from Unique Corals. I am already working on my next order and will likely be placing it in the next day or two. I have a feeling it will be hard to beat the experience I have had with Unique Corals and it will be very difficult to go anywhere else. Unique Corals' selection is outstanding, the shipping rates are hard to beat, and the staff is AMAZING!! They really are a win, win, win on all accounts. I have already recommended Unique Corals to all of my friends and will again and again. I was sad to find that many of my reefer friends had not hear of Unique Corals or were only slightly aware of them. Hey Scott! If you need a marketing guy to get the ball rolling here in the south I'd be happy to go on your payroll
ha ha. All in all as I said before I can not speak highly enough of Unique Corals, their selection, and their staff. I will be a repeat customer many times I am sure and look forward to getting more great pieces from Unique Corals.
Sincerely One Very Happy and Satisfied Unique Corals Customer,
Andy
PS: For those who might complain about Scott's long posting....ummm knowledge is power in all things. Rather than complaining you should appreciate the advise and USE IT! I know I will be.
PSS: Ditto on the TERRIBLE ORA frag plugs. Will be looking forward to the day when my frags overgrow them
OP
OP
LAman214- thanks so much for the super kind words! Despite the obvious challenge of being a USC Trojan, you wrote a very touching and honest review, and we appreciate the feedback and input! :angel:
Seriously, it's great to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us. It's a huge leap of faith ordering online, essentially sight unseen- relying only on a pic, description, and maybe a chat on the phone, and we sincerely appreciate the confidence you've shown in Unique Corals. Sure, we deliver great corals, but in the end, the customer experience is the ONE thing that people really remember, and we have worked very hard to make the customer experience as good as possible. Everyone on the staff here has to hear me ranting on about "It's not just a coral, it's someone's enjoyment..." all the time. Our culture here is to be totally customer focused- and everyone- from the most junior framer, on up to Joe and myself, feel exactly the same way. Because of the nature of our business, and the geography of the nation, we've become the "LFS" for a lot of reefers, and forging relationships is really, really important- so that customers have the confidence in everything we do, and know that they can reach out to us and get answers and service, regardless if they've ordered a portion of Chaetomorpha or a $500 Chalice colony. That's what matters to us!
And perhaps, the people who disdain some of the long posts here just don't understand that the dissemination and discussion of ideas and information on this forum is about building a relationship with our customers that transcends just selling corals..as I've said ad nauseous, you can look at corals and buy them almost anywhere-but conversations are available here.
And now, although it pains me to do so...I must salute you:
Fight on, my friend!
Scott
Seriously, it's great to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us. It's a huge leap of faith ordering online, essentially sight unseen- relying only on a pic, description, and maybe a chat on the phone, and we sincerely appreciate the confidence you've shown in Unique Corals. Sure, we deliver great corals, but in the end, the customer experience is the ONE thing that people really remember, and we have worked very hard to make the customer experience as good as possible. Everyone on the staff here has to hear me ranting on about "It's not just a coral, it's someone's enjoyment..." all the time. Our culture here is to be totally customer focused- and everyone- from the most junior framer, on up to Joe and myself, feel exactly the same way. Because of the nature of our business, and the geography of the nation, we've become the "LFS" for a lot of reefers, and forging relationships is really, really important- so that customers have the confidence in everything we do, and know that they can reach out to us and get answers and service, regardless if they've ordered a portion of Chaetomorpha or a $500 Chalice colony. That's what matters to us!
And perhaps, the people who disdain some of the long posts here just don't understand that the dissemination and discussion of ideas and information on this forum is about building a relationship with our customers that transcends just selling corals..as I've said ad nauseous, you can look at corals and buy them almost anywhere-but conversations are available here.
And now, although it pains me to do so...I must salute you:
Fight on, my friend!
Scott
With tax return in the near future I'm so looking forward to placing my first order from UC. Here's the thing, I've yet to even visit your web sight. My desire to order from UC is a direct result based solely on every Scott novel I've read thus far.
I am a reader!! Scott, your words inspire, describe, promote, enliven, justify, debunk, educate, inform and keep me coming back for more. Anyone who can excite me about their products by their use of the English language alone has gained not only a new customer but this new customers undying respect. Kudos!
I am a reader!! Scott, your words inspire, describe, promote, enliven, justify, debunk, educate, inform and keep me coming back for more. Anyone who can excite me about their products by their use of the English language alone has gained not only a new customer but this new customers undying respect. Kudos!
JDP
Active Member
Most People today do things base on an agenda, with masked benefits directed back to themselves! Anytime you find a person, company, etc... that takes the time to engage on a different level either educational or personal you had best acknowledge and appreciate the effort! I look forward to my growth in corals and relationship with Unique Corals. John
OP
OP
Wow, thanks much for the kind words...I often think that just having a dialogue with fellow reefers is every bit as valuable as making that next sale, so I'm sure glad you appreciate!
Thanks,
Scott
I hate those ORA plugs with a passion. I only buy them from UC now because they will cut them off and they told me they can cut them off a long time ago, didn't even have to ask!
I don't like your iphone app though. I have tired to use it many times and it was quite slow if it worked at all, I just go to the website on my phone now.
I don't like your iphone app though. I have tired to use it many times and it was quite slow if it worked at all, I just go to the website on my phone now.
OP
OP
Seems like ORA has the most loved frags in the hobby...LOL
Sorry about the iPhone app experience...It should operate better, and I will talk to the developers about that...Thanks for the feedback!
-Scott
lexinverts
Well-Known Member
I enjoyed your talk in Portland this past weekend. I was happy to hear that I am not the only person that struggles with the ORA plugs and that I can ask for them to be cut off. LOL.
Your talk made me re-think my nutrient management on my tanks. Thanks very much for coming up and giving us one of your "rants" in-person.
Your talk made me re-think my nutrient management on my tanks. Thanks very much for coming up and giving us one of your "rants" in-person.
lionfish5740
Active Member
Haven't had the privilege to order from UC yet but it's on my bucket list LOL. Been to the website and love what I see though!
Would somebody post a pic of the ORA plugs? I've only received frags of ORA corals from friends so I'm curious. Thanks
Would somebody post a pic of the ORA plugs? I've only received frags of ORA corals from friends so I'm curious. Thanks
OP
OP
Thanks, and glad to hear you enjoyed it. I was fighting off a pretty bad cold, so definitely was "medicated", LOL- Glad everyone had a good time! And yeah, always happy to cut plugs if requested.
-Scott
OP
OP
Looking forward to helping you! Do let me know when you place your first order, ok? And as far as a pic of the ORA plug- don't have one handy...anyone?
-Scott
Eienna
5000 Club Member
You mean like this? I took the liberty of looking it up. ORA Coral Plugs
I always love learning from Scott's write-ups. They've actually helped me quite a bit. <3
BTW, Scott, things are still good! My nitrates are a good deal higher than they should be (gotta work on that...) but even the acros are growing and starting to encrust. I'm a happy happy happy camper!! Will be buying some from you when I get the rock to have the real estate for new ones XD
I always love learning from Scott's write-ups. They've actually helped me quite a bit. <3
BTW, Scott, things are still good! My nitrates are a good deal higher than they should be (gotta work on that...) but even the acros are growing and starting to encrust. I'm a happy happy happy camper!! Will be buying some from you when I get the rock to have the real estate for new ones XD
lionfish5740
Active Member
Appreciate it Eienna. Don't think that I would be a fan of those plugs either, don't want the plug to distract from the coral :doh:
I will do that, thank you. I just noticed a milli frag pack on IG that caught my eye but it wasn't on your website. I can't buy it at the moment anyway but I'm hoping in a month or so to have my upgrades complete and ready for more corals. I've bought some random types of less expensive sps frags just to test my tank/equipment out and they've been growing for the last 3-6 months. Been happy lately with a little brown frag that has been coloring up nicely.
Looking forward to some nice sps that will not be dulled out by my bright zoas/palys in my tank.
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