Do You Consider The Resale Value Of The Coral You Buy?

[Reefer Matt]

We all want to get a good deal on coral (I think!). Sometimes we impulsively buy one and try to look it up later to see how we did. But then there are some hoping to regain their investment later on. Do you ever consider the resale value of the coral you buy?

 

[DIYreefer]

Sometimes. Some I buy with the intent of growing out to sell/trade in the future. Others I buy solely because I like them, and probably won't ever even be able to sell because I'm just as happy with a simple birdsent as I am with a rainbow splice.

 

[GARRIGA]

See this with reptiles. Instead of viewing them as pets. Buyers calculate how much they can get from breeding or if needing to sell it later.

I’m going to enjoy my tank and if I can trade frags for supplies then so be it otherwise in the trash. I have a day job and as is exiting my reptile business. Too old to squeeze pennies vs just enjoying the fruits of my past labor.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have never sold coral and I doubt I ever will. There was a local reefer who offered to buy some frags of beginner corals from me and I ended up just giving them to him.

 

[saltienewb]

No.
Most of the “expensive” pieces I have are due to their slow growth/color morph so they are harder to find. To think im going to sustain this hobby by selling frags is a fools errand imo. There are legit coral farmers near me, with legit setups who make it work, but my few grand setup is nothing compared to their many 10ks of leds, filtration, water volume, warehouse space.
Torches, for example, are just slow growing and I have more luck with local reefers vs stores, because the value isn’t there for LFS to price them low, and most of the grow out frags are from local reefers trimming. Same thing with acros. Unless it’s a crazy color morph, a stick head near you can get you a nice piece of a named acro for 1/5 of the price vs online.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I do when buying for my business. But I actually like having a lot of coral, and have bought pulsing xenia and gsp just because I like them. I have a large private collection that I don’t sell that I enjoy too.

 

[KrisReef]

We all want to get a good deal on coral (I think!). Sometimes we impulsively buy one and try to look it up later to see how we did. But then there are some hoping to regain their investment later on. Do you ever consider the resale value of the coral you buy?

I always considered the market valuation of things I purchase because I want to know how much I have to spend to get the coral I like.

I rarely resell but I have given away some good stuff when the tank is growing well. It’s easier to give it away than to kill it because no one wants a brown paly hitchhiker from live rock.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

As a service company, I have a little bit of a backwards approach to buying and cultivating coral for value. I keep and cultivate a lot of ORA type coral. Nice colored coral that grows consistently well. The majority of my clients don't care or know of "Angry birds" or "Homewrecker". I buy and cultivate a lot of mid range coral that looks nice and grows fast. Proven Euphyllia,LPS and SPS. I do buy some high end stuff for myself, but this is just to personally covet. The market for those corals is locally limited. When I am buying and making space, my max value is coral that I can frag a medium colony of, and will look showy in mixed reef.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

I also trade a lot amongst clients. Sometimes even needing to trade bare rock for coral covered rock.