Do you trade corals?

[Mrtakeoff53]

I live in the FL panhandle and we have a very active local reefing club. Last weekend, I actually TRADED a Birds of Paradise birds nest for a (HUGE) green slimer acro. Yes, acro for birds nest. Some may say that’s not a ‘fair trade’. IMO, it was because we each had extra of something the other person wanted. It was such a joy to literally just share coral with each other. When my system grows out, I plan to do this often! My question is, does anyone else still trade coral with other local reefers? I’m interested to know if you do. I often see corals on here for HUNDREDS of dollars but rarely hear about trading them.

 

[GabeM]

I traded for a nice sunkist bounce a few weeks ago - first bounce mushroom! @Yamil Montanez cool guy likes to meet in parking lots.

 

[ScottR]

I live in the FL panhandle and we have a very active local reefing club. Last weekend, I actually TRADED a Birds of Paradise birds nest for a (HUGE) green slimer acro. Yes, acro for birds nest. Some may say that’s not a ‘fair trade’. IMO, it was because we each had extra of something the other person wanted. It was such a joy to literally just share coral with each other. When my system grows out, I plan to do this often! My question is, does anyone else still trade coral with other local reefers? I’m interested to know if you do. I often see corals on here for HUNDREDS of dollars but rarely hear about trading them.

My reefing buddies and I give each other corals all the time. Not just cheap but FREE! I started my tiny birds nest from a free Y-shaped piece and now it’s close to a baseball size. I also give away corals that I just don’t want or like.

 

[Sebae]

Yes, absolutely. One of the best parts of an established SPS system is just being able to give away large chunks to friends who want them.

 

[Yamil Montanez]

I traded for a nice sunkist bounce a few weeks ago - first bounce mushroom! @Yamil Montanez cool guy likes to meet in parking lots.

GabeM you have to buy me a drink before I invite you to my house .

 

[GabeM]

GabeM you have to buy me a drink before I invite you to my house .

Lol - HMU next time you are in the area I know all of the best places to drink - or give me a good reason to go down to Springfield!

 

[Yamil Montanez]

I usually stay away from Springfield when I go out. Nothing against the city is just my personal preference . I'll hit you up when I'm in your area.

 

[jda]

Trading is my preferred way of getting new stuff. ...and money is the last reason why. People who trade are usually on the same level as you, more understanding if something happens (like FedEx goes all "ace ventura" on your shipping box) and usually do not count every dime in a trade and are happy if stuff is mostly equal. Lastly, in a trade, most people feel some kind of responsibility to get you a fresh frag of something should you lose it in your tank... which usually sparks another round of trading.

You can bet that a lot of the people who are first-in on a new "hot" coral got them via trade.

 

[minus9]

Most of all the coral that I have were part of a trade one way or another. I'm with jda on this, it's mentality, a moral code if you will. When you've been in this hobby long enough, value becomes sentimental and you tend to pay it forward as much as you can. I'm extremely patient, so I would never spend hundreds of dollars on a frag, especially a half inch nub (that's just my preference and I'm not trying to offend the big spenders ). Since I started buying/trading corals, I don't think I've ever paid more than $60 for a single frag and if it was more than that, then a trade was part of the deal, either through store credit or selling/trading extra frags from my tank, some of which were free gifts from other reefers. Trading is fun and a must in this hobby.

 

[TDEcoral]

I just traded with @jjoos99 and we live on the other side of the country from each other. All it cost was the price of shipping and I think we both came away happy. I've also hot a reefing buddy that lives down the street and I've given him quite a few corals. It's a good way to make sure there are backups of you favorite corals in case of a crash or something like that.

 

[B7Joe]

There is a small LFS that I will now take coral to when needed. Last time I took something in, the owner let me pick any frag in trade. She’s fantastic so I don’t really care what my coral might be worth vs. what I take home. It’s neat to be able to share and at the same time try something cool that I may not have otherwise purchased. I haven’t tried trading with other hobbyists but I should.

 

[tankstudy]

I generally don't trade too often. The only times I prefer to trade is when I know an individual extremely well, otherwise, having stuff come from an unknown setup is risky. What isn't a pest in another system can be a hobby ending pest in yours.

I'll also only trade during swaps. During this period, I accumulate a ton of frags at once, trading and buying. This will spread the costs of quarantine over several frags. I quarantine for 4-8 weeks and so if I don't do a lot of frags at once, it's extremely costly for just a single or couple frags.

Would love to straight up trade like good ole pokemon, yugioh and magic the gathering cards all the time but corals just aren't pest free like trading card games.

 

[shred5]

When we started Wisconsin reef society we traded corals. We basically started WRS so some people could get together and discuss coral over a few beers and trade a few corals.

It was great in the begging but after a while the club grew and it started to get bad. The meetings turned into people sitting around the hosts tank begging for corals. Some people never brought any corals at all and just wanted and wanted.


Then people started to say hey I am going to sell corals instead. Then some others started business . People were hosting meeting just to sell corals. People were not there for the meetings anymore, they were not there to discuss the hobby and drink a few beers. We would not even see the host anymore at the meetings.

We ended up no one could sell corals anymore during the meeting, if people wanted to stay after that was a different story.

As more restrictions on corals go into place moving forward I think trading will become popular again. If prices continue to rise it is the only way allot will be able to stay in the hobby or it will decline. Buy a couple good corals grow them out and trade with other.

 

[Highgrade]

I generally don't trade too often. The only times I prefer to trade is when I know an individual extremely well, otherwise, having stuff come from an unknown setup is risky. What isn't a pest in another system can be a hobby ending pest in yours.

I'll also only trade during swaps. During this period, I accumulate a ton of frags at once, trading and buying. This will spread the costs of quarantine over several frags. I quarantine for 4-8 weeks and so if I don't do a lot of frags at once, it's extremely costly for just a single or couple frags.

Would love to straight up trade like good ole pokemon, yugioh and magic the gathering cards all the time but corals just aren't pest free like trading card games.

+1 IMO it's not worth it to risk any unwanted pest or disease. After many different occasions of potentially trading corals but first checking out others tanks then seeing pest, Aiptasia, nuisance algae, sick or dying fish/inverts its not worth my time. Unless I know the person directly and have been around their tanks enough times to know what to expect along with know their QT regimens.

I'm more than willing to sell corals at a reasonable price and even give some away. Personally I prefer people to see my tanks so they know exactly the condition of the coral they're getting and the dedication I have put into reefing. My experience has been when offering others a great deal on corals in most cases they end up chopping them up to make money. Which I understand, but it has rubbed me the wrong way too many times. So I limit selling most times especially to the repeat reefers who chop things up the same day/week and repost for sale.

I'm strait forward with my "for sale" post on local groups/forums or through friends. I try to disclose as much detail as possible and Boldly state I'm not up for trading, shipping and the price is firm. Then here come the flood of people wanting you to trade corals, fish, equipment, etc.... or there's ones who repeatedly ask you to ship. Not to mention the low ballers.

Overall trading is a gamble I'm not willing to take.

 

[Mrtakeoff53]

When we started Wisconsin reef society we traded corals. We basically started WRS so some people could get together and discuss coral over a few beers and trade a few corals.

It was great in the begging but after a while the club grew and it started to get bad. The meetings turned into people sitting around the hosts tank begging for corals. Some people never brought any corals at all and just wanted and wanted.


Then people started to say hey I am going to sell corals instead. Then some others started business . People were hosting meeting just to sell corals. People were not there for the meetings anymore, they were not there to discuss the hobby and drink a few beers. We would not even see the host anymore at the meetings.

We ended up no one could sell corals anymore during the meeting, if people wanted to stay after that was a different story.

As more restrictions on corals go into place moving forward I think trading will become popular again. If prices continue to rise it is the only way allot will be able to stay in the hobby or it will decline. Buy a couple good corals grow them out and trade with other.

You’ve had quite the experience along with @Highgrade. Seems like it’s all well and good until people start taking advantage of the kindness and generosity of experienced reefers. I’m enjoying the range of opinion here.