Frag Swap Takeaway and Tips

[Michigan Reefer]

This was the fourth time I've attended the Michigan coral expo held in Lansing this past weekend and wanted to share some thoughts and takeaways from this years swap.

First off thank you to Captive reefs and everyone involved in setting up these events. I went to reefapalooza in New York 2018, and I have to say the Michigan expo is as good and if not better. Each year seems to be more popular and one suggestion is we may need a larger room to hold the event. A lot more people are coming now and it really clogs up the isles and it makes it very difficult to talk or ask questions to the vendors let alone browse at the booths.

I'm sorry for another complaint about coral prices on here, but the prices from some vendors are still way too high. At least bring some corals that are available for beginners and people thinking about getting into the hobby. Its fine to bring some of those $500-$1000 corals to show off , but please bring more that are 30, 60, and 100 dollar range to get people excited with for the hobby. Even a 10-20 dollar rack would at least show people and don't have to spend tons of money for a reef tank plus investing in the equipment and upkeep. I've been in the hobby for about 10 years now and understand the work behind growing corals and bringing them to swaps, but as a consumer who is paying to get into the event that happens once a year, I'd like to see more corals reasonably priced for all levels of reefing. We appreciate deals like buy two or three at a discount price. Shout out to EyeCandy Coral and Zoanthid garden for selling 3-$65 or 6 for $100 well developed frags that are encrusting the entire plug. Another tip for vendors, which is getting better with each year, is to label the rack with prices. Some say ask, but it is frustrating to ask each coral and hear an answer as if its being made up at the time. It keeps things moving more smoothly also.

I spoke with one vendor who brought 15 pieces of a coral that he was selling for $60 a piece, but sold them to other vendors before the swap was open to the public that they turned around to sell at there booth for a better profit. Is this normal practice between vendors? It is odd to see the same size coral being sold at different prices from 60-100 dollars around the room. I'd love to hear from vendors, but is it a better investment to get more people excited about the hobby then the accommodate the few that are after those $1000 rare pieces? Now that I'm thinking it I guess selling one at $1000 is better then 1 newly interested person buying a $20 frag, but come on lol. Personally I'd rather see more people interested in the hobby. I am guilty of buying a pinky size nail of Walt Disney for $75, the most I've ever spent on a frag.

I tried to sell some corals myself that I brought to the swap and do understand some frustration with pricing. I was selling 2-3 inch frags (which were bigger then most SPS frags I saw), for $25 a piece. Online they go for $50-60. I still had to bargain with people and justify the price, but ended up just giving some away for $10. Still very happy overall because I paid $50 a year or so ago, and now more people can enjoy the coral at a reasonable price.

Just my opinion, but I think swaps are for sharing corals and knowledge with other reef keepers that share the same interest which I hope is to maintain a healthy at home reef aquarium filled with beautiful life. I have such respect for these animals we keep and to show that respect is to share them with others who are able. I understand business is business, but business can still be done respectfully for the animals and others that share this wonderful hobby of reef keeping.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Michigan Reefer]

No comments from sellers or vendors regarding frag swaps and coral prices? Or thoughts from other frag swap attendees?

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I haven't sold at a show yet, but plan on starting this year. I will personally be offering mainly frags at very affordable prices for sizable pieces (mostly $15-20 range).

That being said, many vendors will travel pretty far to sell for a couple of hours at a show and can be quite a feat preparing for and making the trip. If you had to travel 8+ hours while taking care of a tank full of frags, break down your setup before leaving home, set up at the show, break everything back down and set back up at home all back to back you'd be in for a very long and stressful day in addition to some risk of losing coral if you don't care for them right during the trip. You'd need to make some decent profit to justify the hassle of all of that.

Some quick math to put into perspective for someone who is doing this as a business, not as a hobbyist for fun.

Cost to sell at a frag swap:
Table cost $150
Possible manatory donation $50
frag plugs $100
Coral itself $Varies
12+ hours of work/driving $300?
Gas Money $100

Total $700+

Required equipment:
Frag tank $400
Lights $800
heater $50
power-heads $100
frag racks $500
coolers for frags $150
miscellaneous things (towels, hose, baggies, buckets...etc) $100

Total $2,100+

With those numbers if you were only selling frags for $10 profit, you'd need to consistently sell 150+ frags per show to make the effort worth while to make some profit and pay off the required equipment needed to travel to sell at vendor shows. Costs could even be higher if you go all out with marketing banners, table cloths, business cards...etc. Also not included is the cost of the coral themselves. A business will either need to spend a significant amount on coral to resell, or spend a significant amount of time and money growing out their own colonies to frag. Once all of that is factored in, you would need to likely sell 250+ frags during a swap. That could easily be a frag a minute on average. I can't even bag up frags that fast, let alone deal with the money transactions and answering questions.

That's why many of the vendors need to price their coral so high. Of course the collector coral are rare and it's not like a vendor will have lots of those frags, so they will be priced pretty high.