In praise of the "garage vendors!"

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

uniquecorals

UniqueCorals
View Badges
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
Messages
13,377
Reaction score
11,088
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I was chatting with a customer yesterday about his purchase, and he started going on about how much he liked my company, and how professional we are, etc. (ok, flattery will get you somewhere, I think…LOL). Further, he asserted that he purchased something from a “garage propagator” and that the quality of the experience was nothing like what he received from us, and that the garage people are not worth supporting, etc.

On initial thought, you’d think I’d be like, “Yeah, those guys give us a bad name…blah, blah, blah…”

My response startled him a bit: “Why would categorically dismiss hobbyists that are trying to turn their love of coral into a business? Some of these guys really know their stuff!”


images.jpeg

What great propagator lurks behind the door?

I mean, let’s think about it in context.

Just because a guy is working out of his garage, part time, doesn't even register to me as a reason why you shouldn’t support his attempt at launching a coral business. Look, not every skilled hobbyist with a dream has the capital available to launch a full-scale propagation facility in a commercial space right off the bat. In fact, some never aspire to do that. They just want to make a little cash back on the corals they’ve been growing for years to cover expenses of their hobby. Some even have to be coerced into selling their highly sought after frags (OK, Mark Poletti, I’m calling you out, bro!)! Others, like Dan Rigle, are starting to make a big name for themselves as dedicated coral propagation experts, expanding into something a bit more serious. These are true hobbyists, and the love that they show in every frag is what it’s all about.

And what’s more, just because someone has invested lots of money and has a splashy web site does not make him/her a “better” coral vendor. There are plenty of crappy vendors out there with relatively high visibility and hubris, trust me. And I didn’t even mention the awful subculture of “chop shops”, which simply have access to some imported corals, a camera, and a Facebook page from which to “market” their garbage to the unwary public. Losers. They deserve special mention as the true “Avoid at all cost” sector of the “coral economy.”

As a full time e-commerce “professional’ coral vendor, I am no more qualified to call what I do “superior” to a “garage-based” coral vendor than any hobbyist who keeps Acropora can call him/herself an “expert” on “SPS” (We talked about that yesterday, right?). However, I do feel that, because I’m doing it for a living, I can at least make some observations that are based on MY experiences and opinions (my stock disclaimer, huh?).

Getting back to the small time “garage propagators”, I have nothing but respect for most of them. In terms of quality, you can scarcely do better. Part of it is the fact that a small operation with a limited inventory can monitor and control very tightly, keeping quality and consistency extremely high. It’s a lot tougher for us to do this with thousands of corals and hundreds of species. That’s why we have a full-time team. The small guy can obsess even more on more arcane details when he or she has 6-10 varieties of coral, trust me!

Raceway shot by Michelle.jpg

You CAN be nimble when you're large, but even more so when you're smaller!

Another advantage of dealing with a small-scale propagator is that they often have very intimate knowledge of the care requirements of every coral in their inventory, and can often tell you things like the “lineage” of their variety, it’s specific temperament, tolerances, and maybe a thing or two about how it looks long-term in their reef tank.

Even though Joe, Dave, Mel and I have been playing with corals our entire adult lives, and have seen and played with thousands of specimens, we haven’t kept every single variety that we offer in our facility in our own reef systems. It would be almost impossible. While that doesn’t give us a handicap, it certainly shows one area in which a small, home-based propagator can excel. First hand knowledge of a coral cannot be discounted, trust me.

UC1inch-dr-tierra-del-fuego-108.jpg

There is no discounting the experience that goes into producing one of these...

And, with a much lower overhead, a small home-based propagator can (hopefully) keep costs down, providing a competitive price for his/her locally-farmed corals. On the other hand, as a large-scale propagator, we can also keep costs down because of the sheer numbers we can inexpensively grow out. The difference is that many “larger” propagators/vendors DON’T do this, and continue to market chopped up wild stuff that has not been propagated. It’s not a sustainable long-term practice, IMHO.

Speaking of sustainability, most of the “garage gang” who work with a limited number of species have been growing them for years and still have the original mother colonies of many of their varieties somewhere in their reef tank display. This is the crown jewel of a sustainable coral hobby/industry- maintaining an inventory of frags while actively maintaining one or more of the original mother colonies for an indefinite period.

With that in mind, can you imagine if every propagator- either home-based or commercial like UC, committed themselves to permanently maintaining and propagating just a few varieties of coral? In theory, the need for importing massive numbers of hacked-off-the-reef wild colonies (or at least, the DEMAND) could diminish significantly. This looms larger than you think when you hear talk of proposed government restrictions on the trade and propagation of corals.

UC3inch-strawberry-shortcake-colony-248.jpg

Take care of your "mothers" and they'll take care of you...

When coupled with the fantastic mariculture efforts going on in some parts of Indonesia, Fiji, and elsewhere, there could be a day when a very high percentage of the hobby’s demand for corals will be met by “farmed” specimens. And the garage-based coral guy or gal has just as much skin in the game as us “full-timers” do- and we all will benefit from a more sustainable hobby/industry. In fact, they can and should be one of the key players in such a vision.

The one caveat I have for the “garage crew”: You have as much, if not a larger- obligation than anyone else in the “industry” to share your knowledge with fellow hobbyists. Secretive operations don’t help the hobby as a whole, IMHO. The hobbyist-level business is in even better touch with the pulse of the hobby, the clubs, and the humanistic drivers that move this whole thing, and should, and could have tremendous visibility in the community. Take out your computer and tap out something once in a while, for goodness sake!

Size of an operation is not a measure for judging the quality of a coral vendor. When we use that as our sole criteria for deciding on wether or not we should do business with a vendor, we’re potentially missing the point.

Please don’t be like some of the egotistical, self-appointed “Internet Marketing Consultants” that spam me with email each day spouting how they can improve my company with garbage like “metrics” and “likes” and stuff, and tout that as the measure of “success.” These morons (yes- morons!) who never actually studied real marketing, have forgotten that it’s all about conveying your message to the right audience and moving them to purchase your product. It’s not about how many people visit your website and “like” your Instagram pics and Facebook page. Marketing is about creating sales. Duh.

images-1.jpeg

"You're soo blowing it! Our creative team can boost your Facebook likes and get your Instagram metrics like so far up its..insane..crazy!" Beware of "false prophets' in the marketing world...

You don’t have to be huge to be a success growing corals. You have to be good.

And finally, a direct word to the smaller guys and the up-and-comers out there: Big, small, or in between, the one common truth is that service is important. Take care of people. Listen to them. The extra mile, be it taking the time to answer a question about a coral, or throwing in a bonus piece, or whatever- will cement relationships, build loyalty, and create real lasting “buzz” about your company. Gimmicks, hype, and stupidity won’t work in this or any business or at any size. Having a fancy web page (be it one that you designed, or if it’s someone else’s aesthetic you copied - yeah that’s a shout out to some of our competitors who constantly try to mimick our website’s look...grow your own!) is not going to do it either. Think differently. Be original. Be yourself. Do unto others. Even if you're just selling a few corals once in a while and want to make a few bucks on the side, follow basic principles and they won’t steer you wrong.

It simply starts with the desire and commitment to do a good job. Which brings me back to the original point of this whole thing: Don’t judge every book by it’s cover. Just like in my sector, the real gems rise to the surface and are clearly evident when compared to the masses.

Long live the garage propagators!

Keep it real, keep it going…

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
 
Last edited:

ReefFrenzy

Shrimp Pimp
View Badges
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,214
Reaction score
1,827
Location
Advance, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0


And finally, a direct word to the smaller guys and the up-and-comers out there: Big, small, or in between, the one common truth is that service is important. Take care of people. Listen to them. The extra mile, be it taking the time to answer a question about a coral, or throwing in a bonus piece, or whatever- will cement relationships, build loyalty, and create real lasting “buzz” about your company.

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals

Awesome write up! I cannot express enough how this last paragraph rings true with me and our business goals. Staying up until 11 PM some nights answering emails or chatting on Facebook with a potential customer goes a LONG way. You would be amazed how many people are shocked when the owner of the company actually answers the incoming calls.
 

NOLA Reefer

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
48
Reaction score
10
Location
New Orleans, LA USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the encouraging words from a long time garage fragger. Never had the ambition or available hours to scale it up, but sure do love trading my babies with the locals!
 

larangcon

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
2,361
Reaction score
1,087
Location
Bay Area
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well said, I also know a few in my area and the knowledge I gain from them is priceless. I could not stay in this hobby without their advise and guidance.
 
OP
OP
uniquecorals

uniquecorals

UniqueCorals
View Badges
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
Messages
13,377
Reaction score
11,088
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who feels that these folks definitely deserve some props! I recall one of the great garage setups ever in SoCal was a guy named Shawn Bennett (the SB Yellow Tort guy), who dabbled in coral and ran a beautiful little setup that had a great feel and a vibe to it that made it a blast to shop at! I never forgot that feeling...We should all have nice experiences like that in our collective consciousness!

-Scott
 

jservedio

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
439
Reaction score
16
Location
Madison, WI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Awesome write up! I cannot express enough how this last paragraph rings true with me and our business goals. Staying up until 11 PM some nights answering emails or chatting on Facebook with a potential customer goes a LONG way. You would be amazed how many people are shocked when the owner of the company actually answers the incoming calls.

And this is why Unique Coral, and you Larry, are my two favorite companies in the reefing hobby. If it weren't for guys like you, getting livestock and then keeping them alive would be much less enjoyable.
 

ohio reefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Messages
1,524
Reaction score
21
Location
Columbus Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The only vendor I buy from now is a out of house seller. He's a vendor on here, best quality live stock I've ever seen. I'm at his house at least once a week.
 

ReefFrenzy

Shrimp Pimp
View Badges
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,214
Reaction score
1,827
Location
Advance, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
And this is why Unique Coral, and you Larry, are my two favorite companies in the reefing hobby. If it weren't for guys like you, getting livestock and then keeping them alive would be much less enjoyable.

Thanks so much "J" for the props. Our Facebook fans really get vocal in supporting us as well as spreading the word about good service.

As an aside, I think more than one "industry giant" in this hobby was started in a garage.
 

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
49,226
Reaction score
98,068
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Well said.
 

whixley101

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2013
Messages
500
Reaction score
60
Location
Columbia, SC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Absolutely on point. Also you could not have been more correct In saying chop shops are horrible for this business!


Sent from my iPad using REEF2REEF
 

rqc

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice it's all about article and contents now...
 

FloMojo

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
69
Reaction score
5
Location
Cental Coast of California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for your support Scott. I'm a hobbyist vendor...REALLY appreciate your words and advice. I've traded with Joe at a couple shows and you've even come by my table at MASVC FRAG and actually bought some of my corals. Really makes a nobody like me feel confidence and gratitude whenever pros pick up frags from a hobbyist. Thanks again for your ongoing advice and support!
 
OP
OP
uniquecorals

uniquecorals

UniqueCorals
View Badges
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
Messages
13,377
Reaction score
11,088
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for your support Scott. I'm a hobbyist vendor...REALLY appreciate your words and advice. I've traded with Joe at a couple shows and you've even come by my table at MASVC FRAG and actually bought some of my corals. Really makes a nobody like me feel confidence and gratitude whenever pros pick up frags from a hobbyist. Thanks again for your ongoing advice and support!

Hey, I told you- I'm a huge fan of the hobbyist/propagator, which is why we will continue to support the efforts of many of you guys! And trust me, none of you are "nobodies!"

Thanks for the kind words!

-Scott
 
Back
Top