Nothing like getting ripped off from a "WYSIWYG" Coral Vendor..

[SauceyReef]

I feel thankful that I live in Southern California where I can make a day trip, or maybe an overnighter to dozens of high end stores. I really feel bad for the people who are stuck out where they have limited selection, but all of these "scam" horror stories are swearing me off buying corals online for sure.

Yep.. I am from N.E. Ohio.

There is a reason I have not bought any corals online in 5-10 years..

 

[VintageReefer]

Coral of Eden has a high end Lobo colony. They call it a ring of fire. Their frags are about $1000 per inch

Maybe because it’s higher end they don’t edit as much, to prevent upset customers wanting their money back ?

I was happy with mine and felt it matched the photos pretty well

Listing pic

My frag on arrival under different lightings

 

[SauceyReef]

@VintageReefer like I said earlier you may have missed. If you want to sell hobbyists in a tight community high end corals that are really just edited average pieces AND continue your business long term you would have to be quite select about it..

I agree with you the only reasoning I can see behind it is the higher end frags would just cause more trouble for him if trying to fake them. I paid close to $100 for my frag. If he doesnt give me a large portion of my $$ back my bank will get it involved. If it was $200+ or closer to $1000 they would take it very seriously. Will be much harder to get $80 back.

Coral Of Edens response will tell a lot. I have not asked for money back yet, just sent an email expressing my frustration and how messed up this is.

 

[VintageReefer]

I couldn’t complain about the leptos at this price. Big frags too.

But yea they were enhanced to be more orange. Here is what they grew into. Posting here to compare to listing pics

 

[VintageReefer]

Your experience however was trash. Inexcusable.

Mine at least were close or just had some brightness tweaked. Yours was completely edited, tweaked, and recooked to be something it never was.

See what they say. I’d be fuming also

 

[SauceyReef]

Your experience however was trash. Inexcusable.

Mine at least were close or just had some brightness tweaked. Yours was completely edited, tweaked, and recooked to be something it never was.

See what they say. I’d be fuming also

Thank you! 100% agree. Will keep you and everyone updated.

 

[GARRIGA]

I have an AI prime. I just tried 3-4 different color patterns, and tried my other 2 lights that are not AI primes and have completely different presets. It is all the same under any spectrum... Orange and Teel.

I already sent him a email and trust me it had nothing to do with asking what preset he had it under. Clearly this guy is a scammer using a bunch of editing.

My next email will be asking for my $$ back.

If you paid by card then consider challenging it as that will get vendor motivated to get this resolved quickly. Mind you mistakes happen and best approach is assume that's what happened and vendor will make it right but if they don't then CC charge-back likely available.

 

[SauceyReef]

If you paid by card then consider challenging it as that will get vendor motivated to get this resolved quickly. Mind you mistakes happen and best approach is assume that's what happened and vendor will make it right but if they don't then CC charge-back likely available.

This was my plan! I want to see what he does before I threaten this though. I know my bank will give it back to me even if I wait 1-3 days.

 

[VintageReefer]

I feel bad because I bought from these guys twice and vouched for them in the past. It like you said maybe they edit a sample like 50% so not every one gets screwed over and files complaints. SMH just crap way to handle things. Just put the coral pic up at a fair price and if someone wants it they will buy it.

 

[SauceyReef]

I feel bad because I bought from these guys twice and vouched for them in the past. It like you said maybe they edit a sample like 50% so not every one gets screwed over and files complaints. SMH just crap way to handle things. Just put the coral pic up at a fair price and if someone wants it they will buy it.

I see no explanation that can defend the action. In my head it was 100% deliberate.

 

[rtparty]

If you dim your room lights by 18%, tilt your head 37º to the northwest, and squint just enough.....you still can't see the colors they added in with photoshop

 

[VintageReefer]

I see no explanation that can defend the action. In my head it was 100% deliberate.

I take thousands of photos and they never come out accidentally like the one you were provided. That takes some serious intent and effort

 

[SauceyReef]

If you dim your room lights by 18%, tilt your head 37º to the northwest, and squint just enough.....you still can't see the colors they added in with photoshop

lol - this comment is gold

I also just learned if you try to put down l.m.a.o. here it gets reverted to LOL. That deserves a lol.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

glad to know about another place to avoid. sad this happened to you.

 

[VintageReefer]

I won’t be testing my luck again nor praising them. Seems they changed
their business practices since I bought last

 

[SauceyReef]

Glad this thread did not just get lost in the ether. Thanks everyone.

 

[FMF0331]

Sorry to hear about your experience.
I go to frags swaps when I can, this way I know exactly what I'm getting.

 

[SauceyReef]

Sorry to hear about your experience.
I go to frags swaps when I can, this way I know exactly what I'm getting.

You are right. I should have saved that $80 for LEAR or Fragginstein.. (Frag swaps around where I live)

Hopefully I will get most or all of it back.

 

[rtparty]

Glad this thread did not just get lost in the ether. Thanks everyone.

I hope they do the right thing. Every company has mistakes (this one is more than a mistake) but I use or avoid companies based on how they handle those mistakes.

 

[PeterErc]

Nah man, that's legit. Corals colors always dumb down from shipping stress. Give it a couple days and the frag plug will color back up too.

Frags from right side are 99.99(1/16")left side are 20(1+"), frags are not for sale,just being silly
No way I would ever do that. Many vendors have no shame.

Photo was not processed so it could be said that those are the colors, you lighting is different if you complain

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