!!UN-FRAG-ABLEs SOAPBOX RANT PACK!!

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Battlecorals

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Alright guys I’m with you really. I mean come on 800.00+ for a wild cut acro frag? Have you all gone fracking loony??? Up to a grand or more for wild cut sps????


Maybe I am in the minority here on this one, but a wild cut acro is worth about zero to me no matter how pretty or rare it is. I just don’t see it as a viable means of profit at all.


On my soapbox?? Yes!!! does this happen often? Not at all if ever but here we go!!


I just don’t know weather to laugh cry or cringe when I see this stuff happening. 800+ dollars for a 1/2 inch frag off of a wild colony. A frag that is even expected to come in ugly and that will/may “eventually†color back up. You hope. Really? Some small devious envious part of me wishes I could get away with that. But the rest of me is secure knowing that I could never be so unscrupulous. And like I said I'm with you. I’ve boughten my fare share of this top dollar stuff as well. Sometimes it blossoms and a lot of times it withers. And thats the nature of sps. It's unpredictable and extremely unstable in that state. Somehow that's has become completely acceptable. To buy a frag based on a beautiful pic only to receive a far cry from the original and then instructed to give it a couple years. I find it quite unacceptable. For free, yeah. that makes perfect sense but for over 300 even is ridiculous.


I get that there’s only one place to pick these things from initially and that is the ocean. And when the pretty stuff comes in we all drool over it and those that can buy, do. Call it a gamble I guess but to me wild acro colonies are just worthless till they have got some actual captive growth. I know i am alone in the corner among vendors on this philosophy and I was guilty of fragging fresh stuff for profit early on all the same but as my business evolved it was a quick and easy decision to sell only home grown sps. I do understand the casual irony of using my platform to market coral at the same time I ridicule methods and means that are used to do so. And that this sort of aggression may be the vinegar that will catch less flies in the end but I think I am saying out loud at least in writing what a lot of you are thinking…




So am I really going to preface some of my own hype about an expensive acro pack with a rant about ridiculously priced frags? Absolutely and here’s why.


If I was going to follow the current trend this could easily be 3000+ pack. Demand is demand and these are is some sough after acros. But Im confident most of you would agree that is just stupid. I mean the frags are relatively small and clearly cut just moments ago and some don’t even look all that great. The stag and the tort especially. Not prime cuts at all and from near dormant mothers.




However this is a collection of everything I get begged for weekly without fail and have to say no to. Over and over. And I know you’ve heard this one from me before but this time I really went for it. No reservations at all. I cut that exquisita that's still only a couple inches as well as the flamingo in my display that I promised myself I'd never touch. Same story goes for nearly all of them and many of you know that a lot of my prices are based more on availability and growth rates than any current market trend. And the quotes I've given some of you on these over the years have been the "ill frag it for you if you really want to pay out the rear but Id rather not" price and 9 times out of 10 I'm successful in my attempt to to scare you off which was the only intention of the exaggerated price tag. Mind you prices still no where near 3 to 4 to 500 dollars.


This is all stuff I have extremely limited amounts of. They were all grown from frags right here by me and are extremely desirable based on the interest and the offers I’ve had on almost all of these ones over the years. In fact I could probably contact a couple of you directly and you’d gladly throw 3 grand at me for these ones, but I cant do it. 2 grand even seems outrageous.




So here we are at the moment of truth. What value do I put on a pack like this? Extremely limited captive grown, highly collectable sps?



125.00 a frag down the pipe.



Far below any other vendors “version†of a pack like this. And no this ones not aimed at Jared in any way but at the guys who are selling you wild cuts(of some of these even) for over 300.00 a pop! And I’m not targeting those of you willing and able to pay premium prices for wild cuts. Hey I’m right there with you practically. well almost. The part about willing, but able in spirit at least . And for me its an “investment†at the very least so I can easily justify dropping exorbitant amounts on acros but where the line breaks is that I don’t have the gall to re sell them to you guys at prices like that. captive versions no less.




So again here we are my friends. If you've decided to read this whole thing I'll leave you with this.

Was this whole rant just a debatably clever way to sell you an expensive acro pack masked as affordable by comparison, or perhaps a breath of fresh air wafting in the fog of hopelessly overpriced wild cuts.





1250.00 shipped! Fresh cut and even a couple boogers but 100% captive grown. Take it or leave it.



  1. Battlestag
  2. Oregon tort
  3. Hyperberry
  4. Sunny X sunset
  5. BC Exquisita
  6. Sexy's Orange passion
  7. Reef Raft Orange passion
  8. BC Pink Flamingo
  9. Tyree Ice fire echinata
  10. Reefers Cove Poison Envy

And just for the sake of total transparency I am going to show you exactly how I edited them and the before and after versions of the RAW shots in lightroom. And will I hold them for you while they encrust a bit before they ship? I wouldn't do it any other way:angel:

IMG_2361-Edit_zpszhqelwip.jpg


IMG_2355_zpsfumpy8jw.jpg



Screenshot%202015-04-12%2014.14.48_zpstj90o3lz.png

Screenshot%202015-04-12%2014.02.53_zpssrjuiw4t.png
 

Daniel@R2R

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Amazing pack, Adam! I love your transparency as a vendor and your philosophy of business ("ethical" is the word that comes to mind). Btw, the price on this pack is outstanding, and I doubt it will last long! :thumb:
 

anarchy

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The battlestag!!! Why would you do this to me. Wait until June 1! Still having to run acro free until then so no more aefw
 

rovster

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I thought you lost that Battlestag! I took it off my want list. It's officially back on! Super pack there! I've got 60% of that pack already if not if be all over this, haha!
 
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Battlecorals

Battlecorals

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I thought you lost that Battlestag! I took it off my want list. It's officially back on! Super pack there! I've got 60% of that pack already if not if be all over this, haha!

well let me tell the whole story then lol. back when i first started BcC I had a large thriving colony in my 300 gallon display. this is the pic thats on the site taken with my moms diving camera in 2011. After the site went live and then soon after i began my sponsorship with reef 2 reef a bunch of lucky reefers got monsters of it as i couldn't say no to anyone back then and had no concept of total colony devastation brought on my massive over fragging.

That stag in particular is the kind of coral that rests almost a year before it starts to grow. Every frag I've cut for my own systems has demonstrated this as well the original frag i got from menard back in 07 or so. the frag just sits there a year at least then one day finally it explodes. Well after destroying my colony the blob that was left went into an extended state of this. Being essentially dormant ever since. I have small satellite back ups in all my systems now that are still pretty small but have made it over that hump. this frag actually came off my original back up colony that also went format after a smaller but just as reckless fragging boon and has only now finally come out of its shell. I should have left it alone but this pack wouldn't have been right without it. so here's to another year or dormancy!
 
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Shep

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I love that sunny!
 

Apisto

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Great frag pack, Adam. Worth every penny. I remember talking to you when you were just coming out of your "reckless fragging" days. Going through that probably has served you well. Your business practices are admirable!
 

PaulKreider

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Glad to see when vendors stand up for what they believe in, right there with you man. Not sure how some of these vendors don't feel guilty with the wild caught prices they're charging.

EDIT: Or the fact that Chop-shopping is still a thing, in a time where are hobby is under such pressure and the natural ecosystems are declining, how can such practices still be acceptable.
 
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dodgerblew

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You're the kind of guy I'd like to have a beer and hang out with Adam. Bravo!
 

Reefhunter007

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Hello I hope no one thinks I'm being a jerk for asking this question but I am curious "which reef raft is the Orange passion from ...Asia,Canada or Usa???
 
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Battlecorals

Battlecorals

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Hello I hope no one thinks I'm being a jerk for asking this question but I am curious "which reef raft is the Orange passion from ...Asia,Canada or Usa???

Not at all. This one came as a frag from ray at two guys about a year ago. the origin was rr Asia right when all that odd bennyz stuff was going on
 

gdemos

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I've been lurking BC stuff for a long time and must say not only do your frags look great, and im considering this pack, your statements echo confidence and dedication to your field and respect for the hobbyist.
 

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