WHat happened to the sponsors?

[weimers75]

I noticed that some sponsers have left the site. What happened?

 

[surfn]

ummmm........yeah.......about that..........

basically, they decided CZ was no longer good enough for them.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Which ones left?

 

[ficklefins]

Which ones left?

I read this wrong and answered wrong.

 

[chadfarmer]

fraggle reef left and i just stated looking at his site -- to bad i will miss out on his stuff --

i only bought from him when i noticed that he did an update on the sponsor forum

 

[Absinthe]

Why did fragglereef leave?

 

[Azurel]

Keep in mind that this is only oneside of the story....and a very biased side of the story to boot. Although there were to be no hard feeling with the leaving of this peticular sponsor it seems the hard feelings are aimed at us.

 

[Nikon_Guy]

Three businesses made a pact? Hmmm, I wonder if they are aware of the Sherman Act or Federal Anti Trust Laws.

 

[Kigs!]

Well...I think this outcome is directly related to the atmosphere of club-zoa.com Since it is still a small growing community compaired to the other forums, any sale threads posted by members become more distinct and noticed, including the ones listed by the moderators. In a bigger community, I guess it wouldn't impact the vendors as much or be even noticed. Especially since club-zoa specializes in zoa, obviously there will be better sales by the hobbyists compaired to the vendors and with an exception to few of the reefers that are open to other types of corals other than zoas, most seem to come looking to buy zoas. It almost seems that it is part of us zoa collectors' culture to share and sell different species for a cheaper price, since that concept built this forum and popularized the community to become one of the well known forum for all zoa discussions. But we shouldn't also forget the vendors that helped build this community from the beginning. It almost seems as if there is no solution to this problem, strictly due to the size of the community. Maybe when the zoa community becomes bigger, vendors will be able to sponsor sites such as club-zoa without feeling like they are losing sales over other hobbyists. Do you mind sharing what the compromise that the vendors turned down was? If we are deciding what is best for the community, maybe it's best let the community know what options were offered to the vendors. It's such a contradicting issue since I love trade/sale from hobbyists but I also enjoyed some of the vendors that frequently participated in the forum discussions.

 

[Ike]

Oh well, my order from Miguel was sloppy and only so so. I was on the fence about ordering from them again, but this pretty much cements that I won't be ordering anything from him again if what you say is true.


It's like a car dealership pulling sponsorship from a car forum because people keep advertising their used cars for sale. Give me a freaking break and grow up. If you don't want to be a sponsor, no problem, but to say there were ethical concerns over mods selling corals is moronic. If they should have any ethical concerns about a forum they need to be looking at Reef Central. "Our goal is to help educate people about the saltwater aquarium hobby and enhance awareness of the fragility of coral reefs around the world" my butt.

 

[Kigs!]

I see where you're coming from Jeremy. I think this whole ordeal was one of those situations that couldn't have ended with a conclusion that made both parties happy. It's sad to see some of them leave club-zoa, but hopefully more new sponsors will be able to join us as we grow into a bigger community.

 

[Pazazz]

I am glad you made that CORRECT decision on this issue. Most moderators being hobbyists pay top dollar for there frags where as most businesses are buying wholsale and milking market value at over 1000% profit. Mods or not as long as personal selling by someone does not get way out of hand I dont see an issue.

Thanks for making Club Zoa what it is...

 

[Kigs!]

Pazazz, why don't you become cz's brand new sponsor? You certainly have nice stuff that many people want here. I think it's about time you upgraded your status hehe...

 

[Absinthe]

I've known Miguel personally for a few years now and just got a lengthy email from him. It sound to me like a few of the sponsors were upset that CZ was taking their sponsorship fees but weren't too concerned with whether or not their sponsors were getting any business from the board.

Each sponsor has been trashed at some point on every board, thats just how things work.

I think in this case they were upset that they were paying money to be sponsors and not able to justify it.

So, I agree that is might be like the analogy above (which was good by the way) of a car salesman being upset that people are selling cars privately...but a more accurate analogy might be the car salesman being upset because people are selling the same cars privately, and at cost. You cant make a living if people around you are selling the same product at a lower price.

Dissapointing all around.

 

[Absinthe]

Thorough explanation appreciated.

 

[weimers75]

Thanks for the replies, I just noticed they suddenly weren't there, so figured something must have happened.

 

[phisigs79]

I honestly dont feel like they are the best place to by from either. I got a order that didnt look like the ones on the site and was full of pest! I have seen him "name" zoas that were far from what he was naming them. $20 a month is nothing compared to what they make by one person seeing there banner and ordering from them. To me, we dont need this vendor around if they want to bash our community and be a ok seller. His stuff is 50/50 on getting good stuff. We shouldn't make this longer than we need to. This just gives them more fuel and they will think we are hurting by them leaving. Everyone is better ok leaving it be. It's :horse:

 

[revhtree]

Purecaptive I had experience with and it didnt get much better than what I experienced. The others I had no clue, but I know for a fact about pure captive. Let's dont turn this thread into a mud slinging contest. The facts are the facts, but no need to stoop down to a child's level.

 

[surfn]

their complaint isn't just about mods....its about everyone selling.

we can't help it if they always have a crappy selection, and our memembers have better selections than they do.

they basically want us to put a cap (in a $$ amount) on how much people can sell things for....which is NOT gonna happen. we told them a million times, they can leave if they dont think their sponsorship is worth it anymore.

the mod excuse, is well......just that an excuse on their part to single people out specifically. larry of edensgate was a mod at zoas-r-us, as well as a sponsor, and did indeed sell things on that side. yet he complains if we do the same thing he did. this is the part in which they claim things are "unethical". they are hypocrits...

 

[fishes2889]

I just dont get it. Whatever, if they want to leave, leave. But, i will say one thing i am still a customer of Bryan of PC and will be to come. He's a good guy and i visit him from time to time. Its just straight business. Nothing personal.....IMO

And i havent bought anything else from the others so i wouldnt place judgement on them.