Interesting idea...Coral Pawn?

gnashty

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I have been thinking about this lately - its seems alot of sale threads pop up out of necessity to raise some quick cash, the hobby seems it is the first to go when financial crisis happens in the household - its sucks but it happens and we lose alot of good reefers due to it..

Would you use a Coral pawn type transaction to raise some quick cash when in need? Say you need $100 for a bill, salt & supplies, or weekend get away....

Same rules would apply as with pawning stuff - you get cash for your corals and have 60-90 days to pick them up and pay back - otherwise they would be kept by the person who made the loan..

This is not a solicitation in anyway just putting the idea out there for discussion and there are a TON of variables and unknowns - just thought it could be a way to help someone out and lower the attrition of reefkeepers due to financial woes..

maybe i just watch too much pawnstars on History channel :lol2:
 
Too dangerous with livestock - the pawn "shop" would have way too much liability here
 
I thought about that too - its a risk both parties would have to take....

Its not likely the shop would be utilized often enough to create a very large burden to the "shop"

I think the liability part would be mitigated by the actual "loan amount"..say a MH chalice that has 1 eye is sold for $45+ online or at LFS - this would have a "pawn loan" value of roughly $20 on a 60 day loan.

Dry goods would be a good one too...
 
Personally, if anyone is hurting that bad for money, then the last thing they need to be doing is staying a pure luxury money pit hobby like Reefing. Sell your livestock for cash, keep your setup in storage, and when your fiscal health improves, get back in.

No one should be worrying about buying salt for water changes if they can't make their rent, etc. JMO.
 
Acroholic;566833 wrote: Personally, if anyone is hurting that bad for money, then the last thing they need to be doing is staying a pure luxury money pit hobby like Reefing. Sell your livestock for cash, keep your setup in storage, and when your fiscal health improves, get back in.

No one should be worrying about buying salt for water changes if they can't make their rent, etc. JMO.

Im with ya but im thinking more temporary set back type stuff that maybe didnt require mass sell offs, just rehoming a couple nice peices for a while...sometimes times are tough for whatever reason. Allthough you could probably pay off my house if you sold all your livestock!

There are plenty of reefers on here that are living paycheck to paycheck
 
gnashty;566840 wrote: Im with ya but im thinking more temporary set back type stuff that maybe didnt require mass sell offs, just rehoming a couple nice peices for a while...sometimes times are tough for whatever reason. Allthough you could probably pay off my house if you sold all your livestock!

There are plenty of reefers on here that are living paycheck to paycheck

Good thought but just too impractical, IMO. If times are that tough then you shouldn't be spending money on the electricity to keep your halides going, and the water to make all your RO either. Again, JMO.

For an idea like that you should just take any corals you want to sell to a LFS and sell them for cash or sell them here on the FS forum, maybe with the understanding you get a frag back.

I would be more likely to house a coral for someone else for free. I wouldn't want the liability and personal issues that could result from giving money for a loan using coral as collateral.
 
Acroholic;566848 wrote:
I would be more likely to house a coral for someone else for free. I wouldn't want the liability and personal issues that could result from giving money for a loan using coral as collateral.

I have no problem housing corals for people - I have a large stag of Howards now and im holding it for him of the understanding that if it perishes under my watch, my liability is none....havent heard from Howard in a while - hope his build is still progressing.
 
I agree that it would be ridiculously risky on the part of the "pawn" shop. So you have a setup and all of a sudden the corals go south due to whatever. Then you're on the hook for it? Power goes out, redbug infestation, aiptasia, etc etc etc.. Not to mention the overhead of maintaining said "pawn" shop. Just not enough money involved, and way too much work IMHO.
 
I think you guys are taking this to a much larger scale than my original idea, love the feedback dont get me wrong - Im thinking 2-3 transactions per year and there would be no shop and maintenece would be the norm we all do each week, no additional costs - just the display. I guess im not really looking for feedback on the "shop model" and liability and other factors because they would be so specialized but would it be of any benefit to someone..

I would like to hear from someone who just sold some corals for some quick emergency pocket cash but would have much rather just received a loan using those corals as collateral.

This isnt for a person who is facing foreclosure or anything just maybe a person who needs a little cash for the lil one to go to soccer camp or something...
 
But even then. A pawn rate is very low, so to get a couple hundred bucks, you'd be looking at bringing in $1k in corals. Who has $1k in corals that's easily moved? Other than that, you're taking in $100-$200 retail pieces that are going to get $30-$40 on pawn (maybe), which I don't know would even be worth the gas.

But who knows... I'm sure Pierre Omidyar got a lot of flak for his "Auction Web"...
 
JeF4y;566881 wrote: But even then. A pawn rate is very low, so to get a couple hundred bucks, you'd be looking at bringing in $1k in corals. Who has $1k in corals that's easily moved? Other than that, you're taking in $100-$200 retail pieces that are going to get $30-$40 on pawn (maybe), which I don't know would even be worth the gas.

But who knows... I'm sure Pierre Omidyar got a lot of flak for his "Auction Web"...

Yeah, the model I had in mind wasnt about making profits but helping people out that needed it - However, the "shop" gets ahead (potentially) by keeping what is left behind if the party fails to pay/pick up.
 
I've had this idea too... although it was more like boarding your livestock, as you would do at a vet.

For instance, upgrading to a new tank is a huge pain for me, because it can only go in one spot in my house, so I have to:
1) fully dismantle the current tank
2) move it
3) move the new one in place
4) rebuild and aquascape in the new tank
5) move livestock in

This is just too much hassle for me in one day, especially by myself with a 120 gallon tank. Plus, not finishing in a reasonable amount of time is detrimental to livestock. There are so many things that could go wrong in setting up the new tank. I would rather take my livestock to a place where I could board them for a few days, and be patient and careful with my tank swap.
 
McPhock;566902 wrote: I've had this idea too... although it was more like boarding your livestock, as you would do at a vet.

For instance, upgrading to a new tank is a huge pain for me, because it can only go in one spot in my house, so I have to:
1) fully dismantle the current tank
2) move it
3) move the new one in place
4) rebuild and aquascape in the new tank
5) move livestock in

This is just too much hassle for me in one day, especially by myself with a 120 gallon tank. Plus, not finishing in a reasonable amount of time is detrimental to livestock. There are so many things that could go wrong in setting up the new tank. I would rather take my livestock to a place where I could board them for a few days, and be patient and careful with my tank swap.

fishy day care...lol
 
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