Seth The Wine Guy;784741 wrote: This is going to be offensive to some and others really won't care, but... Blunt reality is, the people who seem to hate "LE" or the concept thereof, are the ones who don't have money to spend on it.
True LE coral is like a Candy Basslet or Gem Tang. It's beautiful, hard to get, or hard to keep. Only difference is, we as hobbyist have success making more corals in our tank as opposed to fish. So, LE assigned to a coral loses it's designation much more quickly. Will the perfect conditions have to exist for that coral to reach the pinnacle of its potential? Probably. What creature or product on this planet doesn't need the most ideal conditions to reach its fullest potential?
My true passion and hobby is wine. People are utterly disgusted at what a single bottle is worth to someone. I appreciate it like a great work of art. And when I say appreciate it, I don't just mean I acknowledge it costs a lot of money. Rather, you could put that wine in a brown paper bag and taste me blind and I would tell you exactly what it is and where it's from. I feel, taste, and breath it. (Try me if you don't believe me!)
Wine is so much like coral. You can buy a bottle when released that has been deemed a "perfect wine" by the wine critics and collectors alike. You can do everything right that you're supposed to. Keep it at the right temp, humidity, away from vibration and age it for a period that is supposed to be just right. You then open it up and it tastes like garbage. Why? Any number of reasons. Its transportation to the US was not temp controlled. The cork had TCA and tainted the wine. Or, it was simply too young or in a "dummy stage".
I can't tell you how many times I've sat with friends where everyone brings a wine to compete in a high stakes game of bragging rights and people are "burned" by the bottle they brought because it performed like crap at the competition. All the wines are in brown bags and no one knows whose wine it is or what the wine is. We all taste it blindly and bluntly evaluate it. You know how bad it hurts to have brought a bottle worth several thousand dollars and have people spit it out and call it garbage? Anyone whose bought an LE coral or prized fish that went T's up knows.
Conversely, when you buy a prized coral (Or wine) that not only lives up to it's LE billing but exceeds it, it's so gratifying! It's like catching that 12lb bass in the lake that everyone talks about. You've fished that lake every week for 10 years and never caught anything bigger than a 2lb large mouth. But, one weekend you catch her and reel her in! All 12 pounds!
Can you buy a non LE coral (or wine) and be shocked at what it becomes? Sure. But, how many brown acros do you have to buy to wait and see what they turn into? LOTS.
Most retailers hate LE because they can't get their hands on it. It simply doesn't appear on their wholesaler stock list. Most hobbyist seem to hate it because they think it's not worth the price. Others just seem to hate because, well, they're just haters. So, that leaves the minority. The evil 2%
All that being said, I don't spend stupid money on coral. I put stupid money into quality equipment to keep what I do have alive and well. Do I have LE stuff? Sure. But, I didn't pay LE prices!
Be smart and buy smart is how I try to go. (Not always successful) But, I love an open market and seeing the price any given item may fetch.
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