LE corals

[texhorns98]

Actually Grouper wine most likely can't be replicated at all! Fruit is different from year to year and the wine is ever changing from the moment it begins it's life. Even less expensive wines that tend to taste the same year in and year out probably are not EXACTLY the same. Most, if not all people just can't discern the differences.

 

[reeferman]

when Steve Tyree started the LE craze,it was just that,limited edition.he only sold very small pieces[sometimes just one polyp of an acro!]from his website,Reeffarmers.he didnt just chop and ship.you had to get on a waiting list after an auction.then he would call you and get details of your system before he would sell to you.now,everyone who gets something colorful,they put the LE sticker on it and charge out the wazoo.anybody can call their stuff LE but when it started,only Steve Tyree had that distinction.[not that hes a coral god,he just started it]it only takes a short time of growing and fragging for an item to become commonplace and no longer "limited".
i buy what i like regardless of the names or LE status,it just so happens that the vast majority of very colorful corals hold that distinction.no one can deny that most LE corals blow their "regular" counterparts out of the water.but then again,beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[mcphock]

LE corals are just a mechanism to drive the supply curve left.

If you like it, but it. Who gives a **** who originated the coral? That adds 0 value to it, in my opinion.

I had half a mind to name some of my corals something arbitrary, just to see if anyone would bite. A simple experiment. However, that's not cool to do to someone. Especially the nice ARC folks

 

[grouper therapy]

texhorns98;784771 wrote: Actually Grouper wine most likely can't be replicated at all! Fruit is different from year to year and the wine is ever changing from the moment it begins it's life. Even less expensive wines that tend to taste the same year in and year out probably are not EXACTLY the same. Most, if not all people just can't discern the differences.

I figured as much but wasn't sure. All I know is it doesn't taste like Crown Royal .

 

[falos]

grouper therapy;784783 wrote: I figured as much but wasn't sure. All I know is it doesn't taste like Crown Royal .

Eww crown sucks if you will drink crown black I got a big bottle with 2 shots out of it you can have

 

[ripped tide]

What is a fair price for a good looking coral?

I see acros that sell for $150 an inch, and others that look really nice selling for $40 an inch, and some for $5.

What is a decent price for an "LE" quality coral, even with out a name?

 

[clay4au]

It's all a function of supply and demand and milking the market for all its worth.
Somewhere between harvesting and the wholesalers someone is cherry picking. Thereby limiting the supply and pricing them as high as the market will allow.

I personally am one of the most frugal people I know but I love bling in my tank. The first time I seen rasta zoas I knew I had to have them. After looking for months I found some for 15pp and bought 3 for $45 and it really hurt at the time. Now close to 8 months later I have a colony of about 40 and have traded ~10 frags for other coral that I thought cost way too much. This has worked well for me as my initial investment has both paid for itself and keeps bringing me a return. Would I ever pay $100+ for 1 eye of a chalice? Heck no but I would trade a mini colony of my zoas for one that i really liked.

@Rich I hope you haven't killed those space monsters I gave you. You know you at least have to care about the LE stuff that you already own.

 

[rdnelson]

Clay4AU;784789 wrote: @Rich I hope you haven't killed those space monsters I gave you. You know you at least have to care about the LE stuff that you already own.

Nope it is doing great. And to clarify, I do care because it is a great looking coral. My point was that the name attached to it wasn't what makes it a favorite of mine. When I look in my tank I can say, "This guy gave me this and that guy gave me that". Down the road, I hope to be either "This guy or that guy". I doubt seriously that I will ever be willing and/or able to go out and drop $100 pp for coral. So to me, it is about how my tank looks and the friendships I have made in doing so.

 

[dough]

I for one got tired of keeping up with the Jones and wasting money on a .25" frag for $100 that would that never survived in my tank. I've come full circle to buy what I like not based upon the label of LE. But since I've been in this hobby for a long time, the LE and named corals has gotten us away from the scientific names of the corals we keep. When I was a member of the first Atlanta Reef Club, before it went under and Jenn started the current ARC, we never had named corals. In some respects the hobby changed when the LE fad came in.

Just my random Monday morning thoughts.

 

[acroholic]

grouper therapy;784763 wrote: I can see the similarities you speak of but I would think that a spectacular wine is truly a limited edition and cannot be EASILY replicated, where as any LE coral for the most part can be propagated and deemed common or plentiful in a matter of months. That said when others ,who can afford the " temporarily LE corals" , state that they don't see the logic behind that type of purchase it may be that they view it as being made due to the buyer being ostentatious, impatient or naive. IMO the two cannot be compared for being purchased due to uniqueness.

Agreed. Any coral that is currently only available in limited quantities gets cheaper and more common the more it is propagated. As long as it can be grown, it can be duplicated ad infinitum.

 

[midas]

Seth The Wine Guy;784741 wrote: 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.

I don't think so. Although some won't buy LE because they cannot afford it, I think most avoid them because they simply have no interest in them. Of those that do focus on LE, I think some buy them in the hopes of reselling frags, while many just want to inflate their ego.

I find it very telling that people who purchase LE coral (or other items) often want to impress people more with the cost of the item than the item itself. Not content to simply say I've got this beautiful coral, or great whatever - they feel compelled to make sure we know the price they paid.

I have seen people ONLY purchase expensive LE coral when other people could watch them do so, and show no interest in the same item if the sale was being made in private. That says more about the person than the coral, imo.

 

[snowmansnow]

bah.. my entire reef keeping method is pretty simple... this goes for corals and fish too.. keep the over priced "LE" stuff.

In order for something to be limited ... the production has to be cut off so that it REMAINS limited.. with corals.. they become LESS limited every day that they grow in aquariums all over the world....

As for the names.. My corals are all.. purple THIS.. blue THAT... Green something...

Edit:

Midas;784863 wrote: I don't think so. Although some won't buy LE because they cannot afford it, I think most avoid them because they simply have no interest in them. Of those that do focus on LE, I think some buy them in the hopes of reselling frags, while many just want to inflate their ego.

I find it very telling that people who purchase LE coral (or other items) often want to impress people more with the cost of the item than the item itself. Not content to simply say I've got this beautiful coral, or great whatever - they feel compelled to make sure we know the price they paid.

I have seen people ONLY purchase expensive LE coral when other people could watch them do so, and show no interest in the same item if the sale was being made in private. That says more about the person than the coral, imo.

Ya.. I'm not sure it has much to do with being able to AFFORD it.. I'll go and spend a grand on a skimmer... but not gonna spend the same on some chalice somewhere haha..

I think for some of us justification kicks in.. its all in the reef keeping hierarchy of priorities for each individual

Edit:

Ripped Tide;784787 wrote: What is a fair price for a good looking coral?

I see acros that sell for $150 an inch, and others that look really nice selling for $40 an inch, and some for $5.

What is a decent price for an "LE" quality coral, even with out a name?

it has to do with the supply and demand.. go buy a inch of a pearl berry art live aquaria for $60.. or buy one from a reefer with a large colony for $20 or less haha...

 

[falos]

Ripped Tide;784787 wrote: What is a fair price for a good looking coral?

I see acros that sell for $150 an inch, and others that look really nice selling for $40 an inch, and some for $5.

What is a decent price for an "LE" quality coral, even with out a name?

As far as the price I will pay for a acro usuly depends on my mood at the time I have a hard time paying more then 60 for a frag sps unless its just stunning(have to see it in person no photos) its just acros grow to fast
Lps on the other hand I will pay more for as it takes more time for them to mature but a lot of chalice are past what I will,spend on eny photosynthetic coral

I street my corals and fish just like my pups they are all pets I decided to give a home. I see the price I payed for them as a adoption fee

 

[ripped tide]

I can't help but think that if I had a colony of strawberry shortcake, and listed a frag for sale, I would sell it faster and for more money if I listed it as "strawberry shortcake" instead of "pink and green acro"

 

[sleepyreef]

Ripped Tide;785126 wrote: I can't help but think that if I had a colony of strawberry shortcake, and listed a frag for sale, I would sell it faster and for more money if I listed it as "strawberry shortcake" instead of "pink and green acro"

I think you are on to something.

 

[falos]

Ripped Tide;785126 wrote: I can't help but think that if I had a colony of strawberry shortcake, and listed a frag for sale, I would sell it faster and for more money if I listed it as "strawberry shortcake" instead of "pink and green acro"

It would branding Is a mother to consumers but are you shure its strawberry shortcake got papers to prove its from the original named colony I can allways fill a top shelf liqure bottle with Mr Boston's if you didn't know and saw me pore it from a good bottle you would thank its the same

 

[ripped tide]

falos;785129 wrote: It would branding Is a mother to consumers but are you shure its strawberry shortcake got papers to prove its from the original named colony I can allways fill a top shelf liqure bottle with Mr Boston's if you didn't know and saw me pore it from a good bottle you would thank its the same

Would you pour grey goose into a mr Boston's bottle and sell the grey goose for less than the value you paid?

 

[acroholic]

Ripped Tide;785126 wrote: I can't help but think that if I had a colony of strawberry shortcake, and listed a frag for sale, I would sell it faster and for more money if I listed it as "strawberry shortcake" instead of "pink and green acro"

Yes, but as far as I know, Strawberry Shortcake is not a term originated to identify one specific coral, like Red Dragon traced back to CITR or Reef Raft. Strawberry Shortcake describes any number of similar looking acro colonies coming in from Australia. More generic in nature than a single named coral with lineage.

 

[ripped tide]

Lol ok, if I sold a red dragon as a "smooth skinned red acro" I would probably not get as many hits as selling it as "red dragon!"

Just an observation really.

I am content knowing that many people have many different reasons for buying the corals that that they do.

What I want to know more than anything is: what is most appealing to the current market?

2 years ago, it would have been LE corals. Now, not so much.

Another observation: when someone posts a "getting out thread", LE corals seem to be the fastest that sell.

 

[reeferman]

because le corals are almost always colored better than the run of the mill stuff.color sells,regardless of the name.just so happens,most of the brightest corals are named.