I've noticed it lately too, where there seems to be a number of posts by a small amount of members selling many frags/corals - and the members appear to have small/new tanks, therefore I can only assume they are flipping corals

So I understand where the OP is coming from

Just my $0.05

Ive had someone buy multiple frags off me just to resell .Because I was selling them at a reasonable price the reseller could jack up the price then resell at a big $profit. it ticked me off , I was trying to spread the wealth as it was and it was and it was a bunch of zoas I had grown from a few polyps to a huge colony and had to frag because I was moving . It robs other people from enjoying this hobby at a reasonable price and that's wrong .

Reporting these things to me has surprisingly good and quick results :) Just sayin'

Profit means you make more money then you spend. It's impossible to profit as a hobbiest in this hobby. Period

i don't see the problem with it i just wouldnt buy it hehehe.

only thing that bothers me is when a nice shipment comes in and one person with a big wallet buys all the nice ones in seconds. share the beauty :)

but that doesn't even bother me im just jelouse because im not a fast buyer i like to do research before i get something

The member I would have pointed out to you seems to have magically vanished
I can't find them no matter how hard I search through the members list

I both agree and disagree with this. I have gone to concept many times looking for something that they post pictures of the day before and its already gone because thats just how it works the nicest pieces are going to go the fastest. But this past week i definitely didnt waste my time as soon as i saw they got an order i didn't want my favourite gold torch to be gone before i got there, so I was so desperate i got my neighbour to take me Lol. So I was that guy that took the nice pieces.( very hesitant because i would have no more money until june 20th so I bought them. Im glad I did because who knows when ill be able to find a Red and Blue clam again. I do bit myself in the but though sometimes for not doing research so i completely agree with you on that part. :D:mrgreen::biggrin::lol:

I hope that didn't sound rude because it definitely wasn't meant to be

It isn't any different than certain local stores around here buying frags off people off the forum cheap and selling them in store for 10x what the paid. Iv seen this happen several times.

Interesting thread.

Personally I will agree with those that think if you are buying and selling for the purpose of profit you are not hobbyist but a business.

I also find this thread interesting for the fact that I just sold all my coral. It was a long process (we are talking thousands of dollars). I had an unbelievable amount of corals for a hobbyist but I never once purchased a frag or colony for the sole purpose of profit. The large majority of my corals were purchased as frags and grown out. This takes the kind of time, resources and care that most businesses cant spare to waste. As a hobbyist though this is the best way to get your money back out of the hobby. I by far did the best on the small rare and/or beautiful (most times aquarium cultured) frags I would buy. In a few years (more or less) they are grown out and you can usually frag them many times to make back investments in the hobby. Of course this takes skill and patience. Much better than the few wild LPS colonies I would buy that do not grow. Nice corals are expensive and even though Jay (reefraft) would seem to give me decent prices (comparitively) if the coral wouldnt grow it would be a money loser in the end for sure. Another thing with selling grown out corals is you are not pushing chop shop corals which have a poorer track record.

Anyway you would'nt believe the growth you can get on some of these corals (certain SPS especially). The growth is nealy exponetial as they grow. So with a large system stuffed to the brink with mature corals I personally was not up to the task of selling all the frags. Thankfully Tony and Long wanted to make a business out of it. They are good guys and we both did well with our partnership. I wholesaled out my frags (till they were ready to buy the mother colonies). Less work for me and these young buck entrepreneurs can make a buck too. They are a registered tax paying business (and sponsor of canreef) as well cause Im sure some eye brows would have been raised had I tried to sell all my wares in the classifieds.

Currently coral free
D.V.