[Cujo#31]

A bit of an update for all of you. Yes I have been in "contact" (if u call finger talking ie. Text and email)
Yes we will need to deal with cites and customs and all that junk but the initial stages of conversation I have seen numbers that do not seem that unreasonable. I haven't seen solid committed figures on the unknown costs but we have time to.sort this out. A deal of this kind done in haste can only lead to disaster.
I have approached many cross border growers about getting their goods here and 99% gave me a flat out no.
I believe we have found a mutually beneficial relationship. A business man interested in making money......and people willing to give it to him. Where there is a will there is a way.
I see this going down as a fairly large order. I'm thinking in order to make this fly we will need somewhere near 12 to 15 signature buyers and of course there are others that may only want WYSWYSG type sales.
Like Warren said this may be an opportunity for us to get our hands on coral otherwise out of reach to us. That is a pretty appealing prospect to me, and the serious collector out there. I, like many coral collecting freaks, am willing to take a hit (exchange rate and customs) to aquire a piece I have always admired but seemed unobtainable.
And let's get real. The only way we will know is to try. I have found a business man willing to work with is to find a mutually beneficial end.
That being said, if you commit to a piece you are committed. End of story. This transaction is not for the "faint of heart". I certainly have his attention and we have a pretty good dialogue going. What will help me cement a deal I'd if people go to reefraft USA site, look at the gems they offer and pm me with items you would be willing to commit to. I can then begin to negotiate with more tangible numbers with him. He is already willing to work with me on the basis of "people are interested". I'm thinking we try to gear up for a mid to late September deal closing. To "keep it real" folks, I can easily see a $350 posted price (us dollar) setting a person bak $ 500 of our canadian dollars.
MAYBE......if we have a big enough order, they can be convinced to "open the vault" and let us in on some.pieces they are keeping stashed away.