Walt Smith???

[reefan]

I find it curious that most people, myself included had never heard of Walt Smith corals before you advertised on your forum several months ago you were now carrying corals by that name. You seem to have started a trend because now it seems everybody has jumped on the Walt Smith "wagon" and are advertising they have these corals. What I don't understand is that since you brought this "brand name" to light you have kept pretty quiet after saying you carry them. Just wondering what is going on and are you carrying them.
Thanks.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

You probaly havent heard of it because most vendors kept it secret. As WS has become more popular it is harder to keep it quiet. There are 2 distributors in Canada that carry them for retailers like ourselves. You can find them easily with a google search.

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by BlueWorldAquatic

You probaly havent heard of it because most vendors kept it secret. As WS has become more popular it is harder to keep it quiet. There are 2 distributors in Canada that carry them for retailers like ourselves. You can find them easily with a google search.

So what you're saying is these corals from Walt Smith that are of such high quality and sell for a premium because of it, were kept secret? Sounds a little lame to me. It seems like any coral that can get a funky name or get tagged to a known supplier demands a higher price and has people lining up to get it, I highly doubt anyone is going to keep this a secret. I've been guilty of buying into it myself, I've paid $120 for a 3 head micromussa and $120 for a setosa, among others, that there was nothing exceptional about. Another thing is these coral frags never look anything like the pictures anyway, if the average reefer were to run as much actinic as is used to take the pictures for the website there wouldn't be enough useable light left to keep the coral alive. Whether it's a name that makes a coral sound good enough to eat, a brand/supplier that is supposed to be better than all the rest, or the photoshopping and exaggerating of pictures, they are all a means of demanding a higher than normal price for coral and IMO on false pretenses. There aren't many vendors out there that won't take the opportunity to use any of these techniques to make more money (some are insanely worst that others). Just my two pennies.

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by reefan

I find it curious that most people, myself included had never heard of Walt Smith corals before you advertised on your forum several months ago you were now carrying corals by that name. You seem to have started a trend because now it seems everybody has jumped on the Walt Smith "wagon" and are advertising they have these corals. What I don't understand is that since you brought this "brand name" to light you have kept pretty quiet after saying you carry them. Just wondering what is going on and are you carrying them.
Thanks.

Yes it is interesting. WS is a distibutor out of Fiji and I assume others just never thought to use the name as a marketing strategy until I did. Anyway I have been very busy with a lot of other terrific coral offerings so my plate has been pretty full but some time later in the spring I plan to place a WS premium "cherry picked" order so please keep an eye on my forum for that announcement.

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

Originally Posted by Snappy

Yes it is interesting. WS is a distibutor out of Fiji and I assume others just never thought to use the name as a marketing strategy until I did. Anyway I have been very busy with a lot of other terrific coral offerings so my plate has been pretty full but some time later in the spring I plan to place a WS premium "cherry picked" order so please keep an eye on my forum for that announcement.

interesting yes.I find it funny that some online stores find someone with a new strategy for selling their stock and receives a high traffic on forums,... either try to use same strategy or play with their pricing and label tags,for the xtra $$
is it business like some agree and some don't.
More and more people are being aware of these distributors and their selling points.
waltsmith.com/ been around for a very long time.
just my rumbling thoughts

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

So what you're saying is these corals from Walt Smith that are of such high quality and sell for a premium because of it, were kept secret? Sounds a little lame to me. It seems like any coral that can get a funky name or get tagged to a known supplier demands a higher price and has people lining up to get it, I highly doubt anyone is going to keep this a secret. I've been guilty of buying into it myself, I've paid $120 for a 3 head micromussa and $120 for a setosa, among others, that there was nothing exceptional about. Another thing is these coral frags never look anything like the pictures anyway, if the average reefer were to run as much actinic as is used to take the pictures for the website there wouldn't be enough useable light left to keep the coral alive. Whether it's a name that makes a coral sound good enough to eat, a brand/supplier that is supposed to be better than all the rest, or the photoshopping and exaggerating of pictures, they are all a means of demanding a higher than normal price for coral and IMO on false pretenses. There aren't many vendors out there that won't take the opportunity to use any of these techniques to make more money (some are insanely worst that others). Just my two pennies.

The two corals you mentioned were certainly not purchased through Coral Master and as far as Walt Smith goes I advertised the name so people would know what I was offering not to try & charge more money for the corals and although WS does carry some premium stuff I have not charged a premium "designer coral" price on any WS I sold. There is nothing "secret" about the Walt Smith name, he has been well known for years on Reef Central & other US boards especially for his Live Rock & Cultured live Rock.
I also assume you are talking about corals in general that you have bought and those complaints and photoshop accusations are best brought up to the individual vendors you are talking about.

[Skimmerking]

Yup Walt Smith I have know them since 2002 they have been around top quality corals and Rock.,

[Ryan]

I like it when other vendors us the wording Genuine Walt Smith like everyone else has been selling pretend walt smith.

Greg maybe next time you need to post a picture of the box they come in so you have "Qenuine" Cherry Picked Walt Smith Corals. Haha

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by Snappy

The two corals you mentioned were certainly not purchased through Coral Master and as far as Walt Smith goes I advertised the name so people would know what I was offering not to try & charge more money for the corals and although WS does carry some premium stuff I have not charged a premium "designer coral" price on any WS I sold. There is nothing "secret" about the Walt Smith name, he has been well known for years on Reef Central & other US boards especially for his Live Rock & Cultured live Rock.
I also assume you are talking about corals in general that you have bought and those complaints and photoshop accusations are best brought up to the individual vendors you are talking about.

I won't name names, but this was in no way aimed at you Greg, I have never had a complaint about Coral Master.

[Aquattro]

to echo other's comments, Walt Smith corals and rock have been top quality products for the 10 yrs I've been in the hobby. Haven't heard his name much until recently, but he has always provided top notch products.