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High End Frags

D

d5332

Wondering if it would be worth time and effort to attempt to form a group of 3/4 buyers that come together to split the cost on a few frags of expensive frags, something one typically would not purchase.

The idea would be buy a pack that one typically stays away from.
    • Spit the cost
    • put the frags in a stable frag tank
    • forget about the frags for 6 months
    • evaluate if it can be cut into corresponding portions
    • pick up your frag

Has anyone tried this? What is the typical outcome
 
art13

art13

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
This could work and i was interested in doing it at one time, but for it to work right, the person receiving the frags needs to take on two responsibilities. One, they need to be able to pay up front for the order, and if someone drops from that order, needs to be able to cover that cost, or split it evenly with the remaining people in the buy in. The people in the buy in also need to be able to accept that fact. They also have to be responsible for the cost if one of the frags are lost, unless there is some type of agreement up front about this. You can try and pool money together before an order, if you are all close friends, but this won't work with a bunch of people who don't know each other, and will probably lead to some type of falling out, which is why i would suggest the main guy holding the frags would have to pay for them up front and then be reimbursed as the frags are picked up.
 
NyteGTI

NyteGTI

I can't see anybody willing to take the responsibility of buying expensive "high end" frags & then also being responsible if their system crashes(their fault or natures, thinking power outage, flood, etc) or if the frag just doesn't like their system.
Thats why everybody put in & accepted joint risk.
More power to you if you can find that, but it's a risk most wont take with no hope of a reward at the end other than a frag he/she could have bought on his/her own.
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
I don't see how this will work with only one person growing out the frags. 6 months is a long time anything can happen even to the most experienced reefer. But I do like the idea.

How about this:

1. After demonstrated the ability to successfully keep SPS for longer period of time, n people is selected.
2. Each person involved contribute x amount of $ to the pool to purchase n frags.
3. Each person grow out one frag.
6. Six months later (or whenever it's ready) the frags are cut and distributed to the participating members.

So this reduces the risk of one person spending $200 to buy a frag and end up with nothing due to crash, or maybe a less than appealing coral.

Let's say 6 people participate in this each one contribute $100 you will likely end up with at least 3 people successfully growing out the frags. So $100 and six months later you will end up with 3 nice high end frags.

One problem with this is that the people participating may not all want the same frag some would already have them. But in this case that person can simply contribute the coral in lieu of $.
 
art13

art13

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
NyteGTI said:
I can't see anybody willing to take the responsibility of buying expensive "high end" frags & then also being responsible if their system crashes(their fault or natures, thinking power outage, flood, etc) or if the frag just doesn't like their system.
Thats why everybody put in & accepted joint risk.
More power to you if you can find that, but it's a risk most wont take with no hope of a reward at the end other than a frag he/she could have bought on his/her own.
Click to expand...

This would work great with friends, not so much people that just met. If i give you $200 and expect 3-4 nice frags in 6 months, the problem is, what if that guy decides to just not hand out the coral, takes it and you never hear from him again. Hard to prove you handed over $200 and for what purpose. Second, while crashes can and do happen, if it happened to a friend that i know is meticulous about his tank, i'd be understanding. Some random guy, not so much, as i don't know how well he took care of his system to begin with. At that point it becomes a transaction more so and he promised the coral in exchange for my deposit. If i put a pre order in on a site for a rare coral, and they lose it before i get a frag, i'd be expecting a refund. I'm not saying it can't work, but there are many problems that can happen in the process. All that being said, i've offered in the past to do this and be the middle man, and when i've offered, i've told the people involved there would be no cost to them up front and payment would be made when they pick up the coral. If you want to give that guy taking the risk an incentive, give him a discounted rate for accepting the responsibility for that coral.
 
art13

art13

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
i also like the other idea of splitting up the frags between each person, assuming they can all handle it.
 
mrehfeld

mrehfeld

Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
This was done in the past and during the grow out phase one participant left the hobby and was able to sell his position to another member but that doesn't always happen. Then you need to think about possible loss in the grow out phase due to a possible crash, there will be hard feelings.

It is doable but it's a delicate balancing act. Everyone involved should understand the other member's expectations before committing to participating. Best wishes and good luck.
 
D

d5332

If I were to put any effort into this, it would be something like this:

All participants pay up front
One/two participants, life long reef keeper with frag tank or tanks houses the frags with zero liability
Frag the corals should the grow
Distribute during a club meeting or swap or something

Members or not it would have to be amongst life long and or highly committed keepers, I have met at least 5 people that will likely have a see through box filled with saltwater in their house up until they day they die.

I don't mind handing over the money and forgetting about it for a while, I already lost plenty when transferring frags, moving tanks, playing with parameters, etc.

Sounds like it may be too much of a hassle, that too bad.
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
Maybe start a high end frag trade thread is a more viable option. Trade only no sale. This encourages people to buy some high end corals. Quite difficult to define what High End is though.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Go to the Group buy thread on Reef2Reef, these work like 1 out of 20 times. They always take longer and you will always have losses no matter how good the reefers are.
 
D

d5332

Sounds like i will jusy have to wait until someone with nice corals goes through a pruning phasem and hope i see the for sale thread



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