I think I have ordered my last shipment of coral from wholesalers. Transhipping is the only way to go to get nice stuff at a decent price. Tired of getting the leftovers after cherry pickers that I am just thinking of discarding or donating to an aquarium or having to pay double price to get nice stuff when the market only wants to pay bottom dollar. My new policy is going to be if it is brown or washed out I don't pay period. Just insane that cites permits are wasted on some of this garbage. When customers ask who sent the bad shipment to you you know it is time to make a change lol.....They see what I get typically then this shipment it way off the map.
For those collectors like steve out there tell me, Are collectors typically picky and pick nice stuff over a longer range as opposed to simply staying in one area and taking anything they have a permit for. If so why/how do we get low grade or even garbage coral still? I went to a wholesaler off 104th last trip and saw a long tank with a few hundred brown mushroom rocks in it. Just one example, and why I would not have ordered from them for a few months while every LFS gets one or two of those rocks on each order lol. I don't mind surprise fill if it is nice stuff.
For those collectors like steve out there tell me, Are collectors typically picky and pick nice stuff over a longer range as opposed to simply staying in one area and taking anything they have a permit for. If so why/how do we get low grade or even garbage coral still? I went to a wholesaler off 104th last trip and saw a long tank with a few hundred brown mushroom rocks in it. Just one example, and why I would not have ordered from them for a few months while every LFS gets one or two of those rocks on each order lol. I don't mind surprise fill if it is nice stuff.