Tip of the Day – 1/15/2013

For some reason, aquarists feel some sense of entitlement when it comes to wheeling and dealing for corals and equipment. When one hobbyist gets lucky and finds a rare piece of coral or some amazing aquarium setup for really cheap and decides to flip it (or take only what they need and sell the rest), other hobbyists expect some great deal to be passed along to them. They scour old posts to see how much someone paid for an item, then try to get that person to go below the listed price (and likely the fair market value) of the item. Sometimes these come in the form of a low offer on an item through emails and private messages, but others use less tact when calling out someone on their price. They might sabotage the listing by throwing out old information, or may even say a store or another hobbyist has the same thing for cheaper. Our take on the matter is to handle all situations with the utmost respect. If someone has an item listed for more than we think it is worth or more than what we know, without doubt, they purchased it for, then we’ll either walk away completely or send a private offer via email. This approach doesn’t ruin the sellers chances of selling the item and it doesn’t strain your relationship with that person, assuming you had one or could potentially build one. You also avoid looking like a total douche to the rest of your aquarium community. So, let’s all be a little more respectful and follow those unwritten rules when purchasing items on aquarium forums.