This community is absolute GARBAGE.

[Taylorhardy1]

Im generally not one for announcing a departure on a forum. It's not an airport, yet i feel so strongly about this i feel the need to vent it out. I moved to oregon with such a passion for reefing that I moved my complete 65g system from Utah to Oregon. It was a nightmare, but funny enough it was the most successful move out of all the tank moves over the years. Since I got into reefing I've made it a point to help people out whenever possible. Everytime someone ever came to get frags from me, or a fish, I coped with their ridiculous lowball offer (aside from like maybe 3 of you, you should all be embarrassed with your constant need to lowball everyone despite something being a fantastic deal already) and I've offered free frags, and other items to help sweeten the deal and just help others out. Aside from the treatment I've been given from the guys over at Cuttlefish (note: legitimate business with overhead, yet somehow provides better deals, and showed more interest in bettering the hobby than any person I have come across since moving here) I have generally been nothing less than disappointed with the connections I have made in this hobby. I have literally GIVEN people high end, named stuff with the promise that they return a frag when I'm ready in the future, only to have the favor returned by being told theyll need more money than I paid the original vendor for said frags. I have sold corals on the premise that whoever came to get it, would send additional funds once they got home and see it under lights only to have my number blocked, then months later I see frags of my coral for sale for more than I was asking to begin with. The people I have met through this forum (aside from a select few of you who I've expressed appreciation for) are generally people that I swear up and down I will never deal with again after 1 interaction. This community is full of greedy people, and it depresses me to think about how after a few years here, I have so much disdain for reefing that I will not setup another saltwater aquarium as long as I live in the PNW, and if I so happen to, I absolutely will not be reappearing on this forum, and will go out of my way to make a conscious effort to avoid this local community. In my recent tear down, I agreed to a price for my livestock with someone who then came and picked it up and told me the best he could do was 25% less than the agreed asking price after a few days of negotiating, after I had already bagged everything up and torn the tank down. I was literally forced to accept a lowball offer on my livestock to the point that my "acceptance" was legitimately me saying "what other choice do I have" with a tear in my eye. I hope that the person that pulled that greasy, and dirty sales tactic reads this, and loses sleep at night knowing they took advantage of me in such a way. I still have the rest of my equipment, but at this point I will literally drive this [language filter] across the country and hand deliver it to someone on the east coast before I accept any one of your embarrassingly low offers. I'm not here to debate this with anyone. If you feel the need to ask if you're one of the people that burned me, you probably are, and you should absolutely take a deep look at how you carry yourself through this hobby.

[Lexinverts]

58 minutes ago, Taylorhardy1 said:

Im generally not one for announcing a departure on a forum. It's not an airport, yet i feel so strongly about this i feel the need to vent it out. I moved to oregon with such a passion for reefing that I moved my complete 65g system from Utah to Oregon. It was a nightmare, but funny enough it was the most successful move out of all the tank moves over the years. Since I got into reefing I've made it a point to help people out whenever possible. Everytime someone ever came to get frags from me, or a fish, I coped with their ridiculous lowball offer (aside from like maybe 3 of you, you should all be embarrassed with your constant need to lowball everyone despite something being a fantastic deal already) and I've offered free frags, and other items to help sweeten the deal and just help others out. Aside from the treatment I've been given from the guys over at Cuttlefish (note: legitimate business with overhead, yet somehow provides better deals, and showed more interest in bettering the hobby than any person I have come across since moving here) I have generally been nothing less than disappointed with the connections I have made in this hobby. I have literally GIVEN people high end, named stuff with the promise that they return a frag when I'm ready in the future, only to have the favor returned by being told theyll need more money than I paid the original vendor for said frags. I have sold corals on the premise that whoever came to get it, would send additional funds once they got home and see it under lights only to have my number blocked, then months later I see frags of my coral for sale for more than I was asking to begin with. The people I have met through this forum (aside from a select few of you who I've expressed appreciation for) are generally people that I swear up and down I will never deal with again after 1 interaction. This community is full of greedy people, and it depresses me to think about how after a few years here, I have so much disdain for reefing that I will not setup another saltwater aquarium as long as I live in the PNW, and if I so happen to, I absolutely will not be reappearing on this forum, and will go out of my way to make a conscious effort to avoid this local community. In my recent tear down, I agreed to a price for my livestock with someone who then came and picked it up and told me the best he could do was 25% less than the agreed asking price after a few days of negotiating, after I had already bagged everything up and torn the tank down. I was literally forced to accept a lowball offer on my livestock to the point that my "acceptance" was legitimately me saying "what other choice do I have" with a tear in my eye. I hope that the person that pulled that greasy, and dirty sales tactic reads this, and loses sleep at night knowing they took advantage of me in such a way. I still have the rest of my equipment, but at this point I will literally drive this [language filter] across the country and hand deliver it to someone on the east coast before I accept any one of your embarrassingly low offers. I'm not here to debate this with anyone. If you feel the need to ask if you're one of the people that burned me, you probably are, and you should absolutely take a deep look at how you carry yourself through this hobby.

Taylor, it is difficult for anyone to sell used stuff right now. Lots of people seem to be getting out of the hobby.

 

[Saltfishlover]

Sorry you feel this way.  I have met two people.here in person and they have been awesome!  Several others have been kind and offered help and an ear when needed.  I still personally text one member and he always offers good advice and nice priced frags.  I do agree with you about @CuttleFishandCoral. I went there for the fist time last weekend.  Very cool place and the best customer service.  

[islandVib3s]

I strongly disagree,  this community has been awesome for me, yes there are pple that upsell there stuff and I generally stay away but its supply and demand. I bought plenty of tanks,equipment, frags and usually on the fly but,its usually 50%-75% below retail price or it needed some work to make it work. I've never bought anything from you but did see your stuff and asked for pricing and you generally wanted retail and so I left it at that. It sucks that you've had a bad experience with some pple but your absolutely wrong. This community is awesome.

[SuncrestReef]

Sorry to hear about your negative experiences, but I think it's just luck of the draw.  I've been in the hobby now for about 3 years and 99% of my interactions with fellow PNWMAS members have been excellent, so I think calling our entire community "garbage" is a stretch.  I just recently hosted our latest monthly meeting/BBQ at my house, and every single person who attended was friendly, cheerful, and generous towards me and each other.  And this has been true for all of the meetings I have attended.

If your only interactions with fellow reefers has been via classified ads, I think that alone will skew the type of relationships you will have.  I can say my experience on Craigslist, Ebay, and other classifieds have been less than stellar.

I wish you better luck in your future reefing efforts.

[Manny Tavan]

I’ve sold and bought from countless forum members. Never had an issue like what you’re describing. 

[Danik]

I’ve been part of this forum since 2006 and have never ran across anything you mention. 
this is an outstanding community, Full of people ready to help you. I feel you have deeper personal issues that you need to deal with, don’t take this out on us. 

Edited September 3, 2021 by Danik

[SuncrestReef]

@Taylorhardy1  Here are a few of the fine members of our community that you might want to consider issuing an apology for calling them "garbage":

half-astronaut replied to Vph2014's topic in Want to Buy / Trade
@ Taylorhardy1 had a 120 for sale recently. Might still have it.

xmas_one posted a topic in Member/Vendor Feedback
Taylor hooked me up real nice on some nice pieces from the following thread: Super nice guy, good communication, thanks!

Gil&Fin replied to Gil&Fin's topic in Classified Threads
...Taylor @ Taylorhardy1! It was great to see you and meet your brother. I forgot to tell you...the one in the upper left hand corner is a JF Lunar Lepto. One of the most unique leptos I've seen. Just wait till you see it under the lights--low to medium. You'll see what I mean. : ) Holly

Mobile mechanic needed
Blue Z Reef replied to badguitarist's topic in Out of Bounds
You are looking for @ Taylorhardy1 👍

Shout to Taylor!
Oregonic replied to CuttleFishandCoral's topic in Member/Vendor Feedback
Just shot you a dm @ Taylorhardy1

Nominations for PNWMAS Treasurer
Chief replied to Chief's topic in PNWMAS Members Forum
...@ Taylorhardy1

youcallmenny replied to Taylorhardy1's topic in Classified Threads
Hey @ Taylorhardy1, just wanted to let you know that the Spath frag I got is coloring right up and putting on it's highlights already. Free bump because this colony should get shared around for sure.

Cyano? Dinos? Or something else?
albertareef replied to Oregonic's topic in General Discussion
...What do you think Brian @pdxmonkeyboy and Taylor @ Taylorhardy1 ? Would this seem to fit with your experience? I know you both have done some deep digging in the area. If we are nitrogen limited we are more likely to grow cyanobacteria. We can either reduce the phosphates available to reduce...

Automotive Gurus
Zoolander replied to ChrisQ's topic in Out of Bounds
Me or @ Taylorhardy1 could probably be of assistance.

How to raise nitrates...a tad
Exodus replied to Optimusprime3605's topic in Reef Chemistry
...Also as @ Taylorhardy1 mentioned phytoplankton that is also a great way to raise nitrates, but if you go that route use it to your advantage and dump a bunch of pods in your tank

What are your other hobbies?
albertareef replied to Taylorhardy1's topic in Out of Bounds
...@ Taylorhardy1 in addition to the B5 S4 Avant that you know I have, I used to have two different second gen RX7s - one GXL coupe and a convertible.

[titus'reef]

I’ve never meet people like you described here. I’m sure every apple tree has bad apple however I only saw the good ones. Sweet deals are happening often here.

[Taylorhardy1]

I'm not here to debate this. I spent 10 years in another state where the hobby embraced me, and was truly respectful. I never once felt like I was taken advantage of when trying to sell/trade, and I recieved gratitude for my insight and knowledge while others did their best to do the same to benefit the hobby. That's resulted in an incredible community there with very few bad apples. In fact I spend more time in contact, and sell more livestock to my reefer friends who live 750 miles away to this day. This isnt specifically about it being difficult to sell stuff. This is about a blatant lack of respect that I have recieved by this community, and a blatant lack of compassion from those here. People here see a tank teardown and take it as an opportunity to offer 50% or less than asking prices. I sell cars, I run my own business working on cars, I have an ebay, and an amazon store that i resell goods on. I spend a ridiculous amount of time selling things. Somehow the pacific northwest reefers are more painful, and annoying to deal with than all of my business ventures combined, even on the worst days for my businesses and the best days here.

@SuncrestReef I clearly stated In my post, the ones that i respect and believe are good for the community know who they are. However you really accomplished a whole lot just searching my name and tagging literally every person that has recently mentioned me and demand I give them apologies though. Especially since you dont know an ounce of information about my relationship with any of those people listed. The fact is most if not all of those people tagged have had MULTIPLE dealings with me, and should know that they arent grouped into the bad apples this post is guided towards. A little reading comprehension would point you towards the fact that I stated the people who only ever got one dealing or less with me are primarily who this is guided towards.

If you didnt get further than me opening and leaving your PM on read, you're probably one of the people this is guided to. If you came over and bought something once, and I never reached out to you to see how things were doing, or I never responded when you asked me something- probably grouped there too. If you promised me a frag after I gave you a piece or multiple pieces out of the generosity in my heart, then the greed in your wallet makes you feel the need to ask me for money in return months later when I was in a better spot, you are who I'm talking about. I would dig through my PM's and just tag them all directly, but at this point theres so many a broad generalization is much easier.

[Emerald525]

Taylorhardy I am not here to debate with you about your feelings and experience. There were times where I had negative experiences too and wanted to leave too so I get your frustration. That’s the nature of a forum where there are lots of people who don’t meet face to face.  I have been lowballed many times too but just realize that’s part of selling and I just decline the offer.  It used to annoy me too but I hobby is expensive and people are trying to get by on a budget. 
 

I’m sorry your experience has been so negative that it has killed your passion for reefing. I remember how excited you were when you first posted here on the forum and that you don’t feel like you were embraced like you were with the Utah reefing community .  
 

Reefing is supposed to be fun and an escape from all the stresses from work and life and certainly this pandemic has added a new level of stress to us all.  I have stepped away from the hobby many times when I just had too many things going on and it felt more like a burden. 
 

It sounds like taking a break for a while may be a good idea for you. Maybe you will want to come back maybe you won’t but just know this place will be here for you if you change your mind and if you just want to see a tank and relax and chat reef I know there are plenty of people who would welcome you including myself. 
 

Again sorry this move has been rough for you and your experiences have been so negative. I have a feeling one day when you are in a better place the passion will be back.  

 

[Taylorhardy1]

43 minutes ago, Emerald525 said:

Taylorhardy I am not here to debate with you about your feelings and experience. There were times where I had negative experiences too and wanted to leave too so I get your frustration. That’s the nature of a forum where there are lots of people who don’t meet face to face.  I have been lowballed many times too but just realize that’s part of selling and I just decline the offer.  It used to annoy me too but I hobby is expensive and people are trying to get by on a budget. 
 

I’m sorry your experience has been so negative that it has killed your passion for reefing. I remember how excited you were when you first posted here on the forum and that you don’t feel like you were embraced like you were with the Utah reefing community .  
 

Reefing is supposed to be fun and an escape from all the stresses from work and life and certainly this pandemic has added a new level of stress to us all.  I have stepped away from the hobby many times when I just had too many things going on and it felt more like a burden. 
 

It sounds like taking a break for a while may be a good idea for you. Maybe you will want to come back maybe you won’t but just know this place will be here for you if you change your mind and if you just want to see a tank and relax and chat reef I know there are plenty of people who would welcome you including myself. 
 

Again sorry this move has been rough for you and your experiences have been so negative. I have a feeling one day when you are in a better place the passion will be back.  

 

The passion for reefing will be there lingering until the day I inevitably setup another tank. The passion to help and better the reefing hobby is so far gone at this point that I wont be offering anything that I'm not paid for aside from "advice" like, "dose bayer to your display full of healthy fish and inverts to kill your AEFW."

You want to hear my real advice? My rate is currently $110/hour. You want to buy something I have? Asking price is posted. You wanna "negotiate" with a low ball offer? No, you can pay 15% extra instead. 

I appreciate you caring, I just genuinely hope this community can shift away from the current level of greed and selfishness I have seen. Having spent literally over 10 years heavily involved in the reefing community in another state, I can definitively say that it's not like this everywhere. 

I just simply do not see myself rejoining this community anytime in the future, even if I do have a saltwater aquarium in the area. 

[Emerald525]

31 minutes ago, Taylorhardy1 said:

The passion for reefing will be there lingering until the day I inevitably setup another tank. The passion to help and better the reefing hobby is so far gone at this point that I wont be offering anything that I'm not paid for aside from "advice" like, "dose bayer to your display full of healthy fish and inverts to kill your AEFW."

You want to hear my real advice? My rate is currently $110/hour. You want to buy something I have? Asking price is posted. You wanna "negotiate" with a low ball offer? No, you can pay 15% extra instead. 

I appreciate you caring, I just genuinely hope this community can shift away from the current level of greed and selfishness I have seen. Having spent literally over 10 years heavily involved in the reefing community in another state, I can definitively say that it's not like this everywhere. 

I just simply do not see myself rejoining this community anytime in the future, even if I do have a saltwater aquarium in the area. 

I will say having spent time in Texas we are pretty lucky here to have so many shops and corals at a great prices. I went in a shop in Texas and it was selling green star polyps for 50 dollars and you can’t give that away here. 
 

The forum is not for everyone. The community is not for everyone so if it is causing you this much distress, unhappiness and frustration then walking away from this community sounds like the best thing for you.  
 

I see this place very much like a family. Dysfunctional at times for sure lol . Sometimes there will be disagreements. There have been many for me as I am a fairly passionate and opinionated person but for the most part I work out these differences just like I do in my family. 
 

The good for me far outweighs the bad but that’s not everyone’s experience.

Again sorry you have had a rough time and such a negative experience but glad to hear your love of the hobby Is still there and again my door is always open if you need your reefing fix. I have personally met you and you have been most helpful to me with your mechanic experience so please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

 

[EMeyer]

I wonder if its possible to address one general point of discussion without getting into the personal. 

(Disclaimer - I wasnt involved in the transactions discussed in the original post)

I think there are two questions about selling used equipment on which people have fundamental disagreements. This extends beyond this community or even this hobby, I see this in general. 

1. What is the appropriate price for used equipment? Retail? 1/2 retail? less? 

2. Is haggling over price rude or a normal, expected part of the sales process?

 

As far as I can tell, there are two schools of thought for each of these questions, making four groups. Me personally, I'm in the "1/2 retail and no haggling" school, but I think its worth recognizing that there are good and reasonable people in all four groups. We're all just starting the transaction with different assumptions. In my view its not useful to get angry with people for having a different position on these things, when there is so much diversity of opinion on these issues. Whichever group one finds themselves in, the other 3 groups... thats a lot of people to be angry at.

 

my 0.02

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by EMeyer

[Flash21]

  

[Lexinverts]

On 8/24/2021 at 6:47 PM, Taylorhardy1 said:

Can work on prices a little bit. Throw me some offers!

[Emerald525]

4 hours ago, EMeyer said:

I wonder if its possible to address one general point of discussion without getting into the personal. 

(Disclaimer - I wasnt involved in the transactions discussed in the original post)

I think there are two questions about selling used equipment on which people have fundamental disagreements. This extends beyond this community or even this hobby, I see this in general. 

1. What is the appropriate price for used equipment? Retail? 1/2 retail? less? 

2. Is haggling over price rude or a normal, expected part of the sales process?

 

As far as I can tell, there are two schools of thought for each of these questions, making four groups. Me personally, I'm in the "1/2 retail and no haggling" school, but I think its worth recognizing that there are good and reasonable people in all four groups. We're all just starting the transaction with different assumptions. In my view its not useful to get angry with people for having a different position on these things, when there is so much diversity of opinion on these issues. Whichever group one finds themselves in, the other 3 groups... thats a lot of people to be angry at.

 

my 0.02

 

This is an excellent discussion point. I usually don’t offer a lower price on here but on Craigslist I figure people mark up their prices for the most part in the expectation someone is going to talk them down . People ask me for a lower price and I don’t take offense at all.  Doesn’t hurt to ask to save some money and I can always say no. 

1 hour ago, Flash21 said:

  

Really Chris this is what you have to offer ?😂

 

[BeardUp]

Sounds like the bad apple is leaving the bunch. 
I for one have had nothing but positive experiences with everyone I have met on here. The worst experience I have had was from facebook where a guy would not leave me alone trying to get me to send 100s of pics of GSP and drive it to Salem for him for free. Funny enough, he also owned a car business and was super pushy. I have given and received coutless frags for free or super cheap. This group has saved my tank a few times and helped me with all kinds of things as well as allowed me to branch in to higher end stuff. Lowball offers is part of selling stuff. Hell, I saw a person try to haggle at safeway on steaks one time. 

Not everyplace is for everyone and this place certainly does not sound like a good fit for you. Good luck selling in your ebay/amazon store and with your cars. 

[Taylorhardy1]

33 minutes ago, BeardUp said:

Sounds like the bad apple is leaving the bunch. 
I for one have had nothing but positive experiences with everyone I have met on here. The worst experience I have had was from facebook where a guy would not leave me alone trying to get me to send 100s of pics of GSP and drive it to Salem for him for free. Funny enough, he also owned a car business and was super pushy. I have given and received coutless frags for free or super cheap. This group has saved my tank a few times and helped me with all kinds of things as well as allowed me to branch in to higher end stuff. Lowball offers is part of selling stuff. Hell, I saw a person try to haggle at safeway on steaks one time. 

Not everyplace is for everyone and this place certainly does not sound like a good fit for you. Good luck selling in your ebay/amazon store and with your cars. 

Yep I'm totally the bad apple! All I ever did on this forum was offer help and advice (not just in reefing, but many other parts of life.) I never lowballed anyone regardless of my opinion on what their price should be. I have literally given away frags of homewrecker, Walt Disney, cherry bomb, and tons of higher end sticks on the premise they cut me some frags when they get it growing. Only to be told that if he cut me smaller frags than what I literally [language filter] gave him, I'd have to pay more than I paid for the entire frag pack of chunky frags to begin with. Sold corals for lowball deals to people who insisted they loved them so much, only to see that same coral for sale for more than I was originally asking within a few weeks.

5 hours ago, EMeyer said:

I wonder if its possible to address one general point of discussion without getting into the personal. 

(Disclaimer - I wasnt involved in the transactions discussed in the original post)

I think there are two questions about selling used equipment on which people have fundamental disagreements. This extends beyond this community or even this hobby, I see this in general. 

1. What is the appropriate price for used equipment? Retail? 1/2 retail? less? 

2. Is haggling over price rude or a normal, expected part of the sales process?

 

As far as I can tell, there are two schools of thought for each of these questions, making four groups. Me personally, I'm in the "1/2 retail and no haggling" school, but I think its worth recognizing that there are good and reasonable people in all four groups. We're all just starting the transaction with different assumptions. In my view its not useful to get angry with people for having a different position on these things, when there is so much diversity of opinion on these issues. Whichever group one finds themselves in, the other 3 groups... thats a lot of people to be angry at.

 

my 0.02

 

The standard for used, quality equipment in good shape is about 60% retail everywhere else in the country. It seems more like 30-40% of retail are the expected standard. Everything on all of my prices on my most recent post were around 60% retail (basically everything is in brand new conditon as well) and the general offers I have recieved are around 30-35% off my already more than fair asking prices. That's where its problematic. Offering me $300 when I'm asking $330, great. Offering me 30% or less of that asking price is guaranteed to make me view you as a broke person that shouldnt be in this hobby to begin with🤷‍♂️ just blows my mind that I'm able to be active in literally every other reefing community outside of the PNW, and these issues are almost nowhere to be found there. I wouldn't have made this post if it was every group I'm in, but I'm active on probably 15+ facebook pages, and 4 forums including this one. The PNW pages are the only ones I regularly feel these issues. 

I think it's awesome that so many of you havent experienced this dark side of the hobby, however acting like it's not there is beyond ignorance, and allowing it to go unchecked for as long as it has, has turned this community away from anything that is should be. Some of the reasons alot of my other groups are great is because people literally get banned for low balling people or being disrespectful in just about any way, and it's common for people to speak about the issues they're having so the community can work harder to better themselves and progress into something that actually benefits everyone. 

[Lexinverts]

23 minutes ago, Taylorhardy1 said:

Yep I'm totally the bad apple! All I ever did on this forum was offer help and advice (not just in reefing, but many other parts of life.) I never lowballed anyone regardless of my opinion on what their price should be. I have literally given away frags of homewrecker, Walt Disney, cherry bomb, and tons of higher end sticks on the premise they cut me some frags when they get it growing. Only to be told that if he cut me smaller frags than what I literally [language filter] gave him, I'd have to pay more than I paid for the entire frag pack of chunky frags to begin with. Sold corals for lowball deals to people who insisted they loved them so much, only to see that same coral for sale for more than I was originally asking within a few weeks.

The standard for used, quality equipment in good shape is about 60% retail everywhere else in the country. It seems more like 30-40% of retail are the expected standard. Everything on all of my prices on my most recent post were around 60% retail (basically everything is in brand new conditon as well) and the general offers I have recieved are around 30-35% off my already more than fair asking prices. That's where its problematic. Offering me $300 when I'm asking $330, great. Offering me 30% or less of that asking price is guaranteed to make me view you as a broke person that shouldnt be in this hobby to begin with🤷‍♂️ just blows my mind that I'm able to be active in literally every other reefing community outside of the PNW, and these issues are almost nowhere to be found there. I wouldn't have made this post if it was every group I'm in, but I'm active on probably 15+ facebook pages, and 4 forums including this one. The PNW pages are the only ones I regularly feel these issues. 

I think it's awesome that so many of you havent experienced this dark side of the hobby, however acting like it's not there is beyond ignorance, and allowing it to go unchecked for as long as it has, has turned this community away from anything that is should be. Some of the reasons alot of my other groups are great is because people literally get banned for low balling people or being disrespectful in just about any way, and it's common for people to speak about the issues they're having so the community can work harder to better themselves and progress into something that actually benefits everyone. 

It sounds like you have concluded that every other place online that you visit is great and this place isn't. We're sorry to hear that you think that, but it sounds like the best resolution is for you is to just enjoy those other communities and stay away from this one. We're not going to ban people here for trying to negotiate prices on used equipment.

Best of luck to you.

[Flash21]

All I can say is….popcorn is gone and not sure what this movie is about.  I can’t seem to find the door either….some help would be nice.  

[goldenbasketreef]

44 minutes ago, Flash21 said:

All I can say is….popcorn is gone and not sure what this movie is about.  I can’t seem to find the door either….some help would be nice.  

I thought you have endless supply of popcorn 😉

 

[Bevo5]

I wish I could get 70% off this post. 
 

I’ve been here over six years and I’ve never once had an issue with anybody buying or selling. Maybe it’s just bad luck that OP met so many bad apples, but I’ve never met one. 
 

Now, I also deal with a lot of folks around the country for baseball cards, and I can verify THAT community is pretty lackluster!!

[DaveZ]

@Taylorhardy1we have had one interaction where I got a metal halide from you for some coral in a trade and I thought it was a positive experience. I am sorry you feel any injustice was done against you and I’d likely feel the same if I had a number of experiences like yours. 
 

I will personally say I do not like the forum medium as much as Facebook groups more so because of the anonymity of the structure. I like to put names with faces and this structure doesn’t lead well for that (probably why I just use my name for anyone who wants to connect). Or maybe it’s easier for people to bid through a forum and why you have some experiences. But that is neither here nor there. 
 

I can say that the last few years of being in the reef hobby, I am very thankful for the reefers in this area regardless if they came from this forum or the local FB groups. I’ve found an overwhelming majority to be hospitable, friendly and good natured. Not greedy with frags or low ball pricing to the point of offense. I can only think of a single younger guy who fits the description you gave and I know he has been banned from the forum, Facebook groups and even some local shops. There are some bad apples out there but I do not feel that’s a justifiable reason to make such a mass generality of an entire group of people. 
 

I do wish you luck and hope that you can get back into reef keeping for the joy of it regardless of which platform or group you choose to go with. 

[Parzifal]

@Taylorhardy1 hey buddy (I use that term seriously here,  while sometimes things suck, I hope to be able to continue to find friendly people on this forum) I’m very sorry to hear of your frustrations.

 

i hope you change your mind in the future and if you so please hit me up.  If there’s anything I can do to help get you started again I’d love to help.

 

to everyone else… this has been some seriously entertaining reading.  Keep it civil