Koi Price ?!

[paulw]

i think there is different quality but people can only afford to buy the quality that they can afford to buy whether good or not as long as you like the koi that your buying then its going to be your pet.
show quality fish also vary to different shows and countrys.

paul

[aldonna]

I agree! I buy koi for "jus' lookin'", breeding and showing. My expectations for each group are different therefore, I accept that the prices would be different.(Wish they weren't but...)
burrrr Al :?

[markgardner]

Al

Of course quality will have different meaning to diffent folk, the Momotaro interview in issue 5 captured this, Maeda is looking for parents - his customers for show koi.

[dick benbow]

one of the things omitted in the discussion was what the market will bare.
for example if your economy is struggling, and a dealer usually buys X amount of koi from a producer, if supply is constant and demand is down
then you can get a better deal for the same quality of koi. the reverse works as well with limited supply and higher demand. the cost goes up.
look at the value of currency today, canada, the US, and japan thier money value is down.look at the euro and the pound sterling. they're strong!


also i have seen in retailers, bins with no prices. you have to ask. let's say
a guy drives up in a mercedes and asks a price. later a guy drives up with an economy vehicle of vintage years and asks for the price of the same koi. i have overheard quite a difference in quotation.(hint drive up in something on it's last legs that belches smoke and runs and sputters after you turn it off. a good backfire is great if you can get one!)lol
seriously......the
bottom line... know your budget and know a good koi when you see one.

[Brady Brandwood]

The subject of Koi & prices is such an interesting one, and one that can be debated over and tossed around for many pages.

Dick's comment of "Know a good Koi when you see one" is critical here, but also a phrase that can float around like the ether. The irony here is that MANY, MANY, Koi keepers use price as THE indicator of how "good" a Koi is. If it is expensive,... it must be a "good one". I'm reminded of a phone call I got,... it was a lady trying to sell her Koi - she said she had an all white Koi in an aquarium that she wanted to sell,... she also said "I hear Koi are quite valuable", and wanted to know how valuable her 12" all white Koi was, and if I would be interested in buying it from her. We who've been around the hobby for a few weeks or more know the sad comedy of this, but it pushes home the importance of "Know a good Koi when you see one" - if you know a good Koi when you see one, you will also know a good "deal" when you see one. Rely on your trained eye and understanding of Koi, and you will know what is reasonable, and what is inflated, and what is a real bargain. The challenge though is calibrating your "Koi Eye",... the learning curve is like the arch of a rainbow.

Best Wishes,
Brady Brandwood

[James P]

I agree, but I have to add the Moment a dealer or breeder knows you don't have a clue of what you're looking at-- you are dead meat!
The phase " trust me , I'm a koi dealer" wasn't born, nor is so amusing to insiders, because of its fairy tale nature! JR

[Brady Brandwood]

I'll rephrase that for you JR,... I'm sure you were just in a hurry on the keyboard.

"the Moment SOME dealers or breeders knows you don't have a clue of what you're looking at-- you are dead meat!"

There,... all fixed!

But seriously, and unfortunately,... more often than not, YES! If only I could go back in time to 1996, and understand Koi "then" like I understand Koi now, I could have had a lot more Koi for a lot less money,... AND definitely would have made different choices, better choices, along the way,... but, I also wish that about High School,... If I knew back then the things I know about "girls" now, I could have been the "Rico Suave' " of Lancaster High. Fearless!

But, yes, getting up on the learning curve is the road to enlightenment. As much as I blame the dealers that took advantage of my naievitee back then, I also blame myself for not understanding.

Best Wishes,
Brady Brandwood

[James P]

Yes, yes that's what I meant!!! The Devilish JR

[Andrew]

Brady,
I have to ask, those kohaku's, who's are they, in terms of who bred them not who owns them?

[shiromujigirl]

Those are Brady kohakus.

I will trade Brady a very valuble shiromuji for the 1st from the top right, the one looking up in the top right middle, the one laying across it, the four step two fishes over, all of those in the middle, the fish above the large one on the lower right and the large one too, and the one going off in the lower left, and the one coming in from the lower left.

I see non gosanke around on dealer's websites for $1000s of dollars. Now, if I buy some gin rin Chagois for $50 and grow them out for 2 or 3 years, I can sell them for $3000? Or big Yamabukis for $5000? Heck. I am in the wrong line of work!