Why Sub-standard "Japanese" koi cost more....

[PapaBear]

After reading many of your posts and seeing some of your Koi Pix I had no doubt about where you fit into the hobby. You've definitely got good taste . I agree that the hobby definitely needs the competetor and non-competetor alike. The high end competetor class strive for excellence which continually raises the bar for the breeders and hobbiests alike.
The backyard ponders benefit from competetors because overall Koi quality is improved, so they can get nicer looking fish without spending thousand$.
The only ones I find rather sad and pathetic are the status symbol owners who pay big buck$ for "sizzle without the steak" just because of the name recognition. To me its a bit like going to an exclusive restaurant and paying a huge price for a mediocre meal while the waiter looks down his nose at you

Quote: Originally Posted by Nancy M. Which Hobby group do you fall into? All hobbiests are not the same. For some the hobby extends no further than their own backyard and for them any Koi they find attractive is fine . Nothing wrong with that. Get the most attractive fish you can reasonably afford and smile all day long. For others Competition grade Koi are the only ones they are interested in either because they enjoy the competition or because they are in love with the Japanes art form of Koi . And then there are the suckers who will pay big money for crappy fish just because they are from Japan . They wouldn't know a great Koi from a common goldfish , but they think an expensive import makes them important. I think I fall into group #2, we love to compete, and only own show quality fish. We do not buy koi just because a certain breeders name is attached to it. We buy 1st off what we like and think that we can grow, and finish properly. And we always try to get the best deal possible. Big price tags do not make a GC. Anyone that is willing to spend big money on a koi, and if you do not have the knowledge and a good eye.. Could wind up with a crappy fish, that is on it's way down or one that just has no future. This hobby has many hobbiest that are happy wth just regular koi that they find beauty in. And it also has the high end hobbiest. The hobby needs both, we all start somewhere.. It is a good thing for all.

[Bern]

Things aren't any different in the UK. The majority of Koi sold in the UK are via retail outfits known as Garden Centres - a place that sells plants, gardening equipment inc water features that generally have a pet shop attached and an aquatics outlet too.

They will sell Israeli, Domestic, Chinese and Japanese koi, with the Japanese fetching a premium. They Japanese koi are very inferior quality. They are sold by the uninformed to the unwarry. When these places have fish over 12inches long the prices get ridiculous, any half-decent real Koi outlet will have better fish for sale at that price and sometimes even less.

As an example, last year I saw a 22inch (male or undernourished) Ogon on sale for £880 (reduced from 1k). The fish had just enought lustre to be benched in the Hikarimuji class. There was some healed damage in the peduncal area. The year before a local Koi outlet sold my nephew a slighly smaller (18-20) Yamabuki that had sustained similar damage. He charged £150 as opposed to £500 for those that weren't damaged. A bargain just based on price and size, but the real bargain was in the quality - almost different ends of the spectrum.

I'd estimate the 80% of the queries we take at our show from the General Public involve misinformation from these Garden Centres.

rgds
Bern

[gregbickal]

I fall into category #1, however since I am breeding, I did buy some better quality genetics to give me some hope of producing a decent mutt.

Speaking of pet store koi, I saw a 12" aka bekko at my local Petco during the holiday. Stunted, misshapen, lots of missing scales for $85. And you wonder why Bickalgoi sell so well