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I really did mean 'dealer' when I posted above. There are a half dozen dealers in the U.S. with the reputation of handling quality fish from quality breeders. (And, you are one of them, Joel.) If one of these dealers carries a '5 on a scale of 10' koi, the fish will be perceived as a '6' in the marketplace. The same koi in a Wal-Mart tank will be perceived as a '3' ...if it is lucky. Sure, there are koikeepers who will focus on the fish, not the dealer or the breeder. I don't think there are very many, although a goodly number more think they don't give the dealer or breeder much weight when they really do.
Our top dealers have built a tremendous asset in their reputations. It is an asset that serves them and the hobby well; and an asset quickly lost if abused. The posting of domestic-bred koi underscores the point, I think. ...not that Joel was abusing his reputation in anyway, but in how folks reacted until it was pointed out that the same fish were posted in another thread.
We have a handful of domestic breeders trying to produce some top of the line koi. In time there are 3 I think will be doing so. Perhaps others eventually. I hope the time comes when our top dealers match up with those breeders, at least for the relatively few top koi produced per year, for the mutual benefit of breeder, dealer and the hobby. Maybe it will take somebody getting that famous dollar out of JR's pocket, but whatever the catalyst, it will be a good thing.
BTW, I meant what I said in the other thread about the koi posted above. And, I've seen a lot no better than those said to be from Japan by the dealer. Even Sakai of Hiroshima produces more trash than he'd ever like to acknowledge. It does not take away from the one-in-a-million koi for which he is famous.
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09-28-2007
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