Selling Koi for profit?

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by JasPR right! Right! for sale: due to a small pond must sell very large high quality show Japanese longfin. This rare koi is very unique and very large ( over 12 inches now including tail) and is expected to grow to be over 40 inches and live to over 100 years of age! Some say these fish were first bred in the moat surrounding the Emperor's palace in Japan. This one has rare ginrin scales and orange and grey dots on black and silver/brown skin. Very unique and very rare. Priceless if purchased in Japan. But here, the bidding begins at $1200.

Be careful JR, some EBayer out there might use your wording..

[Lam Nguyen]

Thanks guys. I seriously thought about selling some of my koi on ebay but now that you guys brought this up, I don't know if I can bring myself to mislead others and make a profit off them. All as I know is I would be lucky if I could sell my koi at 25% of what I purchased them for. In fact, I ended up giving most of them away to friends or family. I had to use the words "rare" and "show quality" so many times just to get them to take the koi off my hands.

[dick benbow]

Don't you agree that the poster person for such an enterprise would be Ray Able at Nishigoi of Niigata. He buys tatego on trips to Japan raises them in his own mudponds in Virginia and deals with select hobbyists? Agree?

[CarolinaGirl]

It's funny....I was just talking to a young man yesterday about his Ebay Koi business. We were talking about cheap but pretty tosai compared to not-so-pretty but fish with great potential tosai He sells the pretty type tosai. He was saying if he tells people the truth about the future potential, he won't sell fish!! And I proceeded to tell him just how wrong he is. As Mat McCann what is wrong with one of his fish and he will tell you the truth. And because of that, his loyal customers trust him. On the other hand, if he were to lie to his customers, he will not get repeat business. Selling fish is not an easy way to make a buck.

[MikeM]

Dick: Yes, Ray has figured the way to make money growing them larger.... but think of the capital investment and the years of building the business to be in the position to make it work. The likes of Knox and Aronfeld would not be loyal clients if he did not deliver.

JR: There is a fundamental problem in your analysis. You've forgotten that some of those 100-year olds don't peak until age 90. Patience.

[JasPR]

"JR: There is a fundamental problem in your analysis. You've forgotten that some of those 100-year olds don't peak until age 90. Patience. "

wise guy! JR

[Brutuscz]

I don't know whats up with people bashing ebay koi dealers lately...on all boards!!! There are many, many koi dealers on ebay. Just like any other business...some sellers are honest and some are full of it!!! I put a lot of work and effort into my ebay koi business. You try to take good pictures and give an honest, yet interesting description. You use the best shipping methods available....yet ,you get lumped in as ebay waste selling culls
So, listen.....I bought 2 koi last year and spent a pretty penny from two TOP koi dealers in the country. They were both shipped to me. One arrived with an ulcer on it's belly and died...and the other had a glowing red, damaged dorsal fin. That fish lived, but is unshowable. I can honestly say that many ebay koi dealers can and would do better for their customers. I think the feedback system really keeps many people honest in the long term.

[CarolinaGirl]

Brutuscz, sorry if you feel like ALL Ebay sellers are lumped into the same group. But MANY (probably most) of them are backyard hobbiests out to make a quick buck. Many of the ads are misleading, many are full of outright lies. Many of the Ebay fish arrive sick, some with KHV. I myself have bought fish from Ebay before....but only from Richard Rombold. I sometimes enjoy looking at the Ebay listing, because they are just so darn funny! I always do a search using the key words "rare" and "show", just to see what someone is trying to pass off as a wonderful show fish. I'll never forget the one from last year where some idiot had a "Rare Albino Koi" that he insisted was such a rare variety that at 5" long, it was worth the buy it now price of $4500!! I like Richard's listings because he has wonderful photographs of the koi, and basically says the picture is the description....judge for yourself. He does not fill his listings with long impressive japanese words and descriptions.....he just shows great quality pictures and lets you reach your own conclusions.

[Brutuscz]

I agree about Richard...he's one of the best. I have a kohaku and ogon from him, myself. That is exactly my point....don't lump us all together. You have some REAL koi people on there...and some quick buck types. I know of one personally that has spread khv and been pretty dishonest (don't ask..I wont give a name.) I acually use the word rare more than most. But, it is because I specifically search out koi that are different or hard to find. I currently have a gin shiro utsuri listed as rare. I think this is accurate, as they are a difficult variety to locate. Search the top dealers websites..and you wont find too many. As long as it's kept in context, I think it's fine.

[gregbickal]

Quote: To enter the program a sharecropper must have a smooth bottomed, earthen pond over 1/2 acre in size (with no fish of any kind in it). It must have a suitable water supply (well) a way to remove water (pump or drain), an aeration system, and a person to attend to the fish every day.

Im working on one of these sharecropper deals right now. Homeowner wants to see big koi, I need a place to grow them big. Guy has 10 acres and an artiesian well

As for selling koi for profit, its all about supply and demand. Each market is different. Not many koi available in my area, so demand is high, and competition low.