A shout out, er- "call out"- whatever. A commentary on the sad state of e-commerce.

[Braver69]

As you know, my promise to you has always been to tell it like it is. If I have an opinion (and when have I NOT had one?), I'm not afraid to express it- even if it's to my own disadvantage at times. Because saying nothing is just as bad as engaging in the very thing that bothers me...Besides, I'm nicely removed these days from the "good 'ol boy" crowd and no longer afraid about missing out on being a MACNA speaker, how many "Friends" and "likes" I can grab on Facebook, etc., etc. Don't care. 



You wouldn't know it from my writings of late, but I'm actually a very upbeat kind of guy, but some stuff just, well- ticks me off!

I need to vent this morning.

Usually, this type of post opens me up to the usual "You're putting yourself and your company on a podium and..." or "Like YOU'VE never posted a bad pic before?" responses, or "Just shut up, Fellman." "Offer a solution instead of whining about it." "Don't you know you're representing your company when you rant?" Uh, yeah, I know. 

The inbox gets full. 

I need to vent anyways.

I'm very used to this criticism, so I tell you if you're offended in some way by this post- its message or its tone- kindly just go to another forum this morning. Just wanted to get that out in the open.

Like every coral vendor, I field a fair number of calls from customers each day. Many have questions specific to their orders, or "how to" stuff, ask for an opinion on something, etc. I love it...I learn from every call. I received a call yesterday that really taught me something....And I'm still angry about it. And you should be, too.

A customer called about a coral that we offer- a Blue Vermiculata...and wanted to know if...it was really BLUE? And I of course answered, "Yes, it is very blue!" And he said that he was very relieved to hear that, because he ordered a "blue coral" not too long ago from______, and the coral was absolutely not blue. Or the red and yellow it was supposed to have. I of course told him that corals discolor sometimes in shipping, etc....He knew that. He was quite experienced actually. It's just that he ordered 7 corals from this vendor and not ONE looked even remotely like the pic...

I've been down this road before and you and I have beaten this topic up...However, it's truly a sad state of affairs when I still hear about this kind of thing several times a month. It's 2015, for goodness sake. Haven't we figured this out yet? Do some people enjoy ripping off fellow hobbyists?

A few idiots- yeah- you're an idiot if you still do this intentionally- just insist on selling corals with over-the-top-post-produced pictures with colors that defy reality. I used to cut you some slack, because I know not everyone is a photographer, and it's tough to get good shots, etc..But seriously, this is way more problematic because it's done intentionally...and continuously by some. These kinds of "vendors" consistently rip people off and give the many legit vendors in this industry a bad name. It's almost always "backed up" with nasty exchanges and lack of service by the vendor, which leads to no good at all for either customer or vendor. Yeah, it's just a few- but the ripple effect is large.

Worse yet, they've created an atmosphere of such low expectation among consumers. It's disgusting to think that I get emails THANKING US for something as inane as delivering corals that look like they do in our pics..So sad.

There are so many amazing, talented, and caring people in this field that it's just incomprehensible how a few bad apples like this actually still operate- or choose to operate- in such a stupid fashion.

So, to you IDIOTS out there...Just stop. Grow a pair. Be HONEST. You're actually damaging the very market that you're trying to operate in. I suppose I'm asking to much of you; whatever. Maybe.

To fellow reefers...Please don't support these scumbags. I don't care who you buy your corals from...just buy them from one of the many legit, honest vendors or LFS's out there, and these people will eventually evaporate along with their influence.

Does this make you mad? What do you do about it? What do you think the correct response of the hobby at large should be? 

Okay. That felt much better. Done. Gotta go yell at Fed Ex now.

Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals

[mclevenger10]

Got an opportunity to meet with Scott Fellman at the hotel we stayed at for MAX...very cool and knowledgable guy! Endless amounts of info and cool history facts about our hibby

[Merith]

Got an opportunity to meet with Scott Fellman at the hotel we stayed at for MAX...very cool and knowledgable guy! Endless amounts of info and cool history facts about our hibby

Agreed. Being able to sit and bull with him for a bit was one of the highlights of RAP for me. Such an all around good guy and so so so much knowledge.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Braver69]

I thought with all the discussion on the supposed value of coral and names of corals, I thought it was a pretty important post for people to see from a stores point of view. Scott is a great guy to talk you and he is very open and shares his knowledge freely.

[Jgomez324]

Clap* clap* clap* well said.