# How much is everyone paying for Rocks? OHKO, Seiryu STONE



## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

they uh... totally go for 1 dollar each... 



Seriously though about 7 bucks a batch for seiryu. But ya know you could always just send them to me for 8 bucks shipping LOL


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## MikeP_123 (Aug 31, 2008)

BettaBettas said:


> they uh... totally go for 1 dollar each...
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously though about 7 bucks a batch for seiryu. But ya know you could always just send them to me for 8 bucks shipping LOL



Lol. I thought I might get that answer  If only I lived on top of whatever query these things come from!
Trying to figure out if it is profitable enough to even put in the effort to sell. AND I obviously want to price cut all the outrageous sellers! I like you guys :nerd:


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

I would say go a bit lower, maybe five or six bucks then people would buy more likely.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Pricing is the hard part of many deals. It depnds on who has it and who wants it. I find my rocks and rarely buy any. When hard pressed for a quick setup where I want rocks and quick, I go to the landscape places where they sell by the ton and often give out a handful of what I want. 
But then that is part of any sale/buy situation. We all have to find our comfort level. I recently made a 2500 mile road trip and there is a vast supply on rock out there along the roadsides if we each feel the need to stop!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

I meant to vote 3$/lb I didn't see that  sorry!


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## mindnova (Feb 16, 2010)

3 bucks a pounds with free shipping, you say you found them in storage? they look worn out and old, so must have been well used. 

seriously would love to get a shot at a few pieces but I have small tanks and those photos are stunning. good luck with them.


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## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

Shipping may be an issue. I once got a quote of $50 to ship 30 pounds of rocks and instantly said "I'm out". The rocks would have to be under $2 a pound for me to do that, unless you could ship cheaper. Selling local seems like the way to go with heavy stuff, although I'm sure there's a market for folks who can't find it locally. Good looking out though, and I hope it's profitable should you decide to do it.


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## MikeP_123 (Aug 31, 2008)

KayakJimW said:


> I would say go a bit lower, maybe five or six bucks then people would buy more likely.
> 
> I meant to vote 3$/lb I didn't see that  sorry!


This isn't voting on how much I should sell them for, this is is how much are people actually buying them for today.
I want to see if there is a market that is even worth it to sell to for cheap. If people are already getting them at $3... well then it doesn't make sense for me to try.




KayakJimW said:


> Shipping may be an issue. I once got a quote of $50 to ship 30 pounds of rocks and instantly said "I'm out". The rocks would have to be under $2 a pound for me to do that, unless you could ship cheaper. Selling local seems like the way to go with heavy stuff, although I'm sure there's a market for folks who can't find it locally. Good looking out though, and I hope it's profitable should you decide to do it.


Exactly. Shipping a rock isn't the cheapest thing  but will explore my options there if I find this maybe worth my time.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Shipping rocks sounds really easy---until you think about it a bit. One of the things that is easy to overlook is the way freight is handled. the rocks we really like are often due to the shape and that shape is often made up of some sharp angles or points. When they are put in a box, we need to assume that the box will be thrown and that really gets into a mess. `Do you wrap the rock enough to keep the rock from going out the end of the box if it thrown across the room? Or do we ship it and it gets there with all those pretty details knocked off and a bad report from the customer? Keep in mind that lots of packing means lot of trouble as well as lots of wasted weight. 
When the price of shipping begins to exceed the price of the rocks, I don't go there. If you happen to be a big time shipper and have the equipment on hand to add sprayfoam to fill the box, then you are not likely to be a simple hobby sort but a full time dealer. 
Nice thought but it is full of "catch-22" that may not make it work.


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## MikeP_123 (Aug 31, 2008)

PlantedRich said:


> Shipping rocks sounds really easy---until you think about it a bit. One of the things that is easy to overlook is the way freight is handled. the rocks we really like are often due to the shape and that shape is often made up of some sharp angles or points. When they are put in a box, we need to assume that the box will be thrown and that really gets into a mess. `Do you wrap the rock enough to keep the rock from going out the end of the box if it thrown across the room? Or do we ship it and it gets there with all those pretty details knocked off and a bad report from the customer? Keep in mind that lots of packing means lot of trouble as well as lots of wasted weight.
> When the price of shipping begins to exceed the price of the rocks, I don't go there. If you happen to be a big time shipper and have the equipment on hand to add sprayfoam to fill the box, then you are not likely to be a simple hobby sort but a full time dealer.
> Nice thought but it is full of "catch-22" that may not make it work.


Yup, hence my analysis. And very much agreed. Appreciate the highlighted risks here. The shipping issues are exactly why most aquarium store "box of rocks" of small shards of the one or two larger pieces they still have. Ship from supplier, to pet warehouse (pet store supplier), ships to local distribution center, ships to store. That is a lot of shipping. I figure the less hands it touches before it gets to the consumer the better.

But you are right, that does come at a cost. Sadly I don't think doing this locally has a large enough market. Feel I might be sitting on a ton of rocks for a long time. Storage has it's cost as well.


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## Jamieson22 (Mar 27, 2017)

My LFS sold Seiryu and Ohko for $2.50/lb.


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## sohankpatel (Jul 10, 2015)

My LFS sells most "nice" rocks for $4.00 a pound.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

are you still selling? im interested in buying a lot if you are @MikeP_123


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## Bloomer (Mar 22, 2014)

I think you need to determine your costs first (maybe you have) then do a lot of web research to see what you could buy something similar for as a retail buyer, then see if there's any margin left.

If you have a storage shed full of them, maybe wholesaling them to LFS's would be the best bet. You can move 900 lbs locally to different stores fairly easily. I know USPS has flat rate for their boxes regardless of weight. I got 35 lbs of lead weights for a weight vest once in a medium box that cost about $12 to ship. Bama Plants once sent a huge bag of cool gravel full of fossils in one. It arrived OK, the lead weights didn't, our carrier was p*ssd!

The ones shown are very pretty, I'm just afraid you may be in the same boat as those who ship bags of cement; it pays off only if very heavy loads are shipped. Good luck.


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

I have an importer within driving range, I pay $0.12/lb for Seiryu stone


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## Tnalp (Mar 25, 2017)

Sean W. said:


> I have an importer within driving range, I pay $0.12/lb for Seiryu stone




Share the plug [emoji849]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MadamX (Apr 26, 2017)

Did you end up deciding to sell any?  I would be interested in a piece or two nothing major heh


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## powderwt (Apr 21, 2017)

Jamieson22 said:


> My LFS sold Seiryu and Ohko for $2.50/lb.


Just paid 2.99/lb locally about an hour ago.


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## dealend (Oct 29, 2016)

LFS nearby averagely, $2.50/lbs

Other store(not a fish store), could be a lot less. $1.00/lbs


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## McCarthy (Mar 13, 2017)

Spent close to $500 for San Sui stones alone. Usually $6.90 per pound but some is handpicked at higher prices. Shipping brings this close to $600. ADA sand and soil worth another $300. All for 2 tanks, 20 and 10 gal, with some stone to spare.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I can find Ohko locally for $1.99 but it goes quickly and though I haven't purchased any, they don't always have a good selection of sizes. If I kept going back when they got more in, I am sure I could get a great scape though. Seiryu is a wild card, I can find it for cheap at Bonsai and similar shops, usually a few dollars per rock, not per pound, but again, you need to collect it slowly. Though plenty of places sell it for way more, I am not personally interested in paying that. I also have some rocks I like, just not as much, that are like $.08/lb. 

If you want to sell for premium prices, my best advice is to sell packages, and any unique stones, sell individually. Then just price the whole thing out. I would be much more inclined to buy something where I know I get the variety I would need, and know the ultimate final price point easily (with shipping). That's what can be really frustrating buying locally, you grab a few rocks, find a cool scape, don't check the prices, and then it's way more than you expected.


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## TheMakani (May 31, 2017)

Shipping can be done for relatively cheap. 
According to the USPS website:
Medium flat rate box (11.25"x8.75"x6") costs $13.60 to ship
Large flat rate box (12.25"x12.25"x6") costs $18.85 to ship
Im not sure of the best way to pack them, but would newspaper and packing peanuts be good enough?

As far as pricing for the rocks idk what would be a good price, but Im sure you could charge a premium for a nice set of rocks if the customer is able to see the actual rocks they would get before buying (as opposed to random rocks and buying based on weight). This would take more effort/ time on your part, but would make it more desirable for consumers.


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## thanatopsian (Dec 11, 2016)

TheMakani said:


> Shipping can be done for relatively cheap.
> According to the USPS website:
> Medium flat rate box (11.25"x8.75"x6") costs $13.60 to ship
> Large flat rate box (12.25"x12.25"x6") costs $18.85 to ship
> ...


Having worked in shipping, the right answer is "it shouldn't shift". If it is moving around in the box, it needs more padding. What you use is far less important than how tightly packed it is, especially if there is mpre than one object in the box.

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## yungtoolie (Aug 9, 2015)

Just paid 4.50 a lb for ohko. I live in the middle of Wisconsin and I had no idea my lfs carried it. I wish there was a cheaper source nearby.


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