Having to sell my collection, no idea of value.

[PJWilliams]

hi, as the title suggests i unfortunately have to sell my fish. I have no idea of prices and would like everybody to get a fair deal. Any thoughts would be greatly appriciated.

L014 - Sunshine 4-5ins
L025 - Leopard Cactus Pleco 9-10ins
L075 - Para Pleco 8-9-ins
L104 - Clown Pleco, Ringlet Pleco 2-3ins
L134 - Leopard Frog Pleco- 3-4ins
L137 - Blue eyed Red Fin Pleco 8-9ins
L190 - Royal Pleco -chunky 7-8ins
L191 - Dull eyed pleco - 5-6ins
L200 - GreenPhantom Pleco 5-6ins
L204 - Flash Pleco 6-7ins
L205 - Brevis Pleco 4-5ins
L340 - Mega clown pleco 4-5

OTHER FISH
8X Clown Loach large -jumbo
3X Torpedo Barbs - large adults
2x breeding pair of koi angels X-large
2x breeding pair of banded severums X large
3x scissor tails large.
1x convict cichlid female x large

Also have about 8 -12 corys, which i have no idea of what species they are. thanks again

[MatsP]

Part of the answer to that question would depend on how desperate you are.

Prices for "previously owned" fish varies a lot depending on who's the buyer, and whether you want all of the fish sold in one lump (difficult, I suspect), or sell one fish at a time.

You may find that e-bay works, but it very much depends. It's also a question of "shipping vs. pick-up locally" - if you can ship/deliver the fish then you have a better chance of selling than if the buyer has to travel to you to buy them.

I'm sure you know all of the above, I'm just pointing it out to clarify why it's very hard to set prices on fish like this.

If you sell the fish to an LFS, then you can, at best, expect about 1/3 of what they sell the fish at. So if you find the fish you have, in a shop, at say £10, you can expect perhaps £3. That is assuming the LFS want to take the fish on at all. But it's the most convenient/quick way to get rid of a large number of fish at once.

Also, prices of fish can vary quite a lot between different shops. For example, a 3-4" L128 at my local Maidenhead Aquatics is listed at £40 and 6"+ fish listed at £70. When I bought my group of L128, they were listed at £28, and where a good 5-6" total length. I got my three fish for £78 after negotiation. So there's a factor of ALMOST 3x the price in a different shop. A large portion of this difference is which supplier the shop is using, and how many levels of distribution channel there is between the South American fisherman catching the fish, and the LFS.

Here's a range of what I'd expect to see at an LFS:
L014 - Sunshine 4-5ins £40-80
L025 - Leopard Cactus Pleco 9-10ins £100-200.
L075 - Para Pleco 8-9-ins £40-60
L104 - Clown Pleco, Ringlet Pleco 2-3ins £5-10
L134 - Leopard Frog Pleco- 3-4ins £30-50
L137 - Blue eyed Red Fin Pleco 8-9ins £30-50
L190 - Royal Pleco -chunky 7-8ins £50-100
L191 - Dull eyed pleco - 5-6ins £40-80
L200 - GreenPhantom Pleco 5-6ins £30-60
L204 - Flash Pleco 6-7ins £20-40
L205 - Brevis Pleco 4-5ins £15-35
L340 - Mega clown pleco 4-5 £25-50 [although perhaps a bit less, as this is almost certainly

Hypancistrus debilittera

(L129) - genuine L340 is very rare, L129 is at least 10x more common, but very frequently sold as L340 in the shops because they are more valueable]

These are NOT the prices I'd expect to pay from a private seller, it is just to give you some idea of what they sell for in the shops.

It would also help if you can:
1. Sex the fish (in many cases, people will pay more for a female than a male, because spare males are more often avaialble).
2. Give number of each fish, and exact size.

--
Mats

[PJWilliams]

I appreciate your advice, thanks very much mats. How can I identify if it is a mega clown, the lady who sold them to me breed zebra plecs and seem to know what she was taking about?

thanks again

paul

[MatsP]

Unfortunately, the only way to really know is to know the capture location, and it's not that far apart (basically, a few miles apart, and left or right bank of the main river tells you which is which - and no, I don't know which it is). I'd assume it's L129, and go from there.

Edit: You could of course post it in the ID section. But don't be surprised if you get "Yes, it's L340" and "No, it's L129" answers that will not REALLY clarify anything.

--
Mats

[andy75]

I bet your gutted u have to sell such a collection?

Was just wondering how many L204 u have? and would u ship to swindon?

Andy

[Lloydy]

I bought 2 L14's for £40 each and they were probably about 2.5" so I agree with £40 as a minimum since yours are about twice the size of mine. I would take it off your hands but I sadly don't have the space for another one

With regards to the L25s, I know these are rare in the UK. To give you an idea, someone is selling a group of them which are much smaller than yours (link to seller http://www.plecofanatics.com/forum/show ... hp?t=83616 ) but charging £100 each. If yours is 9-10" long it can probably be sexed which might mean you can get more like £150-£200 for it, especially if you can find someone who is trying to breed these wonderful fish and wants to add to a current group they have.

I suggest you advertise on Plecofanatics (address above) and here http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/p ... l_fish.php.

Good luck selling them