Also, it is unlikely that the red bugs would leave the coral they arrived on so quickly. I would remove and dip them and wait and see on the rest.
As for dipping new corals when you get them it is always a good idea. However our corals are normally 100% pest free. This is very embassasing to say the least. Since most of the corals we ship are tank raised by us we normaly do not need to worry about pest. Unfortnaly when the corals come out of our wild system things can happen. Again I am very sorry for the scare.

+1

Considering ordering myself (esp if free frags are thrown in on top of the great deal!).

At least the seller responded that is good. But this is what gets me. A discount when you are ready to spend more money or 2 more free frags when you are ready to spend more money. I own a lawn and landscaping business and when a customer calls me and says we made a mistake and can you fix it I say sure we will be right over. I don't say Nah I will just give you a discount next time you need something done. I don't mean to sound like a jerk it just ticks me off when this happens.

I purchased a tang there with skin discoloration and Brandon told me it was bitten by a lawnmower blenny. Go figure. It died within a week of purchase. I don't trust that guy and will always be wary of his comments. At times he sounds more cocky than supportive although I am sure he doesn't mean it intentionally. I do trust John and his coral selection is by far better than the rest in Sacramento. I plan on buying bigger frags there in the near future. I will probably talk to John than go through Brandon.

I think the key is to be friends with the owner. I get to purchase livestock at cost or near cost most of the time at aquariumdepot but I doubt I will ever get the same treatment with John.

this isnt a thread for critics its a guy asking for help i dont think critisizing the seller will help him.

The difference is, that for him to send a new coral to replace a pest infested one that can be easily treated would cost him $40 in overnight shipping...thats a fast way to loose money as a business. So rather than sending another frag, he's offering a discount or free frags on the next order to make up for it. Its not like its faulty merchandise, the coral is still good, just needs a quick dip. Y'all need to remember that without shops like yourreef.com, the only place we'd be able to buy coral is petco! He's gotta make a buck at the end of the day.

WTF is with people always wanting something for free.... All anyone cares about anymore is free or discounts.... sheesh

Thanks for explaining it to me that is what I needed. WTF?
slow your roll I didn't ask for anything for free or want anything for free. Nor did the person with the red bugs. Its just funny how vendors always say discount on next order or free frags on next order. Let the person that spent money take it in the rear. When you own a business you have loss sometime. I know he has to make a dollar. But make the sh*t right. If you were suppose to dip before you sent it and did not thats your fault not the buyers. Maybe the buyer is new and did not know to dip it. That is why you are a vendor because you know what needs to be done to protect beginners from not knowing better. Who cares that it cost 35 dollars to overnight something. You can take that as a loss on your taxes as a screw up. What happens when this guy looses cuc members and inverts because of red bugs? Ow he won't lose any. How the F**k do you know are you a marine expert ? When you own a business you make stuff right no matter how much it costs because word of mouth will help or hurt you right in the pocket book.

Agreed he's gotta make a buck, but without us CONSUMERS these shops wouldn't exist.

Don't hate the redbugs and don't hate the person they came from. Just get some Interceptor, read up on Dustin's post at RC on how to use it, do 3 treatments and go on with life....easiest fix for a reef tank problem that I've ever dealt with.....

I used to fear redbugs until I finally had them, and dealt with them....no problems since....

I want to make things clear for everyone. I took all 7 of the acros with bugs out of the system. I don't have the correct treatment at this time to do anything about it. I called John a few minutes ago and he was very helpful in telling me how to treat this. He offered to put the credit back on my credit card which is very reasonable. All of the other corals that he sent me are in great condition and I am very pleased on how he handled the situation. He said the problem was that some of the acros were taken from a farm tank due to the heavy order load. Next time he said to ask for corals only from the tank raised section. After talking to John I feel safe in making another order from him in the future.

Dude, take a chill pill, it wasn't an attack on you. I just get frustrated reading where people are always so fast to blame the businesses when the company is trying to do right by them and the customer. I'm sure if a discount or free stuff next time wasn't okay then the buyer has the right to demand a refund and they can go that direction. The OP doesn't seem to be disappointed with the outcome.

I own an online store that sells scuba gear for technical diving, yes you work hard to make things right, but you can't give stuff away for free and expect to stay in business a long time. Maintaining a SW store is expensive, do enough $35 free shipping for a new frag to replace one that is perfectly fine just needs a dip is a fast way to go out of business.

Don't get all PMS-y on me because the seller is trying to make right and I agree with his methodology.

Sorry Kmitch I thought it was directed towards me. Glad he at least offered to refund you. Alot of vendors like to give the discount. It just drives me crazy when companys offer discounts on the next order. I just had a bad deal with a vendor recently and it sparked my fuse when I read this. I will go check my Tampon I am sorry if I offended anyone.

I understand, no hard feelings. I'd agree if I thought there was something that needed replacement (like he ordered a light and it didn't work-- yeah you gotta replace that and you can't just offer a discount next time), but considering he got free frags extra and that the problem can be easily solved, I don't think demanding the seller to replace them is fair. In fact the time he's spent getting online to respond to this has sold me on his customer service and I'll buy from him when this 30 breeder gets some water in it

Can I use this as a sig Brad...?

yea, I will have no problem ordering again in the future. John was more than fair to me. He is going to give me credit for the 7 acro frags.

i love happy endings !!

+1

I will add to the original post! This morning I received the 12 acros for 99 and 20 zoas for 99. The acros were pretty good, and basically with the zoas I got what I paid for. They are the ones you see in the last tank at the end of the row that you dont waste your money on. Sadly they have so many nice corals, I thought they would be tiny but nice frags. The acros were about 50/50. Even with the redbugs I think you made out at yourreef better than I did. Maybe next time I will take the chance and order from the otherside of the county instead of Maryland. I hate Maryland...

After letting the zoas have a little more time only half look like garbage... The others are okay. The acros I would say 2/3 are good.

After all of this is said and done. The main piece of coral on my "unique piece of reef" is dead. I complained because it was obviously bagging issues. They said the bagging girl bagged it fine and that it was shipping, and they could refund the fraction of the piece based on how many corals are on there. That is if the rest of the heads die. How is the main piece of calaustrea"which is the whole reason I bought it" worth the same as the mushies and plain zoas on the rock? Coral isnt like people it is not all created equal. Never again PacificEast, never again.

Just wanted to follow up regarding the concerns with 'Perm's order. We emailed back and forth several times when first informed of his concerns and after receiving pictures of the damaged Piece of the Reef we asked him to give it a few days to settle and see if it healed. This is our normal policy just to allow things to recover a bit from shipping stress so that we can more accurately access damages. We told him we would apply a credit if the piece did not heal up in that time and to just let us know. As he mentioned, Pieces of the Reef have multiple frags attached and we do not generally apply a full credit for these items if only one frag is damaged. Rather we figure out the relative value of the damaged piece and apply a credit accordingly. Perhaps we did not do an adequate job of explaining this process and if so I appologize.

The only reply we have received from our email was a response telling us not to worry about it. We made a follow up call on Friday to inquire about the status of the piece and to discuss any other concerns regarding packing ect, but have not received a reply that I am aware of. None the less we have applied a $50 credit to your account which you are welcome to use at any time. We would be happy to discuss things furthur with you if you would like to give us a call, toll free at 877-887-5224. We strive to offer the very best customer service and satisfaction possible and it is clear that we have not yet reached that goal in this case. We look forward to hearing from you.

I understand the process perfectly, fractions arent that difficult. What I had said was, "Don't worry about it, I will just write it off and move on." Once I vented properly to others that would understand my frustrations I did exactly that. If my boss asked me if I had done my job correctly my reply would be a no brainer. What happened to the customer is always right? Why should a follow up to inform you of the condition of your product lead to a question of integrity? You did call me again and I appreciate that. I was busy, and had no intention of returning your call. Like I said I wrote this off and had moved on. I do not want your $50 credit. After taking a morning off of work to pickup an order, paying for shipping, and paying for taxes all of that trouble really isnt worth a $20 frag. A $50 credit wouldnt even replace the same coral I lost.