Arowanas Price Drop

EKen

Super Moderator
Just like everything else, when something gets trendy and more popular, there will be more providers and the price of that item will be more competitive. It is astounding how much arowanas price has dropped.

I remember paying around 1K a few years ago for my first RTG. Now, Grade 1 Reds are sold for half that price.

I remember when this forum started, there was a member (which I don't really remember his name) that believed that Grade 1 Reds should be way cheaper. Almost all the other members thought that he was a fool believing that High End Arowanas could be that cheap. I guess he was not that wrong after all. :rolleyes:

If you ever see this, sorry for making fun of you bro.
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
Outside actually being in Indnesia, I do not believe you can get a grade 1 super red for $500.

I see prices having come down roughly by 50-60% over the last 10 years, in general.

A big exception are the high end fish. A high end larger SR still costs around $5000-7500, probably not that far off what they cost back in the day (with a little bargaining thrown in of course).

Likewise, GH and some other high quality XB`s provided by Singapore and Malaysian farms were not readily available 10 years ago, and so it is hard to compare their prices today with the past.

Where are prices going in the future? I would say all eyes are on China. If the Chinese economy continues to boom, then a floor is created for aro prices world wide. Lately, prices for golds of all kinds have been going up due to Chinese demand...
 

EEYY

New Member
Outside actually being in Indnesia, I do not believe you can get a grade 1 super red for $500.

I see prices having come down roughly by 50-60% over the last 10 years, in general.

A big exception are the high end fish. A high end larger SR still costs around $5000-7500, probably not that far off what they cost back in the day (with a little bargaining thrown in of course).

Likewise, GH and some other high quality XB`s provided by Singapore and Malaysian farms were not readily available 10 years ago, and so it is hard to compare their prices today with the past.

Where are prices going in the future? I would say all eyes are on China. If the Chinese economy continues to boom, then a floor is created for aro prices world wide. Lately, prices for golds of all kinds have been going up due to Chinese demand...



Agree on everything I read. In my opinion, if the USA market opens, prices will be totally different.
 

bcarlos

Member
Honestly, I believe there are more low-end fish available, driving the price down. The cost for a high-end SR or gold, though, is still very high, especially as you move away from the big aro centres in Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, etc.). What is still very low is the number of people in Canada who are willing to purchase fish of this grade.

As long as the breeding farms are contained to SE Asia, outside demand will always drive the prices. If the Chinese and American markets open up, I expect to see the price rise.
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
Honestly, I believe there are more low-end fish available, driving the price down. The cost for a high-end SR or gold, though, is still very high, especially as you move away from the big aro centres in Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, etc.). What is still very low is the number of people in Canada who are willing to purchase fish of this grade.

Yes, too many low grade fish around these days, though seemingly more in Ontario? I wish all aro importers would develop longer term trading relationships with their suppliers. This way the Canadian consumer could really get to know the fish from any given farm. What happens too often now is store/importer "X" buys a whack of say 100 aros from farm "Y"; the fish are graded, and a few higher grade fish are used for marketing purposes (show tanks and what not); meanwhile most tanks have lower grade fish. But uneducated buyers don't know better. They make their purchase, only to find out a year or two later that the $500-number1-grade-SR aro has not turned out as promised (an aro which at a price like that is likely to be a banjar/SR hybrid at best). But by this point, the store/importer "X" has now moved on to import from farm "Z". Thus, a complaint from the customer now will just be met with, "Oh, well that was farm "Y". Now we import from farm "Z". We can't help you with that fish, but can give you a deal on a new one from farm Z". Maybe a store should not have to provide customer support down the road if a fish does not turn out as it should, but a farm should. Yet how can a farm ever provide after sales support if the store/importer no longer even imports from them? :confused:
 
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bcarlos

Member
Yes, too many low grade fish around these days, though seemingly more in Ontario?

It certainly seems that way, Theo.

I always tell my clients that buying an arowana is like buying a car. There is a reason for the price divide between a Hyundai and a Mercedes; the same holds true for a low grade vs. high grade aro. This is an investment in your hobby, and if you consider the years a healthy aro is expected to live, it's one you should make prudently. This is a fundamental difference between North American and overseas markets. Buyers overseas are far more to pay top $$ for high quality fish.

Agree with Howard, but as the Chinese economy strengthens we will see an emergence of a middle class with purchasing power to buy these fish.
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
The car analogy only works when you are talking about large fish with confirmed colour and body shape characteristics. Everyone can tell a Lambourghini from a sporty Accord, which is like comparing a $7500 35 cm "show" grade with a $2000 25 cm "nice" grade.

The problem with comparing fish comes when they are smaller. Especially for reds, you can not tell real quality at small size. Same is true to some degree for XB's. I am talking 4-5 inch, but even 6 inch sometimes. If you are a customer standing in front of two tanks of SR's, all fish 5 inches, and one tank says $1200, comes from name brand farm, been around in Canada for a while, while the other tank is selling "SR's" for say $600, but from a no-name farm, or some farm you have never heard of anyway....and here is the key - the fish look practically identical - which fish would you buy? ;)

Two or three years later, chances are you have a disappointed customer. This scenario is playing out a lot in Canada I think.

When buying small fish of 4-5 inches, I would argue quite strongly to buy from a farm you trust, one that will still be selling in Canada and elsewhere in future, and one that will stand behind their fish and grading system.
 
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