Do not become a victim...

I would like to tell you a bit about my recent business transaction with Mr. Coral.
In these recent experiences, Mr. Coral has displayed quite a few gaping holes in their business practices.
Four months ago, I was shipped bags of dead coral. They weren’t even the dead remains of the WYSIWYG livestock I purchased. After contacting them via email (their phone # was/is disconnected) and I was promised replacements within two weeks. After those two weeks, I was told to wait another 2 weeks, and that “it will totally be worth the wait”… but I couldn’t get a refund. The same thing continues on…

5 months later, I have yet to see any action on their part. They made sexist comments to my girlfriend over email… and now ignore any attempt made to contact. The best part was when they told me contacting the BBB or consumer affairs was a “THREAT” and they would no longer correspond with me. After I informed them of “consumer rights” they decided it was a good time to speak again… Yet we’ve come to no resolution.

I’ve been forced to file complaints with the BBB, Consumer Affairs, RipoffReport.com and I don’t believe that will result in much. However, it is the job of MD Attorney General Doug Gansler to look into reports of fraudulent business practices and I’m pretty sure the FTC has something to do with consumer trade…

I digress, the reason I’ve made this post is to give the public some insight into what I believe and have experienced in regards to MrCoral.com. This is only my experience, I cannot speak for anyone else.

Regards,
Joshua Roark

Josh, there a post about Mr. Corals on our website. Most people had really bad experience with them, from fresh cut frags to not getting what they ordered. I guess you should have asked us before you purchase. Most of us never order from them again. Also be aware of those on eBay as well, they also sell them there.

However, of you ever get a chance to go to their shop in Fredrick, MD. It may be worth the trip, but I wouldn’t go out of my way though. I got some nice stuff from them at their shop.

[quote=“reefman66, post:2, topic:5734”]
Josh, there a post about Mr. Corals on our website. Most people had really bad experience with them, from fresh cut frags to not getting what they ordered. I guess you should have asked us before you purchase. Most of us never order from them again. Also be aware of those on eBay as well, they also sell them there.

However, of you ever get a chance to go to their shop in Fredrick, MD. It may be worth the trip, but I wouldn’t go out of my way though. I got some nice stuff from them at their shop.[/quote]

My mistake. Luckily not too expensive of a mistake. Good to know I’m not the only one… Why are they not removed as a sponsor from the site? No good can come from them remaining.

[quote=“StoneReefer_210, post:3, topic:5734”]
Why are they not removed as a sponsor from the site? No good can come from them remaining.[/quote]

I agree and I have said this many times in the past.

If that is the case so many people on this forum have had so many issues then why do we continue to allow them to advertise on the forum?

I understand supporters pay but if the business is this bad why do we allow such on here? Just my :TWOCENTS
I am sure Craig or one of the councilors could muster up better supporters that would be glad to be on here.

Well as far as why we allow them to remain a sponsor … until now I’ve only been aware of “heresay crappy business practices” - no one had been directly impacted or affected. There’s always the possibility I’ve missed threads, but I haven’t heard any overwhelming complaints about 1st hand issues.

Send me a PM with more details of how he would know who you are and I’ll reach out to him and let him know that if it’s not made right, his sponsorship privileges will be revoked.

when i handled the mr coral group buy for the club, they sent me an entirely incorrect order, paid for the reshipment, resent the old order. took two weeks, was not sent when it was originally supposed to. whole process was sucky, numerous frags were off the plugs a few were doa, freebies were not as described, and their customer service is pretty much as josh reviewed it. when i needed to speak with the person in charge, he was always in florida.
those negatives said, i believe that tim and A both had good luck with the frags from mr c though

sorry to hear josh n jess >:::

i’ll look for the guys email that actually did get back to me back when they did the group buy a while back.

Last i heard they were selling stuff on ebay under diff names… shady ::thinking::

I made an order and the corals we got were in bad shape poorly bagged. I had no idea what coral was what out of 26 two were doa and 6 more were real bad the rest were ok but not good. I called them and waited for a reply the next day i called and got a hold of the guy in charge they credited me but had to make another order so I did and paul got a few too they were just as bad I ordered they’re advertised corals like shaggy watermelon, tequila sunrise, etc and after nursing most back to health a few were very nice but a lot looked nothing like what I bought. But in the end the corals were $10 frags If half lived it wasn’t horrible to me but I will never order there again. It was fresh cut small frags not wyswyg like advertised. The bags were deflated and very small

I totally agree that Mr. Coral should be removed as a sponsor of our club. He is now going under the name of “the coral farmer” on ebay and ripping people off. This is not a business we want associated with our club’s name. Mr. Coral or whatever name he uses, is a DISGRACE to our hobby and the saltwater business.
The only right thing to do is to drop his name from our website as soon as possible. Hopefully we can stop others from ordering and having nothing but problems with their frags. This is the old bait and switch routine.

I myself will have nothing to do with some business or club, that has total disregard for the animals it sells and makes a joke of the hobby we all love.
Please do not go to his store and support this type of business. The best thing to do is get the word out on the internet so hopefully he goes out of business for good.

Moved to General discussion so we could remove the Mr. Coral board and related marketing material.

[quote=“Cdangel0, post:11, topic:5734”]
Moved to General discussion so we could remove the Mr. Coral board and related marketing material.[/quote]

Way to go Craig. YahoO

Anybody a member on R2R? He is a sponsor on that site too, and there seems to be a lot of activity. I don’t have any personal experience with this guy, so I hesitate to make a comment.

HA! Serves Sonny and Ken (owners) right! I have over 120 emails going back and forth with these guys… it might as well have been auto-responses.

Thanks for the back-up guys! DRC FTW!

Also, not to mention shady business practices and below par customer service… here is the sexist comment they made to me (this is Jess, the girlfriend) through e-mail.

“Sorry I just got back. Nice a women who like to make the 1st move. I
can give you a credit on the site if you like. Do you have a tank or
your Boy Friend?”

A very weird bunch, all around. This was after multiple e-mail correspondences, and whoever this was is just now asking if we had a tank? After I demanded a refund for doa coral? I really cannot get enough of these people.

  • jess

Well I hope all works out in the end. I have a suggestion for a replacement sponsor, rapid led since a lot of us are led or supplementing I have ordered a few times with them and the cust. Service is great and good knowledge of lighting and proper spectrums.

[quote=“dunk, post:16, topic:5734”]
Well I hope all works out in the end. I have a suggestion for a replacement sponsor, rapid led since a lot of us are led or supplementing I have ordered a few times with them and the cust. Service is great and good knowledge of lighting and proper spectrums.[/quote]

Agreed!

Craig, Thanks for the quick action in removing Mr. Coral from our sponsors list. I believe that all our members would agree it was the right thing to do.

Ill throw in my quick .02 here… I usually refrain from making comments about vendors anymore as a rule though- Mr coral has a VERY BAD reputation and I hear MANY more negative comments than positive. I live in MD and just moved from an area that was pretty close to Mr coral. I have heard almost nothing but bad comments about anything shipped from sonny. I have visited the store in person multiple times, none of the livestock I have purchased ever lived very long. that alone was enough for me to stop shopping there. to contrast, when I buy (~similar) frags from Dr Mac I have no problems at all.

a club that I was involved with in MD for a while has been struggling with the same issue, and has had numerous similar threads- Craig, I applaud you for taking this action!

[quote=“firecrackerbob, post:19, topic:5734”]
I usually refrain from making comments about vendors anymore as a rule though- Mr coral has a VERY BAD reputation and I hear MANY more negative comments than positive. [/quote]

Ditto.

[quote=“firecrackerbob, post:19, topic:5734”]
Craig, I applaud you for taking this action! [/quote]

Ditto.