Questions about selling corals

Can someone tell me how to determine the price for corals? If you are selling them on the internet, I am confused as to how to price them. It seems that they are cheaper by the ocean, obviously than in land-locked states. So how do you determine a fair price to anyone in America?

How do you know how big to let something get before selling it or shipping it for that matter? Also, how do you package corals for shipping? Is there a thread for that? I think that would be beneficial under "Fragging" or "For sale or trade," if it isn't already somewhere I couldn't find.

I have just gotten into fragging, thanks to you guys ;D, and it is so cool to see new stuff growing, never spending a penny for new corals, and saving the reefs. I just figured I could pass some along, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

there are a couple websites that sell frags and whole corals and all are different ranges of prices per coral. if you research those websites take a comparitive analysis of the cost for each specific coral. the size of the coral sold is personal preference based off of supply and demand in conjuction with the price. shipping corals would need the correct temp range with plenty of redox to make the trip.
Advanced Aquarist's Short Take

 

It's hard to say. The better the colour and rarity of the piece will warrant higher price. Check on line to see what the market will bare. frags.org - Buy, Sell, and Trade Coral Frags for Free is a great place to research. The bigger the frag the better I guess.
You can also check with local clubs to see if they have frag auctions or trade contacts

J

 

Supply and demand plays a part as well as other variables in my opinion!
Size, type of coral, number of polyps or heads associated with size, color, rarity as Jason stated nicely, and the overall appearance of the coral itself, combined with as you said, where these pieces are being sold to though, I think to a lesser degree!
As far as fragging size, I think it is up to you. You may want to have various sizes with different price tags as you know to some money is no object whereas to others $5.00 is a big deal! That would be me...hahaha
Shipping is via heat and cold packs and many times shipped in styrofoam boxes with little water, but you can check various websites for suggestions or as mentioned above.
Hope this helps!
Good luck!