Why trust CoralBay?
A useful reefing platform starts with understanding the hobby—and earns trust through clear information, fair processes and listening to the people who use it.
CoralBay was created by a UK reef keeper to bring more of the hobby together: the corals fellow reefers are growing, the equipment they are selling, the shops worth discovering and the tools that make it easier to find what you need.
That is still what guides its development. Whether you are collecting a frag locally, buying with protected delivery, trying an auction or planning a visit to a reef shop, the aim is to make the experience useful and straightforward.
Built around the reefing community
If you have ever searched several shops for one coral, missed a local frag listing or wondered what you could collect along a journey, you will recognise the problems CoralBay is trying to solve.
Useful information is often spread across shops, messages, groups and individual listings. CoralBay brings more of it into one place, with a focus on UK marine and reef aquariums.
Community Corals and Marine Marketplace give reefers somewhere to advertise what they have available. Local discovery tools help turn a listing into a practical collection. Private messaging lets buyers and sellers ask questions through the platform without having to publish their email addresses.
CoralBay is actively developed, with improvements shaped by real use and reefer feedback. A problem you report or an idea you suggest can help make the platform better for the next person too.
More ways to make the hobby easier
Community Corals
Discover corals grown by other reefers, browse photographs, check locations and ask about the actual coral before buying. Sellers can use fixed-price listings or eligible auctions.
Marine Marketplace
Find or sell marine aquarium equipment, livestock, accessories and tank breakdowns. Detailed descriptions help buyers understand condition, what is included and how collection or delivery will work.
UK Reef Market
Search products across UK reef retailers, compare listed prices and discover shops you may not have come across before. When you follow a retailer link to buy, you purchase from that retailer.
Reef shops and route discovery
Explore reef shops around the UK and use the route tool to see relevant shops and collection opportunities near a planned journey. Check opening hours and availability before setting off.
Auctions
Bid on eligible coral and Marketplace lots using private maximum bidding. Winners pay online through CoralBay, with the offered protected delivery or paid collection process.
Tools beyond buying and selling
Use private messaging, explore wanted listings and keep track of aquarium parameters and trends through CoralBay’s reefing tools. Your account brings together the features relevant to you.
A choice of ways to buy and sell
Different reefers prefer different arrangements. CoralBay supports local direct trading alongside eligible online purchases with a recorded protection process.
Direct arrangements
Where a community listing offers a direct sale, you agree payment and collection or delivery with the seller. Community Corals and Marine Marketplace listings are free to post, with no CoralBay seller commission.
This suits buyers and sellers who want to deal directly, particularly for local collection. Agree the details and carry out your own checks before paying. Direct payments do not have CoralBay’s protected-payment claim process.
Eligible protected purchases
Where offered, choose protected delivery or collection paid online through CoralBay using Stripe. The purchase record shows the agreed details and transaction stages, with a route to report covered problems.
Availability depends on the listing, goods and fulfilment options. Look for CoralBay Protection and use the actual online purchase process; finding an advert here does not make a later outside payment protected.
Auctions with private maximum bidding
New auctions let you enter the highest item price you are willing to pay. The system bids only as needed, up to that ceiling. If you are the only bidder, the public price starts at the opening price; raising your own leading maximum does not itself push the price up.
The winner pays the final winning price, plus the displayed buyer fee and any offered postage. The percentage part of the protection fee applies to the winning item price and delivery charge combined. Check the full potential total and fulfilment arrangements before bidding. Winning is a commitment to complete the purchase, subject to applicable legal rights.
CoralBay Shop and Vendors
You can also buy Shop products and products from approved Vendors through CoralBay checkout. CoralBay sells its own Shop goods; the named Vendor is the seller of Vendor products and normally dispatches them. CoralBay is the support contact for these orders under the published Shop/Vendor procedures.
A recorded process when you choose protection
CoralBay Protection gives eligible purchases a clear sequence from payment to completion, with a way to raise covered concerns before seller transfer is approved.
- Review and pay online. Check the item, seller, delivery or collection option, total and protection terms. Payment is processed using Stripe, and the seller waits for verified payment before fulfilment.
- Follow the purchase. Both parties can see the transaction stages in their account. Delivery uses the recorded dispatch and tracking process; paid collection uses inspection and confirmation at handover.
- Accept or report a covered problem. Inspect promptly and use the purchase’s reporting action if something is wrong. Equipment and coral arrival claims have different requirements and deadlines.
- Complete the payment process. Seller transfer requires the relevant completion checks and CoralBay approval. An unresolved claim or payment-provider hold prevents ordinary release. Bank payout processing follows separately.
Depending on the goods and saved terms, covered concerns include non-delivery, delivery damage, undisclosed faults, material misdescription and evidenced coral dead on arrival. General change of mind or later aquarium losses are not automatically covered.
Protection is a defined reporting and review process. It cannot prevent every problem or guarantee a refund for every loss. Read the terms and deadlines shown for your purchase, keep relevant evidence and contact support promptly if a technical issue stops you reporting.
Clear costs, clear responsibilities
What you pay
Community Corals and Marine Marketplace currently have no listing fee or seller commission. For eligible protected purchases, the advertised buyer protection fee is 50p plus 4% of the item price and delivery charge combined . The percentage includes any agreed delivery, postage and packaging charge and is calculated before the protection fee itself is added.
A £20 protected purchase with £6 postage would therefore total £27.54, including a £1.54 protection fee (50p plus 4% of £26). The quote shown before you commit is the one to review. Shop and Vendor orders have their own checkout prices and delivery charges.
Who you are buying from
The seller matters. A community seller supplies their listed goods, a Vendor supplies their Vendor products, and CoralBay supplies its own Shop products. Buying from an external retailer found through UK Reef Market is a purchase from that retailer under its own terms.
Payment onboarding, a published listing or a platform label does not mean CoralBay has inspected every item or can guarantee a seller’s performance. Read the description, ask questions and check whether the seller is private or trading as a business.
Visibility without promises of a particular result
CoralBay gives sellers a dedicated listing to share and helps buyers discover items through its own browsing and location tools. Public listings can also be discovered through search engines. Indexing, ranking, third-party placement and a sale are never guaranteed.
Room for reefers and reef shops
Our aim is to support the wider hobby: reefers sharing home-grown frags, sellers finding buyers for equipment, and retailers reaching people who may not know about them yet. Shop discovery, retailer product search and community trading all have a place here.
Someone to contact, and feedback that matters
If a listing looks misleading, a feature fails or something about a purchase concerns you, tell us. Email support@coralbay.uk with the relevant listing, order or purchase reference and a clear explanation.
For a protected-purchase problem, also use the reporting action in your account so it is recorded against that transaction. CoralBay can review reports of misuse and take proportionate action on listings or accounts. That review is separate from deciding a refund or recovering a payment made directly to a seller.
CoralBay is still growing. New features are tested and improved, and feedback helps us identify the awkward steps or problems we have missed. We aim to investigate concerns and explain the next step clearly; a support message is welcome even when all you have is a suggestion.
Is every purchase on CoralBay protected?
No. Eligible purchases paid through the CoralBay Protection process have its saved protection terms. Direct arrangements, Shop/Vendor orders and purchases completed on external retailer sites each follow their own applicable procedures.
Can I still collect locally and pay the seller directly?
Yes, where the listing offers a direct arrangement. Agree it with the seller and check the item. This is different from a protected collection, which is paid online and confirmed through the purchase’s handover process.
Is an auction limited to local collection?
No. Sellers can offer eligible protected delivery, paid collection or both, according to the auction. Check the offered options before bidding; do not assume an unavailable option can be added afterwards.
Are all sellers personally checked or all goods inspected?
No. Listings, account checks and payment onboarding do not amount to an inspection of each item. Use the information available, ask the seller questions and choose a purchase route you understand.
Where can I read the full buying and selling rules?
Use CoralBay’s How CoralBay Works, Terms & Conditions, Shipping/Collection, Refunds/DOA and auction information pages. The listing and saved purchase terms show the specific fees, fulfilment and deadlines that apply. You can also contact support before committing.
Have a look around. Tell us what would help.
Whether you have one frag to share, a piece of equipment to sell or a particular coral to find, we hope CoralBay earns a place among the tools you use for the hobby.