Driftwood - more profitable than breeding fish?

The driftwood below was bought at a pet shop some time back at between R40 and R55 for each piece.... Considering that someone just picked it up near some riverbed. It's daylight robbery!! Or is it justified??

 

It does look quite nice though

 

That's mopani root not drift wood. Ad transport and annual collection permit costs and you'll see it's not that profitable. I heard they also put restrictions down on where in Namibia it may be collected.

 

i have to drive almost an hour to the nearest pet shop that sells driftwood and then pay at least one hundred rand for a small piece. so for me thats very cheap.

 

If it were just driftwood picked up outside and sold, you might say it was expensive, then again, do you have access to a field where you can pick up nice looking pieces of wood that wont just rot away in a day in your tank? supply and demand dictates that even though a seller may have 'just picked it up somewhere' not everyone has the luxury and therefore they can attach amounts thereto, sometimes rather unwelcoming amounts at that...

but in any event, those pictures are of mopani wood, its not just laying around somewhere, it gets dug up and transported to SA. those prices you got there are WAY more agreaable compared to what i have to pay for them at my lps

 

Go to the new LFS in PE its R15 a kg there