I really think that time is changing – there are still many people who want everything for nothing, but also many who spend hundreds of Euros for Aquaristic technic as CO2 and computers, or for Sea water tanks, or Koi as you say.
I found people to pay 30 Euro for to get as express sending tylomelania snails from me, just to get the snails safe in one day sent. (In this case I made no profit , but I was glad to have them sent in a safe way and that where “just” snails, who breed very easily) ….
And if you get two good, healthy fish, with documented origin from a breeder for a prize you have to pay in a shop for 10 ill, weak, and early dying fish, I think it’s not so difficult to choose the best quality for the same prize …
Another example: plants…. I don’t really want to know how many money I spent in the last ten years for plants which were eaten by my tylomelania snails or recently by my black water …
One pack of good Ceratopteris from France to Germany sent by a kind member of the project was worth all the plants I bought before for the blackwater – now I have in four tanks phantastic plants!