Morphs and fair market value?

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

I'm planning to attend a few more reptile expos in the next few months, and was wondering if anyone has any oppinions on affordable morphs...in particular, what sort of prices one can expect on some of the following. Online, I can just open a dozen tabs on my browser and compare prices and quality with ease, but I'm less confident about compare-pricing at an actual expo.

I'm considering both males and females, so feel free to mention discrepancies based on sex. I'm likely to be looking at '09 juveniles:

Cinnamon
Pastel
Spider
Mojave
Lesser Platinum
Woma

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any advice!

[jjmitchell]

Pastel should be as low as 50-150 for males females 150-250 depending on quality
I purchased 2 female spiders in 09, paid about 210 for each one very high gold, the other was a high white, both very nice males should be a bit cheaper
My 09 female mojo was about 315 from the painted python
Lessers seem to be in the 300-450 range depending on sex and quality
I use black pastel so i am unsure on cinni, also unsure on woma not something i have been looking for.
these prices are fair(between low end and extreme high) from what i have seen and purchased in the last year. hope this helps,

you could always get on king snake and see what they are currently bringing

[j_h_smith]

Too many variables to list prices. Location is the biggest issue. Time of the year also is a big factor. When everyone is sitting with a pile of newborns, you can get a better rpice than you can this time of the year. Once breeder may have an abundance of one morph and will more on the price more than someone with his last 2 of the same morph.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

Thanks guys!

I'm in Michigan...I'm planning on hitting the expo in Taylor, probably in March. I've no idea if I can even find the morphs I want there, actually...I've never been before, as it is on the other side of the state. Quite a drive, but hopefully it'll be worth it!

I just don't want to get there, pay a tonne for a snake, and find out overpaid. While quality is my main concern, I'm also not particularly wealthy and want to know ahead of time some kind of ballpark guesstimate on what to expect.

[Freakie_frog]

Thanks guys!

I'm in Michigan...I'm planning on hitting the expo in Taylor, probably in March. I've no idea if I can even find the morphs I want there, actually...I've never been before, as it is on the other side of the state. Quite a drive, but hopefully it'll be worth it!

I just don't want to get there, pay a tonne for a snake, and find out overpaid. While quality is my main concern, I'm also not particularly wealthy and want to know ahead of time some kind of ballpark guesstimate on what to expect.

You'll be able to tell..when everyone else has pastels for 100.00-150.00 for males and the guy next to them has the same quality for 300.00 then you know it's over priced..

The good thing about shows is that unless the quality of the animal is just tons better the prices will be very close to each other..

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

Hmm, that's true too. Then again I got really lucky with my male Mojave, and I want to avoid breaking up my good luck.

[rabernet]

Try to avoid buying from tables that have all sorts of different reptiles on their table, many times they are jobbers, they never bred the animals, they just acquired them and are flipping them. Many times, they don't practice good quarantine, and it's difficult to reach them after the sale. They probably acquired them in a trade from a show the weekend before.

I have been in the market for an albino male, and I've found one from a member here. He quoted me a price, but encouraged me to attend the show the next day to make sure I didn't find one there that I liked more.

I did find one of similar looks, on a jobber's table for $100 less (minus shipping as well). I left the show without the snake, and called the member here to tell him that it was a no brainer for me - I'd rather pay $100 more for HIS animal. I know that the animal is being well cared for (we may wait on delivery for another show so that we can meet each other in person - about mid-way between us), and that he's being treated as well, if not better than his own animals.

The service that I've already received far exceeds my expectations from a breeder. I'll happily pay a good breeder and fellow BP.netter more for the VALUE of being there for me before and after the sale. I love the updates I get (without asking) on my boy.

[rebel750]

Try to avoid buying from tables that have all sorts of different reptiles on their table, many times they are jobbers, they never bred the animals, they just acquired them and are flipping them. Many times, they don't practice good quarantine, and it's difficult to reach them after the sale. They probably acquired them in a trade from a show the weekend before.

I have been in the market for an albino male, and I've found one from a member here. He quoted me a price, but encouraged me to attend the show the next day to make sure I didn't find one there that I liked more.

I did find one of similar looks, on a jobber's table for $100 less (minus shipping as well). I left the show without the snake, and called the member here to tell him that it was a no brainer for me - I'd rather pay $100 more for HIS animal. I know that the animal is being well cared for (we may wait on delivery for another show so that we can meet each other in person - about mid-way between us), and that he's being treated as well, if not better than his own animals.

The service that I've already received far exceeds my expectations from a breeder. I'll happily pay a good breeder and fellow BP.netter more for the VALUE of being there for me before and after the sale. I love the updates I get (without asking) on my boy.

I completely agree! I just did the same thing with my 2 new pick ups, but I paid slightly more for one, but MUCH less for the other. And have no doubts on their history and health.

[PyroPython]

Im getting a spider, and have seen them for 150 at the lowest. But im willling to pay the 225 listed on the one muddoc has that i want. The extra money is just a sort of insurance policy

[angllady2]

When I got ready to buy my cinny female, I looked carefully at different ads, compared prices and looks, spent time studying the Hunter's Guide here, and determined that I was willing to spend up to X amount for a prime example of the morph.

When I went to my local show, I saw lots of cinnies. Most were males, and the few females were nothing special, granted I could have picked up a nothing special female pretty reasonably, but none were a snake I would be pleased to look at for the next 20 years, so I kept looking.

When I finally found my baby, I knew she was something special. She looked just like what I wanted her to look, and I knew she was a snake I'd be showing off for years to come. She was also considerably more than the other cinnies, but to me she was worth every penny, because she was what I wanted in a cinnamon.

Bottom line is, study pictures of snakes you like, memorize the things that make certain snakes really catch your eye. Write it down if you have to. Figure out the average price for that morph, and then ask yourself, if I found a snake that looked like so....what would I be willing to spend to have it?

Then if you find that one-in-a-hundred snake that is just what you imagined, you already know what you'd be willing to spend, and then you can decide for yourself if the individual snake is worth it to you.

Gale