lets say..

[ADEE]

You want to get a morph, lets say a high end snake such as a high white pie bald. You just so happen to have the most oportune scenario a line up of these people,
Adam (from 8ball, who is very experienced)
Mark (made up person, who has some experience, does breeding on a medium scale)
Jack (who has only had a few clutches)

There are three female high white hatchlings, have eaten twice each, all look great and have identical markings and all weigh lets say 250g, everyones terms of sale are nearly identical

Adam has his snake listed at $2800
Mark has his snake listed at $2000
Jack has his snake listed at $1700

Prices are rediculous i know but for the sake of "lets just say"
would you pay the higher price? who would you go with and why?

[NightLad]

Speaking on a completely personal note, I’d like to think that the final deciding factor would rest on more than just dollars and cents. If I’m buying an animal I hope to have with me for 30+ years, I don’t think an extra couple hundred either way would matter all that much, so long as I find just the right snake for me. (You know, “the one.”)

Ideally I’d like to be able to visit all the breeders (like at an expo or something) to compare before making the commitment to bring an animal home who I’ll have longer than I've currently been alive. That’s not always possible, of course, but in my ‘ideal scenario’ that’s what I’d hope for.

Just my 2 (novice) cents.

[ADEE]

great input! thanks thats exactly the kind of comment i was looking for

[JASBALLS]

#3 I pick Jack. I always like going to the vet and watching my Hard earned money Disapear..
But then who is to say this jack guy is all that bad?

[JASBALLS]

#3 I pick Jack. I always like going to the vet and watching my Hard earned money Disapear..
But then who is to say this jack guy is all that bad?

I didnt see #1 was Adam THE ADAM! I forfeit...

[Adam_Wysocki]

I'd give that Adam guy a call and see what he can work out for me. I know that sometimes breeders like Adam are a little behind on updating their websites/price lists and can be very competitive price wise depending on the animal and the terms of the sale ... plus, I'd bet that Adam is a pretty cool guy to talk snakes with as well.

Just sayin.

-adam

[JASBALLS]

I'd give that Adam guy a call and see what he can work out for me. I know that sometimes breeders like Adam are a little behind on updating their websites/price lists and can be very competitive price wise depending on the animal and the terms of the sale ... plus, I'd bet that Adam is a pretty cool guy to talk snakes with as well.

Just sayin.

-adam

That Adam Rawks!!! Just sayin with no smiles cause I'm still on probation!!
I luvs me some Adam (NH)

[Adam_Wysocki]

That Adam Rawks!!! Just sayin with no smiles cause I'm still on probation!!
I luvs me some Adam (NH)

Well, you rock too Jas! ... I've got animals that you produced eating me out of house and home and I couldn't be happier! I'm sure I'll have many more of your babies in my racks in the years ahead!!!!

-adam

[NightLad]

I’d like to post a follow-up, if I may.

While I stand beside what I mentioned in my earlier post, I would like to clarify that it is based on my opinion in the situation of buying a snake as a person pet. That is to say, a non-breeding critter I would just like to have for myself. (Which happens to be my goal.)

However, if I were to enter the realm of breeding snakes for profit, and I were to look at the snake like a financial investment, than I would aim to buy from well known and respected breeders. In a professional marketplace the name behind the ‘product’ often commands a bulk of the price. You touched on this fact in your original question. Being able to say, “This is so-and-so’s strain” might net you several hundred more dollars per animal than selling “no-name brand.” (For lack of a better term, and without any offense intended to anyone!)

The snakes you obtain from a hobby/lesser-known breeder may be just as high quality, but lacking ‘the name,’ the discerning buyer may go elsewhere when it comes time to sell the offspring. That is just the nature of nearly any marketplace. There is a market for these beautiful animals, that’s for sure, and if you wanted to maximize your profit fast, than I’d say that breeding “name brand” would be one of the best ways to do that.

This is the ‘less risky’ way, because you are starting out with an established strain with an established reputation, providing you keep it up – and people will know if you don’t.

Hmmm… now you have me in ‘business mode.’ Tsk tsk.

Another way to turn a respectable profit would be to go the other way; breed quality snakes you buy inexpensively from lesser-known breeders and create the hot morphs people want. Because you paid less to begin with, and you yourself are starting out as a ‘no-name’, you could sell those morphs for less and generate a rush of sales. Do this long enough and your name will become ‘known’ as your snakes gradually make it on to the scene in wider circles. If you are producing quality animals (again; people will know if you aren’t!), then you can slowly raise your prices to match the competitors, while retaining a solid reputation.

I could call this the ‘challenging way,’ because you would effectively be building a ‘name’ of your very own, but the rewards could be tremendous. Imagine in 10 years people proudly saying, “I just got an amazing AshleyB strain silver pastel!”

Please note; the abovementioned price regulation is different than just ‘slashing prices’ to undercut everybody else. What I’ve described is selling a comparable product at a rate that reflects your lesser-known status; a practice that you’ve already established exists for those just starting out or hobby-breeding.

If you were to intentionally (maliciously?) undercut everybody after you’ve established a known name/reputation, than I’d imagine you’d have several snake-hits out on you by weeks end. (“Send in the cobra-squad, we’ve got a trouble maker!”) This is very much frowned upon. It is a thin line and you can really damage your rep and step on a lot of toes if you don’t walk it right. You want to be successful, of course, but you have to remember that you are part of a community too. Your personal success is dependent on the success of the community as a whole, so it only makes sense to play nice. People who don’t, don’t last. (I’m talking about small businesses in general.)

I don’t believe it is possible for there to be too many retailers of any product. I see business rise and fall every day. A lot of people who fail blame themselves for not being ‘good enough’ when, in the majority of cases, failure to thrive rests on a single fact: a business’ longevity is determined by the consumer who is influenced by the product. You can use advertising and pay top-dollar for state-of-the-art customer relations, but in the end it boils down to the product. I’ve seen business’ with zero advertizing budget become massively successful purely by word of mouth. Why? Because they had a great product and people recognized that fact. Consumers aren’t stupid – especially not in communities that cater to special (“niche”) products, be it a specific snake breed or a rare musical instrument. These people know their stuff!

I imagine that even the largest breeder started off as a small-fry at one point. There are many paths to the top, I’ve just mentioned a couple, you just have to pick one that suits your goals and budget.

I hope this helps. My bill is in the mail.

[NightLad]

PS: I hope I didn’t sound like I was promoting a ‘puppy mill’ mentality with my business talk. Obviously (at least, I hope it would be obvious) I would expect anybody who wants to get into breeding to have a first and foremost love of the animal, a respect for it as a fellow creature, and a genuine desire to see it thrive and do well. Of course, we have to eat ourselves, so the profit portion of breeding-for-sale can’t be ignored, but I just wanted to clear up any misconceptions of my intentions. *zips lips and toddles off to bed*