I obviously don't have as much experience as Deborah when it comes to this but I agree with her viewpoint on the topic. In the beginning, the initial investment is obviously more if you invest in a visual pied female, this is true. But the way I see it, once that female is proven, not only will she be worth much more than a proven pied male but you have the opportunity to create your own 100% guaranteed het males and its takes half the time to raise up a het male for breeding versus a het female.
So essentially, you could purchase a yellowbelly pied female, raise her up and breed her to either a het orange dream male and get your first clutch of visual animals, or breed her to a orange dream combo male (not het), get a whole clutch of stunning hets, raise one or two up and produce perhaps an even more stunning animal! Thats just how I look at it, that is. In the long run, it just seems more worth it to invest in the visual female because you are guaranteeing yourself a whole clutch of hets. I mean, you could do the same with a 100% het pied female, but what happens if you need or want to sell her? Just seems like the better option in my opinion. I invested in a pastel pied female and even though she was much more expensive than a 100% het would be, I am personally happy with my choice. Just my two cents.