Re: Will the economic downturn affect reptile purchases?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JLC
Seems like a bit of a contradiction there. If you believe the big breeders are going to be hurting for money and selling snakes for less in a few months...then "now" is not the time to get into anything. Save your money and wait for that supposed point when the "big guys" can't pay their bills.
Personally...I'm not so sure that scenario is all that likely. While it is true that people are going to be more careful about buying extra luxuries....people are ALSO on the look out for possible ways to make a little extra income....so the sale of breedable animals as investment opportunities may continue without too much of a hiccup.
I said nothing about big breeders, look at the prices out there already. I saw an ad where a guy was trying to unload cinnamons just to pay his water bill. Prices are only going to go down from here and a lot of the small people will get out all together opening the doors for people who have the luxury of spending cash right now to get ahead in the hobby.
Re: Will the economic downturn affect reptile purchases?
I take too much pride in the animals I produce to just dump them, but then again I don't have much overhead. What little overhead I do have is starting to hurt a little because 90% of my ball pythons feed on live prey which is 70% more expensive locally than if I ordered frozen.
I have decided since cash is low that I will do trades for non-ball python species. This will allow me to diversify my collection and have more snakes that will feed on frozen thawed.
I saw the hottest trio of '07 IJ Carpets and even if I sold some YBs today I couldn't buy them 'cause that money has to go to bills. Bottom line for me is I will not be buying for awhile. However, I am also not going to be giving away animals that I spent a great deal of dedication and effort to produce. My snakes will always have value to me. I dropped the price of my Yellowbelly hatchlings to be more in line with what others are selling them for, but that is about as far as I will go. If they don't sell, then I will keep them and breed less next year, in fact I produced the YB females I want to raise up so I don't think I will even breed my male YB breeder next year.
In reality they are just snakes and not a neccessity. Have fun with them, realize people don't have as much disposable income right now, and don't turn your nose up to trading as it is a good way to diversify your collection and to continue expanding for what we all hope will be the next upturn in the economy.
I do have one suggestion to those that are fortunate enough to be in a position to continue to buy and that is to purchase "Breeder Direct". Whether a big breeder like BHB or a true craftsman like BT, breeders are the back bone of the hobby.:salute:
Well that is my 2 cents on the state of the reptile trade and how the economy has affected it.
Re: Will the economic downturn affect reptile purchases?
I have noticed a trend in many of the ads on fauna and KS lately. An increasing amount of them saying "Need money soon", "Quick cash sale", "Need to pay the bills", etc. Definitely could be a sign of the economy having an impact.
Might as well put "I'm so desperate for cash I'll take anything, please lowball me" in the ad. Why would you ever let the buyer know you are desperate for money?
The worrysome thing is that when times get hard people do things they might not usually do. I would be on the lookout for an increased amount of scammers, and "too good to be true" deals that are just that.
