Albino price?

So I've been looking for a snake for some time now, trying to decide what type of snake to get. (got it about narrowed down to ball python, corn snake or king snake.) And I have taken a liking to albino balls, but from what I've seen on the internet they're a wee bit pricey, but I'm not shure about how much they'd be at a show or petstore. Whats a good ball park price range?

Thanks

for a hatchling your prob looking between 400-600$

it matter in how the quality it is the age and sex but for me the lowest i seen one was a 700 gram male proven breeder very nice for 150 but normal price is around 300 to 500 or even more it matters from who you get if from

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Originally Posted by 1stleo

So I've been looking for a snake for some time now, trying to decide what type of snake to get. (got it about narrowed down to ball python, corn snake or king snake.) And I have taken a liking to albino balls, but from what I've seen on the internet they're a wee bit pricey, but I'm not shure about how much they'd be at a show or petstore. Whats a good ball park price range?

Thanks

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Wow you think albino balls now are pricey good thing you didnt look at them few year ago when they were 800-1000 a piece for hatchlings.

your looking at 250-600 depending on quality and if its fed and so on.

Wow that was fast! thanks!

Albino's are far from pricey these days. $300 (which pains me to see) to about $400 these days. IMHO, they never should have dropped below $1000.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Albino's are far from pricey these days. $300 (which pains me to see) to about $400 these days. IMHO, they never should have dropped below $1000.

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IMO the market dropped on them due to Hets being sold so cheap and widely available. :mad:

Joe Shmoe buys a pair breed them gets albinos and sells them cheap, which in long run hurts all of us.

Now that albinos are affordable to everyone they will only in time be cheaper than they already are. Sucks

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

IMO the market dropped on them due to Hets being sold so cheap and widely available. :mad:

Joe Shmoe buys a pair breed them gets albinos and sells them cheap, which in long run hurts all of us.

Now that albinos are affordable to everyone they will only in time be cheaper than they already are. Sucks

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Perhaps, but Joe Schmoe still needs to take 2 to 3 years to grow their female het up to breeding size. While that certainly is probably part of the price driving down, I also believe it's because many sellers these days are impatient to sell their animals and when they don't sell immediately, they panic slash their prices, when they should have just held steady.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Perhaps, but Joe Schmoe still needs to take 2 to 3 years to grow their female het up to breeding size. While that certainly is probably part of the price driving down, I also believe it's because many sellers these days are impatient to sell their animals and when they don't sell immediately, they panic slash their prices, when they should have just held steady.

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That seems to happen A LOT with some that say they must sell their collection due to debts and that kills us. Ive also seen that tactic with flippers a lot as well. Either way were screwed if we keep allowing prices to drop.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

That seems to happen A LOT with some that say they must sell their collection due to debts and that kills us. Ive also seen that tactic with flippers a lot as well. Either way were screwed if we keep allowing prices to drop.

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That's why I plan to keep my collection size manageable - if an animal doesn't sell, I'll hang onto them until they do. And as they grow in size, so will their asking price. :)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's why I plan to keep my collection size manageable - if an animal doesn't sell, I'll hang onto them until they do. And as they grow in size, so will their asking price. :)

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DING DING, Quality not quantity

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Albino's are far from pricey these days. $300 (which pains me to see) to about $400 these days. IMHO, they never should have dropped below $1000.

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Sorry, i have to ask. Why in the world would you want them to still cost 1k?!
Personaly i think the cheeper the better, so everyone can enjoy all the beautiful herps instead of only the people who have lots of money to waste. I love herps but i dont have thousands of dollars to spend on a single snake, and im sure theres alot of people that are in the same position. Id love to own a pied but i cant and wont be able to afford it for a long while. It would be nice if herps were more reasonably priced so everyone can enjoy keeping these amazing animals instead of just those with lots of cash. Thats just my 2 cents.

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Originally Posted by CallmeUmaster

Sorry, i have to ask. Why in the world would you want them to still cost 1k?!
Personaly i think the cheeper the better, so everyone can enjoy all the beautiful herps instead of only the people who have lots of money to waste. I love herps but i dont have thousands of dollars to spend on a single snake, and im sure theres alot of people that are in the same position. Id love to own a pied but i cant and wont be able to afford it for a long while. It would be nice if herps were more reasonably priced so everyone can enjoy keeping these amazing animals instead of just those with lots of cash. Thats just my 2 cents.

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See not to be rude but thats the sounds of market crashing. Youd rather buy cheaper to say you have an albino and not care about the quality and or market you might one day join and see our points.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's why I plan to keep my collection size manageable - if an animal doesn't sell, I'll hang onto them until they do. And as they grow in size, so will their asking price. :)

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I second that as that is what I do as well

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

See not to be rude but thats the sounds of market crashing. Youd rather buy cheaper to say you have an albino and not care about the quality and or market you might one day join and see our points.

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Im not trying to say that quality isnt important. Im not trying to say everything should be dirt cheep either. But for the average person especialy in these times prices are very steep and unrealistic in my opinion. I unfortunately have not started breeding yet but i do one day hope to, mabe then ill see your point. You have to admit that it is kind of selfish to keep the most beautiful of herps only for those with loads of money or people who make a living off of it.
Once again just my 2 cents.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

See not to be rude but thats the sounds of market crashing. Youd rather buy cheaper to say you have an albino and not care about the quality and or market you might one day join and see our points.

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+1. I agree with afew point he made but we def don't need this hobby to go to pots, like several other herps have.

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Originally Posted by CallmeUmaster

Im not trying to say that quality isnt important. Im not trying to say everything should be dirt cheep either. But for the average person especialy in these times prices are very steep and unrealistic in my opinion. I unfortunately have not started breeding yet but i do one day hope to, mabe then ill see your point. You have to admit that it is kind of selfish to keep the most beautiful of herps only for those with loads of money or people who make a living off of it.
Once again just my 2 cents.

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Thats life and get used to it. Nothing is free, id love to own a 250k car but just cause one can dont mean we all should due to the economy. Cant afford it dont buy it, someone else will.

Theres plenty of species and colors to enjoy the industry. Pricing is made due to how much time and work goes into making these awesome morphs.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's why I plan to keep my collection size manageable - if an animal doesn't sell, I'll hang onto them until they do. And as they grow in size, so will their asking price. :)

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You know, this is some of the best advice we can give people. My first round in the hobby (wasn't balls, it was other stuff) my collection exploded way too quickly. People forget that this isn't like collecting baseball cards. Every new animal means more time and more money to upkeep. Not to mention, you have to be able to either sell all of your babies or have the time and resources to take care of them until you do. If you can't take care of 100 babies, then don't produce 100 babies.

Seems like albinos would plateau in price sooner or later. Maybe in the 350 dollar range. IMO
Any one can enjoy the hobby! Petco has sells frequently on ball pythons for $29.99. I love albinos, but if all I could afford was a $30 snake, I would be happy to own a nice normal from Petco, etc.. If I really enjoyed having a snake as a pet and wanted an albino, I'd save up the money to buy the albino or which ever other snake would enrich my life!

Happy herping!

I paid 5600.00 for a pair of pieds and spent 3 long years caring for them and getting them to breeding size...not to mention the cost of maintaining feeders, buying and building racks and an incubator. I really feel asking 1000.00 per snake is not too much to ask for such an investment in time and money. If you can't afford a pied then buy a pair of hets and make your own...but don't expect a handout because you can't afford a highend morph. There are plenty of affordable ball python morphs that most people can own.

I'm actually very impressed that albinos, the oldest morph (right?), are still what they are. Newer morphs, such as pastels and cinnamons, are selling for much less than albinos. I wonder what the reason for this is....?

Rabernet, your operation is exactly the model that I wonder why I don't find in everyone's business. Pick a price and hold it, because that's what the animal is worth, even if it's just the price of covering your losses.

Master, he wishes the prices held so that people could make up their losses, or make the money that they deserve to have for putting the time, money, and effort into producing a snake. The sticking point of $1000 seems kind of arbitrary, but for people who may have originally invested $1500 or more just to get the snake, that seems pretty fair. Lowering prices just so everyone can buy one puts everyone selling deep into the red.

I really wish the prices would stop dropping like they are. When I first got into the hobby, an albino was $1000+. That is when these animals were not AS common as they are today. And in my opinion, they were probably a higher quality.

You say the prices should drop so everyone can enjoy them and have them. I don't agree. While owning an albino was (and still is) a goal of mine, back then it seemed so much more special. I was going to save up and get really nice examples of the morphs I liked and it was going to feel so good when I finally had enough and got he snake of my dreams. Now, it seems, these morphs are everywhere, prices are dropping, the majority of snakes are not high quality and the same goes for the customer service. Look at all the scams going on and people getting ripped off. Its no longer as special as it once was.

Its kind of like.....you see a nice car. You want that car but it costs $100,000. To you, that is a lot of money, but you decide you still want it and start working really hard to save up the money. While you are saving, the car is becoming really popular. Some other companies pick up the design and begin making it with cheaper parts and selling it cheaper so more people can afford it. They make a ton of money off it, and when you finally have enough for that car, you realize that everyone has one and they are pieces of crap. The original company went out of business or just simply can't compete with the crappy versions and now, that beautiful car you worked so hard to purchase, is worth nothing and the special-ness of it is gone.


Does that make sense? At least that is how it is to me.

To the OP, I've seen anywhere from $200-600 for an albino, depending on gender and age will increase that price a bit. If you want an albino, wait until you find the one that really knocks your socks off. The one you have to have and get that one. Don't settle for just any albino.

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Originally Posted by CallmeUmaster

Sorry, i have to ask. Why in the world would you want them to still cost 1k?!
Personaly i think the cheeper the better, so everyone can enjoy all the beautiful herps instead of only the people who have lots of money to waste. I love herps but i dont have thousands of dollars to spend on a single snake, and im sure theres alot of people that are in the same position. Id love to own a pied but i cant and wont be able to afford it for a long while. It would be nice if herps were more reasonably priced so everyone can enjoy keeping these amazing animals instead of just those with lots of cash. Thats just my 2 cents.

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A) I don't waste my money - I work very hard for it.

B) These days, people seem to want instant gratification, off the backs of other people's hard work, and so want things "cheap".

C) My hard work is not "cheap", nor are my animals.

D) When you actually have to work to save up the money for that pied, you're going to appreciate it that much more.

E) I want them to still cost $1000 because that's what I believe that they are worth. I think that they are under valued at anything less than that.

Some of you newer herpers don't have the frame of reference of pricing as recently as 5 years ago, when albino's were selling for over $10K each. When the most affordable morph, the pastel was selling for over $1000 and while I was building up my colony with beautiful normal girls, I was also putting away money every paycheck so that I could one day own a morph.

And you know what? I appreciate every single addition to my collection that much more - because none of them came easy. They all came off of my hard work.

Man - those were the good old days! :D

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Originally Posted by CallmeUmaster

Im not trying to say that quality isnt important. Im not trying to say everything should be dirt cheep either. But for the average person especialy in these times prices are very steep and unrealistic in my opinion. I unfortunately have not started breeding yet but i do one day hope to, mabe then ill see your point. You have to admit that it is kind of selfish to keep the most beautiful of herps only for those with loads of money or people who make a living off of it.
Once again just my 2 cents.

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Again - see my previous post - it's NOT selfish, and we're not "keeping" them for only those with loads of money.

Any morph priced under $1000 is not loads of money. Many breeders have payment plans.

If you think that the prices are very steep and unrealistic, then you don't have a good understanding on the investments that breeders make, the cost to run our productions, the costs involved to raise a female ball python from baby to adult breeding size (that includes vet care, racking, feeding, etc) so that she can produce the babies that we plan to sell one day.

These days, as I said before, people want instant gratification, off the hard work of others. Gone are the days, it seems, when people have to actually work towards a goal to appreciate it even that much more.

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Originally Posted by l791020

I paid 5600.00 for a pair of pieds and spent 3 long years caring for them and getting them to breeding size...not to mention the cost of maintaining feeders, buying and building racks and an incubator. I really feel asking 1000.00 per snake is not too much to ask for such an investment in time and money. If you can't afford a pied then buy a pair of hets and make your own...but don't expect a handout because you can't afford a highend morph. There are plenty of affordable ball python morphs that most people can own.

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Hahaha - great minds think alike - I didn't even read your post before my last one, listing much of the same things you just did.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

I'm actually very impressed that albinos, the oldest morph (right?), are still what they are. Newer morphs, such as pastels and cinnamons, are selling for much less than albinos. I wonder what the reason for this is....?

Rabernet, your operation is exactly the model that I wonder why I don't find in everyone's business. Pick a price and hold it, because that's what the animal is worth, even if it's just the price of covering your losses.

Master, he wishes the prices held so that people could make up their losses, or make the money that they deserve to have for putting the time, money, and effort into producing a snake. The sticking point of $1000 seems kind of arbitrary, but for people who may have originally invested $1500 or more just to get the snake, that seems pretty fair. Lowering prices just so everyone can buy one puts everyone selling deep into the red.

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I'm a woman, btw! ;)

Co-doms and doms as a general rule are proportionally less than the recessives. So, pastels and cinnamons are less than albinos, because you only need one (pastel or cinnamon) and a normal to produce more.

Albino - you need both animals to carry a copy of the albino gene, not just one.

Recessives tend to hold their value longer, because they are "harder" to make.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Recessives tend to hold their value longer, because they are "harder" to make.

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Makes good sense! :gj:

I guess great minds think alike. I find it hard to believe that the price of piers have dropped as much as they have in 3 years. I did notice the breeder I paid 2600.00 per pied for sold his last baby pied from last year for 700.00. I don't know if he needed the money or just wanted it gone, but that is what drives the prices down. Now because one person sold for 700.00 that is what buyers will expect to pay. My investment in time and money will not allow me to drop the prices like that. My 2c worth.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's why I plan to keep my collection size manageable - if an animal doesn't sell, I'll hang onto them until they do. And as they grow in size, so will their asking price. :)

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:worship: :clap: :clap: :clap: Robin rocks, Robin rocks.

No one, should drop prices unless absolutely necessary like losing their home or business or whatever. I'm still new to the morph world, but I've been in herping long enough to know that keeping the price up, also tends to (not always) weed out people who don't care for animals properly. That's why it's even more important to not let prices drop. I'll eventually own more than my normal, however I can't afford a new morph, nor am I in a rush to find a way to get one cheap. I'd rather get one for a little bit higher cost, that I know is healthy, and strong, and has good genes. Otherwise you run the risk of getting lied to, and having a snake that's not what you thought it was, and or one that dies because it wasn't cared for properly.

So I'm all for keeping prices up.

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Originally Posted by CallmeUmaster

Sorry, i have to ask. Why in the world would you want them to still cost 1k?!
Personaly i think the cheeper the better, so everyone can enjoy all the beautiful herps instead of only the people who have lots of money to waste. I love herps but i dont have thousands of dollars to spend on a single snake, and im sure theres alot of people that are in the same position. Id love to own a pied but i cant and wont be able to afford it for a long while. It would be nice if herps were more reasonably priced so everyone can enjoy keeping these amazing animals instead of just those with lots of cash. Thats just my 2 cents.

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I bought my pair of het albinos in 2006 for...$800. That's a lot of money to me, and it took me awhile to be able to afford that. I have an albino now, but for what I paid for my hets, I could now just about get a pair of albinos!!! All the babies I now produce are going for less than half of what I'd hoped for. It's very disheartening when you see recessives drop like that....in that short a time. Heck, I remember the first time I laid my eyes on an albino many many years ago.....and that's when they were going for about $5k; pieds were going for $10k, pastels we're going for $2k!!! The albino was my dream snake for a long time.....and now that I have one, I feel like "living the dream" is not as big and exciting as I hoped it was. I love my albino, but you have to look at both viewpoints. If someone offered you $1000 for anyone of your snake because they thought it "genetic investment potential" wouldn't you take it, or seriously consider it?

...And just to add one one more thing, I think all BPs are beautiful....from my normal male to my morphs. And owning any of them and appreciating their beauty is a priveledge to me.

To the OP $250-600 is what I have seen as a of late.

I have also seen the decline in prices as a very sad thing as most of you have. While co-doms will drop faster than recessives its still disheartening to buy a pair of babies het or visuals and raise them up breed them and see the price half of less than what you paid for one. To be honest I don't think albinos should drop any lower they are a awesome morph. So as breeders we need to stick together and hold on your prices and slash just to dump animals.

Another thing I see happening is people getting codoms and not thinking quality over quanity. Breeding it to anything and getting even worest looking codoms. A lady at a local show once asked me if I was looking for anything in particular and showed me a baby pastel that to be honest was the brownest thing I have ever seen being called a pastel. I shook my head and walked away.

I'm new to this hobby, and I'm shocked that prices are dropping this much. I've been paying attention to prices for a few years but I just recently got into the actually hobby. Sure, I'd LOVE to own a pied or albino, but I don't want the price to drop. If I work hard to make the money towards that animal, I'm going to appreciate it more. But the prices now, are pathetic. I worked hard towards my cinnamon girl. She cost $450. Now to just about everybody else, thats "easy" to make (In quotes cause some people can make it faster and easier), but I'm a 14 year old highschool student who doesn't have a job besides babysitting my sister once a week for $20. It was a pain in the neck working for her, but now I believe I can work towards just about anything. Sure, I could have bought a cinnamon off some other breeder that was selling lower quality examples for around $250 or so, but I wanted MY cinny, and I worked towards it.

At a reptile expo last November where I picked up my cinnamon girl, I looked at almost every single stand there, even if there were no snakes. I saw a pied at this one table. There were other amazing looking snakes (A few more pieds, pastels, bees, and a BEL) and the pied was going for I THINK $1,000. Now, at another table, I saw basically the same thing. Except the table wasn't as "fancily" set up. The prices compared to the other table were shocking. They had a pied that looked way better then the pied at the other table, and this pied was going for $575.


As for the OP's question, here in the Southern Ontario, Canada region, the lowest I've seen for an albino lately was $300 for a 5 month old female. The highest I've seen was $1,200 for a high contrast proven breeder male. So like others have said it depends on age, weight and quality.

Ok, thanks for the lesson in python economics. lol As for the albino, I should be able to afford one if I buckle down by the menphis Repticon in october!:) (that is if I decide on a BP)