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  • 09-15-2013, 09:53 PM
    piedplus
    What the Heck is Market Price?
    I've seen posts where people get upset about sellers marketing their baby BP's at too low a price. Well I tried to sell at "market price", and I'm getting hundreds of lookers but no inquiries at all. In that case, it seems to me that the price is too high no matter what others have gotten in the past. I think those with holding power skew the market to the high side. Sure, you can get a higher price if you house and feed an animal for a year or two, holding out for the higher price. I think a real "market price" should see an animal sell within a couple of months. Am I wrong? Opinions appreciated.
  • 09-15-2013, 10:12 PM
    MootWorm
    Considering the prices on most of the higher end morphs are constantly dropping, "market price" is pretty darn fluid. That said, you should price your balls at what you honestly think they're worth. If you have a high quality animal, hold out for the right buyer who can appreciate the true value. Of course, expect to haggle a bit :) May I ask how long your particular specimen has been on the market?
  • 09-15-2013, 10:16 PM
    wienkeg
    Market price = what someone is willing to sell something for, that someone is willing to buy the same thing for.

    Simple economics.
  • 09-15-2013, 10:27 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MootWorm View Post
    Considering the prices on most of the higher end morphs are constantly dropping, "market price" is pretty darn fluid. That said, you should price your balls at what you honestly think they're worth. If you have a high quality animal, hold out for the right buyer who can appreciate the true value. Of course, expect to haggle a bit :) May I ask how long your particular specimen has been on the market?

    Good points. Much of my thinking's based on the last year or two, so I didn't take into account high end morphs dropping. And I need to set my own prices without worry about what others think. I haven't been at it for long. Notified my waiting list a couple of weeks ago and started ads a week ago. I'm just surprised that I'm not getting inquiries. I thought my morph was in pretty high demand.
  • 09-15-2013, 10:29 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wienkeg View Post
    Market price = what someone is willing to sell something for, that someone is willing to buy the same thing for.

    Simple economics.

    Wish I could jump into the future & see what they will sell for so I could set the price at that. :)
  • 09-15-2013, 10:36 PM
    MootWorm
    I assume you're working with pieds? You may want to take a look at the structure of your ads as well. I, for one, am more drawn to ads that include shipping in the price. Gives the illusion of a better deal, even if it's not :)
  • 09-15-2013, 10:54 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MootWorm View Post
    I assume you're working with pieds? You may want to take a look at the structure of your ads as well. I, for one, am more drawn to ads that include shipping in the price. Gives the illusion of a better deal, even if it's not :)

    That's a good idea. I'll add in free shipping. Part of my problem is I'm new at this. I'll have to take a look at other ads for more ideas... Try & spice it up. :)
  • 09-15-2013, 10:59 PM
    loonunit
    So, when people complain about underselling, I feel for them? I feel their pain, I do. But it's basic supply-and-demand economics. Some people want to get rid of animals much more than other people, some people want to buy them much more than others, and at a certainly point, you saturate the market of people who have $500 to spend on a pied by selling them all pieds. So then you have to appeal to the people who can spend $450 on a pied. Etc.

    Every time someone complains about underselling and lowballing and dropping prices, I have to stop myself bodily from typing TAKE A MICROECONOMICS COURSE PLEASE AND THEN COME BACK WHEN YOU'VE GOTTEN A PASSING GRADE.

    - - - Updated - - -

    (Whew, it felt so good to finally type that! :rolleyes:)
  • 09-15-2013, 11:06 PM
    BHReptiles
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    I thought I would throw this perspective out there.

    Not everyone who views your add is really shopping for a new animal. I know for me, I browse classifieds daily. I'm mainly looking at beautiful animals and if one happens to catch my attention or happens to fit just right into my breeding plans, then I may put more thought into the animal, the seller, and finally the price.

    It may not be that your prices are too high. It may just be that you haven't found the target group that your babies appeal to.

    Where are you advertising them?
  • 09-15-2013, 11:06 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by loonunit View Post
    So, when people complain about underselling, I feel for them? I feel their pain, I do. But it's basic supply-and-demand economics. Some people want to get rid of animals much more than other people, some people want to buy them much more than others, and at a certainly point, you saturate the market of people who have $500 to spend on a pied by selling them all pieds. So then you have to appeal to the people who can spend $450 on a pied. Etc.

    Every time someone complains about underselling and lowballing and dropping prices, I have to stop myself bodily from typing TAKE A MICROECONOMICS COURSE PLEASE AND THEN COME BACK WHEN YOU'VE GOTTEN A PASSING GRADE.

    - - - Updated - - -

    (Whew, it felt so good to finally type that! :rolleyes:)

    Yeah, I've taken some economics, and even liked it. I've seen how retail stores work to move merchandise too. Guess I should be relying on my own experience. Besides basic economics, I'd like to see my little guys in their new home while they're still young enough to make the adjustment easily. Good points, thanks!
  • 09-15-2013, 11:14 PM
    brock lesser
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Everyone will set their own "market value " based on their own needs,
    wife wants a new couch, water pump go out, bills to pay, got ten more pied males at home?
    All this and more will set your price, not Tom, Richard or Harry at the table next to you.
  • 09-15-2013, 11:17 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
    I thought I would throw this perspective out there.

    Not everyone who views your add is really shopping for a new animal. I know for me, I browse classifieds daily. I'm mainly looking at beautiful animals and if one happens to catch my attention or happens to fit just right into my breeding plans, then I may put more thought into the animal, the seller, and finally the price.

    It may not be that your prices are too high. It may just be that you haven't found the target group that your babies appeal to.

    Where are you advertising them?

    That's a good point that not everyone's looking to buy, but I would think that I might hear something from at least one in 100... Another problem is that I'm a new seller selling high end morphs. I'm sure that works against me. Right now I have ads here, in Fauna, on my website, and on Wordpress. Is there someplace better to advertise high end morphs?
  • 09-15-2013, 11:19 PM
    BHReptiles
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by piedplus View Post
    That's a good point that not everyone's looking to buy, but I would think that I might hear something from at least one in 100... Another problem is that I'm a new seller selling high end morphs. I'm sure that works against me. Right now I have ads here, in Fauna, on my website, and on Wordpress. Is there someplace better to advertise high end morphs?

    Once you build up a customer base, people will buy from you a ton easier. It's hard to step into the market but once you make it, you should do fine. Just produce quality animals and the buyers will come.

    Facebook is HUGE now. I would get you a business page on facebook. There are a lot of BP groups on there as well as other reptile classifieds that you can sell on. You can also pay for a kingsnake account since kingsnake.com gets a lot of traffic.
  • 09-15-2013, 11:23 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brock lesser View Post
    Everyone will set their own "market value " based on their own needs,
    wife wants a new couch, water pump go out, bills to pay, got ten more pied males at home?
    All this and more will set your price, not Tom, Richard or Harry at the table next to you.

    It's good to hear that people do understand supply & demand in the BP world. Some other posts made me think I had to watch my step. Of course I want the highest price I can get anyway, but not if it means holding on to them until they're practically grown up. I'll try to improve my advertising, then chip away at the price until I find where interest starts to pop up. Thanks for your post. :)
  • 09-15-2013, 11:29 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
    Once you build up a customer base, people will buy from you a ton easier. It's hard to step into the market but once you make it, you should do fine. Just produce quality animals and the buyers will come.

    Facebook is HUGE now. I would get you a business page on facebook. There are a lot of BP groups on there as well as other reptile classifieds that you can sell on. You can also pay for a kingsnake account since kingsnake.com gets a lot of traffic.

    Good to know that things will get easier. I'm glad I bought quality animals from TSK to start out with. Oh, I forgot, I have a facebook business page and have advertised there. I haven't listed anywhere else on facebook yet, I'll have to get on that. Is kingsnake better than Fauna? I've been resisting kingsnake because I've heard some bad things and because they're more expensive then Fauna.
  • 09-15-2013, 11:34 PM
    BHReptiles
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by piedplus View Post
    Good to know that things will get easier. I'm glad I bought quality animals from TSK to start out with. Oh, I forgot, I have a facebook business page and have advertised there. I haven't listed anywhere else on facebook yet, I'll have to get on that. Is kingsnake better than Fauna? I've been resisting kingsnake because I've heard some bad things and because they're more expensive then Fauna.


    Become a member of all the BP classified sites. I'm about to shut down the computer for the night, but I'll PM you a list of classified groups tomorrow.

    As for which is better: kingsnake or fauna...I'm not sure. I've advertised on fauna but I haven't had a need to advertise on kingsnake. I think it all comes down to responsible selling/buying. I think kingsnake gets a bad rep because people don't check reputation as often as they should.
  • 09-15-2013, 11:38 PM
    MootWorm
    Just wanted to add that my last two reptile purchases were on Kingsnake. It was a matter of finding the right snake for the right price from the right seller. I also like the layout of Kingsnake better. But that's just me :)
  • 09-15-2013, 11:44 PM
    loonunit
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by piedplus View Post
    Yeah, I've taken some economics, and even liked it. I've seen how retail stores work to move merchandise too. Guess I should be relying on my own experience. Besides basic economics, I'd like to see my little guys in their new home while they're still young enough to make the adjustment easily. Good points, thanks!

    Aw, I wasn't even yelling at you, just at the imaginary straw man of the people who were telling you not to lower your prices. And yeah: Goal #1 is find them good homes. But I also agree that if they don't sell after a month or two, it's probably time to lower the price.

    (But you can still take an economics course! Everyone should take an economics course if they get a chance and can afford the time and/or money. Especially in this, uh, economy. Which of course makes it harder to take an economics course.)
  • 09-15-2013, 11:45 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
    Become a member of all the BP classified sites. I'm about to shut down the computer for the night, but I'll PM you a list of classified groups tomorrow.

    As for which is better: kingsnake or fauna...I'm not sure. I've advertised on fauna but I haven't had a need to advertise on kingsnake. I think it all comes down to responsible selling/buying. I think kingsnake gets a bad rep because people don't check reputation as often as they should.

    Thanks for all the good info. I look forward to that list. Goodnight. :)
  • 09-15-2013, 11:46 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MootWorm View Post
    Just wanted to add that my last two reptile purchases were on Kingsnake. It was a matter of finding the right snake for the right price from the right seller. I also like the layout of Kingsnake better. But that's just me :)

    Good to know. I might just have to bite the bullet and advertise with Kingsnake.
  • 09-15-2013, 11:51 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by loonunit View Post
    Aw, I wasn't even yelling at you, just at the imaginary straw man of the people who were telling you not to lower your prices. And yeah: Goal #1 is find them good homes. But I also agree that if they don't sell after a month or two, it's probably time to lower the price.

    (But you can still take an economics course! Everyone should take an economics course if they get a chance and can afford the time and/or money. Especially in this, uh, economy. Which of course makes it harder to take an economics course.)

    Thanks for the support. :) And I agree, everyone should take an economics course, if their personal economics allow it. :P
  • 09-15-2013, 11:53 PM
    brock lesser
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Another example would be morph z's "market value " is $200 dollars
    but at shows and over the phone people are buying them at $150,
    I hold steady at $200 because that's "market value " .
    Next year morph z is advertised at $150, and sell for $125,
    so after a year of shows, feeding and care, I sell for $110.
    holding to "market value " just cost me about $100 dollars.
    loyalty or foolishness I'll let others decide .
  • 09-15-2013, 11:59 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brock lesser View Post
    Another example would be morph z's "market value " is $200 dollars
    but at shows and over the phone people are buying them at $150,
    I hold steady at $200 because that's "market value " .
    Next year morph z is advertised at $150, and sell for $125,
    so after a year of shows, feeding and care, I sell for $110.
    holding to "market value " just cost me about $100 dollars.
    loyalty or foolishness I'll let others decide .

    Exactly! Holding out for too long can be expensive. Great example. :)
  • 09-16-2013, 09:29 AM
    bcr229
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    As you pointed out, you're a seller with no rep trying to peddle high-end morphs online. That alone will raise a big red flag with many buyers, as there are just way too many scam artists and craptastic sellers in the herp world. People might take a chance on you if you were selling single-gene morphs since they're not shelling out thousands (I'm assuming) to buy your animal versus one from a well-known seller with awesome feedback and a stellar rating for customer service. Given that, I would focus on local sales where buyers can put their eyes and hands onto a snake before they risk any money.

    There are tons of BP discussion/classifieds groups and reptile classifieds groups on facebook, and many are oriented toward local areas. I'm sure you can find one for San Diego.
  • 09-16-2013, 11:05 AM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    As you pointed out, you're a seller with no rep trying to peddle high-end morphs online. That alone will raise a big red flag with many buyers, as there are just way too many scam artists and craptastic sellers in the herp world. People might take a chance on you if you were selling single-gene morphs since they're not shelling out thousands (I'm assuming) to buy your animal versus one from a well-known seller with awesome feedback and a stellar rating for customer service. Given that, I would focus on local sales where buyers can put their eyes and hands onto a snake before they risk any money.

    There are tons of BP discussion/classifieds groups and reptile classifieds groups on facebook, and many are oriented toward local areas. I'm sure you can find one for San Diego.

    That makes sense. BHReptiles was kind enough to send me a list of facebook sites, and I know of a couple of local sites. I've already listed there. I'm afraid I'm going to have to discount pretty deeply, since I'm unknown. Can't wait until I have a reputation. Thanks for the info! :)
  • 09-16-2013, 12:42 PM
    mvptext1
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    I went to your website and saw you have some pied het clowns for sale. In my opinion, a snake over $1,000 is a big ticket item. So I can understand that without reputation it would be hard to move those snakes. I looked at your collection and you certainly have a lot of pieds. If you focused on just pieds, and offered at our just below "market value" I think you could gain selling experience while also moving snakes and thus building your reputation. I'd imagine selling a pied for $450 is a lot easier than a pied het clown. You may have already sold your regular pieds for the year, so you may already be practicing this business model, but if not, I'd try that next breeding season and see if it helps you get business flowing. Repeat customers and positive word of mouth (or text) will really help.
  • 09-16-2013, 12:51 PM
    bcr229
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    I didn't realize that the OP was trying to sell hets as I didn't see his ads. No rep + het anything is going to be a tough sell. Not bashing you OP btw, it's just the nature of the business and it's why I'm in no hurry to get into recessives.

    Going forward for the next few seasons, I would stick to pairings that would produce only visual recessives. If you do decide to cross a het with a visual, either be prepared to hang onto any het babies or sell them at a steep discount.
  • 09-16-2013, 03:04 PM
    sorraia
    I can't speak as a seller, because I haven't sold any snakes and am probably a ways off to being there, but speaking as a buyer:

    I want to see pictures. If the ad doesn't have pictures, I will probably pass it up. They need to be quality pictures too, nothing too blurry or in the wrong lighting. If it's an ad with a number of animals listed, the pictures don't have to be of the specific animal I am interested in, but there need to be pictures of some of those animals in the ad, and the seller has to have pictures of the actual animal I'm interested in available to send me.

    The price needs to be competitive. When I've added animals to my collection, I've searched through dozens (or more!) ads looking for the best deal. "Best deal" doesn't necessarily mean the cheapest. I might pass up a cheaper snake if the morph quality isn't good enough (i.e. a browned out pastel vs. a bright yellow one) or if something about the ad doesn't look right. But considering all factors, I want competitive prices. When it comes to hets, I'm looking for a really good deal. Can't really speak for anyone else, but I personally tend to buy visual over het because it gets me to my end goal that much faster. If/When I buy a het, I'm not going to shell out hundreds for it. Others might disagree with me, and that's fine, that's their opinion, and this is mine. I would probably pay a little more for a het than a normal (depending on what it was het for and how common that was and what the visual is normally priced at), but I'm not going to pay hundreds. Again, just my personal opinion.

    Shipping being included in the price can be a factor, as can group discounts. For the most part I've picked up locally or paid shipping, but a few times I have gotten a discount on an animal for paying shipping (basically shipping was included in the animal's price, even though that was not listed in the original ad), or discounts for buying multiple animals at a single time. This isn't going to make me buy a particular animal, but it may encourage me to buy from that seller.

    Key words are big. I don't browse ads one at a time, I search for key words, i.e. specific morphs I'm interested in. Now most of the time that morph should be named within in the ad, but think of variations in that morph's name too. For example, "yellow belly" vs. "yellowbelly" vs. "yb". I generally don't search for abbreviations, so if you are using them in your ad, consider making sure the morph name is spelled out at least once so the search function can find it. If there are variations in how the morph name is spelled, or other names for the morph, consider incorporating those into your ad, or if allowed, include a "key words" section at the end of the ad where you can list all of them out.

    I'm very cautious about buying animals off craislist, but I do search there just to see what locals have. If you haven't already, consider listing your ad there, just be cautious of who may contact you, and beware that potential buyers may be cautious of you as well (and they should be!). I also casually search the ads on this forum, as well as fauna and kingsnake. I haven't bought any snakes from kingsnake, only fauna, but I do search there. I have liked several facebook pages for snakes, but I don't really search there too much when I'm actually considering buying something. Other people may do it differently, this is just me.

    That's all I can think off at the moment... hope it helps!
  • 09-16-2013, 03:35 PM
    MootWorm
    Great points, sorraia! Totally agree on the quality pics part. I've seen wayyy too many ads with poor lighting, or animals that are curled up so bad that you can't even tell what you're looking at. Sometimes that can't be helped, but always use the best possible photos.

    As for hets, I think pics of the parents and locks can go a long way (granted, those can be faked by unscrupulous sellers, but what can you do?).
  • 09-16-2013, 03:46 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mvptext1 View Post
    I went to your website and saw you have some pied het clowns for sale. In my opinion, a snake over $1,000 is a big ticket item. So I can understand that without reputation it would be hard to move those snakes. I looked at your collection and you certainly have a lot of pieds. If you focused on just pieds, and offered at our just below "market value" I think you could gain selling experience while also moving snakes and thus building your reputation. I'd imagine selling a pied for $450 is a lot easier than a pied het clown. You may have already sold your regular pieds for the year, so you may already be practicing this business model, but if not, I'd try that next breeding season and see if it helps you get business flowing. Repeat customers and positive word of mouth (or text) will really help.

    Thinking back, maybe I should have gotten a straight Pied male to go with my Pied females, but I wasn't thinking about sales at the time. I was thinking how quickly I could produce a Pied Clown which I think are awesome. When I saw the Clown het Pied for sale, I couldn't resist! Too late to change now. I'll just have to sell my Pied het Clowns at whatever the market will bear for a newbie. Someone's going to get a very good deal I guess. Thanks for the info. If I had it to do over, I'd sure follow your advice.
  • 09-16-2013, 03:56 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    I didn't realize that the OP was trying to sell hets as I didn't see his ads. No rep + het anything is going to be a tough sell. Not bashing you OP btw, it's just the nature of the business and it's why I'm in no hurry to get into recessives.

    Going forward for the next few seasons, I would stick to pairings that would produce only visual recessives. If you do decide to cross a het with a visual, either be prepared to hang onto any het babies or sell them at a steep discount.

    Yes, I think you're right, steep discounting is going to be the answer. They're Pied het Clown from a Clown het Pied X Pied. I only want to hang on to one of the babies, so the other two will have to go for a pretty good deal. At least I know they can't sell for less than a visual Pied. Let's hope I don't have to go that low! Thanks for your input. :)
  • 09-16-2013, 04:11 PM
    bcr229
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by piedplus View Post
    Yes, I think you're right, steep discounting is going to be the answer. They're Pied het Clown from a Clown het Pied X Pied. I only want to hang on to one of the babies, so the other two will have to go for a pretty good deal. At least I know they can't sell for less than a visual Pied. Let's hope I don't have to go that low! Thanks for your input. :)

    Yeah for those two I'd suggest staying local, maybe even have the buyer over so you can point out the sire, dam, etc... though I also know many breeders who don't want buyers in their homes or reptile rooms, so there has to be trust on both sides.

    I've met two relatively local breeders and seen their stock in person, and would only buy hets from them versus an online seller unless it was someone with a huge name (and thus the price tag to match) behind it.
  • 09-16-2013, 04:17 PM
    MootWorm
    That really hurts, especially when those are some darn good looking snakes. If I had the cash, I'd snap that male up in a heartbeat :)
  • 09-16-2013, 04:19 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sorraia View Post
    I can't speak as a seller, because I haven't sold any snakes and am probably a ways off to being there, but speaking as a buyer:

    I want to see pictures. If the ad doesn't have pictures, I will probably pass it up. They need to be quality pictures too, nothing too blurry or in the wrong lighting. If it's an ad with a number of animals listed, the pictures don't have to be of the specific animal I am interested in, but there need to be pictures of some of those animals in the ad, and the seller has to have pictures of the actual animal I'm interested in available to send me.

    The price needs to be competitive. When I've added animals to my collection, I've searched through dozens (or more!) ads looking for the best deal. "Best deal" doesn't necessarily mean the cheapest. I might pass up a cheaper snake if the morph quality isn't good enough (i.e. a browned out pastel vs. a bright yellow one) or if something about the ad doesn't look right. But considering all factors, I want competitive prices. When it comes to hets, I'm looking for a really good deal. Can't really speak for anyone else, but I personally tend to buy visual over het because it gets me to my end goal that much faster. If/When I buy a het, I'm not going to shell out hundreds for it. Others might disagree with me, and that's fine, that's their opinion, and this is mine. I would probably pay a little more for a het than a normal (depending on what it was het for and how common that was and what the visual is normally priced at), but I'm not going to pay hundreds. Again, just my personal opinion.

    Shipping being included in the price can be a factor, as can group discounts. For the most part I've picked up locally or paid shipping, but a few times I have gotten a discount on an animal for paying shipping (basically shipping was included in the animal's price, even though that was not listed in the original ad), or discounts for buying multiple animals at a single time. This isn't going to make me buy a particular animal, but it may encourage me to buy from that seller.

    Key words are big. I don't browse ads one at a time, I search for key words, i.e. specific morphs I'm interested in. Now most of the time that morph should be named within in the ad, but think of variations in that morph's name too. For example, "yellow belly" vs. "yellowbelly" vs. "yb". I generally don't search for abbreviations, so if you are using them in your ad, consider making sure the morph name is spelled out at least once so the search function can find it. If there are variations in how the morph name is spelled, or other names for the morph, consider incorporating those into your ad, or if allowed, include a "key words" section at the end of the ad where you can list all of them out.

    I'm very cautious about buying animals off craislist, but I do search there just to see what locals have. If you haven't already, consider listing your ad there, just be cautious of who may contact you, and beware that potential buyers may be cautious of you as well (and they should be!). I also casually search the ads on this forum, as well as fauna and kingsnake. I haven't bought any snakes from kingsnake, only fauna, but I do search there. I have liked several facebook pages for snakes, but I don't really search there too much when I'm actually considering buying something. Other people may do it differently, this is just me.

    That's all I can think off at the moment... hope it helps!

    I just got my first phone call inquiring about them! I feel so much better. I still think I should have started out with a lower price. Yes, more pictures are a good idea. Right now I have the first pictures just out of the shell. More are in order. I also have pictures of parents & clutch.

    Setting a competitive price has been difficult since there's so little to compare too. I haven't seen any other Pied het Clowns out there this year. I've lowered prices about 15% from what I thought was a low market price, and have included free shipping.

    You make some very good points about words. I should have Pied and Piebald in the title I think, and I always use tags if I can. Craigslist is something I hadn't thought of. It may be a long shot, but it's free, so why not? Thanks for all your good suggestions. :)
  • 09-16-2013, 04:21 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MootWorm View Post
    Great points, sorraia! Totally agree on the quality pics part. I've seen wayyy too many ads with poor lighting, or animals that are curled up so bad that you can't even tell what you're looking at. Sometimes that can't be helped, but always use the best possible photos.

    As for hets, I think pics of the parents and locks can go a long way (granted, those can be faked by unscrupulous sellers, but what can you do?).

    Ah, locks. I could include that picture too. Thanks!
  • 09-16-2013, 04:24 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    Yeah for those two I'd suggest staying local, maybe even have the buyer over so you can point out the sire, dam, etc... though I also know many breeders who don't want buyers in their homes or reptile rooms, so there has to be trust on both sides.

    I've met two relatively local breeders and seen their stock in person, and would only buy hets from them versus an online seller unless it was someone with a huge name (and thus the price tag to match) behind it.

    That's a good reason to focus on the local community. Thank goodness San Diego's a pretty big town. :)
  • 09-16-2013, 04:28 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MootWorm View Post
    That really hurts, especially when those are some darn good looking snakes. If I had the cash, I'd snap that male up in a heartbeat :)

    Thanks! At least now I know I have to price things lower than what seems like "market price". And I have to think about what people can afford to pay.
  • 09-16-2013, 05:02 PM
    sorraia
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by piedplus View Post
    I just got my first phone call inquiring about them! I feel so much better. I still think I should have started out with a lower price. Yes, more pictures are a good idea. Right now I have the first pictures just out of the shell. More are in order. I also have pictures of parents & clutch.

    Setting a competitive price has been difficult since there's so little to compare too. I haven't seen any other Pied het Clowns out there this year. I've lowered prices about 15% from what I thought was a low market price, and have included free shipping.

    You make some very good points about words. I should have Pied and Piebald in the title I think, and I always use tags if I can. Craigslist is something I hadn't thought of. It may be a long shot, but it's free, so why not? Thanks for all your good suggestions. :)

    Congrats on the first phone inquiry! Good luck with that! And glad I could offer some help. :)

    One thing too... don't be afraid to say "OBO" or "OBRO". You might get some low-ball offers, but you can always refuse those. But including that in the ad, you might get some people more willing to try you out if they know they might be able to haggle a little. I personally am not a big hagglers when it comes to animals (I can and do haggle for inanimate objects though!), but I know other people may be.

    One nice thing about craigslist too... when you use the search function for your immediate area, it will also search ads just outside your immediate area. I'm in the Inland Empire, but when I start searching for things, I'll also get hits for Los Angeles or San Diego. That's nice for people who are willing to travel (and let's be real, a lot of So Cal residents aren't afraid to drive a little bit for something they want, since our world seems to be centered around that!), and gets you a little bit more potential business/views.
  • 09-16-2013, 05:19 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sorraia View Post
    Congrats on the first phone inquiry! Good luck with that! And glad I could offer some help. :)

    One thing too... don't be afraid to say "OBO" or "OBRO". You might get some low-ball offers, but you can always refuse those. But including that in the ad, you might get some people more willing to try you out if they know they might be able to haggle a little. I personally am not a big hagglers when it comes to animals (I can and do haggle for inanimate objects though!), but I know other people may be.

    One nice thing about craigslist too... when you use the search function for your immediate area, it will also search ads just outside your immediate area. I'm in the Inland Empire, but when I start searching for things, I'll also get hits for Los Angeles or San Diego. That's nice for people who are willing to travel (and let's be real, a lot of So Cal residents aren't afraid to drive a little bit for something they want, since our world seems to be centered around that!), and gets you a little bit more potential business/views.

    Oh, yeah, I forgot to put in OBO. Thanks! That's good to know about craigslist too. I never would have thought of it, even though I've had good luck selling things there.
  • 09-19-2013, 05:35 PM
    piedplus
    Re: What the Heck is Market Price?
    Thanks everybody for advice on this subject. I dropped my price %15 on Fauna, and now I'm getting the kind of response I would expect. This weekend I'll put my new prices here on bp.net, and maybe they'll be going to their new homes soon. :)
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