"20,000 for a bp with an ugly pattern? Sold!"

[TheLaughingDemon]

I've been seeing a lot of discussions on morph pricing lately, and I've been wanting to ask a couple questions for you guys.

What is your most expensive morph?

And.... Who buys those 10,000+ dollar morphs that make our jaws drop when we see their price? High end breeders? Eccentric herpers with too much money to throw around? Who?

[RedDevil]

Both. I've spent $10,000 on an individual snake. Twice in one year, actually. Of course they aren't worth that much anymore, but they were my most expensive at the time.

I've heard prices well into six figures for individual snakes going to collectors in Japan.

[h00blah]

i think the ppl who really dish out the dough are the breeders who only want the best to produce the best. my most expensive morph is the albino. paid 550 for it bc it was REALLY nice. there were plenty of albinos that i saw that were 400 - 500 at the show, but i really admired the breeder, and the albino was HAWT.

[Brock Wagner]

I sold two snakes this year for 10K each and three over 10K so yes people are still buying high end snakes! They are a great investment for people who are willing to put in the time and money and determination. I think that the high end market is just fine!

Brock

[Lolo76]

I'd pay any price if I really wanted it, and actually had that kind of money. Unfortunately I'm just an underpaid public servant (librarian), so my limit is pretty low... most I've paid so far was $250 for my spider, and $240 for the Mojo who was originally priced at $300. If/when I can afford it, my next "big" purchase will hopefully be a lesser or butter female - and they typically go for between $400-500, if I'm not mistaken.

P.S. Which morphs did you sell for $10K, Brock? Just curious!

[Brock Wagner]

People pay big money to stay infront of everybody and it works out for them all the time.

The biggest thing is if you buy a snake for a ton of money just produce offspring from it and the money will follow. I love this business and I am watching many of my friends have great success this year!

Brock

[DM1975]

People pay big money to stay infront of everybody and it works out for them all the time.

The biggest thing is if you buy a snake for a ton of money just produce offspring from it and the money will follow. I love this business and I am watching many of my friends have great success this year!

Brock

This is my same thoughts on this. I just dumped several grand into a snake, which I plan on breeding out this coming season. I know the babies will not be worth the same as the one I bought, but if I do it right I will make my money back with no problem, and then some. Key is to stay ahead of everyone else.

[Sloanreptiles]

Last year we spent that kind of money and its all Brocks fault we loved his Champagnes to much! lol He didnt produce this year but there is always next year as everyone always says!

[Mike Schultz]

If you buy a snake for 10 grand, it may depreciate in value by the time you breed it to perhaps 2 grand, but hey, if you sell 5 babies you've already made your money back... and you have many years of breeding that snake.

So the people who spend a ton of money are not crazy... just look at it from an investment standpoint

Most I've paiud for a snake is $200 for my red amazon tree boa... I have a few snakes that are worth a little more but I didn't pay cash... when you work for a snake breeder you don't get healthcare benefits, but you do get to put part of your paycheck towards cool snakes

[Seneschal]

In every market, there will always be different niches--for example, in cars, you can find used cars for $500-2000, average cars for $10,000-30,000, and higher end cars for $60,000-100,000 ---though, there are also those REALLY high end cars that sell for upwards of $250,000! Look at everything out there--boats, houses, furniture, dogs, cats, heck, even notebook paper! In every market, across the board, you can see a wide range of prices. That is completely normal--in fact, it's desireable. In owning a business, I've heard several times, from several people, that the best way to make a lot of sales is to have as wide of a variety of prices as possible, even up to the "extreme high" end. You actually tend to sell more moderately expensive "goods" if you have some other things priced very high (assuming that they are in fact worth that much). I'm not sure why it works, but I've heard that from a number of people. Maybe it's worth it to have that snake priced at $20,000--you might not sell IT, but it's entirely possible that having it up there will make people feel more comfortable buying a $5,000 snake.

And, of course, then you're also leaving yourself open to someone coming along and actually wanting to buy the $20,000 animal...In any case, the price range is a good thing. It means the market is still healthy and evolving; the time to worry is when there is no price range. I say, if people will pay it, then what's wrong with selling it at that price?