How to go about getting a new snake?

[Akren_905]

Hey everyone, im stuck and now sure what to do. Ive asked alot of people around my area how to go about buying another snake "a morph" to start up my collection. Everyone tells me something different and conflicts with what ive been told by the person berfore them. Ive been told expos but they are expensive because everyone matches prices in the morning. Ive been told online is good way but also you dont know what you are getting until it shows up, oh ur 500 dollar pinstripe is a normal . Ive been told local breder are good but ive also been told by alot of buys and mice/rat breeders that there is alot of people to watch out for around here because they have "bum" snakes like 2 baby star gazers ive seen bought by 2 ppl from 2 different breeders one from the falls and one from barrie, but one was over online and the other was at an expo and it wasnt the same one she picked.

So what the heck am i do do? what did you guys do, help me please

[JLC]

Heh....in a way, everyone is right. That is because everyone you ask will speak from their own personal experience. There are pros and cons to ANY method of buying animals, whether you're talking about pure bred dogs, farm animals, normal snakes, or ball python morphs. But I'll try and break down the basics for you:

1. REPTILE SHOWS & EXPOS
This is one of the preferred methods for choosing ball python morphs. I don't believe there is much (if any) truth that vendors intentionally get together to set prices for the day. It IS true that prices may be higher in the morning, and then drop as the end of the show approaches, because vendors want to sell as many animals as they can before the doors close. SO...you can try to plan your purchases accordingly. The risk to shopping that way is that someone will buy the animal you want before the end of the day. Vendors are almost always willing to negotiate, too. So don't be afraid to ask for a lower, but still reasonable price. The benefit to the shows is that you can hold and inspect the animal right away. The drawback is that as often as not, once you walk out of the show, you lose all contact with that vendor, so whatever happens with the animal after the purchase, you're stuck with.

2. BUYING ONLINE
Certainly a LOT of risks involved in this method. But there are a lot of ways to mitigate those risks, too. Take your time to get to know who is who...make friends with those who participate online....learn who you can trust. Most online retailers will take pictures of specific animals and you can choose based on pictures....but of course you don't get to see the animal in person until you have it paid for and shipped. I prefer to personally choose an animal...but...there are a number of people I would TRUST to hand-select an animal from their collection for me without seeing a single picture. I trust that they already have supreme collections to begin with, and I trust that they would choose the best of the best for me. THAT is the sort of online business that I am willing to do. But it takes time to get to know people and businesses that well.

3. LOCAL BREEDERS
If you can find a local breeder who is willing to let you see his facility and hand-pick an animal, I have a hard time seeing a down-side to that. Like being at a show, you can see and examine an animal before purchase. But unlike the show, the vendor is not so anonymous and you'll likely have follow up care available if you need it. The trouble here is that not many breeders are willing to let just any joe-blow come in and browse. They're not running retail pet stores, after all. But if you, again, take the time to get to know them...both to trust them and to earn their trust...you might be able to work something like that out.

And one last note...I don't mean to imply that all expo vendors are "anonymous"...far from it. Often there are "big names" there to buy from...and you can usually pick up a business card or get contact info if you ask for it. But as often as not, a new buyer is so excited by their new purchase, they forget to even look at the name on the booth, much less pick up contact info. Just something to remember when browsing the shows.

[BoaFreak]

Heh....in a way, everyone is right. That is because everyone you ask will speak from their own personal experience. There are pros and cons to ANY method of buying animals, whether you're talking about pure bred dogs, farm animals, normal snakes, or ball python morphs. But I'll try and break down the basics for you:

1. REPTILE SHOWS & EXPOS
This is one of the preferred methods for choosing ball python morphs. I don't believe there is much (if any) truth that vendors intentionally get together to set prices for the day. It IS true that prices may be higher in the morning, and then drop as the end of the show approaches, because vendors want to sell as many animals as they can before the doors close. SO...you can try to plan your purchases accordingly. The risk to shopping that way is that someone will buy the animal you want before the end of the day. Vendors are almost always willing to negotiate, too. So don't be afraid to ask for a lower, but still reasonable price. The benefit to the shows is that you can hold and inspect the animal right away. The drawback is that as often as not, once you walk out of the show, you lose all contact with that vendor, so whatever happens with the animal after the purchase, you're stuck with.

2. BUYING ONLINE
Certainly a LOT of risks involved in this method. But there are a lot of ways to mitigate those risks, too. Take your time to get to know who is who...make friends with those who participate online....learn who you can trust. Most online retailers will take pictures of specific animals and you can choose based on pictures....but of course you don't get to see the animal in person until you have it paid for and shipped. I prefer to personally choose an animal...but...there are a number of people I would TRUST to hand-select an animal from their collection for me without seeing a single picture. I trust that they already have supreme collections to begin with, and I trust that they would choose the best of the best for me. THAT is the sort of online business that I am willing to do. But it takes time to get to know people and businesses that well.

3. LOCAL BREEDERS
If you can find a local breeder who is willing to let you see his facility and hand-pick an animal, I have a hard time seeing a down-side to that. Like being at a show, you can see and examine an animal before purchase. But unlike the show, the vendor is not so anonymous and you'll likely have follow up care available if you need it. The trouble here is that not many breeders are willing to let just any joe-blow come in and browse. They're not running retail pet stores, after all. But if you, again, take the time to get to know them...both to trust them and to earn their trust...you might be able to work something like that out.

And one last note...I don't mean to imply that all expo vendors are "anonymous"...far from it. Often there are "big names" there to buy from...and you can usually pick up a business card or get contact info if you ask for it. But as often as not, a new buyer is so excited by their new purchase, they forget to even look at the name on the booth, much less pick up contact info. Just something to remember when browsing the shows.

Yea,,,,,,, that lol



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[BuckeyeBalls]

The drawback is that as often as not, once you walk out of the show, you lose all contact with that vendor, so whatever happens with the animal after the purchase, you're stuck with.

I will agree and disagree with you here. Its the same for online. If you buy from a random person on kingsnake u may never be in contact with them once u get the snake.

But if you buy from good vendors at your expo a lot of them have been in business quite awhile and most of them all have business cards.

So it is a downfall the thing is to just make sure you grab that business card before you leave the stand

Me i dont like buying online unless its something REALLY good. Because i can find exceptional examples of the morph at my local show and saves me the shipping and hassle. Me i prefer shows over online. But it comes down to knowing who attends ur shows and who u can "trust" there

[JLC]

I will agree and disagree with you here. Its the same for online. If you buy from a random person on kingsnake u may never be in contact with them once u get the snake.

But if you buy from good vendors at your expo a lot of them have been in business quite awhile and most of them all have business cards.

So it is a downfall the thing is to just make sure you grab that business card before you leave the stand

Me i dont like buying online unless its something REALLY good. Because i can find exceptional examples of the morph at my local show and saves me the shipping and hassle. Me i prefer shows over online. But it comes down to knowing who attends ur shows and who u can "trust" there

All true.

I think someone could write a whole book just on shopping for ball python morphs. It's hard to condense ALL the ins-and-outs into a brief forum post. (Even in mine, which tend to be somewhat more than "brief" )

[Akren_905]

Thanks im going to wait for the expo now, theres one in april and im going so i hope to get a few nice babies there.

[Akren_905]

JLC id much rather read one then asks 9 times

[BuckeyeBalls]

All true.

I think someone could write a whole book just on shopping for ball python morphs. It's hard to condense ALL the ins-and-outs into a brief forum post. (Even in mine, which tend to be somewhat more than "brief" )

Yea I always try to pick up a business card when I buy one if its something im investing quite a bit into

[rabernet]

See, now most of my collection has come from purchasing online. To date, I've not had a bad experience doing so. I find that I'm more likely to find exactly what I'm looking for online vs. at a show. On occasion I'll find what "passes muster" for what I'm looking for at a show, but that's rare. Mostly has to do with how picky I am and knowing exactly what I'm looking for. For example - when I decided to add a lesser, I knew I wanted a black back lesser. Took me a year of patiently waiting, but I have him. Same thing with my cinnamon - I wanted a black back with high floating pattern and a lot of fading on the sides. Found him at a show from a friend of mine, but I purchased him later and had him shipped (didn't have the money when I found him and was lucky he was still available when I did).

I currently have a couple of purchases in the works that are both online, and my not seeing the animals in person and using pictures to decide the animals that I want.