With no background genetics and just Lesser/Lesser or Lesser/Mojave the price will range from $300-$500 with females normally commanding a higher price: of course Quality/Size/Age of specimen will also adjust cost. There are always exceptions online and sometimes people need to vend snakes quickly to make space for growing hold-backs...if cost is an issue then you can probably find a good deal online (even with shipping) if you are patient enough. Of course buying online can have its own hazards...
As for the prices at expos and shows: they can vary. I have seen situations where there are few yearling BELs available at a reptile expo and the vendors marking them up as high as $800 (with room to negotiate), and on the other end-I have seen shows where everyone has BELs and the vendors mark them down with $200 being about the lowest. It really depends on the market competition and the individual vendors. Usually if you look up a vendor in advance you can find their prices online before the show. If their price is higher at the show than it is online: you can mention it to them...and they will usually give it to you at the online cost (and you will dodge the shipping fees).
With no background genetics and just Lesser/Lesser or Lesser/Mojave the price will range from $300-$500 with females normally commanding a higher price: of course Quality/Size/Age of specimen will also adjust cost. There are always exceptions online and sometimes people need to vend snakes quickly to make space for growing hold-backs...if cost is an issue then you can probably find a good deal online (even with shipping) if you are patient enough. Of course buying online can have its own hazards...
As for the prices at expos and shows: they can vary. I have seen situations where there are few yearling BELs available at a reptile expo and the vendors marking them up as high as $800 (with room to negotiate), and on the other end-I have seen shows where everyone has BELs and the vendors mark them down with $200 being about the lowest. It really depends on the market competition and the individual vendors. Usually if you look up a vendor in advance you can find their prices online before the show. If their price is higher at the show than it is online: you can mention it to them...and they will usually give it to you at the online cost (and you will dodge the shipping fees).
Lord Sorill basically has you covered on that one. Otherwise, the only other things I can add are two things.
Of course anything other than lesser and/or Mojave BEL can vary wildly in price. I think Russos have been dropping a bit last year...but I haven't checked recently.
And the other is if you haven't seen anything else that caught your eye beforehand or the prices were still just a bit too high, don't be afraid to stay for the last hour and recheck. I try not to be 'that guy' but if one is just a little bit higher than my budget, it's worth it to ask at the end of the show if the breeder would do something lower on the price. Sometimes just taking one less snake home is a a motivator for discounts. Some tables will specifically mark down animals the last hour or two of the show for that reason.
Heck. I even had one breeder just tell me "100$off!" For the last girl I purchased since it was 20 minutes to door close and he recognized me looking at the same snake earlier in the day.
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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril
