Albino pricing

[RichsBallPythons]

Once i produce my first albinos i wouldn't charge more than 600 and no less than 500.

Since im working my way to albino spiders then ill need some guidance on prices cause i cant find prices for them anywhere. I'd say 1000-1500 is my guess

[98bcobra]

And yet every year the new models of hybrid cars don't get any cheaper, a 2009 house is more expensive than a 1975 house. Things in this world get cheaper the less desirable they are not the more desirable. I mean the more desirable gas got the higher the price got, the more people desire a given brand of cloths the higher the price gets to be.

Yes everyday items that have become obsolete and no longer have a market do drop in price.

Look at diamonds you walk in to any Jeweler's and they will be wall to wall diamonds, guess what if they are selling .5ct diamond bracelets as fast as they can get them do you think next year their going to drop the price? Nope they'll sell them for the same this year as they did last.

There are some things that you see the new models being cheaper like computers.

Just my two cents.. Not sure why a breeder would say hey I sold 50 albino last year for 600.00. I this year I know what I'll do...I'll sell them for cheaper..I mean I like making less money every year for the same product..Sounds like great smart business to me.

I totally agree on the Quality of the Animal. I have seen some pretty ugly browned out small pastels that I would never buy.

As for Albino Spiders I have seen them for 1,500-2,500 I believe.

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Golden Retrievers cost more every year- but that's because more people now seek out reputable breeders and reputable breeders have more costs (OFA hips, elbows, hearts, thyroids, and CERF eyes, which get more costly every year. Also showing expenses rise with gas prices, etc). Good luck finding a nice Golden from parents with ALL the health tests I just named, and championships, for several generations, for less than $1500. Much, much more in some regions...

They cost that much because people will pay that much- even a horribly bred Golden, with no clearances, and a total hodge podge pedigree of AKC registered but poor quality dogs, with no titles or anything (ie, the newspaper classified AKC Golden puppies) cost $600 plus where I live. You can easily pay $2000 for a nice Golden here from a reputable breeder. That is double the cost a decade ago. More people now know that they should never buy a dog from the paper or from a petstore- more people are seeking out show breeders who do clearances.

With the snakes, the supply increases and the demand is steady. The Ball obsession is probably leveling out... I have just introduced two new people though

[BJJPython]

i believe that soon, the breeding part of the hobby may start going in a different direction. People who want quality breeding stock dont want grade D pastels. They want top quality, stunning animals and are willing to pay more than (2x the price of a normal, for example) for the animal they want. I have talked to MANY people who share this school of thought.

This is where I plan on going with my (extremely small) hobby breeding plans in the future, QUALITY and stunning morph examples. I don't want to produce low grade animals. I want to produce animals that I feel are stunning examples of a morph through selective breeding. No running a browned out male pastel through 3-5 dark normal females.

I picked out all my animals based on their looks (and personalities if i could handle them before purchasing). My first normal, a sizable female now has gotten so much lighter as she has aged. She may end up being a dinker for me.

If people continue producing quality morphs, people will want to spend more money to get the animals they want. Sure you can get a brown pastel for 70, but if you want a NICE bright yellow pastel you're going to shell out more for it than what petco charges for a CH import.

First off, I think this is totally accurate, especially for some morphs, like the pastel. I think that those people producing top quality morphs will continue to be profitable in the long run.

In the case of recessive morphs, such as a piebald, they will hold there price longer than say the pastel has, for obvious reasons (harder to produce). But, its simple supply demand, as more and more casual breeders get into the industry, the supply will increase, and unless there is anything breeders can do to increase the demand, at a faster rate, the price is going to drop. The excess profits attracts new entrants into the markets, increasing supply further, until the point to where profits have been driven to 0 (excess profits at least). At this point we will be in equilibrium, and the price will hold. Who knows what that equilibrium price is. The way top quality breeders are attempting to produce profits is through new morphs. What they want is monopolistic competition. If they have a distinguishable product, that they can convince is similar, but higher quality, they will be able to charge that premium and afford themselves excess profits. However, casuals will be purchasing these, and once again more entrants into the market, driving price down in the long run. Essentially it becomes a game of short run versus long run. In the short run breeders will make profits on new morphs, but in the long run, they will be driven away. Unless we can find some sort of collusionary tactics, prices will continue to move downward. Unfortunately, if everyone colludes together to keep prices high, there will be opportunistic people who will undercut. It stinks, but it is the nature of people.

[cinderbird]

First off, I think this is totally accurate, especially for some morphs, like the pastel. I think that those people producing top quality morphs will continue to be profitable in the long run.

In the case of recessive morphs, such as a piebald, they will hold there price longer than say the pastel has, for obvious reasons (harder to produce). But, its simple supply demand, as more and more casual breeders get into the industry, the supply will increase, and unless there is anything breeders can do to increase the demand, at a faster rate, the price is going to drop. The excess profits attracts new entrants into the markets, increasing supply further, until the point to where profits have been driven to 0 (excess profits at least). At this point we will be in equilibrium, and the price will hold. Who knows what that equilibrium price is. The way top quality breeders are attempting to produce profits is through new morphs. What they want is monopolistic competition. If they have a distinguishable product, that they can convince is similar, but higher quality, they will be able to charge that premium and afford themselves excess profits. However, casuals will be purchasing these, and once again more entrants into the market, driving price down in the long run. Essentially it becomes a game of short run versus long run. In the short run breeders will make profits on new morphs, but in the long run, they will be driven away. Unless we can find some sort of collusionary tactics, prices will continue to move downward. Unfortunately, if everyone colludes together to keep prices high, there will be opportunistic people who will undercut. It stinks, but it is the nature of people.

Thank you, i was totally afraid I went off on a tangent with this (as i sometimes do).

the "fly by night" breeders will always come and go. They're in every hobby; model stuffs, dog breeding, machine repairs, etc. Once someone figures out what they're up to then they go poof.

Perhaps this needs to begin with the buyers. I know that with my animals, i have definately hopped on a deal or two, but I try not to haggle with sellers over their listing price (maybe with the odd $25 on a multi-hundred dollar morph). I wont say stop looking for the deal of the century, but maybe using KS as our price guide is hurting us (and this has been discussed at length in another thread so i wont go any farther into it here).

I think i had another point here and i completely lost it.. dang nabbit.

[omnibus2]

I'm not an econ expert.

I think that unless something happens, prices will continue to drop for quite a bit.

Ball pythons are getting (slightly) easier to produce, as we learn more and more about keeping them in captivity. But the more important factor is that there are more and more people breeding ball pythons, such as albinos. The supply increases so much, and consequently the price drops.

I agree with cinderbird. People will pay a lot more for good quality bp, and crappy ones will go cheap but good quality should stay at a steady price. I got my 09 pastel male a while ago for 150 dollars. I know you can get pastels for cheaper, but I decided to get one that's good quality.

[nixer]

prices have been under 500 for albinos i could of bought 4 nice ones for 400$ each last weekend

[OhhWatALoser]

ok it goes like this...

breeder A : $1000
breeder B : i need to get rid of these things $950
basement breeder : i can't sell these unless i under cut them $800
now people think their only worth 800

next year
breeder A: crap i can't sell these now, $800
breeder B : $750
basement breeder : under cut $650
now their only 650

for prices to stop dropping, it would take everyone to agree on a price and stick to it. which is a dream. i notice most "big breeders" are in the same price range, then i check the classifieds here, and everyones under cutting them. which is what they have to do to sell them. its a unstopable engine.

[mechnut450]

I purchased my male for 500 last year I think my buddy said he seen them at the show for like 400 at a couple vendors while he was looking. (I rather have gone but mom came first since she was inthe hostipal for heart issues. That why he picked up the one snake for me and made arrangements for the second on my behalf. ( now if he could find me a place I could afford it rock )