My GOD! Do prices usually slice in half every year!!!!

[rabernet]

LOL I paid that for a single male

I paid more than that for Winston!

[WingedWolfPsion]

No, the prices don't usually dive as much as they have this year. A bum economy is causing people to bail out--that means a lot more snakes flooding the market than would normally be there. Breeders operating on a narrow margin, panicked by slow sales, have lowered their prices to get the new animals out.

I tried to pick prices in the middle of the market, and it seems to be working. Don't worry, my albinos are not $400. That would be too low--they actually are selling for more than that. The folks selling them that low are undercutting for a quick sell, that's all. There will always be a few people doing that, and if you can pick up something worthwhile from one, that's great--do be careful, though, to check their reputation first.

You can almost ALWAYS get insane deals at a show, if it's decent sized. But that's what they are--deals, not an example of the going market rate.

[Envied Reptiles]

This thread has been going on in one way or another for years, and people have debated the reason why just as long. At the end of the day there are a multitude of reasons why this happens, and the reality is it is not going to change .

The only thing I will add, that seems to never get brought up, is how poorly new keepers are solicited. There are a few breeders who make a valiant effort at marketing and bringing new people in but they are few and far between. Only one of the big boys goes to the big shows anymore. Only two regularly put up youtube videos. I dont know of anyone who really markets outside the already existing niches that exist in the hobby already. And for the small breeders like myslef I dont see them, as a whole, doing a thing to bring in new keepers.

[Eventide]

the prices i posted were all from great ppl to deal with some of which i dealt with before

Ah, okay. I probably don't get around enough.

[EmberBall]

If you buy into Balls thinking you will make a killing, you are going to be sadly dissapointed. With Balls, EVERY customer turns into a Competitor. It is unlike almost any other business. Most Ball breeders are not business majors, who thought up a business plan prior to buying their Balls, much less breeding them. Most start out with a Pastel and wake up in a year with 75 mouths to feed. Most start out cheap, buying tons of male morphs and normal females because that is the cheapest way to start out. Then, after sitting on 20 male Mojaves, 15 male Pastels, 8 male Cinns, they have a going out of business sale and move on.

The bottoming out prices are partly to blame due to the economy, but mostly to do with poor planning by fly by night "breeders" who think they can make back the $20K they borrowed from their inlaws in a year.

Buy Morph females, double co dom males, and simple recessive pairs.....don't overspend, don't overproduce, start out slow, and you will still have fun like me, 10 years in.

Dave

[jglass38]

YES!!! I

I would add that I strongly believe that over the next 2-3 years we will see morphs/combos that look better as adults -- and graded animals/selectively bred morphs as the the 2 HOT TICKETS in the Ball market.

I agree! Selective breeding will win in the end!

[jglass38]

If you buy into Balls thinking you will make a killing, you are going to be sadly dissapointed. With Balls, EVERY customer turns into a Competitor. It is unlike almost any other business. Most Ball breeders are not business majors, who thought up a business plan prior to buying their Balls, much less breeding them. Most start out with a Pastel and wake up in a year with 75 mouths to feed. Most start out cheap, buying tons of male morphs and normal females because that is the cheapest way to start out. Then, after sitting on 20 male Mojaves, 15 male Pastels, 8 male Cinns, they have a going out of business sale and move on.

The bottoming out prices are partly to blame due to the economy, but mostly to do with poor planning by fly by night "breeders" who think they can make back the $20K they borrowed from their inlaws in a year.

Buy Morph females, double co dom males, and simple recessive pairs.....don't overspend, don't overproduce, start out slow, and you will still have fun like me, 10 years in.

Dave

Great post, Dave! You hit the nail on the head. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love seeing the fly by nighters and their collection sales. Gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling!

[Envied Reptiles]

If you buy into Balls thinking you will make a killing, you are going to be sadly dissapointed. With Balls, EVERY customer turns into a Competitor. It is unlike almost any other business.

Buy Morph females, double co dom males, and simple recessive pairs.....don't overspend, don't overproduce, start out slow, and you will still have fun like me, 10 years in.

Dave

[p3titexburial]

Where are you guys finding such low prices? For example, all the breeders' pages I look at regularly have Mojaves for nothing less than $300, which is about the same as last year.

I'd be very scared of buying the morphs mentioned here for such low prices. It triggers my "too good to be true" instinct; I'd rather pay a little more for a morph from a trusted breeder.

That's something I can definitely agree with, which is why it's necessary to thoroughly check the quality of an animal (a mojave is a visual het and cannot be mistaken for a normal) before you buy it. That's part of the reason why I enjoy going to the expos because I'm unsure of the temperment and quality of the snake from online pictures/photos/descriptions. It would just be my luck if I ended up buying a super aggressive (however unlikely it may be) ill ball python.

You also have to remember the prices, unless stated otherwise, are not firm--you can haggle and a lot of breeders don't mind you asking whether they'll take a discount for cash. That goes for online as well.

=D

Haggling, once you get the hang out it, is quite fun!

Remember to ask what they're eating--sometimes unstarted (pre-shed/week old) babies can go for very cheap--but you'll have to be careful because you might come across a non-eater. It'll depend on how well you know what to look for in a healthy baby.

[aaramire]

Where are you guys finding such low prices? For example, all the breeders' pages I look at regularly have Mojaves for nothing less than $300, which is about the same as last year.

I'd be very scared of buying the morphs mentioned here for such low prices. It triggers my "too good to be true" instinct; I'd rather pay a little more for a morph from a trusted breeder.

I feel like I have gotten fairly good deals, and all my animals come from trusted breeders...