Right now my take on it is we are in recession and well on our way to depression. With that said disposable incomes are drying up. Some people are panicing because they don't want to hold on and really taking the quality of what you find at shows down. A lot of larger breeders are probably slowing down on the number of shows they go to since they can not compete price wise with "John Doe" snake breeder who is not only there to make a quick buck, but also "has" to pay his bills. It has almost become a regular sight on kingsnake to see someone selling their collection to pay for this or that. The way you have to look at it is some deals can be had right now, but generally most of what you see are lower quality animals that will take years to breed any quality back into the lines. Those who don't produce their own food are also getting hit with higher costs as well as those that do produce their own food supplies, only difference is the guy producing his own is seeing 10% increase while the guy buying food direct is seeing 25% or more increases. You will see a drastic increase in the collection sales for a couple of years and the market will be very crazy and people who thought they were going to get in and be rich in a couple years are starting to learn it takes a little more than buying a couple of snakes and sticking them together to even break even in the current market.

OK, Poor, and no business model businesses will fall and those that have good models might be able to muttle through. Only those with Very good to exceptional business models are going to be able to sustain their current sales or increase them for the next year or so.