Why We Are Idiots For Using Kingsnake.com To Price Our Animals

[TheReptileEnthusiast]

A bunch of you talk about not breeding for the money but for the love of your snakes and seeing them do what they do. If you are not lying through your pants, then what, if ANYTHING, you get for your babies is irrelevant and you should politely excuse yourself from any conversation regarding prices since they don't matter to you. If you don't care about the money, why does it matter what they sell for?

I think is sucks that my many generations of work calkings are sold so cheaply by so many, but such is life. I'm not real fond of the fact that I help cheap FWC breeders sell but I'm not a discount house, and, such is life.

If you can't handle the ups and down down downs of this market, perhaps stamps or coins would be of more interest and less stress. Give it consideration.

Actually many of those who complain about prices dropping drastically on high end BP morphs do care about the animals. We don't want to see them end up like so many normal BP's and the calkings you mentioned passed impulsively from home to home via craigslist or ending up in shelters. Yes, prices should drop as supply catches up with demand, but BP morphs drop drastically in price long before supply comes even close to demand. The dropoffs we see are simply caused by people aiming to low. The motivation for this is purely for a quick sale. If people were chomping at the bit to pay $2000 for a hot new morph last year, why wouln't they one season later? I am not foolish enough to think that I can stop this from happening, I just felt like putting in my 2 cents, and I thank you for yours. I'm must say I'm not sure what coin or stamp collecting has to do with any of this, perhaps you are an avid collector and thus can recommend it?

[wilomn]

Actually many of those who complain about prices dropping drastically on high end BP morphs do care about the animals. We don't want to see them end up like so many normal BP's and the calkings you mentioned passed impulsively from home to home via craigslist or ending up in shelters. Yes, prices should drop as supply catches up with demand, but BP morphs drop drastically in price long before supply comes even close to demand. The dropoffs we see are simply caused by people aiming to low. The motivation for this is purely for a quick sale. If people were chomping at the bit to pay $2000 for a hot new morph last year, why wouln't they one season later? I am not foolish enough to think that I can stop this from happening, I just felt like putting in my 2 cents, and I thank you for yours. I'm must say I'm not sure what coin or stamp collecting has to do with any of this, perhaps you are an avid collector and thus can recommend it?

Perhaps. But surely someone with such a fine way with words as you yourself have shown, a shining example to all in putting thoughts on paper as it were, would only say such to one such as I, merely a shadow compared to some, most if you must know, in jest.

So, I thank you heartily for the chuckle, or was that the second one, hmmmm, but I must decline your invitation.

[TheReptileEnthusiast]

LOL, good one. How's that for writing prowess(I refer to the LOL)?

[mdjudson]

Why would breeders that supposedly "love" these snakes want to price them so high as to keep them out of the small collectors collections. I believe that people will not pay 2000 dollars for a pinstripe and that is why they are priced where they are. Give me a list of 2000 people that would pay that. I believe you are just upset that you overpaid for a codom and will never make your money back.

[TheReptileEnthusiast]

I am not a fool. I understand how things work in the BP world and have bought all my codoms when they were priced low. That doesn't mean I have to like the way things work. I would have gladly saved up and paid more for a snake if they would hold thier value. I am a blue collar guy. My collection would be smaller, but probably have a better chance of at least being self supporting.

[ColinWeaver]

I like the idea of a reference site for current pricing and value, the only problem is if it isnt popular, properly endorsed or used much, its just a blog on BP prices and wont do much.

This is correct, of course. Colin Weaver starting a blog that says how much an animal is worth is just as useless as using kingsnake.com to decide prices. And who am I to decide how much an animal is worth? My intent is not to make something alone. I don't carry any particular majesty in this industry. I plan on getting buy-in and participation from large breeders, medium sized-breeders and smaller breeders. A diverse cross-section needs to be represented in order for a price-tracking site to have credibility.

Multiple factors will have to be accounted for, or course. Size, gender, quality, etc. All of that will be worked out and addressed in the end. Raul, PM (colin@ballpythonbreeder.com) me if you'd like to be involved in the process of figuring it all out. Your BP.net profile suggests that you would have a lot to offer. Other people like Heather Wong, a small but passionate and intelligent breeder out in California is also on my list of people who I want to help (Heather, this is me asking you, by the way).

I'm not trying to fix prices. I'm trying to stabilize their decline; because decline they always will. The ball python market is an open market and anybody will be able to do whatever they decide to do when it comes to price. www.reptitrack.com's intent is to help people know what something is worth before labeling it at a show or posting it on-line. That's it. The ball python industry alone is a multi-billion industry and pricing on a whim just seems so silly. Because I love ball pythons and breeding them I want to help produce an environment where I can afford to do it for the rest of my life.

[ColinWeaver]

Why would breeders that supposedly "love" these snakes want to price them so high as to keep them out of the small collectors collections. I believe that people will not pay 2000 dollars for a pinstripe and that is why they are priced where they are. Give me a list of 2000 people that would pay that. I believe you are just upset that you overpaid for a codom and will never make your money back.

People who believe that all morphs should cost the same and that it's unfair for breeders to charge a lot for a particular morph are living in some sort of bizzaro-world. Your carry about as much credibility with me as a politician saying that their needs to be an equalization of wealth in our country; that everybody should make the same amount of money. How absurd a notion; pinstripes, bumble bees, lemon blasts, silver streaks and panda pieds are all $50. That makes it fair; everybody can have one. If you believe this I never want to hear from you again. You have no credibility with me and your mental processes are incapable of producing anything helpful in a conversation of this type. Everything you say is immediately discarded. Bye-bye.

[Bobsean]

Sooo... can i ask the purpose of this particular thread gentlemen? I posted a comment last night and I think that it was taken a bit out of context and every post that I have read today has been negative and/or aggressive. If we are not gaining something productive here then why continue to waste our time?

[blackcrystal22]

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Sooo... can i ask the purpose of this particular thread gentlemen? I posted a comment last night and I think that it was taken a bit out of context and every post that I have read today has been negative and/or aggressive. If we are not gaining something productive here then why continue to waste our time?

What in the world are you talking about?! This is one of the better discussions lately. Who are you again???