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

[mainbutter]

I think we're still several years from that, especially with recessives. But yeah, once people start breeding homo x homo and producing several clutches of all pieds, and so forth their prices will drop.

But even with corns, new genes and new combos still fetch a high price (for corns), and with bps that is where it will be at: double and triple recessive morphs, and triple and quadruple co-doms.

Oh yeah, while there are $40 multiple recessive gene corns out there, there are also $700 and beyond animals as well.

It doesn't take a math whiz to know there will always be expensive animals with all the possible combos, but it also doesn't take an economist to know that as more animals of a particular base morph or particular combo are produced, prices will drop. There are fewer people coming into the hobby than snakes being produced, and that fact will always mean prices on currently expensive animals will drop.

[Eventide]

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.

[mainbutter]

There are deals to be had everywhere.. some websites advertise them, kingsnake and other classifieds can be places as well, not to mention just negotiating with breeders online, over the phone, or at expos. The best deals aren't advertised much because they are snapped up pretty quick, or come from negotiating, or from unadvertised prices/animals.

[Bill Buchman]

Think Of Kingsnake like a swap meet.. Some times you find other peoples out right crap for pennys on the dollar and the you have people that know what they have and what its worth and that's what their asking for ir.

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.

[nixer]

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.

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

[SlitherinSisters]

I remember when I first got into the hobby in late 04, pastel females were listed on some breeders' websites for $2000. Hahaha, I remember that because I found a waaaaay old picture with a price that was dated, which I had printed out because I was "i wish..."ing a while back. But in any case--yeah. Sometimes I look at the prices and want to cringe at the way they've plummeted.

Oh my goodness that is CRAZY! $2000 for a pastel in 04 WOW!


So I'm thinking as I read this.....In the future are people going to start having a bunch of pastels instead of normals? (or other inexpensive morphs) What on earth is going to happen to all the normals? Will people start breeding clutches with no normals because supers are relatively inexpensive that way they won't have to worry about selling normals??? Even presently it seems pointless to own normal males, or at least more than one, unless you want them for pets.

I guess we will find out in 5 years at this rate!

[Serpent_Nirvana]

IMO, the morph market dropping somewhat isn't such a bad thing, because it's starting to put morphs into the hands of the REAL customers -- the pet owners.

A pet owner isn't going to take his one morph ball python and breed it to seven normal females and produce thirty new morph babies to wholesale at dirt cheap prices and drive the market down. A pet owner is just going to give you your money for the snake, take it home and enjoy it. (And take good care of it, we hope!)

The problem with the market as it has been is that it is, as has already been stated, a pyramid scheme. There have been no "end users." Everybody buys in with the intention of making their money back.

I really don't think that's gonna last. I predict that sooner or later (probably somewhat sooner), those folks who got into this hoping to make a quick buck are going to jump ship. That may plunge the prices down even further for a little bit, but once prices are affordable then the pet owners will want to start picking up pretty morph BPs as opposed to regular ol' normal ones, and those dedicated breeders who have stuck it out will still have a market.

In addition, yes, I've said it before and so have others -- I do agree that really high-quality examples of morphs will start to command much higher prices versus lousy examples of the same morph. Maybe there even will be shows, with judges, or contests -- who knows!

But seriously -- other than the herp hobby, what other animal hobby do you know where more people are in it as BREEDERS than pet owners? Of all the chinchillas I've sold, I can only think of one pair that went to someone who intended to breed them. Of the snakes I've sold, I think the vast majority went to people who intended to breed.

I think part of the problem is the mentality that if you own a snake, you "ought to" breed it (or might as well breed it, or whatever). I wouldn't say there's a snake "overpopulation problem" like there is with dogs 'n' cats, but it is creating a weird market, that's for sure. I don't think it'll hold, though. It can't, one way or another.

[mainbutter]

In the future are people going to start having a bunch of pastels instead of normals? (or other inexpensive morphs)

yes.

It is simple natural selection at work. The morphs are more likely to have offspring.

Again look at corns, morphs up the wahzoo, petco hardly has any normal corns ever, pretty much all they sell nowadays are "fancy" corns.

[Angelique]

I wouldn't change my normals for anything in the world (except perhaps a Mystic Potion). I don't know. I think prices will still keep dropping until recessives stop at about 250-350, and double recessives 800-1000, and co-dom & dom about 50-150. Multiple mixes, complex morphs will still fetch a nice buck ie. Axanthic killer Bee.

Prices can not slice in half every year, but i don't doubt prices will continue to fall until they stabilize somewhere near the numbers mentioned above. I doubt the economic crisis has as much to do with the lowering of prices as the supply flood in the market. Because of this supply flood (which started a while back) almost anyone can enter and within two years he can be breeding and selling morphs.

Albinos in 06-07 were around $800-1000. If you picked up 2 females, one male albinos in 06, you could have had 4 clutches of eggs, or around 16 100% Albino eggs. That (at today's price of $450ea) is still $7,200 earnings in two years from a $3,000 investment. (You covered your investment and also got 110% return in two years, i don't know any banks that will give you half that much, the stock market in a good year gives you about 22%) Plus you also get a nice pet/display animal.

¿Is anyone surprised why so many people started breeding? I'm not, and i am glad to see prices go down. I believe they are artificially high, I also think lower earnings will lead there to be less people that are only in it for the money.

[TheLaughingDemon]

Yeah, i see what you guys mean. I got a 320 gram SUBADULT albino female for only 450.