LOL yes mate your on the money. He will trade as well if he has something to gain from it so its definately worth speaking to him I was round his house the other night picking those pastels up and was just in awe of his collection running into the hundreds lol plus he has a mice farm going on there I could still smell them on me when I got home haha.
He has some interesting projects on the go at the moment and he is hoping for a really good year, he is focusing more on the high end stuff although obviously he has to maintain his shop stuff and he supplies up and down the country so has to cater for the low end market and cheaper options.
He works from 4am till 10 or 11pm virtually everyday just to keep on top basic care of his animals I dont know how he does it to be honest.
I know what you mean by the prices it is really depressing lol hence I am gonna start with the supers and bees etc to hopefully lead to some high end stuff further down the road.