Agreed--many breeders will sell animals directly at very little markup over wholesale (but of course, there will be some).

Retailers purchase animals at wholesale prices, and then mark them up normally, so naturally the price is higher.

This is perfectly fine, and it's important to remember these animals are all individuals. They are not interchangeable. You can't just grab any old snake and call it the same as every other. If you see an animal in a pet store that REALLY grabs you, and you want that animal...there's no reason you should feel that you've paid too much, if you buy it.

As a breeder, we want to get these low-cost normals out of our collection as soon as possible, because they're eating. We make very little money on pet animals (normal males), and if they stay too long, they'll eat up all the profit we would have made on them...and we still won't be able to sell them for any more to make up for it. So, we sell them to pet stores quickly. The pet store can sell them for a lot more, and won't be losing as much on feeding them as a result.

Some unethical breeders will feed normal males poorly--even putting them on a 14 day feeding schedule, just to save a few extra bucks in the end. Always ask weights (both hatching and current) when buying pet snakes, and be wary if a weight is too low for an animal's age. A good breeder should be able to provide you with feeding records for any animal you buy from them, including a normal male. If they can't, you might even be better off buying one from the pet store after all, so long as THEY can tell you when it ate last, and it looks fairly plump.

At shows, be cautious--if someone has a pile of hatchlings in one bin, and some of them look thin, run away. Pet stores aren't ALWAYS the worst option, even if the prices are higher.