The price of snakes is very much driven by supply and demand. Originators of the currently common morphs paid dearly for single unusual snakes, gambling that one would reproduce, prove to be genetically reproducible, and that others would want it. For every morph that did make it, there are many stories of hugely expensive snakes that never proved out or died after import. When a snake did prove, the breeder would be foolish to give away his investment of years of time and money, and we're talking prices of $50,000 to $100,000, and I've heard rumors of more. If he couldn't convince someone else that they were worth all that, he'd be out of his investment, but if someone REALLY REALLY wanted one and he had the only ones around, he could demand a high price. As more breeders got involved, the supply increased and those that REALLY wanted one could afford one. With time, the supply increased exponentially, reaching a lower demand point and more buyers. Now, as morphs become commonplace, they are approaching the price of normals. A yellowbelly male or het albino male is practically the price of a normal now. Just a few years ago, yellowbellies were selling for more than $6000 because that's the price that the seller and buyer could agree upon.

Many people refer to their snakes as living art. I know I do. Widely available common morphs have a huge range of quality. Like art, each snake is unique. And, when a breeder clearly takes the time to create something beautiful, unique and healthy, it shows and can command a higher price from discerning buyers. Likewise, that breeder probably spent more money obtaining higher quality animals, put years into selectively breeding for traits and, feels, rightly so, that his animal is worth more than the rest. It's still supply and demand if you can recognize quality is in much shorter supply and fulfills a huge demand.