Kelley BlueBook of Ball Pythons...

[mschmied]

Do people even proofread their posts? There are some posts that I read it and still have no idea what the person was talking about due to so many errors. But on to the topic at hand. There are so many new morphs coming out daily that I highly doubt the industry is in trouble. As far as that post goes its utter rubbish. Just a guy that's upset that he can't sell his animals at a high price. Myself being a breeder just starting out I look at any business plan. If you want to sell your product you have to be cheaper. When my company is looking to have work done we take 3 bids. Whoever is cheaper takes the work. We do take into account quality but with snakes quality is in the eye of the buyer. I have bought some snakes at a fraction of big breeder prices that looked way better. When I sell my animals I will be looking at what that particular snake is going for on several sites and sell it for just under that. That's the way business works and there is no getting around it. If I want to sell I have to be cheap. Nothing against nerd but I would never buy a snake from them. Not because I don't want to but because I can't afford to. They price their snakes so high that I'm not willing to pay for the nerd name. I can't get the same quality from some guy breeding out of his basement. Just my .02

You are entitled to your opinion but once you get that great deal from someone selling his or her animals below what is considered market value then what? Depending on the size of the animal will have to wait to breed it. Then once you do you will see that the price you thought you were going to be getting for them (what you paid for) most likely has decreased by around $150 per animal. So then you market your animals even lower. You see this cycle? It's not about the money but it is important to try and break even at least. Most hobbyist buy base morphs so they are able to create their own multi-gene combos. I'm not saying people don't buy them because they do, but in my mind they are more difficult to sell.

[Rat160]

And don't you think it would bother you if you have some good quality stock (quality is not ALWAYS in the eye of the beholder) for sale, and some schmuck lists his morphs for a LOT lower? Then you get people emailing you saying "Well this guy listed his for $300 less than yours, will you sell it to me for that price?" Then of course, you get some people who list theirs for that same low price to be competitive, and it starts a horrible chain reaction which ends in the value of the animal lowering significantly.

I don't know how you feel, but it would bother me.

It wouldn't bother me because I know that if I want to sell more items i will have to lower my prices.

You can keep repeating the word "quality" as a justification for charging more but the fact of the matter is that a starting breeder working out of their basement may produce the same high quality snakes for a lower price.

Simply put, they are your snakes and you can charge whatever you want. Just because you drive down the price on a snake doesn't mean the industry is going down just means a new snake will take its place.

Another thing to thing about is if people didnt put a price tag of 60k on a new snake those people who "intentionally" drive the market down might be less apt to do so.

I also select my snakes carefully and only sell high quality ball pythons but it has nothing to do with needing money, if I can produce a high quality animal and sell it for less I dont see a problem with that.

I want you to explain to me that just because im a starting breeder that im not selling high quality animals.. thats what your saying. I bought a lesser female for $200 and she looks better than most lessers i have seen the big breeders selling.

What it comes down to is your paying for a name attached to the snake and thats fine, but people can and will sell their quality animals for what they want.

[CapeFearConstrictors]

That really doesn't mean the prices are steady at all. You checked the prices of two animals within the same year. That's hardly a substantial sample of the market. If you read the article you will see a few really good example of morphs that crashed down in price, like the Pinstripe.

Please read the post I quoted.

[Rat160]

Sometimes dropping the price is the only chance a small time unknown breeder has at selling anything.

Think about it this way, if there was a law saying that all pastel females have to be sold for $200 then every female pastel you see for sale would be the same price. So when I'm looking at 20 posts for the same snake what am I going to go with. Obviously looks first but then I'm looking at the big name breeders.

So in the meantime the no name breeders get screwed. Maybe a solution is to have a site where all the big names post and charge what they want and a site where the no names can post whatever they want then every buyer can choose quality over price.

I understand where your coming from but it will never change..

[mschmied]

Then you need to focus on producing quality animals. If you continue to produce great looking animals due to your choice in breeding stock then your animals will sell. You could even go as far as putting your reputation on the line with genetics and animals health (as you should already). The reptile and ball python world is a fairly close knit group. If you do right by them they will continue to give you business. How do you think the big name breeders came to be what they are today? Great animals and a great reputation. Choose your stock wisely and you will not have issues.

[meowmeowkazoo]

It wouldn't bother me because I know that if I want to sell more items i will have to lower my prices.

You can keep repeating the word "quality" as a justification for charging more but the fact of the matter is that a starting breeder working out of their basement may produce the same high quality snakes for a lower price.

Simply put, they are your snakes and you can charge whatever you want. Just because you drive down the price on a snake doesn't mean the industry is going down just means a new snake will take its place.

Another thing to thing about is if people didnt put a price tag of 60k on a new snake those people who "intentionally" drive the market down might be less apt to do so.

I also select my snakes carefully and only sell high quality ball pythons but it has nothing to do with needing money, if I can produce a high quality animal and sell it for less I dont see a problem with that.

I want you to explain to me that just because im a starting breeder that im not selling high quality animals.. thats what your saying. I bought a lesser female for $200 and she looks better than most lessers i have seen the big breeders selling.

What it comes down to is your paying for a name attached to the snake and thats fine, but people can and will sell their quality animals for what they want.

Just because you're a "basement breeder" doesn't mean that you have to charge less for your snakes. There was another thread on this earlier, in fact. You shouldn't undersell yourself just because you aren't a big name in the industry. People pay for quality, not for a big name.

I think you must have misunderstood me, because I never said that just because you're a beginning breeder means that you are selling subpar animals. Plenty of beginning breeders have quality stock to offer, and they should charge what it's worth.

[meowmeowkazoo]

Please read the post I quoted.

I did, please explain to me how that is relevant to my post.

[Rat160]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=1#post1674864

FUNNY

[Quikcobra]

Its not the same as cars so I think the KBB of BP's is a rediculous idea... There is too many factors to take in while buying a BP. And what would they say about the pet store normals for 79.99 for babies with mites and stuck shed? Terrible Idea, If it is dont I will buy a couple copies for target practice. I need to dial in my new sight...

[jmitch]

I just started a post coral glow 5k if all goes well I will be able to buy one with re enlistment bonuse for navy...

lol sorry had to lighten the mood on this topic.