This is getting RIDICULOUS! Lesser pastel for $400 shipped?!

[iCandiBallPythons]

I still see plenty going for 600-800. you cant really judge a market price by what one animal is selling at, thats the sellers choice. There are many reasons that a seller may put a particular price on a specific animal,

[Salamander Rising]

I see female pastels all the time for $100 or less, I wouldn't ever invest in one of those. I would much rather purchase a $400 pastel that will retain it's quality than one that will look normal as an adult. When people buy for price over quality it shows with the animals they produce.

Don't-know-diddly question time:

About when does a Pastel start to 'brown out' if they're going to?

I have a 2 year old male who's still quite bright yellow.
[his litter mates included Supers]

I'm assuming he qualifies as an adult so will his color hold or do more years go by before he changes?

When buying a Pastel baby, what does one look for, as far as future color retention?

Thanks!

[Atherosdragon]

my pastel browned out in a year and his brother still looks great so i'm not to sure on that either Salamander

[Salamander Rising]

my pastel browned out in a year and his brother still looks great so i'm not to sure on that either Salamander

Thanks for answering.
I appreciate it very much...

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Don't-know-diddly question time:

About when does a Pastel start to 'brown out' if they're going to?

I have a 2 year old male who's still quite bright yellow.
[his litter mates included Supers]

I'm assuming he qualifies as an adult so will his color hold or do more years go by before he changes?

When buying a Pastel baby, what does one look for, as far as future color retention?

Thanks!

It really all seems to depend on the animal. If yours is two years old and still remains a nice quality yellow I would be very happy if I were you.

I should also rephrase my first response to this thread. I myself have bought some of my ideal morphs for prices WAY below "market price", I mean WAY below. I've also spent more than the average price for some that I found were more than worth a little extra money.

What I was trying to say was put quality over price and you will always win. Why not spend a little extra money or time to find your perfect morph? Don't let price dictate your decision. A new snake can wait, you might as well spend the time, money, and effort that fits within your means to obtain the morph that fits all of your expectations, what ever that is.

[seeya205]

Just like anything else in life, it's only worth what someone will pay for it! I can have a hockey card valued at $10000 but if the best price I can get is $5000 then that is what it is truely worth! Now if someone comes by at the exact same time as I am selling it and they have been looking and really want it then I may get $15000 for it! Snakes work the same way!

[RhacHead]

Thanks for the reply guys. Regardless if you agree with me,totally disagree or sit somewhere in the middle its nice to see where people stand and get their opinions.

What can you do? Nothing.

When you're selling your Lesser Pastels just ask what you feel they're worth. If you feel yours are worth $800 then ask that, not everyone is looking for the cheapest snake they can find.

yes I know there is nothing (or at least very little I can do) but one can hope a genius Idea comes up.As for pricing not everyone is looking for the cheapest snake I know. I'm a believer of quality over quantity and paid over market value for almost all my snakes but they are all great examples and worth every penny.

What makes you certain that price is brought on by greed and desperation?

Well people come upon hard times and sell cheap to make a quick buck so I would call that desperation. If you take the market price and cut it in half to make a quick sale but dramatically alter the market by doing so then I would call that greedy. Just my 2¢

IMO i believe in NOT perpetuating the cycle. If you think your animal is worth the $750-800 range then it will sell itself. But letting one or two people change what you know the animal to be worth would do just that.

Best advice on this whole thread. Thanks for that.

you think the guy was a knucklehead for selling cheap? I can remember going to an Indy show some years back with 70 tiger retics. I was there 3 hours and sold out! I beat the competition by 150$ a snake and sold em out. Was I a knucklehead? I think not. I didn't want to feed them another month and didn't have the room. But came home with 14 grand in 3 hrs. With 500$ invested in two gravid females. Yea I'll be the knucklehead.hehe
jusdt my 2 cents

Exactly the mentality that is kills the market. No one is in this hobby to get rich(if you are your in for a rude awakening) but its nice when it can be self sustaining. If everyone drops their price $150 to beat out the competition before you know it the sale doesn't cover moms food bill for last year.

Being most of us are hobby breeder it should not matter what one sells there babies. If it bothers you that much i would say you sound greedy and that your not a hobby breeder and that your in it for the money.

Well I could understand why you would say that but I assure you I'm a hobby breeder I'mjust a guy with a few racks in a spare bedroom. Keep in mind we are all invested in this hobby either financially,emotionally,invested in time or a combination of all three. When you are invested in anything it feels good to have a nice return on your investment but its hard to do that when some" knucklehead" is messing that up!

[wilomn]

So, what you're saying OP, is that in YOUR opinion people need YOUR opinion to favor THEIR reasons for selling in order for THEM to not be some sort of scumbag price droppers?

Business is business and if someone, take that butthole joe capone for instance, wants to produce a bunch of something and then blow them out for half of what the "GOOD" guys are selling for, meaning you and everyone else that WANTS TO MAKE MONEY at this, then there is something wrong with that?

It may suck for YOU and your pals, but ol butthole joe made a buttpile of money and he DOESN'T HAVE TO CARE ABOUT YOU or your prices or your thoughts about his prices.

It's business. Sell, make profit, do it again. Got competitors complaining? Got people talking about you? Sell, make profit, do it again.

If it really bothers you so much do as has been recommended and buy them yourself and resell them for what you think they should go for. That was you can keep prices high.

Oh wait, is price fixing OK with you? Because you see, to me, it's sort of a suckass way to do things, exactly like ol butthole joe. Sort of like having a stick with two poopy ends, no matter what, you've got poo on you.

Why not just let people do what they want while they let you do what you want and let your reputation speak for itself?

(to be clear on one thing, when I capitalize words I'm not yelling, just adding emphasis in a medium in which it is difficult to convey)

[kitedemon]

Well I could understand why you would say that but I assure you I'm a hobby breeder I'mjust a guy with a few racks in a spare bedroom. Keep in mind we are all invested in this hobby either financially,emotionally,invested in time or a combination of all three. When you are invested in anything it feels good to have a nice return on your investment but its hard to do that when some" knucklehead" is messing that up!

I hate to point this out but snakes are not an investment. look at spiders that people paid 10000 for, not an investment. It is like saying I am going to invest money in a computer and expect to get it back after 3 years. Snakes do not increase value or even hold their value if you see it as an investment time to cut your losses. Few hobby breeders make money most if they are lucky cover their expenses, and not much more. The most successful breeder in my area (producing about 200-300 babies a year) used to joke that after 5 years he could pull a wage out... 5¢ an hour.

[CapeFearConstrictors]

I hate to point this out but snakes are not an investment. look at spiders that people paid 10000 for, not an investment. It is like saying I am going to invest money in a computer and expect to get it back after 3 years. Snakes do not increase value or even hold their value if you see it as an investment time to cut your losses. Few hobby breeders make money most if they are lucky cover their expenses, and not much more. The most successful breeder in my area (producing about 200-300 babies a year) used to joke that after 5 years he could pull a wage out... 5¢ an hour.

Those people who spent $10,000 for a spider most likely made their money back before the prices dropped. Investing $200 in a spider now isn't likely going to make you any money back, but if you invest $5k in a high quality male that you have females ready for, it's very likely that you'll make that money back and then some.

Spend a couple grand on some low end snakes and you'll be lucky to make your money back. Spend $50-100 grand on a good collection of high end snakes and you'd have to have the worse luck in the world to not break even.