"Market Crashing" Question about pricing, etc.

[RoseyReps]

So while on another site, I was reading this post about a supposed "Market Crasher" who posted snakes for significantly cheaper than his competitors. Now, my question is not about that particular person, but in general...

When I eventually get to the point where I am wanting to sell some babies, what is considered a decent % to sell at under the bigger named breeders? I was under the impression, especially when you're first starting out and building your reputation, that asking a little lower that most others was going to be the way to go. To get your name out there, and get some good transactions under your belt. No one wants to take the risk of buying a baby from a "nobody" with zero rep right? As reputation builds, your prices reflect that, right? You start asking market value for them rather than a bit under. I mean, the reason the big guys can ask 2-300+ more for their snakes is because they are the big guys? Am I completely bass-ackwards on this? Is it frowned upon for newbies to undercut established breeders?

I don't want to make the mistake of making other breeders angry with me when I get to where I'm going in breeding. I want to build a reputation, a great one, slowly and do it right. I'm just confused as to what "right" is. (aside from taking the best care of your snakes and customers you can, that part is obvious )

[MarkS]

Price them at what you think they are worth. A price that YOU would be willing to buy them at and not feel cheated. There really isn't a reason to price them less then what established breeders are selling their snakes for because quite frankly, they're snakes are probably no better then yours are. But also don't worry over the opinions of a bunch of silly people who think the sky is falling. There seems to be no shortage of people in the world who just don't feel right unless they've got something to complain about.

[Raverthug]

My personal beliefs on this are as follows. If you really want to lower your prices then find wheat they are going for (like 300-500) and base it on the lower end of the spectrum this way you can stay competitive and not make any one mad. Remember that people will always try to lower the price on you anyways and prices arnt set in stone. There will always be some haggling. I personally believe that you should worry about quality before price. If you have a quality animal that looks great and eats well you can justify your asking price weather your new or established. People are willing to pay for quality. Work on getting your name out there. Know people locally like pet shops ect. Start small and locally then build from there.

[MaxT815]

Yes and No. Selling snakes for a significant lower price just to get your name out there isnt necessarily the best route. Dont sell your self short.If you have quality specimens then you should price them accordingly. Be patient. The market fluctuates quite a bit but there will always be buyers. The best way to get your name out there is marketing. Spend some time or investment capital and PUT your name out there. Websites, forums like these, classifieds etc. Lowering prices wont assist in building your reputation. I know personally if i see somebody with prices too low i will pass on doing business with them. It raises a few red flags in my eyes. Especially if the snakes are larger and falling in price there is obviously a reason someone else did not acquire them. Big named breeders arent really able to AFFORD to sell their snakes at a higher price. Remember, larger breeder, larger overhead. They might be HAVING to sell there animals at a higher price. Just price around market value taking into consideration your particular specimens, the quality of the animal and how well they represent the particular morph and youll be fine.

[Kaorte]

I don't think reputation has as much to do with it as the quality of the animal does. If you produce less than stellar pastels, expect to not get compensated much for them. If you produce killer looking pastels that hold their yellow and have tons of blushing, what is stopping you from pricing them similarly to "big breeders" who produce animals of a similar quality?

You don't build your reputation by producing a ton of snakes. You build your reputation by being an active member of the reptile community, being a pleasure to do business with, and producing high quality animals.

Big breeders don't get to to charge more just because they are big breeders. In fact, I don't ever see breeders pricing their snakes $2-300 more than anyone else just because they can. If I do see a more expensive animal, it is usually because either it is a newer morph, or just a spectacular example of the morph.

Of course you can price your snakes how ever you want. If you want to move them quickly, pricing them lower will help you with that. But you also need to take into consideration the kinds of customers that are drawn to a lower priced animal. I personally am I not going to sell my snakes to any old guy off the street. I'd at least like to have some conversations with them and no the snake is going to a good home.

No one will be angry with you for pricing your snakes similarly to theirs as long as the animal is of good quality and healthy I think they would be a little pissed if you sold an awesome Bumblebee for $200 though, for example. Price your animals based on what they are worth, not based on what others are selling them for or to move them quickly. I see a lot of cheap morphs out there, and they are cheap for a reason: because they are terrible examples of the morph. I rarely see someone selling a great looking snake for a great price. You get what you pay for!

[Andybill]

The way I see it is if I buy quality animals from reputable breeders than I should be producing quality animals myself. The price of my snakes will reflect the quality of my production. Of course it varies; even a superb specimen may occasionally produce a mid quality baby and you have to be able to differentiate and price accordingly. But for the most part if you pay for quality you get quality.

[wilomn]

Those guys over at that site are sooooo full of themselves. Ask them about flipping sometime, but don't expect any of them to admit to doing it even though, when you come right down to it, many of them have. They're a bunch of two faced wannabes over there.

When you start worrying about offending someone with your prices you've stopped doing things, snakes, for the fun and are now doing it for status. Status is all well and good, but if you've got to kiss ass to get it, is it worth it?

With my own animals. an I don't produce many balls, I price them for what I want to get for them until, or unless, they don't sell then I either wholesale them or make some folks some awesome deals. I'm not going to keep a bunch of snakes, feed them and clean them and just have them taking up my time so I can get a few pennies more and so some guys on some website don't think I'm dropping the price. Screw them and anyone else that wants to tell you, or I, what we should sell our snakes for.

Living in America, which those guys one that site like to harp about, means being free to do as you wish, not to have to kowtow to some forum 'gods' who, when you come right down to it, don't want you to lower your prices so they don't have to lower theirs. Do what YOU want to do. The main reason they harp so long so often on people lowering prices is because.....THEY WANT TO MAKE AS MUCH AS THEY CAN FOR AS LONG AS THEY CAN. It's not like they care about you at all, they just want to keep making big bucks.

And there's nothing wrong with that, wanting to make big bucks. It's just a shame that the sham they pretend to actually fools so many newbs into thinking those guys on that site are right. They're not.

If you want to sell pieds for 200.00 and you're happy with that, then do it. You'll be making someone else really happy too. Lower price doesn't always equate to lower quality. I can't even guess how many times those guys on that site have said they're in it for the hobby not to make money, then turn around and try to make just as much as they can.

No matter what you do, someone will complain. As long as you're OK with what you're doing, no one else's opinion should matter.

[RoseyReps]

Thanks for the input guys! This has helped a lot. I definitely see your point on quality being more important than what every one else is selling for. I am not trying to make a buck, I have a business that makes that for me. This is hobby, and if I make some extra cash, bonus. I'd be super happy with breaking even, but I know that won't happen for a long time lol. My concern was reputation, etc. When the time comes, I will base my prices off of the quality of the animal. I won't be in the breeder's circle for many years, so I have a lot of time to learn pricing etc, just that thread I read bothered me a little. Seeing people jump all over someone because of the price of their animals, not even talking about the animals themselves. I just never want that to happen to me. Though I do understand people being upset they bought into a project the year prior for a high amount, seeing someone sell so much cheaper must be a blow to the stomach.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. Look forward to being a part of this community for a long time.

[Skiploder]

Can someone please explain to me what "market crashing" is?

Then can that same person explain to me the subtle difference between "price fixing" and "market value"?

Is there a mystical round table of be-knighted repti-dorks that decides on what the yearly prices for new mutants......er morphs is? How does this whole ball python economic model work anyway?

Thanks in advance,

Skip.

[Mike41793]

Can someone please explain to me what "market crashing" is?

Then can that same person explain to me the subtle difference between "price fixing" and "market value"?

Is there a mystical round table of be-knighted repti-dorks that decides on what the yearly prices for new mutants......er morphs is? How does this whole ball python economic model work anyway?

Thanks in advance,

Skip.

Um if theres a repti-round table i wanna be at it and i demand that everyone refer to me as Beo-Michael from now on!

Um to answer the OP's question/throw in my 2 cents. I agree with what has been said. I plan to breed this year and produce some bps (hopefully haha). I plan to price the snakes for what i would be willing to pay for them. I know ill be much more willing to do cash deals to local people or a group deal to someone i know just bc it will help me out and i know the snakes will be going to good homes.

Something that i dont think has been mentioned yet is that the hobby itself sets the market prices for everything bc buyers are breeders and breeders are buyers. (I didnt come up with that myself, ive seen someone else say it on here before and just think its worth metioning here).