Hypo, Pied, both or neither?

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

OK.... thinking of a couple possible routes for me to go next year and possibly this year.

I have the possibility to add a Hypo and/or Pied "starter kit" to my collection from a very reputable breeder and I'm just wondering everyones thoughts on these two options I have the opportunity to purchase. I have purchased snakes from him before and they are every bit and more than I expected.

Option #1:
600g male visual Ghost Butter, 380g female 100% Het Ghost Bumblebee, and a proven breeder 1600g 100% Het Ghost female who was given 2011 off. Package deal, ready to breed one pair this fall and then the Bee girl possibly next year- $1450 shipped. The idea sounds good, but I don't have a "name" and my concern is who is going to buy 100% Het ghosts from me if I do not get visuals? Now if you have a name and a reputation on the line- I'd tend to be more inclined to purchase from someone, but I don't have a name, and unless I hit some visuals I feel I'm going to be SOL with whatever het's I get.

Option #2
580g male Black Pastel 100% Het Pied and a 780g female 100% Het Pied pair for $1300. I really like the Pied idea even though I'd be waiting till next year, because I think Pieds are hot and I don't have any.

I personally would like a Pied for myself, but I could just buy one instead of rolling the dice. The ghost idea sounds appealing, but my concern is what kind of demand there would be for any 100% het's from a non-established new breeder when I don't hit visuals? I'm not in it for the money, I just don't really need to add a bunch of hatchlings in my rack. I'd give them away if I had to.

One, none or both?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

If you can afford both and if those are 2 projects you really like than go for both.

As for this

my concern is who is going to buy 100% Het ghosts from me if I do not get visuals?

Thinks about it this way I would not drop several K with someone that I never heard of even if the animal is a visual. Everyone has to start somewhere, you still have time before hatching anything and a good reputation is something you need to start working on now hets or visuals. Regardless of the animal you try to sell you will need to start building a reputation, this does not happen overnight it takes works.

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

That is really a good point.

I'm not looking to get rich here at all, but possibly paying off the initial investment (or close to it) on either/both packages would be fine with me to get rolling.

[Andybill]

Like Deborah said if you can get both then why not. Yes it will take time to build a reputation. You have to start somewhere. However if it were me I am more partial to hypos and if it were one or the other I would get the hypo regardless of how hard it might be to sell hets if people dont know your "name" because hypo makes everything better IMO. Dont get me wrong, Pieds are great!

I will be breeding this season for the first time and I dont have a "name" yet but I will be producing some 100% hets and I am really not too worried about how fast they move just that they move eventually and I provide good service to the customer. It will definitely help to document the breeding and provide as much proof to future buyers that your snakes are indeed what you say. If that means snapping pics of copulations and showing dates of locks you witnessed, what have you, then so be it. The biggest concern for customers buying hets from someone who doesnt have a "name" or rep in the industry yet is that they will get screwed over by someone trying to make a few extra dollars. It will help to get well acquainted with the wonderful community on this forum too!

[h00blah]

When I was advertising the pastel het clown gal I had, I got a lot of replies. When I mentioned that I bought her and I didn't produce her, people who inquired stopped responded. If you breed your own animals, and keep good records, I wouldn't worry too much about people trusting you. I would worry about the demand more than anything.

I don't think I have a reputation outside of this forum, but it doesn't really bother me too much just yet. If I hatch out some sweet examples of morphs, people will come to me! That's what I'm hoping for... Excellent examples of morphs tend to get sold fast.. That's one reason I'm definitely an advocate for quality. It's hard to NOT buy an awesome example of a morph that pops up on the market since those rarely get sold anyways ...

[h00blah]

Excellent examples of morphs tend to get sold fast..

BTW - My proof of this isn't that I sold any animals quickly (I haven't produced my own BPs yet), but whenever I inquire about a snake I just saw on fauna or kingsnake, it's freakn SOLD so fast ...

[mechnut450]

I produced visible and hets last year( and some this year) and I was unable to move them ( but when my fiance started to work at thepet store and people came in looking for snakes that were not normal bps she arranged for them to go really fast , and I can sell the normal or lower % hets to the store as normals. so someone will get a nice surprise in a couple years when te try to breed bps. it takes time and a lot of resources to build rep as a breeder. I am stillbusting my rump with it 4 years later, ( i only breed 3-4 clutchs a season so I don't over whelm myself right now, plus I use the extra visibles and such for trades to get stuff I want or need n bps.