I think people tend to romanticize this. Brian from BHB paid $70,000 after all for his single sunset ball python.

There is no money to be made this way in ball pythons any longer, unless you're somebody who's been around long enough to have a guy in Africa working for you.

Not to mention that it would be dangerous and expensive to go yourself to see the snakes, and the fact that baby ball pythons are sold by the thousands as Robin mentioned.

All in all, while I can appreciate the importance of importation to the hobby, I personally find it to be a cruel practice considering all that the snakes go through before arriving here.