holding value...

[Ridinandreptiles]

ive only worked with lower end bp morphs, if i do decide to splurge and get some cool stuff; will the value still be in the morphs enough for me to recoop my investment.

NOTE: i dont breed for money so if it sounded like it ... its not just want to rekoop 75% invested actually and id be good

THANKS!!

[snakesRkewl]

Humans are barely able to forecast the weather, nobody can tell you for sure if any of the morphs will hold value, only if they believe they have a better chance of holding value longer.

Breed for fun and quality and you will not only enjoy yourself but you'll produce nice enough snakes that people will want to buy them.

[Ridinandreptiles]

I always pick the highest quality animals and don't cheap out. I would be sick if I spent 1100 dollars on a champagne and when I went to sell them a year later they were worth 200 bucks

[el8ch]

It really all depends on your business plan and a little bit of luck from the odd gods.

If you have a solid group of breeding females and you aquire a top dollar male you can potentially breed him within 6 months. If you hit the odds in any of your clutches you have the potential for making all of your money back plus some right there.

If you are dealing with simple recessives you are into more long term projects, but these projects can be very rewarding. For instance, If you were to invest in a Clown project now I do believe in 3 years they will still be a dominant and powerful gene in the industry. This being said the potential for a return on your investment would be favorable.

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Humans are barely able to forecast the weather, nobody can tell you for sure if any of the morphs will hold value, only if they believe they have a better chance of holding value longer.

Breed for fun and quality and you will not only enjoy yourself but you'll produce nice enough snakes that people will want to buy them.

Well said.

[OhhWatALoser]

Everything you're about to read is pure opinion, but based on experience and many conversations with multiple people. I'll skip the speech of how snakes are a horrible investment comparably to other types for most people.

but anyways, recessives hold their value better than just about anything else in general. Also morphs that majority seem to love hold their value better and sell quicker, assuming the price is already within reach of majority of people. If i was trying to make money, I would be heavily invested in pied and pied combos. Pieds don't do anything for me so i don't keep them, but everyone else seems to love them, so naturally they sell well. Clown are another recessive everyone loves and that includes me, actually got 2.3 dbl het clown hypos showing up tomorrow.

Problem with recessives is they take longer to get a return and there are possible hets produced which makes visuals a little rarer comparably, but thats why the recessives hold value. Also I'll mention,double het recessive projects on the other hand are hard as heck to sell. Everyone wants to see pictures of the double recessive, but doesn't seem like they want to buy them lol. too many pos het produced and the 1/16 chance of making the snake you want really seems to turn people off. So it appears they are bad investments (can't wait for my double hets to grow up ), one more step closer to the triple recessive (yea the guy posting this is an idiot)

anyways, just trying to predict what the next hot thing will be, I bet people who had a solid stock of yellowbelly ivory stuff are doing quite well now that we have spectors, gravels, and sparks.

again, if i was trying to make money, I would invest in ivories and combos that go well with super stripes, pumas, and highways. Super Enchis and combos, the fact that they play nice with pied (everyones favorite morph) and the cool combos being revealed with enchi, I think these will be hotter than they already are. once bananas reach a price thats within reach of most people, i would jump on that ( which I may)..... or you know you could start a 7+ year triple recessive project

I know everyone says, breed what you like but the money is in what everyone else likes. Now if you can find something you like and everyone else likes.... can't really go wrong can you?

[Ridinandreptiles]

I'm not in it for money, I really like phantom and champagne and calico combos personally. I'm not investing so to speak, I'm producing morphs I think look cool. I just want it to eventually be a self-sufficient hobby!

[MMReptiles]

It's extremely hard to not make money with the current ball python combos. Even a pastel and a normal paired will make you your money back. In terms of a champ going from 1100 to 200 before you can produce with them? It's extremely unlikely. HOWEVER will they go from say, 1100 to 700-800, extremely likely, still easy to make you're initial investment back if you pair them right and aim for some nice stuff.

Stuff will always go down in value, new stuff will always show up being hot and worth the most...

Unless you actually want return- go buy some coral glows or bananas...

[mariasman]

In my opinion, The most important factors to consider when choosing a morph that will hold its value include:
1. Considering how members of the general public (not merely hard-core ball python enthusiasts) value the morph. There are many morphs selling for very high sums today that will not stand the test of time simply because these animals eventually have to move into the general pet trade. The ball python breeding community is too small to support high prices indefinitely. Don't select a morph that you like necessarily, but figure out what most people consider striking and beautiful.
2. The inheritance pattern of the morph. Single codominant morphs can clearly be reproduced much more quickly than recessive morphs. Even more extreme are double recessive morphs. Combos will hold their value better than single morphs all else equal simply because they are more difficult to reproduce in large numbers.
3. A morph may have increased value for its combination potential and not merely the morph itself.

I think a good morph to work with is the fire ball python. Prices are low. However, fire can produce many desirable morphs. The fire itself is not particularly desirable as far as the general public is concerned. However, super fires and fire combos can be stunning. In my opinion, the super fire will have an impact on the general public (i.e. the general pet trade) on the same order as albinos and piebalds. Sure, there are other lucies... but I am convinced the super fire will prove to have the most lasting demand in the general pet trade. Some fire combos that show promise include fire bees and fireflies. Orange dream also combines well with fire.

Personally, I have purchased a large group of female fires with the express intent of producing super fires. I did the same with albinos back in 2001, and it worked out very well. Prices will always drop, but you can always sell an albino. I think the same will be seen with super fires.

[Ridinandreptiles]

Thanks for the great advice. I love the morphs listed above, pantom calico and champagne. They create very pretty morphs and I feel hold their value. Opinions? I also like spinnerblasts

[TessadasExotics]

The value drops just about 1/2 to 1/3 each year. Especially the last couple of years. And all it takes is one person to drop their price and then everyone scrambles to do the same to make the sale. In order to really be able to recoup your investment either stay with the low end stuff or you have to drop a minimum of 5-10k. That’s just my opinion of course.

And as far as recesives go... Albinos have droped $100 in this past year and Lavenders have droped 1-2.8k also this past year. Lavs where about 3-4.5k now they are about 2k.