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[JodanOrNoDan]

An interesting thing: in one of his videos, Justin Kobylka said that if your collection is so big you can't spend an least a little bit of time with each snake ona regular basis, then it's too big. And I tend to agree. Justin is one we might consider a "Big Breeder", certainly he's a big name in the hobby. But when you look at his collection compared to names like Brian Barczyk, Bob Clark, or Kevin McCurley, he's small potatoes. And yet he consistently gets a higher price for his animals and has stellar reviews across the board. Not a single buyer beware that I could find, where as many of the big names have quite mixed reviews at this point - anything from poor communication, to messed up orders, to sick or dead animals. Justin - and many others- competes easily with these big breeders, and perhaps his profits aren't as high when you consider the sheer volume of product moved, but his name has become synonymous with above average product and customer service.

Do the other guys still have a passion? Sure. Were they pioneers back in the early dark ages of reptile keeping? Absolutely. But when they have to put the bottom line before the animals by simple necessity of maintaining size, I don't think that does any favors for them or the hobby in the long run.

I don't know him but Justin sounds like a good guy. There is always a place for a "craftsman" in every industry. He has to play a very different game from the volume guys and the closet breeders. The problem with this type of model is that there is a financial cap. Justin sounds like the type of person that is involved in his whole operation. The problem with this is there is only so much Justin to go around and if there is no Justin there is no operation. While very ethical and great on the quality side of the house, the model does not scale.