Why does it need to scale, though? We aren't talking about a snuggie or some other easily mass produced consumable. The market for animals is a different beast than the one for a factory produced product that you want to put in every house hold. I feel trying to apply the same principles is an error. Observe: as mention in a different thread, the demand of the ball python pet trade is such that even with as many animals as we produce and put on the market, suppliers still import wild caught or captive hatched wild gathered animals to meet that need. AND YET the practice of under cutting has rapidly devalued many morphs. Spider and pinstripe in particular are still wildly popular and sought out as pets, but they are nearly the same price as a breeding weight normal in direct opposition to the demand.
Now look at other animal producers outside of the reptile hobby. Dogs for example. Sure, anybody can throw out a puppy with words like OFA certification and AKC registration for $5-600 and get a buyer, but someone who selects for quality and health, and takes care of their reputation can get $1500 for the same breed of dog without any effort, often with sold out waiting lists, and no need to undercut because they put out the better product and producing the same size litters, for the same number of litters a year. In the end, you can run your business how you want to, but if you can get a better price for your animals by being patient and persistent and giving attention to detail, wouldn't that make more sense?
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