It all depends on what your intentions are for the snake. If it is a pet, and you have your heart set on a particular morph, then $1,000 may be a reasonable investment if you can afford it. Just remember that in 2-3 years the same snake will probably be worth at least half that. So, similar to buying a car, its up to the purchaser to decide if they want to spend the money to have the "latest model" knowing it will loose its value.

If you are purchasing it with the intention of breeding, then it makes more sense to buy higher quality, more expensive snakes even though they may loose their value by the time they are ready to breed. Just hold off on buying the male.

If you buy a female this year for $1,000 and a male next year for $700, that is a total value of $1,700. If the snakes value drops to $500 by the time you breed them, you will still make a hefty profit as long as you can find homes for them. If your female lays 8 viable eggs in her first season, you can make $4,000 from them. That is a profit of $2,300 (minus feeding, heating and housing costs etc). You are now in the green after one season of breeding. There are obviously risks associated with this such as the snake being unable to breed. Therefore you should only purchase a snake you can comfortably afford to keep, regardless of whether it breeds or not.

Regarding purchasing off small or large breeders. I think this one is debatable. I think it is sometimes worthwhile buying from a breeder with a big reputation but I would't justify paying way over the value of the snake. A little more expensive is ok. This to me is mainly more important when buying hets. I would never buy a het from someone I don't know or trust. But every breeder has to start somewhere so I don't mind buying from smaller breeders as long as the snake is healthy and you can have a good conversation with the breeder etc.

Liam.