Quote Originally Posted by mlededee View Post
i have the morphs that i do because:
1. i love the way they look
2. i could afford to buy or trade for them
3. i want to make more of them or use them to make something else

at this point, i can't justify buying a snake if i don't love the way it looks, even if i can use it to make something i do like. i guess the exception is hets--for example, i bought a male het pied so i could work on producing pieds--but i did still choose a snake who's looks i really liked.
My thoughts exactly. I love many different morphs, but am not in a financial position to shell out for pieds, bees, etc. I am fond of Pastels, and I really love Spiders. Honestly I would probably not be into Pastels if they were not an ingredient to producing bees, which I am in love with. But I also love the way my Pas male looks; like others said, he was the snake I "had to have" and even when my racks are full of pieds and bees, he will still be here Unless I choose to include him in "trading up" dollar-wise for different morphs. This is the fun part of this hobby. Sure, you can produce, buy and sell morphs without ever doing a trade or even seeing your business partners in the flesh. But the fun part comes when you find someone on a local level (or who is willing to travel!) who you can enjoy the hobby with and strike up a trade; awesome stuff!
My Spider was a double bonus. He has awesome looks (in my humble opinion) was within my $ budget, and is one of "those" morphs that I love. Yay! But like Mlededee said, I could not keep a snake around whose looks and general being did not impress me. I have a normal-as-is striped male (see avatar) that might never prove to be genetic, but I love him as a snake.