Pricing - Ball Python Market

[ctrlfreq]

All of these are valid points, but you are missing one thing: you are looking at this from a breeder's perspective.

No, I was speaking from the high-end buyer's perspective. The 1 in 16 odds are relevant, even in the "pet" market, because it means the animals are in shorter supply, and worth more to both those who possess them, and those who want to possess them. Just look at the pet market for pure breed dogs and cats, and it quickly becomes evident that the fewer of a particular animal produced, the harder it is to acquire said animal, and the more it costs. An example of this would be our pet Turkish Van (a piebald cat), who cost us almost a grand. Try getting a pet quality Bengal, or any number of rare dog breeds, and you'll quickly see the pattern.

They want to put a morph in a display cage in their living room and the whole notion of an animal being worth more because of 1 in 16 odds versus 1 in 8 odds is completely irrelevent.

Maybe for your lower to middle class buyers, but for the Land Rover crowd, those odds will be exactly what attracts them to the rare animals over those more readily available, and those who are able to supply them will be able to get what they ask for the animals.

It is the look of the animal and the demand for it that will set the price, not the specific genetics. Look at albinos: one recessive gene, 15 years later it is still above $800 on average.

The specific genetics are what determine the supply though, and supply combined with demand is what sets the price. Albinos are, at this point, in such great supply that the market can bear $800. Pied Albino Clowns (or any 1-in-16+ animal for that matter) on the other hand will never be in great supply, and will most likely be a much more visually appealing animal than the Albinos. As such, it is very unlikely you will ever see the market price of double and triple recessives anywhere near that of the simple recessives.

Talk to "everyday" type people at shows. They are very impressed with ball pythons but can't justify setting up shop in their garage just to own morphs.

The same can be said for any market that has yet to jump the chasm that stands between the early adopters and the general adoption of the product. "Everyday" people are never the initial targets of high end products or services, and once the chasm is crossed, they will still not realistically be the target of the high end (ie. double+ recessive designers) animals for the same reason Ferarris and Land Rovers aren't marketed to Joe Bob Middle-Class.

Right now, the BP industry is in it's early adopter phase, which means there is a lot of room for independent activity on the ground floor, which we're all taking advantage of. Once (if) ball pythons become generally accepted as a "pet" animal, the majority of owners will no longer be in it to breed or produce, but rather just to have an interesting family pet or status symbol.