Whats up with this?

[Gloryhound]

Right now my take on it is we are in recession and well on our way to depression. With that said disposable incomes are drying up. Some people are panicing because they don't want to hold on and really taking the quality of what you find at shows down. A lot of larger breeders are probably slowing down on the number of shows they go to since they can not compete price wise with "John Doe" snake breeder who is not only there to make a quick buck, but also "has" to pay his bills. It has almost become a regular sight on kingsnake to see someone selling their collection to pay for this or that. The way you have to look at it is some deals can be had right now, but generally most of what you see are lower quality animals that will take years to breed any quality back into the lines. Those who don't produce their own food are also getting hit with higher costs as well as those that do produce their own food supplies, only difference is the guy producing his own is seeing 10% increase while the guy buying food direct is seeing 25% or more increases. You will see a drastic increase in the collection sales for a couple of years and the market will be very crazy and people who thought they were going to get in and be rich in a couple years are starting to learn it takes a little more than buying a couple of snakes and sticking them together to even break even in the current market.

OK, Poor, and no business model businesses will fall and those that have good models might be able to muttle through. Only those with Very good to exceptional business models are going to be able to sustain their current sales or increase them for the next year or so.

[Jenn]

A Lot of Vendors dont bring much high end to Manchester because it doesn't sell there. We had 600 snakes on our tables (about 45 of them ball morphs) and sold about 150, all were less than $200ea, most were less than $100 ea. We did good $$ and more than most other dealers there, but also sold a lot of low end balls, and colubrids. A Lot of high end morphs are not selling so not as many people are taking them to shows, and stressing them out.
Also a lot of animals are being exported so the market is drying up. This winter prices will go back up, and sales will be better. The wholesale market is already going up in price, about 2 months early this year.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks. I was wondering why I came home with so much money!!

[Adam_Wysocki]

It's just simple supply and demand. It's not shocking, has little to do with the economy, and it has been happening year after year for a very long time in the ball python market.

You also have to realize that for many people "show prices" are always much lower than "online prices" since shows are almost always cash and carry. No shipping, no paperwork, no invoices, no boxes, and for some guys ... no taxes. Just sayin.

Plus, there are a ton of yellow bellies out there ... breeder yellow belly males were selling last year for very reasonable prices and made a great entry into the ball morph market for a lot of people. This year, they're selling their offspring and don't need to make a whole heck of a lot of money to cover their investment and pay their food bills.

Something that will really cook your noodle is this ... if they're being sold for $50 on a table at a show, what are the resellers buying them for? OUCH.

If it makes anyone feel any better about the "investments" that they've made in the ball python market, I paid $5,000.00 for a het albino male in 1996. They ain't $5,000.00 anymore. Supply and Demand ... nothing more.

-adam

[Beardedragon]

Also, look how ugly some of these cheaper snakes are. If the breeders broke into their Hold back stock you wouldnt be seeing these super low prices...

[Freakie_frog]

Also, look how ugly some of these cheaper snakes are. If the breeders broke into their Hold back stock you wouldnt be seeing these super low prices...

Again Selective Breeding

[Beardedragon]

Again Selective Breeding

Yupers! You can ask me about any normal in my collection and they will have a male morph that will make nice babys with them, not ugly brown ones.

[N4S]

i cant wait for the day to come were I'll be able to buy a pied for 200 bucks.

Sorry. I doubt it will ever come though.

[Freakie_frog]

i cant wait for the day to come were I'll be able to buy a pied for 200 bucks.

Sorry. I doubt it will ever come though.

I can....I think I'll roll over and die when that day comes

[kthulhu]

Yea I think the spotnoses just rubbed me the wrong way since most others I see are being offered at way higher than 350 (I might be alittle biased too because I have one lol). One thing that has never made sense to me, is that why male codoms are cheaper than females. From a buisiness standpoint, males are worth way more because a single male can be bred to a large number of females, whereas a morph female can only breed once a year. Seems like if someone has a codom project, selling males for cheaper, or cheaper than females, is a quick easy way to kill that project, from a money standpoint. Well, like everyone's been saying, qualitly should always win out in the end!

[Adam_Wysocki]

Yea I think the spotnoses just rubbed me the wrong way since most others I see are being offered at way higher than 350 (I might be alittle biased too because I have one lol). One thing that has never made sense to me, is that why male codoms are cheaper than females. From a buisiness standpoint, males are worth way more because a single male can be bred to a large number of females, whereas a morph female can only breed once a year. Seems like if someone has a codom project, selling males for cheaper, or cheaper than females, is a quick easy way to kill that project, from a money standpoint. Well, like everyone's been saying, qualitly should always win out in the end!

Female co-doms are worth more because most people buy a male co-dom, breed it to normal females ... dump the males they produce as fast as they can and try and hold on to as many females as they can afford to keep in order to make supers (homozygous) and crosses with their other co-dom males. More males available = more supply = lower price ... less females available = less supply = higher price ... supply and demand ... basic economics ... no mystery there.

-adam