How is the economy affecting YOUR business?

[WebSlave]

With the economy in the doldrums lately, I'm curious to see how it is affecting everyone else with sales of their animals and/or supplies. And the poll will include not only how you are doing NOW, but what you predict the future will hold for you....

[John E Dove]

My wife and I are not big producers by any measure. Last year we turned out somewhere around 75 - 100 hatchlings and ended up carrying over 7 normal corns only. The previous year we produced about the same number of hatchling snakes and sold out by the end of Sept.
This year we cut back on production, to give females a rest, and have 13 hatchling corns left to carry over to next year which would indicaate to me a worsening market.
Of course we do not advertise on the Web much so 98% of our sales are word of mouth local or through two pet stores I associate with with the occasional person stumbling across the ACR membership page.
Next year we I plan to cut back to only breeding a couple of what I hope are special project snakes and only offering the hatchlings that are not visible for what I am seeking.

[AncientDNA]

Business is definitely better this year, overall, than last year.
What's even better though, IMO, is that this economy seems to be keeping away the flakes & those who would have been on-the-fence anyway from wasting my time trying to make deals they weren't going follow thru with.
Last year, I think, maybe 2 out of 10 people followed thru and actually purchased what they were interested in...this year, I think that number is closer to 9 out of 10. :yesnod:

[jim0602]

I do 99.9% shows only. My sales are down approx 75% as far as $$$ goes. I have quit all but 1 show and it is not looking good for me to continue it next year. We have gone from 6 tables to 2 and just cram stuff in. there are a lot more people bringing stuff in to sell at a far lower price than usual. Other vendors are selling stuff at the end of the shows for close to nothing for cash so they don’t have to feed it anymore. Unfortunately I have had to go to punching a time clock for the 1st time in over 10 years. I have worked in the past but not been forced to or been on a schedule. I believe it is going to get far worse but will rebound in a few years.

[xanaxez]

im not a breeder or dealer but i do see a change in alot of stores,breeders,sellers, and buyers prices. i think it has slowed down somewhat but it will pick back up in a year or so i think. it still isnt bad yet because everything you still see for sale is still being sold for close to what the market price is. doesnt seem liek the ball python sales are slowing down to much but alot of other reptiles and pets are. i am a carpet python lover and i can tell you this the market isnt scaring to many because carpet breeders arent coming off of there prices at all hardly lol.

[Southern Wolf]

Just out of curosity... are any breeders deciding to go the wholesale route to keep from having to carry over alot of animals. I currently still have around 30 corns for sale.... and not real sure I want to carry over that many animals. I have been getting a lot of window shoppers.... but not alot of sales.... and my prices aren't off the mark...at least from what Ive seen.

[Laura Fopiano]

Great topic Rich!

I chose worse but will get better. I based that on the fact that we had a really crappy year the season before last (07) And this year we produced a high priced visual that has not even gotten a nibble. Oh yeah, folks have plenty to trade, but no cash to spend.

We did whole sale 4 from a litter and did sell one to a friend. My hopes are that the economy will get better after the election. Folks seem to be tired of the same ol same ol.

On the same topic but different type of work. I am a server at a chain type restaurant in a resort area. Business is down, tips are less, and the general feeling is folks are more interested in putting food on their table than eating out.

My hope is that things will get better for all of us. Gas is finally down to 2.87 which is a heck of a lot better than the experts were predicting. WIth the holidays breathing down our necks, lets hope that things get better soon.

[Serafim]

Can't really complain on my end. Bills are getting paid snakes are getting fed and my head is above water. I would have to say I am in no worse shape than I was two years ago. :thumbsup:

[LakesideBoas]

I'm a little worse for wear, but it'll get better. The fact that almost every live rodent and feeder insect provider in this area went out of business within months of each other did not help. I know enough to get my feeders online (for frozen and insects) but I don't know anyone who will ship live rodents...I don't blame them. Even the "bait" shops only carry wax worms or red wigglers here.

That is why I'm opening my store. I hope to fill the nitch that is left by these facilities closing. Which is why I say it'll get better.

It's funny, I researched to find out why all these places were closing...I didn't want to be another statistic. It all boiled down to bad location and/or mismangement.

Hopefully this works.

[Ed Clark]

Yes, good topic.

I can't help but notice all the ball python and leoapard gecko breeders having collection sales or going out of business sales.:( Thats what I look at, I dont follow the corn snake or most other guys that are doing other herps but I'm sure the same is happening there.

Tought times have a cleansing effect on this business, the get rich quick people will disappear when the big dollar sales are not so abundant.

There will always be people with discreationary money to spend on herps, we as sellers have to be competitive with our prices and offer a top quality product to survive.

Business is off some, but its still good. :)

[SERPENTS DEN]

The majority of people have absolutely no clue what is and has been going on in this world. The bailout is going to destroy america as we know it today. We will of course be opening up the Mexican & Canadian borders and then be known as the North American Union and the US dollar will have no real value when the Amero is our new currency. This is all part of the New World Order.
I've been researching this stuff for a number of years and what you get from corporate news is a bunch of propaganda.

I dare you to watch Esoteric Agenda that you can find on google if you really want to see the BIG PICTURE.

Avian Flu or some other pandemic may be just around the corner and one thing I do suggest is avoid any and all vaccinations and do some research like I have.

[MesozoicReptiles]

Sales are way way down from last year. Pretty bad. :ack2:

[rbchesapeakeball]

We also do 99.9% of our sales at shows, codoms have been easy to sell, but the price that we have to sell them at to compete with other vendors is down. Recessives are slower sellers, but the price seems to stay steady.

We had a few breeder friends that were interested in the pastel clown project that we are working on, but we didn't produce enough to fulfill all of them.

All in all, it hasn't been that bad for us, but we are just hobbyists and don't rely on sales for income.

Thanks,

Rich

[Kaiyudsai]

I think reptile enthusiasts are unusual because we treat our hobby like an addiction in most cases. So you could almost consider this business as a "vice" industry like tobacco, and liquor... I've cut corners on things to buy herps, and definately to keep them maintained

[Lee Watson]

Hi I manage the largest bimonthly show in the U.S.
During these poor economic times I notice the venders selling low dollar reptiles are doing great. The venders selling high end stuff are slowing down. We have a show the first Saturday and the Third Sunday of each month. The Saturday show is bad for high end and good for low end. We average 1100 through the door each show. On Saturday I notice people come and stay for long periods of time. I credit this to the fact the $5 admission is cheaper then a movie. I always tease the venders telling them these cheapass visitors waste their money paying the rent,car payments and credit cards. then they come here for the show with no cash. But wait till Sunday.
Sunday is usually good for high end and low end. I notice a lot more credit card transactions then we used to and I certainly hope this is transitional of the times and not more people going in debt. We have upped our advertising even to advertising on animal planet. Go to our website and you can see our commercial. Anyway thats my take on our economy.
Lee Watson www.allanimalexpo.com

[mikeyt]

Hello, I would like to say that sales numbers as far as $$ are way down in general for most breeders, there are some that are doing ok, I would assume. I think some has to do with the economy, but my opinion is that it is the number of shows held each year in combination with people willing to give there stuff away that is really hurting this business.

For example: In my area, years ago there was the Pottstown, Pa show held I believe twice/year, the Mid-Atlantic Show held once/year, and the Hamburg, Pa show held 2-4 times per year.

NOW: The mid-atlantic is still once /year, Hamburg, Pa show is now 6/year, Harve Disgrace is 12/year, Manassas is like 6/year, richmond 4-6/year, carlisle 6/year and god the list goes on an on.

Most of these local shows (all with in 2 hours of each other) have the same vendors with a few new ones at each show. The consumer no longer has any anticipation factor, they have no pressure to buy that animal today, they will see me next week at the next show, and the week after that at the following show and so on. So now, when the shows are so saturated, the competition is higher and what does that mean, everybody is out to slash there prices just to get the sale, when one slashes, we all slash. End result a $500 animal that has been forced to $200-250. If everyone were to keep there animals at or near the current market value, I feel that people if interested would have no choice but to buy the animal at that price, and the fair market value on alot of animals would stay higher for a much more consistent length of time.

I do quite a bit of shows and produce quite a few of animals each year. I have a very loyal client base that leaves me with very little animals at the end of the year. That I am thankful for. If I had to base my living on doing the shows and flipping animals I probably could not survive. The only people making it at the shows are the promoters.

These are just my observations and my opinions

[mikeyt]

To total up the shows in my area this year would be a number of 36 shows with in a 2 hour distance of one another. That equals 3 shows per month. I didnt even add the Pittsburgh show in there. So basically 1 show every week averaged.

So years ago when i went to Hamburg and saw an animal I really wanted, I had to make a choice of whether to spend my money and buy it, and buy less groceries that week, or maybe not pay all of my electric bill, because I wont see this vendor for another 3 months.

Now I dont have to make that choice. Here is a $50 deposit and I will pick it up from you next week at the ? show.

[BPHERP]

The majority of people have absolutely no clue what is and has been going on in this world. The bailout is going to destroy america as we know it today. We will of course be opening up the Mexican & Canadian borders and then be known as the North American Union and the US dollar will have no real value when the Amero is our new currency. This is all part of the New World Order.
I've been researching this stuff for a number of years and what you get from corporate news is a bunch of propaganda.

I dare you to watch Esoteric Agenda that you can find on google if you really want to see the BIG PICTURE.

Avian Flu or some other pandemic may be just around the corner and one thing I do suggest is avoid any and all vaccinations and do some research like I have.
I so agree, I too have been keeping track of this "new world order" thing for over 15 years.

[BPHERP]

I so agree, I too have been keeping track of this "new world order" thing for over 15 years.
For those of you who are willing to look beyond the facade of status quo...

...I recommend watching zeitgeist (the movie) and perhaps listening in on Coast to Coast AM, which is syndicated on many radio stations throughout the nation, including Canada and other places around the world (http://www.coasttocoastam.com/)

BrandonsBalls