Would you pay more for "quality"

[hhmoore]

The title asks the question.
A lot of people "say" they want the best looking animals they can get for their breeding projects; but, when push comes to shove, and it's time to lay down the cash (or break out the card), their tune changes.

BTW - the poll is anonymous. People can see the results, but not the names.

 

[Philip451]

I think there are probably a few of us who, if looking for a SPECIFIC animal for a breeding project they have in mind, will only buy the best looking example they can find. I know I'm guilty.

 

[Dbz4246]

I think there are probably a few of us who, if looking for a SPECIFIC animal for a breeding project they have in mind, will only buy the best looking example they can find. I know I'm guilty.

I know I am guilty of this. I will shop around, usually for months if I am looking for something specific.

 

[hhmoore]

Understood...but that isn't the question.
Do you feel that quality is worth a premium price? Are you willing to pay more to get the better looking animal; or do you think it should be within the average range of the current market?


Here's an example. Let's pretend that it's either 8 yrs ago, or that you're just getting started. A bumblebee would be a great addition to your projects, and you want to buy one. You're looking for months, and you haven't really seen anything you consider outstanding. Then you see this one...some would call it average, some above average; would you pay at the high end of "normal range" for it? Higher?

 

[hhmoore]

What if, just as you were about to buy that one for a little more than you thought a bumblebee was worth, you came across this one

but it was definitely more expensive than the other bees you'd seen....let's say 20% more than the one above. Do you go for it?

 

[Philip451]

Yes. Put value in, get value out.
I paid almost 2x market for a snake last year, just because it was the best one I had seen, and I was waiting for the RIGHT one.

 

[hhmoore]

That example was a little abstract, since there were no real numbers involved.
Let's say that, in 2014, you (anybody reading) decide that you want to add a female firefly - maybe it's your first, maybe it's for a pet project - but you want one with good color, a nice clean pattern, and lots of blushing. Let's also agree, for the sake of keeping this simple, that the average price for a female firefly is $250.
You've been looking for 4-6 months, and not found quite what you are looking for...so, in an effort to keep things moving, you're looking at a fairly nice one at $300. Then, you open an ad and see this girl.

The seller is saying $600 firm, and didn't even hesitate to decline your offer of $350.
Do you go back to that $300 snake you were about to buy? attempt to negotiate a better price, knowing you might pi$$ off the seller? or decide it only hurts for a little while, and buy her before you change your mind (or somebody else gets her)?

 

[j_dunlavy]

Yes. Put value in, get value out.

Quality in = quality out
sometimes you can get lucky and find a great snake at a great price, most of the time that is not the case.
I have some that I got better deals on because they were from breeders I had been buying from with some regularity.
if I find what I have been looking for, I don't usually even bother to negotiate price if it is an exceptional animal. Then again, I don't tend to settle once I get an idea of what I want in my head.

 

[j_dunlavy]

That example was a little abstract, since there were no real numbers involved.
Let's say that, in 2014, you (anybody reading) decide that you want to add a female firefly - maybe it's your first, maybe it's for a pet project - but you want one with good color, a nice clean pattern, and lots of blushing. Let's also agree, for the sake of keeping this simple, that the average price for a female firefly is $250.
You've been looking for 4-6 months, and not found quite what you are looking for...so, in an effort to keep things moving, you're looking at a fairly nice one at $300. Then, you open an ad and see this girl.

The seller is saying $600 firm, and didn't even hesitate to decline your offer of $350.
Do you go back to that $300 snake you were about to buy? attempt to negotiate a better price, knowing you might pi$$ off the seller? or decide it only hurts for a little while, and buy her before you change your mind (or somebody else gets her)?

I would be willing to pay the 600 if the breeder could show me examples of single gene fire and single gene pastels (or superpastels) used in the breeding of this line of fireflies.
If those single gene animals were also exceptional, I would buy it.
I want to be sure the quality going into the firefly is also there before I spend the extra cash.
that way, any single gene fire or pastels coming out of the breeding of this snake should also be high quality.
Does that make any sense? or am I just being irrational?

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

I have paid some rediculous prices on animals that market generally is far less on, because I see their potential and quality. No qualms. I have also paid LESS for animals that have ended up REALLY NICE. But thats more of having an eye, than anything.

 

[Dbz4246]

Hmm thats a hard one, just cause it looks good doesn't always mean it will produce good. Personally I wouldn't buy double the price of certain genes. There is always a moderate chance that the look you have with your snake now, is not what that snake will make later down the line. I agree that quality equals quality but that is all in the eyes of the beholder. Some people like Really high white pieds and prices are always higher, personally I like low whites and the lower the better, and those are always priced lower.

 

[hhmoore]

I would be willing to pay the 600 if the breeder could show me examples of single gene fire and single gene pastels (or superpastels) used in the breeding of this line of fireflies.
If those single gene animals were also exceptional, I would buy it.
I want to be sure the quality going into the firefly is also there before I spend the extra cash.
that way, any single gene fire or pastels coming out of the breeding of this snake should also be high quality.
Does that make any sense? or am I just being irrational?

It makes sense...but it doesn't always work that way.
(To be clear, since I've already been contacted - the firefly is not for sale. She is posted for the sake of discussion, not advertisement or fishing.)
The sire is not a single gene fire, he's a combo (YB fire)

The dam is a single gene pastel; but she's about 10 yrs old...sort of past her prime, from a looks perspective, but I still like her. I think she was about 5 yrs old when this picture was taken.

Hmm thats a hard one, just cause it looks good doesn't always mean it will produce good.

Very true...which is part of the fun of this discussion.
While she isn't for sale, if I did get a notion to sell that firefly, I wouldn't be offering her at average market price. I don't want to sell her, I don't have to sell her; so if I offered to sell her, it would probably be at about twice the going rate. I'd be perfectly content to let her stay here and look pretty if nobody wanted to pay it. (Since I've already been asked for my PayPal address, I guess I'd stand at least a reasonable chance of getting that price, though).

 

[Reptile Frenzy]

Quality is always worth a premium price. An animal that is much cleaner and brighter than its clutch mates should be priced higher. I would pay the extra cash for quality to produce quality instead of skimping on cash and producing lesser quality animals. We had some pastel hatched a couple years ago and sold them at around $150 for a female but one in there was just ugly, not as bright, not much yellow, so sold her for $75. I couldnt ask what i was asking for the others because she didnt match up with the other pastels in the beauty department. So yes i would pay more for quality and have done so.

 

[SPJ]

Hmm thats a hard one, just cause it looks good doesn't always mean it will produce good.

Better quality in with what you breed equals better results.
However, if you start with one great example of a morph and pair it with a crap example, you get crap out.
Pastels were bred to crap which is why most out there now are crap.
You should only breed quality animals and be selective with pairings.
That basically no longer exists with all the fish tank breeders out there now who are only looking for the cheapest animal to breed.

 

[bcr229]

Everything else being equal, yes, I will (and have) pay more for quality. I understand that in more than just the reptile world, you get what you pay for - and a cheap animal can end up being very expensive in the long run.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin

That said, you can be offering the best example of the morph at a killer price, but if you have a bad rep as a vendor, I'm not buying it.

 

[ClarkT]

I would pay a bit more for quality, but quality is very subjective.

I don't think most would actually put money where their mouth is on this subject, though. For example, here's a pastel trick female I produced. I consider her to be the best example of a pastel trick. I've been all but laughed at for asking a higher price on her.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ClarkT]

I like to show her off, so here's another pic of her,

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[j_dunlavy]

It makes sense...but it doesn't always work that way.
(To be clear, since I've already been contacted - the firefly is not for sale. She is posted for the sake of discussion, not advertisement or fishing.)
The sire is not a single gene fire, he's a combo (YB fire)
The dam is a single gene pastel; but she's about 10 yrs old...sort of past her prime, from a looks perspective, but I still like her. I think she was about 5 yrs old when this picture was taken.

I understand that it does not always work that way. Nature can be funny about that kind of stuff sometimes.
Seeing the parents just gives me a rough idea what I may be dealing with.
When I look at the parents of that firefly I see that there is high quality going in; the YB fire looks great and even if the pastel is past her prime, she still looks nice as far as single gene goes.
It tells me that this fly would be a pretty good investment in quality, knowing that the offspring will vary, and give me a head start in cleaner animals.

A lot of pastels I have seen at shows look almost like normals to me, and the supers are looking like single gene pastels.
When I picked up mine, I looked for the best supers as far as color and cleanliness. when I crossed my male to a nice looking spider I got 4 bees and a pastel. The bees are along a spectrum of dirtiness from really clean to really dirty. I will holdback the cleanest one but starting with a cleaner pastel will make the cleaning process move along faster.
(1st pic is the clean one, 2nd pic is the second dirtiest one)

great topic Harald

PS; I'm not surprised you are getting offers, she is a real looker

 

[Dbz4246]

There are a lot of different quality animals out there, but another thing to consider is the fact that not a lot of quality animals are being sold. If I produced the best looking animal of a gene that I have ever produced, Ima keep it lol.
As breeders, you can't keep everything, and have to sell the excess, which means that if a "butt ugly" example of a morph popped out, your gonna sell a sub par animal, regardless of what the siblings look like. And more often than not, I usually pay what the asking price is and hardly try to haggle, if that means its more than the average, and it is still within my overall budget, I am taking it.

 

[SPJ]

The problem that I have been noticing is a majority of people lately expect a crap example animal and a top quality animal to be priced the same.