How is the economy affecting YOUR business?

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Originally Posted by serpentsden

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.

Originally Posted by BrandonsBalls

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