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Bumble bee Price drop rant

A&S Reptiles said:
Kelly and I may have the prettiest mojaves out there, in our respective opinions of course.
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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that's mine. I won't be offended or mad if someone disagrees. I know there are people who enjoy dark mojaves better. If someone has a different opinion I welcome them to share it. I like a healthy debate. :)
 
I also hear alot of people getting fed up with the wobble issues with the spider gene. I have seen both mild and wild wobbles and I am not a huge fan. But on the other hand alot of morphs which have the spider gene are beautiful. I guess what Im trying to say is the wobble may also play a factor in the price drop. And I just sold a 350 gram male bumble bee for $400 cause I needed the cash but was looking for $500.
 
the mojave as far as darker or lighter is all in the individual person in what there tastes are i personally like them darker and believe the darker mojaves make better albino mojos and ghost mojos. I still do not agree with people selling double co-doms at that price range especially when you still see caramel albinos at 600 plus and this being a gene with all sorts of issues gentically. thanks for all the replies it is interesting to see every ones opinion on this never ending issue.
 
I think that caramel albinos should be higher priced BECAUSE of the genetic issues. If many hatch out with kinks, you can't sell them, so not only do you have to hit the odds right to get that combo, you also have to hit the odds on a non-kinked baby. More rare = higher price, right?

This is assuming that non-kink caramel lines haven't been found in my distraction with life, and people are only breeding the non-kink kind... I'd hate to think I just looked like a doofus, but it's been known to happen.
 
wobble...correct
too many, yes...EVERYONE in the world wanted a bee so they all bought a pastel and a spider ...now...bees sell for 200 and up actually.....pastel females...30 and up....normals they offer $8...yes...I said 8...I don't take it...but they offer....
prices are what they are and depends on who you are, and where you live, and how long you want to run the same OLD ads....over and over and over for a year....
volume......make 20 bees and it won't hurt as much ....?......

........I'd rather sell wholesale than set on them for another year....then get the same prices.......?...........been there done that......
 
jyohe said:
wobble...correct
too many, yes...EVERYONE in the world wanted a bee so they all bought a pastel and a spider ...now...bees sell for 200 and up actually.....pastel females...30 and up....normals they offer $8...yes...I said 8...I don't take it...but they offer....
prices are what they are and depends on who you are, and where you live, and how long you want to run the same OLD ads....over and over and over for a year....
volume......make 20 bees and it won't hurt as much ....?......

........I'd rather sell wholesale than set on them for another year....then get the same prices.......?...........been there done that......
Click to expand...

:iagree:
 
It happens with every morph.

If you are not willing to, or are unable to invest a boat load of money, early on in a project in order to be at the top of the pyramid, by the time you produce them you will be lucky to make your investment back.

It seems like nobody keeps these snakes exclusively as a hobby anymore. Each animal purchased is considered an investment, and is purchased with the intention to breed.

I have produced a bucket full of Spiders, and Bees that are Poss. het SK Axanthic already this season, and will more then likely be keeping every single female.

The same goes for any female Cinnamons, Lessers, and even Pewters that I may produce.

I would rather keep them, or trade them for other morphs that I am short on or don't have in my collection, then sell them for what they are going for.
 
RJK890 said:
I would rather keep them, or trade them for other morphs that I am short on or don't have in my collection, then sell them for what they are going for.
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:iagree: While I will put a price on them, I hope to trade out what I don't keep, to get what I don't have and what I want.
 
I agree. We're not looking to get rich. Our hope is to feed the addiction and keep increasing our collection. We're hobbyists who love our animals, not a business looking to mass produce everything.
 
ROOM

can't keep them all.......space is a limited thing....
I bred black pastel last year...nadda....this year , one laid one didn't ......and I probably will get rid of them both to make room for the female black pastels het ghost ...sad....one year and sell......pastels gotta go...I love pastels but there is no room....supers, POGs, POG het caramel, pastel enchis, etc etc,,,,spiders...same deal...gotta go to make room for spider combos....

.......it's all space related....time related.....time to feed time to clean......

.........wholesale prices to everyone...........make people happy....
 
RJK890 said:
It happens with every morph.

If you are not willing to, or are unable to invest a boat load of money, early on in a project in order to be at the top of the pyramid, by the time you produce them you will be lucky to make your investment back.

It seems like nobody keeps these snakes exclusively as a hobby anymore. Each animal purchased is considered an investment, and is purchased with the intention to breed.
Click to expand...

The BP industry is a pyramid scheme :D
 
wikidkitty said:
:iagree: While I will put a price on them, I hope to trade out what I don't keep, to get what I don't have and what I want.
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While I like selling a few animals to recoupe SOME of the money that I put out, I enjoy trading them to get others that I want/don't have. This is a hobby to me, and nothing more...but I agree with others that I don't want to just "give away" what I've worked so hard to produce!!
 
the money not there people are buying more important things than snakes. I know 2 years ago I was turning people away wanting their grass cut, now I barely making it with th 10 total yards I got left ( and 2 are my own and grandmother's) so I had to stop a lot of things to get by ( grass cutting m and play money). I stopped simple cheap things like WOW account, netflicks, and other projects I liked doing, to get by. I spent more on my het pieds than I can get for a visible pied 4 years later ( if I had one ) The breeding of my snakes is a hobby and a way to aquire morphs and such I know i can't get ( like a bee, bels and such)heck by the time I can make bels (2 years) you prolly can get them for 500 if my luck holds true. I enjoy the raising and breeding to watch a full circle and to prove to self that I am capable of doing such things.
 
Matt2979 said:
While I like selling a few animals to recoupe SOME of the money that I put out, I enjoy trading them to get others that I want/don't have. This is a hobby to me, and nothing more...but I agree with others that I don't want to just "give away" what I've worked so hard to produce!!
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:iagree:
 
Wolfy-hound said:
There's also the fact that most people getting into the hobby of breeding ball python morphs starts out with the least expensive options for a bright colored snake. That means pastel and spider(both lower cost animals) to produce bees(which are eye-catchingly bright colored morphs). So more new breeders are offering more bees, so they're more common.

Prices drop the more common the morph. If no one is buying at a higher price, the price gets lowered. It's how the 'game' works. If you buy the newest morph offered, you'll pay a super high price. Then you'll take 2-3 years to raise it(if it needs a female) and so when you finally have hatchlings to sell, the price has dropped dramatically since the morph is now 2-3 years old, and thus other people have been breeding and offering them, in addition to the original breeders continueing to breed and sell from the original animals.
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hhmoore said:
As far as the topic, it IS sad to see people devalue their own investments...but that is what they do. If more people exercised both quality and quantity control, the price drops would be much less pronounced. Instead, people breed indiscriminantly, and many "hobbyists" produce far more animals than they are willing/able to care for. Selling them quickly is both a goal and a necessity for them...which, of course, speeds the descent of the prices.

Further, far to many people jumping into breeding focus on cost over quality. Whether they don't understand, or just don't care, the concept of getting what you pay for is lost. Buy the cheapest example of morph A, regardless of appearance, and breed it to the cheapest example of morph B (or 5+ normal females that won't compliment morph A; but, hey, they'll make babies).
Click to expand...

GreenCountryHerp said:
The selective people are few and far between, most people want to get into breeding as fast as possible and don't care how nice there animals are as long as the animal can produce some babies. This only hurts those of us who are selective on what we buy.
Click to expand...

:iagree: All great points.

And the nice thing about these people (the ones who don't care about quality and/or are just in it to try to get rich quick) is that they don't stick around for very long. Yes, there are always new ones coming in, too, but I believe that these people don't truly affect the market much. For those of us who try to pick the best examples of morphs we can, we won't be affected as much.

The key, here, is that if you have a good example of a morph you're selling, don't try to match the price of these lower-quality animals. Price it for what you think it's worth and be patient. For example, earlier this year, I was selling 300-500 gram normals for $50-$75. Not because they're excellent examples of normals (they're normals, after all), but because I knew they were fat, happy, and well taken care of. So don't just take the quality of the morph itself into account. If your snakes are all-around high-quality, then price 'em higher! People (like myself) will gladly pay higher prices for healthy snakes.

I was looking at NERD's Lemon Pastels last year, and they had some stunners for over $500. Yes, single-gene Lemon Pastels. Their best female Lemon was $750. I would definitely pay that much for such a jaw-dropping snake.
 
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