# What's in a Price?



## Nero Egernia (Oct 28, 2017)

Not sure how this topic will be received but it's something I don't understand. It seems that only a few select people can ask for decent or inflated prices for their reptiles. Everyone else has to either give them away or sell them cheap as chips. Then when people sell them cheap they're accused of ruining the market? Thoughts? Anyone else experience this?


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## kittycat17 (Oct 28, 2017)

All I know is every time I have hatchies I ask for a reasonable price (in my eyes for them anyways) and I always get asked to drop my price


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## Murph_BTK (Oct 28, 2017)

When I was breeding (years ago) I would look at a few things.. eating, markings(patterns etc) temperament and how many I had to move on.. I was reasonable and flexible also on pricing . tho the market has change some what since I last bred and every tom dick and Harry seems to be breeding these days.. Once paid $2000 for a blk headed python years ago ( well worth it) now you can grab one for a few hundred.. it's nuts.. 
I have no real answer but I believe do what's right for you and the animal(s) the rest is irrelevant 


Instagram: murph_BTK


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## Yellowtail (Oct 28, 2017)

As the saying goes, those who sell their product cheap know what it is worth, buy cheapest and you get what you pay for.

Don't breed hatchlings that are commonplace or poor quality.
Breed quality distinctive animals, set a reasonable price and don't compromise even if it takes a year to sell them.
Establish a good reputation for quality animals and they sell themselves, I have deposited orders for half of this seasons Julattens and the eggs were only laid on 17/10
There is no way I will risk buying an animal from anyone that does not have a reputation for clean healthy well bred animals, the current thread re the possible sunshine virus should be a lesson for everyone.


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## ronhalling (Oct 29, 2017)

I totally agree with @Yellowtail a good reputation is a very hard thing to get whereas a bad 1 is very easy, someone who has worked hard on getting a good rep deserves to be able to charge whatever the animal they are selling is worth, the cheap animals are not always the bad ones and sometimes charging ridiculously low prices for an animal is the only way the budding quality breeder has to get their animals out there and have people talking about how good, clean, nicely patterned/colored and how well the deals went down and how good the after sales service was, unfortunately you cannot buy this sort of thing (reputation) and if you have to sell a beautiful Albino Darwin yearling for $300 to get tongues wagging it is worth it as long as the next day you don't try to sell it's cage mate for $800 lol then people will start calling you mercenary. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling-


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## Yellowtail (Oct 29, 2017)

I am sorry if I was a bit harsh with my post but Oshkii's point that a few select people have no trouble selling their animals is right. The successful people have generally over many years established a reputation for guaranteed top quality disease free animals that have been selectively bred to enhance their quality and value. There is no point in just breeding ordinary animals that there is an oversupplied market for. From what I have seen Oshkii has some really nice SW carpets and could line breed some outstanding animals that will sell for premium prices as the hobby in WA matures but that may take 10 years, the SW black and whites can be line bred just as I have with my Julattens and black SW's could be very valuable. Kittycat has some very nice carpets and PaulsPythons is already doing it with blackheads.


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## Nero Egernia (Oct 29, 2017)

Murph_BTK said:


> Once paid $2000 for a blk headed python years ago ( well worth it) now you can grab one for a few hundred.. it's nuts..



If you still want to pay top price for Black Headed Pythons, get them from WA. The so-called "average" snakes are still going for a $1000 last time I looked. Oh, and then there's the exorbitant export permit you'll have to pay as well. 



Yellowtail said:


> As the saying goes, those who sell their product cheap know what it is worth, buy cheapest and you get what you pay for.
> 
> Don't breed hatchlings that are commonplace or poor quality.
> Breed quality distinctive animals, set a reasonable price and don't compromise even if it takes a year to sell them.
> ...



Yellowtail, how is quality defined? I thought it was defined in terms of health but it seems that colour and pattern plays a part as well. How could that work when everyone has different preferences? I've seen nice animals that have been reasonably priced, and expensive animals of which I have zero interest in.


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## Wokka (Oct 29, 2017)

I think what you are paying for is reliability and confidence. A cheap animal may be as good as a dear one, but you don't know until it is too late. A dearer animal normally incorporates a margin reflecting the breeders ethics which is earned over years and can be lost very quickly. It amazes me how buyers will travel hours or sometimes interstate to deal with suppliers they have never heard of, and often just to save $50. My most expensive purchase was from a a rouge in northern Queensland. $25,000 for an adult pair of GTPs when the market price was $35,000. It only cost me a few hundred in plane fair to save thousands. NOT! I ended up euthanasing the pair after nursing them for months.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Oct 29, 2017)

Wokka said:


> I think what you are paying for is reliability and confidence. A cheap animal may be as good as a dear one, but you don't know until it is too late. A dearer animal normally incorporates a margin reflecting the breeders ethics which is earned over years and can be lost very quickly. It amazes me how buyers will travel hours or sometimes interstate to deal with suppliers they have never heard of, and often just to save $50. My most expensive purchase was from a a rouge in northern Queensland. $25,000 for an adult pair of GTPs when the market price was $35,000. It only cost me a few hundred in plane fair to save thousands. NOT! I ended up euthanasing the pair after nursing them for months.


OH DAMN!


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## Waterrat (Oct 29, 2017)

Wokka said:


> My most expensive purchase was from a a rouge in northern Queensland. $25,000 for an adult pair of GTPs when the market price was $35,000. It only cost me a few hundred in plane fair to save thousands. NOT! I ended up euthanasing the pair after nursing them for months.




It wasn't me. lol


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## Wokka (Oct 29, 2017)

Waterrat said:


> It wasn't me. lol


No Micheal, you are at the other end of the scale. I can recall getting animals from you and there was a problem with transport caused by the carrier, and you came to the party immediately, no questions asked. That is what I meant.... some breeders are a bit dearer ,but you get what you pay for, not to mention all the advice that is freely given after the purchase.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Oct 29, 2017)

Everyone want everything for nothing these days it seems. No understanding of genetics or the work that goes into breeding, feeding, the never ending photo collectors etc.
After I spent an hour answering every question under the sun I had one tyre kicker this year tell me that my axanthic BHP's were only worth $300 as she could get them somewhere else at that price. She came back to inquire over another animal 2 weeks later and was advised that I would rather give my animals away than sell them to someone like her.
Sometimes it all gets too hard, I'm wondering if its even worth the bother breeding after this year.


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## Wokka (Oct 30, 2017)

The market needs to cater for all sectors. There are buyers who are time poor and risk averse, and willing to pay for service. Others are happy to do the miles and take the risk in search of a bargain price. On the other side there are suppliers who have the short term goal of the immediate sale and are not interested in ongoing business, whilst others may wish to develop repeat clients and so put in the extra effort above and beyond simply price. It is frustrating when the two groups crossover but I have found that in business repeat business is best both in terms of profit and satisfaction.


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## pythoninfinite (Oct 30, 2017)

I agree with Wokka. Those who are still doing well in the reptile business are those with a very good established reputation, and who are willing to stick to a strategy even when times are not so lucrative. They are always the ones who are generous with advice, and stick by the buyer and their product. They are always aware of the risks of disease, and many have closed collections to ensure their animals remain disease-free. Buying snakes from pet-shops is asking for trouble. Buying from a reputable breeder hugely increases the chance of a great outcome, because reputations are built on good product and great service.

Jamie


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## Wokka (Oct 31, 2017)

As an example.....I have some het for Albino Olives for sale. I have been breeding Albino Olives for over ten years and probably have the largest collection of Albino Olive genetics in the world. I have found someone on face book, who I have never heard of has Het for Albino Olives for sale for $3000. They have no other Albino animals but say their animals were sold to them as Hets by someone else on face book. Should this effect the price of my Albino Olives?


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