I am not going to go into any long dissertation on this subject because I am now 2 days behind in my husbandry due to being preoccupied with the preparation and launch of my new website by December 15th. So much for my info-Commercial.

Prices? Just a few random teachings and things learned over the years (in no particular order):

- Basic economic principles of Supply & Demand always play a key role. However, as much as it continues to frustrate me and others, this is a hobby industry, and as such, pricing from a business perspective oftentimes gets thrown out the window. I still rely on Supply & Demand to set my prices, NOT what anyone else is doing. I make sure that I know what is going on with the morphs with which I work and freely exchange information with "friendly competition" (yes it exists).

- Price Always Sells. You want to sell something, just lower your price and it will be gone. There are many reasons to do this ... need quick cash, not enough cages, not enough time, lack of patience, and of course, panic. I DO NOT do this. I have too many operating expenses to cover, I have put in too much hard work to get where I am, and I feel I offer quality animals and an exceptional level of all-round service. But once again, this is still a hobby industry.

- Price includes much, much more than simply the cost of an animal. You are buying genetics (a whole other subject), age of animal (neonate, yearling, breeder?) quality, healthy, correctly sexed animals, limited guarantees, safe & dependable shipping, customer service, on-going support, etc. etc. I know I have lost many sales to lower prices, but I have been around a long time, and I plan on being around for years to come. And I know it's trite, but it still holds so true ... "You get what you pay for."

- Inflated Prices often driven by pure "greed". Yes, there is plenty of this going around these days ... way too much hype and way too many mutts (and no I am not referring to every kind of cross-breeding, and no I do not want to go any further with this comment). Throw out all the hype and apply some good ole common sense ... raritiy, basic eye appeal, temperment, how prolific (breedability), etc.

- Bottom Line: They are your animals. You can buy and sell them for anything you want. The market will take care of itself.

I could spend all day here on this subject, but like I started out, I am already behind.

Consider me gone.


bill@gainesreptiles.com

gainesreptiles.com

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