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I am a new reptilian enthusiast. I fell in love with a King snake at the pet store. They are asking $80 for it. It is a 3 to 4 year old albino king snake. Is that a good price? not sure, dont want to get ripped off, since I'm a newbie.

Price wise, you can easily pick up an albino California kingsnake, etc for relatively cheap and young online or at any reptile show.
However, adults tend to be more pricey and I think 80$ is fair.

The bottom line is, if you fell in love with it, why not? Just make sure it is in good health, you assess the cost of keeping it (large enclosure size, heating, food, etc). It WILL cost more then $80.
Good luck

Thanks for the help. Yea I have picked out her cage and all the supplies i need. I am reading books and stuff on the net to learn as much about snakes as I can. I plan on taking it to a vet right after I purchase it, to make sure it is in good health. the store has a 12 day return policy.

If you are planning on using a glass aquarium with a screen top, make sure it is escape proof! Many screen tops are labeled for reptiles but I have seen so many people loose their snakes because of a loosely fitting top! If you are using another type of enclosier, like a wooden cage or one of the many plastic formed reptile cages, then you won't have the same problem. Also ask the shop how often they feed it and what they are feeding it. Sometimes an animal that has been eating live, will refuse defrosted mice. This way you know what he was eating should you have any trouble getting him to eat later. Good luck!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

That was great advice Jorge to avoid the #1 cause of snake escape, especially for new snake owners!. Most people TOTALLY under-estimate a snake's ability to climb up cage corners and work their way out of ANY gap between the lid and tank whatsoever!.

I seem to remember a few of those hard lessons myself in the mid to late 1960's..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I feel like that's a fair price for an older kingsnake, especially if you're buying it from a pet store. Do you know what kind it is? Honestly, most of them have the same care requirements. Of course, some are different. As long as it's feeding regularly and it's free of parasites, you should have a nice pet snake. Just a warning however: One nice kingsnake may lead to two, and then three, and then maybe seven!

All I know is that it is a albino king snake. When you say "What kind is it": Is There more technical terms that I need to know about it?
And When I take it to the vet after I purchase it and it turns out to have parasites, do I need to return it or try to doctor it back to good health?

I'm just guessing but being that it's in a pet store it is probably a captive bred albino California King, but I could be dead wrong. LOL Sounds like a fair price from a retail outlet for a adult sized king. My advice is to look over all of their animal enclosures for cleanliness and look closely at all of the reptiles. What you are looking for besides cleanliness is reptile mites. Normally you would see little spider like bugs and I mean little so look closely, around the head and face. If you should see mites on any of their animals steer clear. If all looks good it is probably a safe purchase.

As for the vet visit and internal parasites that would be up to you and your vet to decide if it's worth the effort or if you should maybe purchase elsewhere. If at all possible it would be a good thing to take a fresh stool sample to the vet. There are also many breeders in the Kingsnake classifieds with very high quality animals, excellent reputations, customer service and quality guarantees.

Welcome to the herp community.
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
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" When you say "What kind is it": Is There more technical terms that I need to know about it?"

There are MANY different types of kingsnakes, but the most commonly seen albino(amelanistic)in the pet trade is the "California kingsnake"(Lampropeltis getula californiae).

Yes, You would do yourself a HUGE favor(and the snake too) by buying an inexpensive book or two on "common kingsnakes", and reading it real well and get familiar with what these snakes "tick", and their basic husbabdry needs. This is extremely important to do to avoid big-time problems!

Hope it turns out real well for you!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks fellow reptillians, I am probably ready, but I am continuing to read and gather info. I just can't wait to get my first snake. I will be droping by from time to time to get some more info. Thanks again.