Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I see all these ads in the classified
25 corns for $400
27 corns for $500

is the market dying? people just clearing out collections, or is this the time period where every sells this year's hatchlings cheap?

Alot of the time that i see people doing that it is to clear out un required stock no longer or not wanted for breeding. Also, often people are left with the 'normal' corn snakes and sell them in bulk for cheap, personally though i love the classics
Dave
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To those of you that believe corn snakes just look like big worms, at least admit they're the most beautiful worms you've ever seen...

One of the things I think that is causing the corn market to die is that since it is so easy to breed corn snakes, everyone is doing it - wanting to get rid of them so they sell them cheap hurting the people who have years of experience and actually know what they're doing! I see at least once a month between the two forums I post on that there is some new guy wanting to breed regular corn snakes....not realizing this is getting to the point where the makret is oversaturated with these species and it is getting nearly impossible to sell...
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

Sorry to be so cryptic, but the answer to all of your questions is "Yes!"

The corn market is dying in that the morphs which have been produced have been undercut in price by those who seem to act out of ignorance (no insult intended to anyone...I just couldn't think of a more accurate descriptive word) of what the market could be, and new morphs have not been as readily available in recent seasons because of the time it now takes to perform breeding trials to prove that one has actually produced something unique.

Now this doesn't mean that corns are in danger of disappearing from the market place any time soon, but it does mean that the cost/reward ratio for breeders seeking new genetic combinations is increasingly out of whack!

People are thinning out their collections. This happens every year as people determine what they want to keep over the winter in anticipation of the spring. Now is not a bad time to pick up a good deal!

People are also trying to get rid of their leftover babies. When next year's hatchlings hit the market, new possibilities will arise in genetics and selection. The babies that weren't picked this year may very well not be picked next year either, so many breeders want them GONE before winter! Again, for someone looking to buy in bulk...this is a good time of year to bargain hunt.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

personally, i have 1.1 anery striped (het ghost) i am going to breed, and that's it. I have my amel, but it is strictly my pet
I'm thinking of selling my regular emory ratsnakes.
i'm starting to think breeding them isn't worth it.
that, and i really want to get into ball pythons.
that seems to be where it is at lately

BUT, with the new hypo in the mix, i forsee corns making a BIG comeback in a year or two.

Everyone will want to see what the hypo does to all the morphs.
ice ghosts etc.

you'll see. I predicted it here. remember that

As others have said, corn snakes are easy to reproduce. This leads to a quick saturation in the marketplace (the theory of supply and demand). What is harder than producing corn snakes is marketing them through a well designed webpage, attending reptile shows and providing good customer service. Most people are unwilling to perform these tasks and would rather "sell off" what they produce instead of going through the trouble of doing the things I've mentioned above. This creates a lower "perceived value" of corn snakes, which are already falling in price.

Tim

Third Eye