Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently had my first table this past weekend in Orlando. Not many animals but a couple of Pastels, Ghosts, a YB, a spider and some nice holdback CH females. The weekend looked grim when my acrylic displays that I had ordered never showed up. I thought to myself GREAT, my first show and I'm going to have 30K in animals sitting in deli cups... A friend let me barrow a few displays and a half hour into the show I had my first sale. A pair of pastels (thanks Andy)... A few hours later my second sale a female spider (thanks Joe) and by the end of Saturday $6120 in sales. I ended the weekend with nearly $7000 in my pocket, not bad for a little guy and I did not give anything away, fair market prices across the board. I met a lot of great people and I know that there are a few more deals that will be made thanks to the show.

Little guys don't let the talks of market blunders scare you away, Kingsnake is not your only venue to sell your babies. Small local shows give you exposure to your own local market and I promise that with good customer service and quality animals you will be successful.

BTW, Shawn (show promoter) lets see a show in late September and all you ball breeders lets skip Daytona and be treated like gold from Shawn and his staff. Great people that actually care about the venders.....

Neil Golli
info@gollireptiles.com
(813) 732 8088

That is a perfect example of putting in the EXTRA work it takes to get the job done.. How many "Get rich quick" people do you think will be attending shows to sell their snakes?? My guess is VERY few, IF any at all.. I'm still deciding if I want to make the venture in becoming a ball python breeder/supplier.. I do love the morphs though, I will probly pick out the few I REALLY like, and work towards the designers I want in my collection..
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Joe Lydon

You sure do seem to have alot of insight in the ball market!

I'm still deciding if I want to make the venture in becoming a ball python breeder/supplier.. I do love the morphs though, I will probly pick out the few I REALLY like, and work towards the designers I want in my collection..
lmao, get a few years under your belt and tell me if your feelings change any?

You have echoed my experiences of late almost to the "T". KS has been deader than dead and the panicing types have been jumping out windows. I have always found KS (several years under my belt) to be very "on or off". Cant ship fast enough when it is good and cant give away a gold brick when it is bad. Shows in general have been somewhat off in attendance (Daytona for one) but sales have been very good! Seems to me it is much easier to come off a few grand when you atleast get to see the animal first and no shipping expense or risk is required. Party on!
Reptile Basics Inc

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Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

I purchased the pair of pastels from Neil for a number of reasons. There are plenty of pastels on the internet that I could have bought cheaper, but I wanted to start my ball python experience with a good person, not "some guy" on the interent. So I payed a little more, but I got helped out a lot in return, and that is a lot more valuble to me than money. So now Neil has a loyal customer because of the way he treated me. I have no reason to go anywhere else. So if you can offer this to your customers you'll never go hungry.
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0.0.1 Jayapura GTP
1.1 Pastel 50% het Ghost BPs
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
0.1 Dumerils Boa
0.0.1 Cali King
0.1 Apricot Pueblan Milk
1.0 Crested Gecko

Shows are hard work, I'm still beat. Prep work late Thursday night, getting ready Friday morning, driving into town and then finally setting up for the show. All this followed by two days of standing on your feet talking to hundreds of people (don't forget the late nights out with good friends). You then get back home late Sunday night and have to set all the snakes back up and of course the rats in garage are out of food and water so they need attention as well. Shows are not cheap either, Table $150, Electricity $20, Hotel $85, Gas $50, food and bar bill $150 (had a good time at the bar).

In the end you hope to sell a few animals, meet some new friends and do it all over again at the next available opportunity. I accomplished all this this past weekend and had a really great time. Thank you to all who spent there time to stop by and say hi and those who chose to purchase animals from me.

Anyone new to the business or contemplating doing a show for the first time give me a call, I love to shoot the breeze and talk shop...

Neil Golli
info@gollireptiles.com
(813) 732 8088

Congratulations on your success at the show, that is really good to hear I've been a long time reptile lover/owner and just got into the 'game' by investing in a few various het pairs this last summer. I am hoping in a few years I will have some stock to do shows with and get myself started that way. Your story is very inspiring.
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The Foxloft - Wildlife and Fantasy Art