Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The market price of the Pastel morph is a bit higher now than a few months ago. Is the market price increasing again?

(I know that the market price of the Ghost morph has increased significantly over the last few seasons. And it looks like this phenomenon is happening with the Pastel morph too. Any ideas?)

Chris
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mean people suck

A bit higher? Kind of hard to believe that the pastel market is getting better for a seller. Look at the post in the main ball forum. jyohe posted about a show, slow sales, etc. There are two replies that offer a good example of the pastel market. A trade of 1.4 pastels for a spider and a male selling for $500. If memory serves me well, it was that type of pricing for a male that started a whole lot of post in the general forum. The trade of 1.4 pastels for a male spider. That's a tough call. I guess it depends on the size/age of the snakes. If they were all '05's, a couple hundred grams or less, then it seems a bit one sided. Just my opinion. 4 pastel females would make a nice addition to just about any collection.
I think the pastel market/price is still going to come down a little more. Females are still a good addition to a collection but plan on holding them, not reselling them for a profit.

I am not talking about the few individuals with low sale prices. (Although it does apply there too.) The majority of sellers were asking around $500-$700 for a male Pastel earlier this year, and now I see many of the same sellers asking $750 or more. The average price is a bit higher now. (Of course, a few individuals may still advertise the low sale prices.)

Chris
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mean people suck

I think we see the price drop during desperation.

Most babies are already hatched and many have been sold. There are less baby pastels for sale now so the price adjust to that.

The ghost went up when we saw things like the HoneyBee, it showed that the ghost is KEY for some combos. I was just as surprised as anyone when it happened, all of a sudden the sold like gold. It has been that way since.

Pastels are KEY for soooo many morphs but they are a great beginner mutation to get people's feet wet. The Pastel is often the first mutation people invest in so the price will stay down a bit. Females are gold as far as breeding stock.

As time goes on people may be more selective on particular Pastels and bloodlines. The better looking or whatever it is the better the $$$$.

We all see the Pastel that does not look like much and that is the one that is hard to sell for much money. How often do we see SMOKERS on a table or in an ad and then see it down the road?

Everyone wants at least one smoking Pastel to show off and those are the ones that will hold the money. I sell Lemons for decent money because they can be gorgeous, I don't make a bunch so I can't flood the market. I sell everyone of them.

I still think $500 for ANY male Pastel is a bit painful but it is where it is....

Kevin@NERD
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www.newenglandreptile.com

I agree. The Pastel morph is the KEY to many exciting combinations and a benefit to any private collection. And the females are worth their weight in gold.

(And the battle between bloodlines will end soon.)

Chris
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mean people suck

It's always going to fluctuate according to supply and demand and where people 'think' the market is going. In '01 male pastels were selling at well over $1000, in '02 they dropped under $1000 and people were predicting the doom of the pastel market. It was then that I put in an offer to morph king reptiles for a price that I thought they were going to be at in '03 and prepaid for a pastel that hadn't even been hatched yet. I got lucky on that one because they rebounded in the 03 year and were back up near the $1000 range so when I finally got my pastel in '03 it was way below market price. The following year in '04 saw the pastels starting out strong but then starting to slide down again at the end of the season. '05 saw them dropping down to the cheapest prices yet. Will they rebound next year? My guess is 'yes a little bit' because I really think that $500 is WAY too low. But who really knows for sure? I hope they don't drop any further then they are now, but I actually hope they don't go sky high either. I think it's important to have at least one low end visual morph to peak the interest of people just thinking about starting out in the ball python morph hobby and to me the pastls are ideal for this. Kind of like a gateway morph, get em hooked on pastels and then introduce them to the harder stuff.

Mark

>>The market price of the Pastel morph is a bit higher now than a few months ago. Is the market price increasing again?
>>
>>(I know that the market price of the Ghost morph has increased significantly over the last few seasons. And it looks like this phenomenon is happening with the Pastel morph too. Any ideas?)
>>
>>
>>Chris
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>>mean people suck

"I think it's important to have at least one low end visual morph to peak the interest of people just thinking about starting out in the ball python morph hobby and to me the pastls are ideal for this. Kind of like a gateway morph, get em hooked on pastels and then introduce them to the harder stuff."

I totally agree. And I love the analogy. =)

Chris
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mean people suck