Reptile & Amphibian Forums

normal balls are usually less than 100 but the minute they lok different the price skyrockets over 1000, whats with that? is it only because there have only been morphs for a short time?
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jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)

This will probably get moved to the business trends sub-forum. Just my opinion but what your seeing is nothing more then resellers squeezing every penny of profit out of the ball market. Sometimes the classifieds are real entertaining. Some are obvious BS which is why you see them over and over. I'd rather wait until the CH lots come in and pick through the lot to get my extra females. However, if somebody post a really nice female, nice color or pattern, and you really like it, make them an offer. I don't think there's anything wrong with paying a few extra dollars for something you really like. Just know that your paying extra because you like it and it's just another normal.

Actually its all supply and demand. Its really hard for some people to imagine that someone will pay $40k for a snake, but so long as there are enough of them out there to buy up all that years offspring, the price will not drop. Why are they in the thousands when the normals are only $6 wholesale, $50 retail? Still supply and demand. Tens of thousands of normal ball pythons get imported into the US every year, they are not rare by any means. Pastels are now sub $500 range, but just two years ago they where over $5k. Still supply and demand.

You can BLAME the high prices on breeders and middle men all you want, but in the end while the COMSUMERS are still willing to pay these prices they will stay where they are. Blaming a breeder for high prices is like blaming a bank for low interest rates. Sure they control them to an extent, but its really controlled by the market.

Hey,

Just some easy advice, be a watcher and not a poster before you enter the forum. When I came on board 6 years ago I thought it was unbelievably outragous to pay these prices for snakes ($22,000 for a piebald?). But I observed and asked questions at shows. You'll learn over time that these morphs are 'worth it' for many reasons.

Every person I tell that I'm an aspiring snake breeder thinks it's nuts, then when I tell them some individual snakes sell for $50,000 plus, they are dumbfounded and can't believe it. However, as you observe the market and see the changes over time and how these animals can be investments for profits down the road, you'll see why they command such high prices.

Remember, some people sell horses for millions of dollars- I'm talking one horse, and it's JUST A HORSE!!! But that horse has the potential to sire several $400,000 offspring, making up your initial investment on just a few animals.

The bottom line is this, if no one wants my spiders, pastels, or whatever else I eventually produce, I'll be secure in the fact that I own some of the coolest looking snakes in the world (to me, anyway!)

Be patient, don't judge, WATCH, ask some questions, and look at the market from a learner's eye. You'll have so much more fun!

My 2 cents,

Steve Harrison
Jacksonville, FL

np
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Tim and Monica Bailey
Bailey & Bailey Reptiles

how long until albinos go to the $100-300 range? i know its a hard question just give me a guess dtermined by the falling rate now
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jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)

I doubt albinos will get that low, at least not in my life time. Mind you, I'm fifty five, and who knows how much longer I got I don't think it's happenin' any time soon.

Quig

If you REALLY want an albino, and I know I do, either save up the money and just buy one or buy two hets and make yer own. Simple

Hey,

In the 6 years I've been in this, I've seen albinos drop from about $2500 to around $1000. I doubt they will ever drop to 100-300. I just got a het albino female baby last year for $550, so even hets are still expensive. You've got to figure that co-dom's drop more rapidly in price 'cause they're easier to produce- while recessive animals will hold their value longer. Keep watching the market and if you decide to get into this big mess, make good decisions and don't spend money you don't have for a payoff later, it almost never works!

May God bless,

Steve Harrison
J-ville, FL

they'll get there, not in the next few years, but 10 years from now albino balls will be selling for that price at every pet store that carries reptiles. any one remember 5K albino burmese pythons? they're about $89 now. of course, as you stated, the price of these aniamls(or anything else) is the result of supply and demand. small clutch sizes for balls will keep the supply from accelerating at the rate that the burmese did, so they should be able to sustain their prices a bit longer.
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Dennis