What is going on with prices?

[Waterrat]

This only holds true if you sell all of your product. Because you know he wont have as much trouble getting rid of his at a cheaper price. Who dies out first?

My bet is - he will die first because he won't be able to sustain his "hobby" selling GTPs for $1.-, whilst if sell even just a few for $500.-, I will live. That is, I won't have to feed my hobby from other income - he would have to.
Please, don't take this literally, this is not about him and me - it's a strictly hypothetical scenario.

 

[Wookie]

My bet is - he will die first because he won't be able to sustain his "hobby" selling GTPs for $1.-, whilst if sell even just a few for $500.-, I will live. That is, I won't have to feed my hobby from other income - he would have to.
Please, don't take this literally, this is not about him and me - it's a strictly hypothetical scenario.

But who, hypothetically, would sell one for $1? I'm sure if they are selling for $400 they'll be doing fine while still taking a majority of business.

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

this whole undercutting business happens across the board even in the building trade. In the long run the businesses who do quality work or provide a quality product will always outlast the ones that dont. People may sell their services or products super cheap but cant sustain it because they are losing money. Why go to all the trouble and expense of breeding animals when you dont make any money for it. It's just a real shame that there is always cowboys out there that work on the theory that the way to be competitive is to undercut and just make the difference up in shortcuts and dodgy cheaper methods instead of providing the best quality product and great service and having the customer choose you for that.

 

[Wally]

I agree. If your product is good and you have a solid reputation people will always come back to you, regardless of what others are doing.

 

[spongebob]

Reptile breeding for most is a hobby. Why is this linked to $$$$ as per this thread?

Yes I sell herps, yes I give them a $$$$ value, but that's only to buy others herps or pay for the food...if the market value comes down or goes up it makes no differnece to me and maintaining my hobby.

Personally I'd prefer the NZ system whereby there's no buying or selling of native herps allowed -only swappies. Gets rid of those with $$$ signs in their eyes like the characters found in Disney cartoons.

 

[Wookie]

this whole undercutting business happens across the board even in the building trade. In the long run the businesses who do quality work or provide a quality product will always outlast the ones that dont. People may sell their services or products super cheap but cant sustain it because they are losing money. Why go to all the trouble and expense of breeding animals when you dont make any money for it. It's just a real shame that there is always cowboys out there that work on the theory that the way to be competitive is to undercut and just make the difference up in shortcuts and dodgy cheaper methods instead of providing the best quality product and great service and having the customer choose you for that.

$400 per snake is far from being a loss. And how are cheaper pythons of lesser quality? Cheaper doesn't mean worse. Unless its a unique animal they are all reasonably similar. I'm sure they aren't selling unhealthy pythons, that isn't in their best interests. If I put 2 almost identical specimens in front of you, and one was $400 and one was $500 which would you choose?

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

i would choose the $500 one if it came from a more reliable source...

 

[Wookie]

i would choose the $500 one if it came from a more reliable source...

Cant be too unreliable if they breed and successfully sell hundreds of pythons per year?

 

[zan777]

Reptile breeding for most is a hobby. Why is this linked to $$$$ as per this thread?
Personally I'd prefer the NZ system whereby there's no buying or selling of native herps allowed -only swappies. Gets rid of those with $$$ signs in their eyes like the characters found in Disney cartoons.

Sound good in principle, but i dont think they would have the diverse amount of herps we do. eg il trade you 50 bearded dragons for your GTP... It just wouldnt work.

 

[Wally]

Cant be too unreliable if they breed and successfully sell hundreds of pythons per year?

I think you need to set the parameters more definitively in your hypothetical argument.

 

[Teamsherman]

10 x pinkies @ $13.50. 15 hatchies will eat approx. 6 before sold off yeah?

So thats $1.35 x 6 for one hatchie equaling $8.10 per hatchie before selling. Sell that hatchie (we'll use coastals for example) at $75 (give or take a bit)

$8.10 x 15 hatchies = $121

All 15 hatchies sell at $75 so thats $1125. Minus the price of the pinkies @ $121 and you have a total of $1004.

Incubation electricity and hatchie tub heat mat electricity costs would be about $250 a quarter im guessing?

It would take about 3-6 weeks to get the hatchies to eat their 6 pinkies.

Advertising would cost nothing, as its done on here or other herp sites that are allowed to have herps sold, or about $15 from memory to advertise elsewhere.

Profit minus electricity would come down to about $754 dollars. Then minus the $15 for advertising elsewhere. So you are looking in this hypothetical example a overall profit of $739.

So thats not bad if you ask me.

Give or take a few extra feeds here whilst sellers are waiting for potiential customers to pay up and to me that looks like a pretty good outlay for a clutch of run of the mill coastals.

And you cant tell me it would be much different for most other breeds?

If you want to add in hatchie tubs and heat mat costs ect, then that would change dramatically for a breeders first clutch, but after that when the tubs are used for future clutches they would have paid for themselves and your profits would only go up.

Have i missed something in my analogy?

So you cant honestly tell me that its a financial strain on you when you can sell off 15 hatchies a couple of times a year??

Well, thats how i see it anyway.

Cheers,

Sherm.

 

[Wookie]

10 x pinkies @ $13.50. 15 hatchies will eat approx. 6 before sold off yeah?

So thats $1.35 x 6 for one hatchie equaling $8.10 per hatchie before selling. Sell that hatchie (we'll use coastals for example) at $75 (give or take a bit)

$8.10 x 15 hatchies = $121

All 15 hatchies sell at $75 so thats $1125. Minus the price of the pinkies @ $121 and you have a total of $1004.

Incubation electricity and hatchie tub heat mat electricity costs would be about $250 a quarter im guessing?

It would take about 3-6 weeks to get the hatchies to eat their 6 pinkies.

Advertising would cost nothing, as its done on here or other herp sites that are allowed to have herps sold, or about $15 from memory to advertise elsewhere.

Profit minus electricity would come down to about $754 dollars. Then minus the $15 for advertising elsewhere. So you are looking in this hypothetical example a overall profit of $739.

So thats not bad if you ask me.

Give or take a few extra feeds here whilst sellers are waiting for potiential customers to pay up and to me that looks like a pretty good outlay for a clutch of run of the mill coastals.

And you cant tell me it would be much different for most other breeds?

If you want to add in hatchie tubs and heat mat costs ect, then that would change dramatically for a breeders first clutch, but after that when the tubs are used for future clutches they would have paid for themselves and your profits would only go up.

Have i missed something in my analogy?

So you cant honestly tell me that its a financial strain on you when you can sell off 15 hatchies a couple of times a year??

Well, thats how i see it anyway.

Cheers,

Sherm.

You da man .

 

[Wookie]

I think you need to set the parameters more definitively in your hypothetical argument.

Waterrats hypothetical argument. Which I assumed was an adaption of URS vs everybody. URS puts out hundreds of reptiles.

 

[Mayo]

Well said sherman 100% agree, rare things will hold a greater value but eventually everything will come down in price. Simple supply and demand.

And there is a base value to everything the costs incurred to raise it for sale, change only slightly for different reptiles.

 

[Wally]

Teamsherman you confirm my belief that parameters cannot be set in this particular argument.

 

[Wookie]

Teamsherman you confirm my belief that parameters cannot be set in this particular argument.

Offer your estimate? We will average them and I'd imagine there will still be a solid profit.

 

[Wally]

Waterrats hypothetical argument. Which I assumed was an adaption of URS vs everybody. URS puts out hundreds of reptiles.

Assumption is the mother of all *@#%ups.

 

[ihaveherps]

For the people stuck on the business side of it all, why are you starting your calculations at the hatchies..... the model you are using is hyper simplified.....

I think everyone is missing the point.... its not so much about the values, more-so about the need for a sustainable herp economy.

 

[Wally]

Offer your estimate? We will average them and I'd imagine there will still be a solid profit.

You and the rest who have taken this tack should come to the conclusion of one thing, stop concerning yourselves with what others are doing. What I sell reptiles for has nothing to do with you. If you don't like the price I sell things for, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

 

[Wookie]

You and the rest who have taken this tack should come to the conclusion of one thing, stop concerning yourselves with what others are doing. What I sell reptiles for has nothing to do with you. If you don't like the price I sell things for, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Unless you're cheaper i will . You made it personal, didn't have anything to do with what you sell your reptiles for... Was never about attacking higher priced sellers (not saying this is you). Simply arguing that selling a snake cheaper doesn't mean selling at a loss.