Reality Check... GGG's 2008 P & L's

[Golden Gate Geckos]

It's time for a "wake-up call". I posted awhile back that 2008 was the WORST season in Golden Gate Geckos' history: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=23998, and this year's numbers don't lie. I have always posted my 'Profit and Loss' statements for the world to see, and I hope this will be a reality check for some of you who think breeding geckos is a lucrative investment.

This year's gecko sales were down by more than 60%, and feeder costs were up over 50% due to the mealworm shortage and the few suppliers that had them charged double and triple the costs to take advantage of the unfortunate situation that many breeders were in as a result.

Here are 2008's 'loss' statements:

GROSS SALES: $11,135.00

EXPENSES:
- Geckos Purchased: $1,852.50
- Feeders: $2,940.10
- Vet Bills: $716.95
- Supplies: $863.14
- Advertising: $728.00
- Trade Shows: $748.50
- PayPal/Credit Card Service Charges: $556.62
- Expenses: $1,184.63
TOTAL: -$8,873.49

$11,135.00 GROSS
-$8,873.49 EXPENSES
____________________
$ 2,261.51 NET PROFIT

So now, if you take my net profit and divide it by the number of hours I worked (1032 hrs) = $2.19/hour. That is the amount of money I made this year. I can't think of ANYONE who would work for $2.19/hr. All I can say is that it's a good thing I love my geckos or I would be long gone.

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

WOW..... nothing like making less then sweat shop wages. i guess you can at least say that you made a profit. Well that will help you reinvest into some things.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

LOL! I forgot to add that I have to pay Federal, State, and Sales Tax on my 'profit'.

 

[Nigel4less]

It's time for a "wake-up call". I posted awhile back that 2008 was the WORST season in Golden Gate Geckos' history: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=23998, and this year's numbers don't lie. I have always posted my 'Profit and Loss' statements for the world to see, and I hope this will be a reality check for some of you who think breeding geckos is a lucrative investment.

This year's gecko sales were down by more than 60%, and feeder costs were up over 50% due to the mealworm shortage and the few suppliers that had them charged double and triple the costs to take advantage of the unfortunate situation that many breeders were in as a result.

Here are 2008's 'loss' statements:

GROSS SALES: $11,135.00

EXPENSES:
- Geckos Purchased: $1,852.50
- Feeders: $2,940.10
- Vet Bills: $716.95
- Supplies: $863.14
- Advertising: $728.00
- Trade Shows: $748.50
- PayPal/Credit Card Service Charges: $556.62
- Expenses: $1,184.63
TOTAL: -$8,873.49

$11,135.00 GROSS
-$8,873.49 EXPENSES
____________________
$ 2,261.51 NET PROFIT

So now, if you take my net profit and divide it by the number of hours I worked (1032 hrs) = $2.19/hour. That is the amount of money I made this year. I can't think of ANYONE who would work for $2.19/hr. All I can say is that it's a good thing I love my geckos or I would be long gone.

Growing up in the Philippines I can say those are pretty decent sweatshop rates! :main_laugh:

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

oh yeah that's right uncle same needs his slice too. AND the Governator. LOL

 

[Nigel4less]

oh yeah that's right uncle same needs his slice too. AND the Governator. LOL

Actually we call him the "Schwartz" per Space Balls reference.

 

[SFgeckos]

.

Very informative post Marcia!

...is it time to raise your own feeders?? aka Roaches?

J

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

i don't think that the amount of geckos would make it easy to breed feeders. too much time and space. it's actually cheaper to just buy them

 

[Nigel4less]

Very informative post Marcia!

...is it time to raise your own feeders?? aka Roaches?

J

She already is

 

[Jenn]

excellent post!!! you may have changed the mind of a few people wanting to breed for the money.

 

[MXW]

You have to come to + - 0 at the end of the season. It's only a hobby. But I bred my roaches and crickets by my own now, so that saves me the feedingcosts.


Max

 

[malt_geckos]

Ours are worse...much, much worse. lol. We're glad you're here Marcia! It's not the profit that makes us happy, it's the hobby.

 

[EchoPet]

Even when raising your own feeders, there's the cost of upkeep for the feeders.

Great post Marcia, thanks for sharing this information. I agree with Jenn, it will hopefully show people that this is a hobby, not the next big moneymaking business venture.

 

[727geckokid]

By far one of the Most Informative Posts On this Site... I hope that this Does Open the Eyes Of the people who See a Gecko Selling for Several Hundred Dollars at a Show and Think that They can afford it and Decide to Start a Lil 'Business' With out ever Owning a Reptile To Begin with, Let alone know anything about Breeding, Inubation.. etc...... Keeping and Breeding reptiles/animals Is alot of funn and i am Sure it Brings a lot of Joy to alot of people, but i am Sure its going to Break the Hearts Of those who are just in it for A quick Buck... "Dont Quit Your Day Job" :main_thumbsup:

 

[rubym]

I ony breed on a very small scale and I only do it because I love the little critters. I came into the hobby with my eyes wide open. Even breeding my own feeders, I still spend way more then I could ever hope to make on my babies!!!!

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

Growing up in the Philippines I can say those are pretty decent sweatshop rates! :main_laugh:

YOU are notttt 14 0.o there is no way, you know too much. most 14 yr olds I know are like...exsuse me for saying this stupid and illknowledagable, HECK most 17-18 yr olds I know are complete noobs! You have suprise me more and more Nigel...just had to say that.


And about the thread. Yeah I see, but what really makes me upset is those who buy the leos and think all it takes is putting them together and selling them without any thought on weight, care, or genetics.. it irks me to no end

 

[Nigel4less]

YOU are notttt 14 0.o there is no way, you know too much. most 14 yr olds I know are like...exsuse me for saying this stupid and illknowledagable, HECK most 17-18 yr olds I know are complete noobs! You have suprise me more and more Nigel...just had to say that.


And about the thread. Yeah I see, but what really makes me upset is those who buy the leos and think all it takes is putting them together and selling them without any thought on weight, care, or genetics.. it irks me to no end

*Tear*

 

[Kristi23]

Thank you for posting this Marcia. I will be surprised if I ever make a profit in a year, but I knew that going in. I think a lot of people need to see numbers like these when starting out. For me, it's a hobby. I hope to sell enough to pay for buying new geckos, supplies, etc.

 

[Halley]

Shoot I’d be happy to just to break even right now :main_laugh:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

...is it time to raise your own feeders?? aka Roaches?

I have started a dubia colony, much to my husband's protest... LOL!

I post my P&L's every year so people can see exactly what it takes to run a so-called gecko breeding business, but 2008 definitely put me back in the "hobbyist" classification. So many people think it is a get rich endeavor, only to realize after they are in w-a-y over their heads just how much money and work is involved... and will still be unable to sell all their geckos. I think that's why we see people come and go in this hobby, and with so many geckos for sale in the flooded market right now it has driven some very good breeders out of business.

One of the things I have done to do my part in this hobby is to reduce my leopard gecko breeding stock down to 52 adults, which is over a 65% reduction. If every breeder or hobbyist out there reduced their breeding by just 25%, there would be a significant change in the glut market today. With less geckos for sale, it could really help the prices of the animals to stabilize as well.

The other thing that hurt Golden Gate Geckos last year was the mealworm shortage. I used to get 10,000 mealworms for $32.00, but the greedy suppliers who still had them took advantage of it to capitalize on the situation by charging 3X that amount. It adds up!

Another factor has been the increase in shipping costs. In some cases, the shipping of supplies was nearly as much as the cost of the supplies themselves. I still only charge $45 for UPS Next Day Air when I ship my geckos, when in reality the cost was more like $50-60... which means an average of a $10-15 loss per shipment when considering the price of the boxes, deli cups, hot/cold packs, and other shipping supplies.

I will now only vend at 2 shows because the prices of a booth/table have increased to around $350-400, especially now that they charge $50-80 just to have electric power run to your booth! Hotel and fuel costs add to that, so it could cost me up to $800 to vend at a show. So, let's say if my average gecko price is $75, I would have to sell 10 geckos to break even!!!

Yet even with all of this, I would not give up my geckos completely. I have cut down a lot, which broke my heart to sell so many of my beloved breeders... and many of the remaining ones are starting to get too old to breed now, so I will probably just keep them here with me for the rest of their days. If this current economy stays the way it is or gets worse, I will slowly phase-out Golden Gate Geckos.