Sell morphs for their worth

[ErnieG'sgeckos]

This is more of an annoucement not really looking for a reply but you can if you want i guess, Im just alittle tired of seeing people sell these new outstanding morth of leos for low prices. It makes new hobbist think that they can get a great morph for a low price and it makes hobbist doubt the quality of your gecko, it especailly makes it hard for people that make a great strain from scratch they cant sell it for a decent price because someone else has that same strain for a ridiculously low price. Im just trying to help the market.

 

[robin]

i completely understand. most people will try and be competitive and that is ok but just bottoming the price out of it is not. sad thing is, there are some out there who will drop out the price just to move the geckos because lets say they produce too many animals and/or need to get rid of them quickly. that sucks for others

 

[KelliH]

While it may be frustrating to see a morph priced lower than what you feel is a fair price, that's the way things are in a free market economy. There are no set prices, and price fixing is illegal.

 

[ErnieG'sgeckos]

i completely understand. most people will try and be competitive and that is ok but just bottoming the price out of it is not. sad thing is, there are some out there who will drop out the price just to move the geckos because lets say they produce too many animals and/or need to get rid of them quickly. that sucks for others

i know instead of dropping the price just enhance your morth to be better.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

+1, which also fluctuates greatly on the economy and the value of the reptile with the financial means of the market. If there were a standard on the price of a morph then factoring in quality and reputation of breeders this would bring the variance in price right back. Its just one of those things that sucks but wont really ever change. But honestly if a no name breeder or just hobbyist offered me a super nova for 1200 (since thats what TUG sold theirs for) I would never even consider buying it from them for that much...because of lack of information on the breeder (ie reputation) and so many other factors. And decisions like this is why crazy morphs go for cheap...that's the only way some people can even get them to sell. Not to mention the market is saturated with similar morphs making it harder to sell some of the geckos IMO.

 

[maximusx6910]

We should also remember, that most of us are paying for the morph or genetics. In the end, as long as the leo is taken care of, its still a animal. no matter how cheap or exspensive. I do agree that some of the pricing is a little ridiculous, but i understand how some breeders can have high prices for long working with a morph. But it is still a animal one way or the other.

 

[Ehatcher]

Like Kelli said, if someone wants to price a morph to only cost a 1/4 of what it is worth... they can, and no one can stop them.

 

[adam&nikki]

i see this all the time an its even more ridiclous at expos. ive seen on gecko that was priced at 125 and two tables over the exact same gecko is 50 bucks its really sad to say but people are out to make a dollar and will just move a gecko to either make more room or to make fast cash

i was talking to my local reptile shop and they are even getting mad over it people are buy a gecko eles where then coming into them to ask them questions. they are even putting their geckos (morph and normals) on for 40 bucks just to get back at some of these basement breeders

 

[Angel]

I think its hard for new breeders who dont have there name out there yet to get the prices the reptable established guys get so they have to lower there prices to get buisness. In the end though it should be about the animal , finding them a good home ect . everyone knows you arent going to make a living off of selling leos or whatever unless your one of the few that sell on the large scale and have 100's of leos breeding. Im on the opposite end of you I find where we are people sell leos at outragious prices because we dont have alot of breeders up here people pay $100-$175 for a normal , there is alot of greed in some people. If you have a special morph thats fine ask for the proper price .

 

[David Evans Reptiles]

I see were your are coming from Eric and agree that this is a issue but bottom line is this. You as the breeder means just as much as the animal when it comes to the price. It was stated above about your rep. being a big part. I make sure that I produce the best quality animals that I can but I also go a step further and make sure I am strait up with buyers and answer every question they ask. I also follow up with my buyers and make sure everything is still good with the animal. If something went wrong I fix the problem the best I can so my buyers know they can depend on me. Which in return they tell there friends and others how you handle your self as a breeder and how great the animals are. In the long run once I become a well know breeder and I ask $25.00 more for my animals than the going price people will be willing to pay since they know I have great animals and customer service. Now for the time being I have to deal with the market and trust that people will look and see who really has the best deal in the long run..

 

[robin]

Like Kelli said, if someone wants to price a morph to only cost a 1/4 of what it is worth... they can, and no one can stop them.

but what about 1/10th the price? or even more? i am talking about serious undercutting. like bottoming out the market

 

[Ehatcher]

exactly what im getting at. Its pretty ridiculous.

 

[Gregg M]

Here are the facts...

The live reptile market is FLOODED with leopard geckos...

Our economic state is in the toilet right now... People do not freely spend money like they did 5 years ago... Everyone is looking for a better deal... A leo is only worth waht someone is willing to pay for it... Even ball python morphs are at ground level right now... I almost bought a pied at a show for 500 bucks... In 2009 they were no less than 1500...

This is a free market so people can sell what they want for whatever price they want...

Pretty much anyone who keeps leos are breeding them these days without taking into consideration the upkeep when neonates start hatching... They then dump them on an already saturated market and need to drop prices to move them...

What can you do as a breeder if you dont agree with dropping prices???
Stick with only a couple of project and focus on them to make outstanding examples of the morph you are working with... If they do not sell, hold on to them and do not undercut to move them...

 

[Baoh]

It does not matter. People can and will do what they want and there is nothing inappropriate about that. I could give away all of my animals if I wanted after producing at maximum capacity just because I felt like it and there is no amount of complaint by another that could realistically change that. Quality can be produced by anyone, too, as well as a lack of it.

I've just decided to focus on boosting a few of my groups and reducing variety.

 

[robin]

Here are the facts...

The live reptile market is FLOODED with leopard geckos...

Our economic state is in the toilet right now... People do not freely spend money like they did 5 years ago... Everyone is looking for a better deal... A leo is only worth waht someone is willing to pay for it... Even ball python morphs are at ground level right now... I almost bought a pied at a show for 500 bucks... In 2009 they were no less than 1500...

This is a free market so people can sell what they want for whatever price they want...

Pretty much anyone who keeps leos are breeding them these days without taking into consideration the upkeep when neonates start hatching... They then dump them on an already saturated market and need to drop prices to move them...

What can you do as a breeder???
Stick with only a couple of project and focus on them to make outstanding examples of the morph you are working with... If they do not sell, hold on to them and do not undercut to move them...

what about $25 novas and higher end morphs at those prices? i mean that is REALLY low even in a saturated market and crap economy.

 

[Gregg M]

what about $25 novas and higher end morphs at those prices? i mean that is REALLY low even in a saturated market and crap economy.

Robin, you know I do not agree with pricing them at low prices... I don even think it is good to price normals that low... I was just pointing a few of the many reasons why it is this way now... I hope things will change in the next couple of years... Leopard geckos are awesome and I would hate to see them become less popular due to dirt cheap prices...

 

[GreenKnight Exotics]

A swindle of this nature, once a "bubble," is now referred to as a "Ponzi scheme."

Those complaining about the dropping prices are the same who got "in" at the end.
It is this that makes me so happy to be a breeder for fun instead of profit.
Dave

p.s. like other previous posters have noted,...there is nothing that can be done to "protect" the "fair market value" on reptiles,...instead, enjoy the privilege of being able to work with them, if they pay for themselves great,..if they don't pay for themselves, you know that you've produced more than the market can handle, and subsequently your $500 "Nova" or "Emerine" has inherited a $200-$100 price tag.

 

[robin]

oh i know. i was just bringing up that point. and i agree with you as well

 

[GreenKnight Exotics]

what about $25 novas and higher end morphs at those prices? i mean that is REALLY low even in a saturated market and crap economy.

That is crazy! $25 "Novas" turn many other leopard gecko morphs into "flush-away" pets, which is terrible. I do feel however that $50-$300 is pretty much the range that any morph should sit in. Don't make the animals disposable, but at the same time don't make them out to be more valuable than they really are.
Dave

 

[Gregg M]

but at the same time don't make them out to be more valuable than they really are.
Dave

Like I have already said, a morph is only worth what people are will to pay... For a new morph in any species, people happily spend thousands on a single animal...