Stock market/economy and the reptile trade????

[Lance Portal Reptiles]

I'm thinking we are going to see the reptile trade drop its prices.......good and bad. I'm starting to see this in some of the reptile show here in Oregon. No one can afford those $1000 snakes and geckos anymore, and prices are reflecting this also, with some of the end in stuff not selling, last year they were flying off the tables. Its getting hard to sell cresties at $50 now, i remember seeing some high ends for $300 and up.....Also heard that one of the bigger shows in the U.S. had similar problems of not selling much...don't remember the name of the show, might have been in LA, or NY. For those that sell reptiles for there only income, have you seen the same problems???, keep thinking of getting into more high end reptiles, but with the market around the U.S. doing down the toilet... And you other small breeders have similar problems???, thanks..LP

 

[Mel&Keith]

I've noticed a lull but not anymore than normal seasonal lows in the reptile market. The economy has been heading towards a nose dive for a while but I'm sure it'll recover quickly as it usually does. There was an economic crash in the late 90's that quickly turned around only to take another hit after 9/11 but eventually the market strengthened. We just have to wait it out.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I honestly think it has more to do with the fact that there are a LOT of geckos for sale on the market right now... not so much the economy.

 

[acpart]

In my opinion, this is a good reason for people just starting to get into reptile breeding not to start with high end reptiles, if their plan is to recover some of their costs by selling (it's a different story if someone just loves a particular high end morph and is willing to keep all or most of the offspring). It can be just as satisfying to work with less expensive morphs. You can still get beautiful animals and can sell them for less, which means that they will actually sell.

Aliza

 

[Lance Portal Reptiles]

very true...i just went to a show in portland where most didnt sell anything, it hurt vendors..

 

[David Loftin]

I honestly think it has more to do with the fact that there are a LOT of geckos for sale on the market right now... not so much the economy.

I could not agree more.

 

[PaulSage]

I haven't been following the reptile market at all for the past several months, so I really can't speculate on that in particular. However, I was working in the retail pet industry back during the 9/11 attacks and remember the concerns over the economy then. There was a survey/report done on how the pet industry reacts to national crises and economic depressions. I was initially shocked to hear that the pet industry fares significantly better than most other industries during such times; it turns out that such turmoil causes people to turn toward things that bring them comfort and joy--which for many just so happens to be their animals/pets.

I'm not saying that I think the current state of the economy is going to be "good" for the reptile industry, I'm just saying that I doubt it will suffer nearly as much as other industries. Keep in mind that if there is a notable increase in the supply of Leopard Geckos on the market, that the selling prices are going to decrease regardless of the status of the economy unless a sufficiently comparable increase in demand for those animals occurs at the same time. Furthermore, don't let one morph paint the picture for the entire market; just because a newer morph is going through its natural and inevitable decrease in market value doesn't mean that all morphs are suddenly "worth" less. Granted, as the supply of the newer morphs increases and the price drops, some consumers are going to spend their money on the newer morph instead of more established morphs. Think of it like Leopard Geckos competing with themselves on the market.