super high leo prices?

[boutiquegecko]

I think this has come up maybe? Why are some morphs/crosses as much as or more than $1000? I understand the new on the market type of thing, and I'm not complaining, but I'm trying to figure it out. While some of us may have what we think the best morph representations or the first few crosses etc, I guess I just don't see why so high a price. I mean I do to a point, but it's sort of 50/50 and I know I'm not the only one.
I know it's our hobby and we love it, or I wouldn't have them-but please and no one take offense-it's not like we are breeding geckos toward championship titles or the best athlete etc. There are no gecko shows with judges that judged color/health etc, and perhaps the color passed onto offspring?
I suppose and imo-if I were to hatch out some cool leo that had extreme coloring or was one of the first combos etc, I would feel like I was robbing some one asking them to pay so high a price. For me I couldn't justify it. I also know some people do this for an actual business-but usually those people hatch out thousands of leos etc- I guess I'm thinking of hobby leo keepers.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

As with any market-driven industry, the more rare and less abundant certain leopard gecko morphs are, the higher the price for the demand. Once more and more breeders work with the morph, the more there are available... and the price will naturally go down as the supply and demand changes.

Basically, gecko morphs are are worth what people are willing to pay for them.

 

[Geckoreo]

I have wondered the same exact thing in the past when Mack Snows first came out. All in all, its simple economics, the more the demand, the higher the price.

Speaking of crazy prices, look at ball pythons, some morphs are as expensive as a house.

 

[zzz888]

I think some of them are way overpriced.

 

[miamimike]

......so are gas, cars, transportation in general, milk, well...pretty much all groceries in general right now, shipping charges, electricity, water, education, and so on, and so on, and so on.....

 

[dmreptiles]

agreed

I have to agree with you Mike. Nothing is cheap these days.

 

[JConley]

As with any market-driven industry, the more rare and less abundant certain leopard gecko morphs are, the higher the price for the demand. Once more and more breeders work with the morph, the more there are available... and the price will naturally go down as the supply and demand changes.

Basically, gecko morphs are are worth what people are willing to pay for them.

To bad that dont work with Oil or gas! lol

You think we would get a volume discount or something.

 

[DanTheFireman]

I know personally that when you have to produce many animals to get one or two extreme examples of what you were breeding for, if I do post them for sale the price is high, sometimes what I consider stupid. Of course, I've purchased several animals that were double the highest price I've ever charged, knowing that the vast majority of people would deem it insane.
Also, every time that I've done so it has been well worth it to me in pleasure, as well as sooner or later coming back financially. When you line breed Redstripes and tangs for example, a small percentage come out so exceptional that you either keep them or offer them at a high price. Those animals always sell quickly and have several prospective buyers, as well as leaving you wishing you had kept them.
Over the last twenty years I've seen countless individuals (myself included) who have made comments similar to yours. As (if) you get deeper into it you get caught up and your viewpoint changes. Ten years ago at Expo when it was still in Orlando before Daytona, Ron Tremper had what was at that time a crazy stripey tang albino on display that he wouldn't sell for under a thousand dollars. I was tempted but it was a huge amount for a leopard gecko. That animal would have paid for itself many times over as a breeder. To Ron it represented the culmination of twenty years of labor; looking at it in that light, it was a bargain.

 

[GECKOFREAK]

Well said, Dan:main_thumbsup:

 

[Bodon]

I think most leos are overpriced but whatever, supply and demand i guess. I find it funny how in petco i saw an albino for 24 bucks and in another pet store their albino was 59 bucks, both trempers the only difference is the person who doesnt know any better.

 

[paulnj]

I see patternless at petco on sale for $17.99 sometimes...... you get what you pay for:main_laugh: But if I could sell my SSrwpa for $2k right now, I would gift wrap it and send it with a thank you letter while I pay off some of my investment.

 

[jmlslayer]

But if I could sell my SSrwpa for $2k right now, I would gift wrap it and send it with a thank you letter while I pay off some of my investment.

ROFLMFAO

 

[AntMan612]

Probably no one but the breeders actually pay the high price. And that's fine for them, since they can recoup their loss. Everyone else just has to wait a couple of years while they increase the supply and prices drop. However, it sure would be nice to have a Diablo Blanco...now...or the top of the line computer...

 

[fallen_angel]

I think most leos are overpriced but whatever, supply and demand i guess. I find it funny how in petco i saw an albino for 24 bucks and in another pet store their albino was 59 bucks, both trempers the only difference is the person who doesnt know any better.

I've seen an adult Tremper albino female being sold for 90 bucks at PetSmart; but she really is gorgeous, and I have reason to believe she is a Giant. We were so tempted to buy her, but decided we really shouldn't feed into our addiction of buying more and more leos right now


I couldn't have ever imagined paying $100 or more on a gecko, but that was before I knew anything about the various morphs (I kept a Tremper albino female for 5 years without knowing that there were three different strains of albino - or anything about any other morph for that matter). I paid $50 for her when she was hatchling-size. You definitely get more into it as time progresses. Now, I will pay for a $300 gecko if the morph/appearance seems worth the price :main_yes:

It's just like any other hobby.. I mean, my fiance used to play Yugi-O and his deck was worth $500, and that's just selling it back at half-price! And here, we're talking about playing cards! People are willing to pay good money for their hobbies, loves, and/or passions

 

[phalanx]

This indeed is a topic I've seen and heard many times.

First of all: you can't compare a store with a breeder. Normally the care with the breeder will be a lot better. From the breeder you will retrieve important notes about the animal like exact birthdate, morph of the parents, possible het. for... Most of the time the breeder will be cheaper for morphs you can also find in the shop. For the more special colours you don't even have to go to a shop.

About the price of a leo it is actually very simple There is a said in Belgium " the price is what the fool wants to pay for it" This said basically means that everyone should decide for himself what he want to pay for the leo.

Off course it is logical that a seldom seen morph will be much more expensive than morphs who exist for several years. What most people don't see is the work behind the scenes. Sometimes it takes many many years before there is a result, not to mention the many animals needed for such a project. So it seems normal to me that those animals are priced much higher. People who buy such a leo mostly realize that there were some years of hard work needed. Every breeder needs fresh bloodlines aswell so there needs to be invested. The animals have to eat aswell, electricity has to be paid, enclosres have to be made or bought,...

Many years ago I had exact the same thoughts but the more you get in to it and the more your collection grows, the more you realize that it just aint that simple. And above all, the more respect you get for those breeders who take breeding seriously.

 

[acpart]

The more I see and learn about this hobby, the more I understand when something is expensive and when it's overpriced.

Aliza

 

[DanTheFireman]

You can acquire some very nice geckos at a pet store, reptile show, online and prices will vary widely. It's not Nintendo, pricing is subjective and the "product" is not identical. Research and shopping around can be well worthwhile.
One of these examples would be priced much lower than the other but if I was going to invest years into a Redstripe project to try and increase color saturation and contrast, my personal choice would be a no-brainer. Besides the bling, they're the same animal.

 

[boutiquegecko]

I understand the supply demand on new morphs/lines etc. It's just the super high prices. I can maybe understand $1000 to an extent, but $2-3000 or more just seems crazy.Will it be $5g next year? I don't see how one recoups that when within a year that gecko will be crossed with so many more or others already have that cross/crosses.
Maybe this should have gone in ethics. Should there be some sort of standard? Is there for snakes or other lizards?
I'm trying to wrap my head around snakes selling for the price of some houses. That now is just mind boggling.

 

[Halley]

Well, like said earlier, a gecko is worth what somebody will pay for it. I think if somebody has given 5 years to produce to get the result that they wanted, then that gecko should be worth more, because of the time, effort, and energy that they put into it. This is also while I feel that personally I would pay more for a line breed animal, than an animal made with genes. I could make a super raptor right now with my stock. However it would take me forever to get a snow line up to the quality that Albey has gotten his up to. Or a carrot-tail line up to par with Albey’s. To me this makes Albey’s snows and CT more valuable than RT’s Super Raptors, as everybody can have Super Raptors, in just a year or so, by breeding the right animals together. That might sound crazy to some, but that is my opinion, and I’m sure some share the same.

So yeah, basically to sum it up, a gecko is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it.

 

[AntMan612]

I don't think it's unethical for a private breeder to set a high price for something new, as long as it's somewhat representative of the time and money they invested in creating it. $1000 or more doesn't seem out of line with the costs of doing business that I read about in another thread. I don't think they're pulling one over on the consumers, either, because consumers still have the free will to choose a cheaper animal or stay out entirely. If the breeder doesn't find anyone willing to pay the initial price, they invariably lower it, as I've noticed. Discrimination is not really an issue.

It would only seem unethical to me if there were a collaborative effort to keep prices high, but I don't believe this is the case. The reptile trade appears to be operating more like a private auction versus a commodities market that would be conducive to price gouging.