Wholesale prices at local Expo

[OhioGecko]

There will always be vendors selling geckos for $10 the key is to differentiate yourself from them and educate buyers.

I find it very interesting you did not sell any geckos or enough to cover the show.

How many people did you talk to?
Where you sitting down?
What did your table look like?
What did you put the geckos in?
What were you wearing?

I see alot of vendors sitting down looking like they just woke up out of bed grumpy with a not very pleasing display. I'm not saying this is you but you might be able to improve some of the areas I questioned above.

Don't lower your prices if you think they are fair. If you are confident and can educate the buyers why your more then great. Honestly you probablly will be better off not getting the price shoppers.

Best of luck to you with your future shows!

 

[robin]

As a buyer, I am well aware of the people who do this and I have no respect for them. At shows, I typically never buy from a) people I've never heard of, b) Geckos that are on sand in their deli dishes c) Geckos that I think are too INEXPENSIVE. While buying, I am looking for geckos that have had quality bred into them and people who sell at wholesell prices just dont have the quality geckos that Im looking for and they probably never will because they dont care enough. Hopefully other buyers follow suit.

i buy healthy geckos and sometimes from people i do not know well. i like to try and give the newer guys a chance if i can.

if i bought from people i never heard of that would that would be from about 98.9 percent of you guys and about 100% of the people in this thread. sometimes you find more inexpensive gecko because a) its a big show they traveled a long way and they want to take home as little amount of geckos as possible. a lot of time because they do not want them to die on the way home (this is generally for big shows). there are a couple of VERY large and well known leopard gecko breeders that wholesale that even supply most of the geckos to the chain pet stores. they send what they consider the lesser colored ones and such. while i do not like this, it's part of big business. however many people look up to these large breeders. it's like they are talking outa one side of their mouths. now for most of you guys you might put your money into a lets say $300 gecko and you think you will produce $300 dollar geckos and the quality of your geckos might be just as good as a well known breeder but while that well known breeder gets $300 a gecko sometimes you may not get even $100 for the same gecko because you have no reputation, no experience, no "name". that's crappy isn't it? well thats the way it works. people are talking about selling wholesale geckos on the table and while i do not agree with it. have you ever thought that your $100 gecko (as stated above) the same quality as that $300 gecko from a well known breeder, that you bring your price to $100 is bringing down the market, you have just undercut another breeder by $200. but the even crappier thing is no matter what you do no matter how well you take care of your geckos you will never be able to sell a $300 equivalent gecko that you have priced at $100, for $300.

then now of course there will be the people now that say "the bigger breeders charge too much!" you can't get a break huh? this is all how the leopard gecko market works and people who sell their geckos who say "i am trying to sell my geckos but i don't care about making money, i am just doing it completely for the joy of it" is full of poopoo. if you bred them and gave them away that would be one thing but once you charge you are trying to make some sort of money whether it is to pay for food or to buy another gecko or whatever. simple thing is you are still trying to make a buck.

 

[robin]

also when i say "you" this is not directed at any one person.

 

[justindh1]

I find it very interesting you did not sell any geckos or enough to cover the show.

How many people did you talk to?
Where you sitting down?
What did your table look like?
What did you put the geckos in?
What were you wearing?

I see alot of vendors sitting down looking like they just woke up out of bed grumpy with a not very pleasing display. I'm not saying this is you but you might be able to improve some of the areas I questioned above.

Best of luck to you with your future shows!

I definitly understand that I might need to improve some things cause there always is a area you can improve in. I talked to a local breeder that has been in the business for over 30 years before attending the expo. He actually is taking venimous snakes to Hamburg, PA. I wanted to make sure that I looked professional and that my table did too.

1)I talked to dozens of people about my reptiles! Many siad they would contact me after they got a good setup. I even had about 12 snakes from the local breeder and none of them sold either. I did sell one for $35 which basically broke me even on gas, table, and food since it was close to were I live. I was more then happy to help and give people advice even If someone didn't buy one or just had some question. Your customers are your best advertisement and I believe that 100%!

2) I knew that sitting down all the time would make me look more lazy so I made sure that if I did sit down that their was no body at my table and only for a minute. Anytime I talked to someone I was always up. I may of been sitting down for about 1/4 to 1/3 of the time.

3) I had a black table cloth cover for the table. I brought a black lamp to add light to my table as well as organizing all the deli cups so they didn't look scattered.

4)All my geckos were in deli cup containers. I made sure that they could get a good look at them at the same time as making it look professional. The only thing in this area that could be better is my labeling and have it look 100% professional.

5) I wore a hunter green button up long sleeve shirt, actually a polo, and looked more professional then most other venders. I made sure that when people seen me they didn't think I was some young punk or some rich person trying to sale reptiles not that either one is bad.

I am a very anal person when it comes to things that I spend my time on. I made sure that I talked to others that do or had vend in order to look the best for my first expo. I would appreciate any recommendations for the future. You learn so much by asking questions from experienced people.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Don't lower your prices if you think they are fair. If you are confident and can educate the buyers why your more then great. Honestly you probablly will be better off not getting the price shoppers.

I completely agree with this. To be honest, I rarely look to see what other people are selling their geckos for and when I do, I see prices a lot lower than ours. I just price the geckos at what I think they should be worth and people still buy them. Do we sell a high volume of geckos? No. But why raise 6 geckos and sell them at $10 if I can sell our cheapest single gecko for $60?

One difference between us and some breeders is that we don't have to sell our geckos. We've got plenty of rack space and we didn't over produce this year. I think half of the battle is understanding how the market is and only producing as many geckos as you can afford to keep/sell at the price you want.

I'm not trying to sound harsh or point the blame at anyone, this is just a general statement toward the market: If everyone took responsibility for the number of geckos they produced vs. how many they could sell at a more reasonable price then the market wouldn't be quite as bad as it is right now. Sure the economy has something to do with it. But I think the flooded market has more to do with it.

Bottom line, if you build your reputation as an honest seller who breeds quality animals then people will still buy from you even if your prices are higher.

 

[justindh1]

I completely agree with this. To be honest, I rarely look to see what other people are selling their geckos for and when I do, I see prices a lot lower than ours. I just price the geckos at what I think they should be worth and people still buy them. Do we sell a high volume of geckos? No. But why raise 6 geckos and sell them at $10 if I can sell our cheapest single gecko for $60?

One difference between us and some breeders is that we don't have to sell our geckos. We've got plenty of rack space and we didn't over produce this year. I think half of the battle is understanding how the market is and only producing as many geckos as you can afford to keep/sell at the price you want.

I'm not trying to sound harsh or point the blame at anyone, this is just a general statement toward the market: If everyone took responsibility for the number of geckos they produced vs. how many they could sell at a more reasonable price then the market wouldn't be quite as bad as it is right now. Sure the economy has something to do with it. But I think the flooded market has more to do with it.

Bottom line, if you build your reputation as an honest seller who breeds quality animals then people will still buy from you even if your prices are higher.

I completely agree with you Mel! I only bred 3 females this year because I know that I didn't want to have too many babies until I figure out how well I can get rid of them. They were 1st year breeders under 15 months old but produces 6 clutches each so I was surprised by that. I had more then I thought I would but I still was well prepared to handle all of them. 35 eggs all together and 26 hatched out. I only have 10 more to sale out of 26. Out of the 26 hatchlings, 1 was deformed and had to be put down and the other is a special mack snow that has now yellow and is completly black and white but growing really slow.

I am lucky that I realized that I need to start out slow and make it more fun then anything right now. I'm not worried about making a profit right now but more about making my money back on feeders and supplies. If I make more, which i don't see happening, then thats great.

Thad's post about not lowering your prices to compete is great advice too. It really puts it in perspective when you think about if you sale one for $60 and the other people sale 6 for $10, that your doing just as good. Thanks for putting that into perspective Thad and Mel!

One of the reasons I love GF is because all of the experienced people here to give great advice! I appriciate everyone!

 

[OhioGecko]

I completely agree with this. To be honest, I rarely look to see what other people are selling their geckos for and when I do, I see prices a lot lower than ours. I just price the geckos at what I think they should be worth and people still buy them. Do we sell a high volume of geckos? No. But why raise 6 geckos and sell them at $10 if I can sell our cheapest single gecko for $60?

One difference between us and some breeders is that we don't have to sell our geckos. We've got plenty of rack space and we didn't over produce this year. I think half of the battle is understanding how the market is and only producing as many geckos as you can afford to keep/sell at the price you want.

I'm not trying to sound harsh or point the blame at anyone, this is just a general statement toward the market: If everyone took responsibility for the number of geckos they produced vs. how many they could sell at a more reasonable price then the market wouldn't be quite as bad as it is right now. Sure the economy has something to do with it. But I think the flooded market has more to do with it.

Bottom line, if you build your reputation as an honest seller who breeds quality animals then people will still buy from you even if your prices are higher.

Right on :main_thumbsup:

Justin, It sounds like you are doing/going in the right direction. Just be patient and persistant and the sales will come. Unfortunately you will always have to deal with the $10 geckos.

Best of luck!

 

[justindh1]

Right on :main_thumbsup:

Justin, It sounds like you are doing/going in the right direction. Just be patient and persistant and the sales will come. Unfortunately you will always have to deal with the $10 geckos.

Best of luck!

Its all great experiance no matter if its negative or a positive experience! You learn and move on and remember every second of it so you can better yourself. I wish we all didn't have to deal with all of this but its life and a learning experience. Thanks again for all of you who helped me in a postitive way! :main_thumbsup:

I do wish that the whole selling thing could be solved easily but now I realize that its always gonna happen. You just have to keep your morals and values at a high standard in order to feel good about yourself and just live and be happy!

 

[robin]

am i the only pessimist here?

 

[justindh1]

am i the only pessimist here?

Can you explain more what ya mean? Just wonderin!

 

[robin]

if you read my post up there it might make a bit more sense.

 

[ang3l3s]

nah. i think your a realist robin

 

[robin]

i think so

 

[Gregg M]

As a buyer, I would want to purchase my geckos at the lowest prices possible. Then again, all the quality geckos are never priced at wholesale rates.

Oh yeah??? LOL Come to a show out this way... The market is so jacked that even the highest priced morphs are going for dirt cheap at some tables...

Its not just leos either... I saw some 80 dollar het for pied ball pythons at the last show I vended... Its great if you are a buyer but not so great if you are a vendor that wants to keep prices where they should be...

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I see alot of vendors sitting down looking like they just woke up out of bed grumpy with a not very pleasing display. I'm not saying this is you but you might be able to improve some of the areas I questioned above.

I'm glad you brought that up, vendors for the most part don't smile. The shows are starting to feel like open markets with people grumbling about sales, looking unhappy and indifferent about their animals. Just my observations this year with shows.

Also,some reptile shows are instead labeled "sales" which I'm sure doesn't help.

 

[robin]

Oh yeah??? LOL Come to a show out this way... The market is so jacked that even the highest priced morphs are going for dirt cheap at some tables...

Its not just leos either... I saw some 80 dollar het for pied ball pythons at the last show I vended... Its great if you are a buyer but not so great if you are a vendor that wants to keep prices where they should be...

oh yeah i bet there are a bunch low dollar geeks being sold up there D:

 

[Ehatcher]

If you want good genetics, you gotta pay to play. I am gulity of looking for "bargain buys" but it has always been within the confines of a well known breeder. And no, im not talking about asking them to lower their prices. For every few STUNNNNNERS you make... you are going to have some lesser quality clutchmates that carry some killer genetics, but you cant really sell them for the prices of the "elite" geckos. Im a big fan of buying Hets as well.

The main selling point for me when buying a new animal is the way the seller presents theirself. I like kind people. I also like people who answer my questions and will do so willingly, even if i dont buy the gecko. I WANT to know the background of the animal. I WANT to know the possible hets of the animal. I WANT to know if the gecko is virgin, proven, or if it has had complications while breeding.

So far I have had no bad experiences out of any of the people i have dealt with in buying animals.

 

[robin]

amen

 

[Quantumhigh]

Good post, Iam going to be grabbing a vendor spot for the Las Vegas Reptile Expo this Oct. I want to do it right. Not step on any experience breeders toes, build a rapport with other local breeders and be priced at a retail point even if it mean less sales.

I figure if I break even thats good. I mainly just want to get my name out there and expect it a to be a learning experience more then anything.

 

[acpart]

THis article from Gecko Time may be helpful:

http://www.geckotime.com/preparing-to-vend-at-a-reptile-show/

Aliza