Who would pay this?

[ladyluck]

ID #FBB01 CB 2003 female Bumble Bee Spider.

Weight: 90 grams

$45,000.00


http://www.newenglandreptile.com/spider_available.html

I mean, you could get a damn fine automobile, a huge down payment on a house, a kickin motorcycle.......

Let me know what you think.

[Samba]

I those people are crazy and likely to go out of business if their prices don't drop!! I realize these snakes have special patterns and colors but HOLY SH*T they're expensive. I seriously couldn't imagine buying PET for that much, (or even a breeder now that I think of it)... crap their cheapest snake is still more than what I make is a YEAR!!! LOL =)

[proud2bcanadian]

I agree. I don't know why anyone would pay such a price! I know that I never would!

[ladyluck]

I dont even find the snake attractive.
I like pastels and albinos, and some of the morphs are beautiful, but to buy a snake for the genetics alone? It looks like the snake that got beat up in school.

[capsicum]

Aww, she's cute But no way I would pay that much for a snake, lol!

TK

[Vengeance]

Well somebody is paying for them because breeders like N.E.R.D and Ralph Davis are still in buisness. You can't look at it as $45,000 for a pet, you have to look as it as a $45,000 investment. You buy the snake, breed them yourself, total value my go down a bit, but you will most likely make up the $45,000 in 3 - 5 years. Also most people that are buying $45,000 snakes are breeders who are working with other high end breeds so they are most likely already making money selling snakes, so they are taking the money they make off their snakes and putting it back into the community. Also these guys are all in the US and the market down there is much larger then here in Canada.

[Cruciform]

In a capitalist society price is driven by demand vs. availability.

They're still rare enough that the people with the money to compete for ownership of the animals can afford those high prices. Over time the prices will drop as they are bred out and the buys recoup their original investment through resale, but it's not really any different than any other type of animal breeder dealing with rares.

Ralph had platinums on his site for 35 to 75k and they were taken off the available list after only a short time, so one can assume they were sold.

As an investment it's not a bad place to put your money, vs. stocks or such, as you're in control of the husbandry and don't have to worry about some Enron accountant screwing the books on you

Without buying them for breeding purposes though, it's just peeing into the wind

[Jeff_Favelle]

How much would a car give you in return in 3 years? Actually, it would depreciate by about 30% so you'd be left with about $31,500. That sucks. How much would a house give you? Well $45K is about 1/4 of a house in today's market, so in 3 years, instead of being up $45K (if you didn't buy the house), you'd still be about $150K in debt to your mortgage.

So what if you bought a bumblebee for $45K and then spend another $1,000 on 10 normal females. Say in 3 years, you get 8 out of the 10 normals to breed, laying an average of 6 eggs. Now, that's 48 eggs, and you should get close to a ratio of 1/4 normals, 1/4 Pastels, 1/4 Spiders, and 1/4 Bumblebees. So that's 12 animals of each. How does that break down money-wise?

12 normals = about $1,000
12 Pastels = about $12,000 in 3 years time
12 Spiders = hard to say, but let's say $5K each so $60,000

So not including the bumblebees, you're return on a $45K investment is $73,000!! A return of 62%!!! Over 3 years, that's 20% per year! That is MORE than a credit card charges! How much does your money earn in the bank? 0.5%. Yeah, I'm sorry, but at a half of a percent, you better find a better investment if you want to actually retire before age 80. Even GIC's and bonds only give 4.5% return. ING Direct only gives 2.5%. That's peanuts.

Now, factor in the bumblebees, of which you have 12 of. Say in 3 years the price drops to $20K (not likely). 12 x $20K is $240,000!!! What kind of a house can a down payment of $240,000 get you? Well, I'll let your imagination decide.

In the world of BP's, there's people looking in, complaining about the prices, working like Johnny Punchclock at whatever they do. Then there's people who are actually IN the industry, making piles of money for working with and producing tiny little stout pythons that hail from Africa. One group is complaining and can't understand it. The other group is laughing all the way to the bank. LOL! Wonder who's got the better deal?

Again, these snakes are for INVESTMENT purposes only. If you are keeping snakes for the joy of keeping snakes, which is awesome, then don't stress over the high-dollar animals. What's the point?

[mykee]

Jeff, these diatribes of logic and reason that you spout off every once in a while never cease to amaze me. There's no debating that these animals will make you money if you quit complaining and put yourself out there. Sour grapes get you nowhere.

[Corey Woods]

Most of the people who complain about the price of the Ball python morphs can't afford them. The people who aren't afraid to invest the money make the money.

Corey
PS......I've spent close to that on one animal......actually.....on multiple animals.

[capsicum]

I completely understand that a ball like that (or any other high-end morph of any reptile for that matter), is a major investment that will, hopefully, make you money in the long run.

My point is that for the average person, that is a lot of money that may be better spent on other things (hell if I had $45,000 I wouldn't be buying a snake, lol - I'd probably get tons of others ). Yes, we may complain about the prices, but the fact is we will sit back and enjoy looking at what others produce.

Personally I am looking in to buying some higher-end hets, but I won't dilude myself to think that they will bring me major money. I say this only because - yes, I can invest in a great pair of morphs that could possibly produce for me in a few years. But what if they don't? Then all you have are very expensive snakes to look at. I hope they will produce for me, but there is always a chance that they won't. Of course if they don't, I will just have some nice snakes (I hope, lol).

For those that are dedicated to breeding these awesome snakes, I look at you with awe. You have the guts to spend that income to purchase the snakes, and obviously the they are bringing money back to you.

For the general public though, all we can do is admire your work. So, my hat is off to those who produce these animals!

TK

[spidergecko]

Originally posted by Jeff_Favelle
How much would a house give you? Well $45K is about 1/4 of a house in today's market, so in 3 years, instead of being up $45K (if you didn't buy the house), you'd still be about $150K in debt to your mortgage.

Well I wouldn't go that far. In 3 or so years you could still sell the house, pass along the mortgage, and still have made money (depending on the terms and ... blah blah). And given how long it takes for the snakes to produce, the house would probably bring you a better investment after 3 years

[MouseKilla]

Well since Jeff and Cruciform have already given the lessons in economics and investment I'll just add that if you think prices on ball python morphs are nuts you should have a look at the horse market! lol! You can pay more than $45 G to have a guy bring his horse over to screw yours. lol! It's truly a matter of perspective.

I think the other thing to keep in mind is that no one, or nearly no one, starts out with such big ticket morphs, they progress through the lower end stuff and work their way up. If you take the money you make selling off a bunch of normals and roll it into the purchase of a single morph you can continue like that and take it as far as your skill, ambition, luck and the market will allow.

I'd be interested in hearing how the guys that will drop that kind of money on an animal started out. That would be the interesting part for me, I don't find it hard to understand investing that kind of money but it would be cool to see how it got to that point.

[spidergecko]

Frankly, I think you could end up with a $50,000 snake using funds from past sales whereby the total out of pocket expense would be nothing more than the cost of a normal corn snake. I think you have to work up to it, though.

[MouseKilla]

Yeah, it would take a long time with just one corn snake though. lol!