Prices at SUPER low deals

[goReptiles]

This is for no one here, and I'm not sure if this goes better under ethics or rants, but I went to a pet store in town, and was talking to a guy I know. They're selling enigmas for $25. The guy they buy from is buying wholesale. The my friend said the guy buys all morphs from tangs, snows, to enigmas for like $8 and raptors for like $10 or something like that. Either that or the pet store buys at those prices, can't quite remember. I was so dumbfounded that enigmas were $25, and just in general someone is buying all morphs for $8-$10.


Anyway... What do you guys think about this? Is it right? Is it desperate? I don't even know what to think...

 

[Nigel4less]

This is for no one here, and I'm not sure if this goes better under ethics or rants, but I went to a pet store in town, and was talking to a guy I know. They're selling enigmas for $25. The guy they buy from is buying wholesale. The my friend said the guy buys all morphs from tangs, snows, to enigmas for like $8 and raptors for like $10 or something like that. Either that or the pet store buys at those prices, can't quite remember. I was so dumbfounded that enigmas were $25, and just in general someone is buying all morphs for $8-$10.


Anyway... What do you guys think about this? Is it right? Is it desperate? I don't even know what to think...

I don't see anything wrong with Wholesale at all. Its a huge way that many of us get into the market via getting your first animal at a Mom and Pop shop or a Huge Retail Chain and even Reptile Specialty shops fall into this category. Unfortunately Chain Stores have one goal, move more animals and product then their competitors so them being able to get animals for cheaper then anyone else in the surrounding area is a huge bonus.

Honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it, its either Wholesale or the Wholesaler Flooding the Retail market? I`ll let you decide.

My 2 Cents.

 

[robin]

ya know another thing SO many people are breeding leopard geckos right now that the market is saturated. breeders need to sell their babies if people arent buying at shows or via online some have to wholesale some of their geckos (ya can't keep them all). the more saturated the market is the cheaper the animal. right now with the economy not many high dollars animals are being bought and their are not as many high dollar animals as there was.( comparison to past years). some of the newer breeders and even some of the older breeders (that acquired new morphs or higher end morphs) are going to be very surprised at the prices of morphs that brought an ok penny this year compared to what they will go for next year.

nigel either way the entire market is flooded!

 

[Mel&Keith]

It seems crazy to us that anyone would want to sell "higher end" morphs at that price but I guess when you're producing thousands it not so bad. A pet store is only going to pay so much for geckos so why don't breeders just sell them normals? Because there's a higher demand for fancier morphs and they'll sell faster. It costs the same amount of money to breed a fancy morph as it does a normal. So why not sell higher end geckos to these shops for the same price so you can sell more of them, right? If you can unload 300 geckos a month at $10 a piece that a pretty good chunk of change!

It wouldn't make much sense for small scale breeders to wholesale geckos like that unless they just produced way more than they could sell.

On a related topic, I'd love to know the growth rate of the Leopard gecko hobby (as far as # of people breeding) over the last 10 years. I'd bet the rate in the last 2 years is astonishing!

 

[robin]

mel we have a mom and pop pet store here and she has very healthy animals and takes great care of them and i told her i would sell her some of my more normal animals just so she has some nice healthy leos ya know? but we live in a smallish town so the demand wont be high (she only buys from local quality breeders)

 

[malt_geckos]

well, it sucks but there was a TON of that going on at Daytona this year. Not even to whole salers...just everything was going for really cheap! Enigmas for $15. SST for $45...stuff like that. No wonder people like us can't sell quality stuff at that show....

 

[goReptiles]

Nigel, I'm not worried about wholesalers really... It just surprised me $8 was nuts. I didn't know what to say.

I realize the economy is bad and that the number of leopard gecko "breeders" is steadily increasing each year because it seems everyone with a gecko wants to breed because they have 1 or 2 friends who want a gecko, but don't realize how many they may have hatch. That or they think they can make money, and end up having to keep them all or lower the price.

Many pet stores won't buy from local people. There are a few like Petland and the mom and pop shops, but there are many mom and pop shops where I'm at who aren't buying because no one is buying from them.

I just wish that more people understood it's not a money making hobby and fewer people would think 'I'm just going to throw my two together and get some babies.' because with that thought, they see how easy it is and keep doing it with more and more.

Maybe it's just me, and pet stores don't help the situation because they'll tell them how easy it is to breed. I've seen that happen.

 

[justindh1]

When people get geckos cheap then they think it is ok to sale them cheap. People who get things cheap then usually sell them cheap. It keeps goin until you have geckos for $5!

When you can goto a reptile expo and buy geckos at wholesale prices then thats when things are a little messed up. Selling geckos for $10-$20 dollars to a individual is crazy, unless its a normal or something close for $20. I can see wholesaling 10-20 geckos to a chain pet store for that price. There going to sale them for $40-$70 dollars easily. In this instance the price will go up. Wholeselling is where your selling multiple numbers of geckos for $10 each because they are buying several not selling mulitple individuals singly for $10!

Many first time breeders, breed one year and then realize its a big job and stop after that or just breed one or two. They don't effect the market! Its the bigger breeders selling geckos for cheap cheap prices when everyone else is trying to make their money back.

I have seen many breeders at expos selling geckos that don't look like they are 4-6 weeks old. They sell them cheap because they have nothing in them hardly. The babies barly have their egg yolk gone so they don't have to worry about making their money back from feeders.

 

[goReptiles]

All these complaints, and yet there are still people coming here saying "I have a male and female tell me how to breed them."

It's sad and upsetting.

 

[robin]

because most the people breeding geckos do not realize that 99.99% of us will never make money breeding them. by the time you add up your racks, feeders, incubators, supplementation, cage furniture, thermostats, etc. you are LUCKY if you break even but most are in the red.

no matter what you guys think that is the bold truth

 

[BioWorkZ]

So how do u breed leopard geckos? Hahaha j/k! I believe that if u sell quality stuff and are consistent at it u have nothing to worry about. Look at all the well-known breeders. They've been doing it for 10+ years. I personally wouldn't to buy a Leo that's less than 40 grams. Let those super breeders sell for cheap...they have a piece of the market that the true leopard gecko enthusiast won't buy into. It's like buying a care from a dealership or buying an unknown at a used car lot. Okay that's probably a bad example but you guys get what I'm
getting at.

 

[robin]

i would buy a leo less than 30 grams. 15 gram geckos are more than big enough and established enough to be bought and sold

 

[goReptiles]

because most the people breeding geckos do not realize that 99.99% of us will never make money breeding them. by the time you add up your racks, feeders, incubators, supplementation, cage furniture, thermostats, etc. you are LUCKY if you break even but most are in the red.

I tried to tell a local kid that. He's bought a few females from me, and is looking at a male. I told him he is young and I wouldn't recommend him spending all his allowance on this. There's no money in it.

His response was. I sold my BD babies.

He's always buying, then asking me if I want to buy from him because he doesn't want it anymore. My favorite has been, "I bought a yellow leopard gecko that has a defect and I paid $70, do you want to buy it from me."

I didn't realize he was breeding until after I sold him the females. His sister kept one as a pet. He's always asking for breedable geckos, yet he's always trying to sell me his. I don't get it.

One day, he emailed me and was like, I bought a female, but don't need another, do you want to buy it. Then proceeds to ask if I have any breedable males. I don't get it...

Personally, to all the 13-14 year old kids, there's no need for you in the market. There's no need for about 75% of us.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

. Selling geckos for $10-$20 dollars to a individual is crazy, unless its a normal or something close for $20.

WHAT!!! Really after all this! http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=50146 OMG

 

[justindh1]

WHAT!!! Really after all this! http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=50146 OMG

What heck do you mean by this? Tell me! It seems like you have a problem with me?

Like i said its alright selling normals for atleast $20 but I am complaining about $10 geckos that are hets and poss hets for albino and raptor. You sell them for less then $20 like you said you have priced normals at $15.

Tell me how I have contradicted myself?

 

[Mel&Keith]

Justin and Rick, if you guys want to argue about your personal issues with each other you may email one another.

 

[robin]

can i email you mel? :smitten:

 

[Mel&Keith]

You can always email me, Robin!

 

[robin]

oh my, mel! :blush:

 

[robin]

you minx! :smitten: