T. Hobby Prices Compared to Previous (Other) Hobbies Prices

FrDoc

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Firearms! Particularly if you’re into quality and/or more rare items, e.g., Colt Single Action Armys start around $1000, Colt Python revolver, used in decent condition $1,500-3,000, any quality class III (full auto) >$5000, most well over $10,000, plus the $250 tax stamp (read: federal “you can have one if you pay us”). I have, without exaggeration, spent a year’s salary over my life on such toys. Thank goodness for spiders!!!
 

Mini8leggedfreak

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Dec 21, 2017
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I honestly don’t think my other hobbies have cost more, except for saltwater aquariums...that is a rich mans game.

I only have like 10 guns probably around 6000$ but keep in mind that’s been over like 10 years.

Fly fishing has set me back a bit, but that is spaced out. For example I’d buy a rod usually around 300$ (I’ve seen rod and reel combo’s for over 2000$ though) and then not spend any money for 3-4 months until I bought hooks and tying materials but that would only be like 50-100$.

T’s have been an easier hobby bc you buy the T upfront with very minimal cost after. While other hobbies(like fishing) have so many different aspects to them, like cold blood explained.

Maybe T’s haven’t got enough exposure to be marketed like other hobbies.
 

LucN

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Getting into Single Malt Scotch can be expensive. While some regular bottlings, such as Glenfiddich 12 or Glenlivet 12 will run me 60$ a bottle, some of the more sought after expressions can be pretty expensive. For example, an Oban 14 over here is 110$ and the Macallan 12 Fine Oak is 101$. Want to get into limited bottlings ? Kiss your bank account good bye, then ! Bowmore 18 Manzanilla Cask is 350$ (Ouch !) while Macallan Sienna is 200$. Yeah… Unless you can make most of your Scotch last over 6 months, putting some serious money into various bottles definitely gets WAY more expensive than what the T hobby usually costs. Paying for a new T and setting it up is initially expensive, but afterwards, feeding it costs you literally peanuts.

Owning around 25 different bottles, I always have a different dram (Weekends only), depending on my mood. I must say that I'm actually pretty moderate with my whisky, a bottle of Lagavulin 16 (130$, yeesh !) lasted me nearly a year and a half while a Old Pulteney 12 usually sticks around for 4-5 months. Given it's a 65$ bottle, it's actually a sound investment.
 

s dave

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Playing an instrument (guitar in my case) can be wildly more expensive, but it's also fortunate that you can get a cheap acoustic guitar for less than £60, if you just want to jam at home. I've spent thousands on guitars and equipment over the years, while I'm not sure I'll ever reach that level of spending with tarantulas. Along with my love of playing music, I love going to gigs, and ticket prices for the biggest acts can be quite expensive.

There's obviously the Euro/American differene with T pricing as well, but I imagine it's the same with most hobbies. A season ticket for my football club can be purchased for betweem £300-500. Whereas I looked up season ticket prices of the Anaheim Ducks, which had some for $8000+.

I've only recently taken up golf and golf lessons, but clubs can set you back a few grand, along with membership fees, green fees, lesson fees. My clubs/bag/accessories were about £2000. Lessons were £60 an hour. Driving range is £5 for 100 balls. A round at some of the local courses varies between £15-60. Membership fees are £500+ per year.

I think being a hardcore gamer would be pretty expensive, depending on how much you invest in a computer, or how many games you buy for your console(s). I haven't gamed for years though.

So the tarantula hobby, can be relatively cheap in comparison. I spend £50 a month to feed my dog, another £12 to insure him for vet emergencies, another few quid for treats etc, and whatever the costs of petrol are, when taking him out for walks. My birds cost about £25 a month to feed, while my tarantulas cost about £6 max a month, to feed.
Also a guitar player and I have thousands of dollars invested... I have a thing for vintage gear. Not the ridiculous prices that some command but I'm not above $1500 on a single guitar... particularly a 70s Gibson LPJ or cheap 60s SG. I'm not even sure how many amps I own (or where they all are with different practice spaces). Tarantulas are much cheaper...

Is collecting vinyl a hobby? I think it is... anyway my turntable was $600, obviously you can them far cheaper than that but the cheaper ones are prone to ruining your records quicker. My speakers were a Christmas gift thank goodness but speakers can be astronomically expensive depending on how picky you are about sound. Not to mention I need to replace the stylus on my turntable every year and half or so, that's $70 every time. Then the records themselves can get insane if it's a rare pressing. The most I've spent on a record is about $180 I think, but I have several I've spent over $100 on. Typically I won't spend more than $10 on a single record if I hit up the record store but if I'm buying online I go ham and buy the expensive ones.

So yeah..way more expensive than my tarantulas.
I also collect vinyl, but my collection isn't out of hand. Mostly punk or stoner rock, but I have a couple bands that I absolutely have to have 1st pressings and those can be costly for sure
 

Greasylake

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Aviation, man that's expensive. There's a bit of a joke around pilots: "welcome to aviation, you are now broke." it would maybe funnier if it wasn't so true.
 

cold blood

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Aviation, man that's expensive. There's a bit of a joke around pilots: "welcome to aviation, you are now broke." it would maybe funnier if it wasn't so true.
Like boat ownership...common joke is that boat stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
 

Ungoliant

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Firearms! Particularly if you’re into quality and/or more rare items, e.g., Colt Single Action Armys start around $1000, Colt Python revolver, used in decent condition $1,500-3,000, any quality class III (full auto) >$5000, most well over $10,000, plus the $250 tax stamp (read: federal “you can have one if you pay us”). I have, without exaggeration, spent a year’s salary over my life on such toys. Thank goodness for spiders!!!
Not to mention the ammo if you regularly shoot.
 

FrDoc

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Aviation, man that's expensive. There's a bit of a joke around pilots: "welcome to aviation, you are now broke." it would maybe funnier if it wasn't so true.
Oh, heck yeah! Back in the day when I was assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit it used to drop my jaw hearing the mechanics talk about ordering rotor blades for the helicopters at $30,000 a pop, and if memory serves that was a deal.
 

Greasylake

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Oh, heck yeah! Back in the day when I was assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit it used to drop my jaw hearing the mechanics talk about ordering rotor blades for the helicopters at $30,000 a pop, and if memory serves that was a deal.
Helicopters are even more expensive than small fixed wing aircraft, which are more my thing. The FAA is basically requiring that by 2020 every plane that flies around large cities has to have an updated piece of avionics, called ADS-B. That little thing costs about 10 grand, per plane.
 

jrh3

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Oh, heck yeah! Back in the day when I was assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit it used to drop my jaw hearing the mechanics talk about ordering rotor blades for the helicopters at $30,000 a pop, and if memory serves that was a deal.
The rotor blades on a JT15 turbine engine we around 2,000 dollars each last time I checked, and you can hold them in your hand they are so small. Everything Aircraft is out the roof.
 

FrDoc

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I can remember being at the range one day popping off rounds out of a .45/70 takedown rifle I had at the time. I realized my interest was waning when instead of enjoying the day, every time I pulled the trigger I was thinking, “$3.00, $3.00...”. After a box of 20 rounds I did the math, and as tremendously cool as that rifle was, I traded it that week. Plus, it gets far more crazy when you start busting .338 Lapua, or .50 BMG. Yeah, thank you tarantulas for being a draw. It also helps around the house when I buy a new T and I get attitude. I just casually mention, “Yeah, I was on Gunbroker.com yesterday, and there’s this really cool ______”. That usually cuts off any angst over the spider.
 

Predacons5

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I can remember being at the range one day popping off rounds out of a .45/70 takedown rifle I had at the time. I realized my interest was waning when instead of enjoying the day, every time I pulled the trigger I was thinking, “$3.00, $3.00...”. After a box of 20 rounds I did the math, and as tremendously cool as that rifle was, I traded it that week. Plus, it gets far more crazy when you start busting .338 Lapua, or .50 BMG. Yeah, thank you tarantulas for being a draw. It also helps around the house when I buy a new T and I get attitude. I just casually mention, “Yeah, I was on Gunbroker.com yesterday, and there’s this really cool ______”. That usually cuts off any angst over the spider.
I had the same feeling when I had a 357 sig. I thought I was the only one who was cheap. when I was shooting I thought $$$ too, that's why I didn't go to the range unless I had to. 357 sigs may not be as expensive as your rifle, but it was enough to be off-putting for me.

I was into reptiles before t's. Probably spent more on 4 snakes than 30 t's
I had the same issue when I was keeping snakes. Plus, some of the snakes I liked got expensive when feeding them. I tended to like the ones that ate lizards or frogs and were difficult to switch over to mice.

The cheapest ones I got were a Checkered Garter (Thamnophis marcianus) and a couple of Keeled Slug Snake (Pareas carinatus).

What sucked even more about keeping snakes was that it was really difficult to find pairs for some of the rarer ones.

I think I like keeping T's much better. Many of the prices are still within reason on many of the species. They're also easier to pair up.
 
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Drea

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Fishing tackle adds up quickly especially when your Shimano Chronarch bait caster and G Loomis sink to the bottom of the lake. I am am guilty of catching a nice bass on a new crank bait and then getting that same one in every color to see which one works best.

I also hunt and shoot regularly at the range. The cost of tags, licenses, ammo, and new firearms outweighs my T collection by a landslide. Just my hunting rifle and scope set up alone is more than all the T’s, food, and enclosures combined.

The shipping cost for T’s adds up. I will add several slings to one order to off set that shipping. It’s still not as costly as my other hobbies.

I can remember being at the range one day popping off rounds out of a .45/70 takedown rifle I had at the time. I realized my interest was waning when instead of enjoying the day, every time I pulled the trigger I was thinking, “$3.00, $3.00...”. After a box of 20 rounds I did the math, and as tremendously cool as that rifle was, I traded it that week. Plus, it gets far more crazy when you start busting .338 Lapua, or .50 BMG. Yeah, thank you tarantulas for being a draw. It also helps around the house when I buy a new T and I get attitude. I just casually mention, “Yeah, I was on Gunbroker.com yesterday, and there’s this really cool ______”. That usually cuts off any angst over the spider.

.338 Lapua.. $4.00 a round and a beast to shoot. I have little girls syndrome when it comes to shooting big firearms and I didn’t enjoy that one much. Same goes for the .50 cal Desert Eagle. Every shot felt like someone was hitting my hand with a sledgehammer hammer.

I am working on getting a Henry Boy Scout Edition lever action in a 45/70 strictly for bears. In California, we can only lead free so the cost of ammo doubles. $6.00 with every shot.

It doesn’t help that California has added so much extra tax and fees on everything involving firearms. We will have to pay for a back ground check to buy ammo this June. I found it odd it’s only $25 for a DOJ back ground for a firearm but California is charging $50 for the same check.. :mad:
 
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Chris LXXIX

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T's are probably one of the most cheap hobby (I hate this term when it comes to living animals, anyway) ever, no matter the recent years T's 'Boom' we had.

Other hobbies are by a long shot on another level, cash talking. For instance, a friend of mine collect handmade, forged, razors for shaving. Italian ones can cost 1000 (and more) Euro. Sure, he's buying art, but man.

Knives as well etc
 

Nickjuliaschick

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I have had multiple "side" hobbies through the years. Reptiles have always been my steady interest. Motorcycles, miniature wargames, board game, fishing, video games. Ts the last few years I have been in this hobby has been more stable, as in everything thing else ends up needing "extras." I very much enjoy the simplicity of this hobby.
 

darkstar305

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Feb 21, 2019
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I have a few hobbies that can be pricey. Here are my hobbies & observations...

Reptiles/herping can get expensive when you're having to buy feeders in bulk & prefabricated enclosures, as well as individual animals. For those that are into hots, a bite can be astronomically expensive.

Firearms, as FrDoc & Drea mentioned, gets expensive fast. Just for the sake of comparison, a friend of mine who does competition long range shooting built a rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. He never revealed the total cost, but my cousin estimated the cost of said rifle at around $6000!

My last hobby... storm chasing. Blame it on growing up in the Midwest, but tornadoes are fascinating to me. The volunteer fire dept I am on does local stormwatch whenever severe weather happens, but I've chased storms within a few hours of where I live. The expensiveness of this hobby comes in gas, vehicle maintenance, photography equipment, radar software, etc... One of my friends is a storm chaser for a news station in Wichita Kansas. His setup is mind-boggling, but he gets compensated for it. Compared to him, my storm chasing is the equivalent of my friends & I looking at the local forecast & saying "Get the kite Beavis!"
 
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Invertebrate keeping is extremely affordable compared my "main" hobby, vinyl record collecting. I wet myself a little when I think of how much I must have spent on 1,000s of LP's & 7" singles + turntables, hifi gear, reel-to-reel stuff etc... working in a record shop doesn't help...

You could pick up a really nice spider or two for the cost of a new record these days!
 

baconwrappedpikachu

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Dec 18, 2018
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I always end up spending way more money than I should on flowers for the garden, I love gardening and seeing all of the bugs and the miniature ecosystem (mantids, wasps, beetles, butterflies) was actually what sparked my interest in tarantulas last year!

I also really enjoy collecting vinyl. That's a pretty expensive hobby if you do it right.

I didn't initially plan on getting 25+ tarantulas, so for me personally this has become my most expensive hobby for sure, but that's because I'm still building my collection and purchasing a lot of supplies that will continue to be re-usable for me over the years. Plus I can't stay away from those beautiful Pamphobeteus and some of the other pricier species... so I think my costs are a little higher than necessary, but that's okay!

However, in general, I feel like there are definitely ways to collect and maintain tarantulas AFFORDABLY. There are plenty of super cheap slings out there. I keep them in acrylic and the majority of my enclosures cost less than $10 a piece and the most expensive one ended up being like $15 total. Feeding them is really cheap compared to my bearded dragon. And there's no risk of $2000 vet bills like the one my cat racked up a few years ago. :angelic:

So yeah.. I think the tarantula hobby is different from some of these other hobbies (collecting rare vinyl, saltwater aquariums, etc) because it's actually possible to put together a decent collection without spending a fortune. Yes, it ends up being expensive for me but that's because I've chosen to go the more expensive route when it comes to several aspects of the hobby.
 
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