$80.00 for a cobalt!!!!!!!

[sunnymarcie]

We've been in the hobby less than a year and the
most that was ever spent on a pet is $40 (ball python)
The most I have spent on a T (so far) is @20.
I'm sure that will change=D

 

[invertepet]

Originally posted by conipto
Agree.. and disagree. In circles like this community, I think the price is appropriate given the number and frequency of imports. In pet shops, I'd only like to see them more expensive to not have as many inexperienced people buying them on a whim. Still, I don't see how lowering prices from dealers hurts the hobby. Please explain your statement?

I think therein lies a key subjectivity: "appropriate price." That's going to be different for everyone. And as Phil stated, higher return means more breeding and more effort to import (either from WC sources or Euro breeders).

I could hypothetically make 300% markup (which I never do, btw) on a $12.00 G. rosea and that doesn't even pay for a fraction of the shipping costs to get a large order from a wholesaler (shipping costs don't come in wholesale prices). So if prices in general drop, my ability to recoup various costs goes down even if I can maintain the same markup.

Plus, there's something to be said for the hobby/market perception. If H. lividum becomes a $15.00 spider, will people be as 'into' it and excited about it as they were when it was $45.00? I tend to think not, if only in a rather subtle way that I can't quite quantify. I can only say that I've seen spiders become more and less popular over the last 15 or so years, and price has tended to mirror that. Chicken/Egg syndrome to some extent, there.

What I think is 'healthy' for the trade and for the hobby (the two are linked, but separate entities) is a large selection of 'relatively cheap' sub-$50.00 spiders, and a large selection of 'relatively more expensive' spiders with some variation and movement in those ranges for individual species. For example, P. regalis might drop a little, then maybe P. subfusca goes up. Balance is key - it keeps things stable, marketwise.

bill