Check this OUT!! ALERT ALERT!!!

[johns]

cool beans.

 

[invertepet]

Todd's aren't WC. There are no adult miranda being imported to my knowledge. The only adult breeding stock I'm aware of are in Europe, whence came the spiderlings.

It should be noted that some who have seen adult P. metallica observe a fading of that electric blue sheen over time. Whether they retain as much as, say, H. lividum, remains to be seen. The only pics I've seen feature subadults, such as the one on Rick West's site.

bill

 

[pronty]

Hi ya'll!
I have been in contact with the miranda breeder H. W. Frank, and he said that he had 5 eggsacks of different bloodlines. He thought that he MIGHT have 4-5 eggsacks more in the spring, but he wasn't sure.
He was selling them (in Europe) for 90 Euros (~dollars] + shipping 10 Euros.

 

[Vayu Son]

><

I am hardpressed to believe that any proof of CB status can be put forth. Regardless, there are eggs and it seems they are coming. I have doubts that this species will be as beautiful as we all think. Just like miranda looks like any other poke as an adult...

-V

 

[deifiler]

whats so good about the miranda anyway?

if someone offered me a spiderling for more than £100 i'd stand there and laugh in their face until they feel embarrassed for taking what to me is a hobby not a market into such a crappy stage

 

[safetypinup]

The way I see it now, the "good" thing about miranda is their rarity in the US.
Simple as this: 100 are imported from Germany--this means that only 100 people (tops) in the country can say they have one. This will change NO DOUBT as more captive breeding efforts are successful, both in the US (several years from now, I'm sure) or overseas (and it's evident that this is already taking place). This is the same story as, for example, Ephebopus cyanognathus. In 2001, when I got my first one, these sold for somewhere around $80-90 USD as spiderlings, if I'm not mistaken....Now, however, you can find one in the $30 range from some dealers...
Back to the miranda, though...
The ones that are in the US now are CB in Germany, I believe. It would be very hard for these to be WC, as India is closed for export, and they would basically have to be smuggled out of Pakistan or another surrounding (and probably hostile) country (not saying this doesn't happen, but the odds are in the favor of CB here).

Anyway...
I'm sure the "hype" about mirandas will subside, only to be replaced with a new "hype" about another genus or species. Paying $150+ for a spiderling does seem a bit high for me personally, but if it's any consolation to you, this species seems so far to be fast growing (almost on the scale of a P regalis) and quite hardy.

So, that's my 2 cents. Talk amongst yourselves

 

[Henry Kane]

Been said a bunch already but...can't pay that much for a s'ling. I'll take a chance and hope that down the road somewhere a guaranteed female will find it's way into my hands. Some collector somewhere will be getting out of the hobby or will suddenly need some quick cash (probably due to habitually spending $150.00+ on s'lings. ;P ) and I will be there to swoop the P. metallica up.

I've learned my lesson the hard way about paying 100.00 + for a s'ling. Trust me when I say it's not the wisest move. There are way too many variables to justify spending that much $ for a s'ling. Spider Hype sucks!

Atrax

 

[Nixy]

We ONLY have ten T's because the shop I deal with are so Very Very Extremely generous with the twins.

I could Never afford to buy them at the usual listed price Ever.
My house is still recovering from my husbands injury and between the mortage and the kids and just Everything. All the parents here know all about daily expences with kids.

The metalica And the Miranda are beautiful.
We want a few.
But we want a few of all the rest too.

So I'll be waiting and will very Very interested in watching the S'lings of those of you that Do buy them grow up.

 

[Code Monkey]

I'll say this, if I were to get a pokie, metallica would be it, but being nigh broke, it won't be this go round. Besides, in another three or four years I'll be able to get one for about $35 from the eggsacs produced by the tarantula impatient.

 

[invertepet]

Re: ><

Originally posted by Vayu Son
I am hardpressed to believe that any proof of CB status can be put forth. Regardless, there are eggs and it seems they are coming. I have doubts that this species will be as beautiful as we all think. Just like miranda looks like any other poke as an adult...

-V

Actually, P. miranda is noticeably different. If you look at Rick West's site and compare the various species, miranda is one of the more varied with its pure white patella and more intense scarlet-purple iridescence. I find it far more distinctive than other "regalis clones" like P. pederseni, striata, fasciata and smithi.

And "any other poke" -- there is strong variation among some of the species, such as P. subfusca and P. rufilata. One "poke" doesn't necessarily look at all like "any other."

bill

 

[Lucifer]

Alright I'll throw in my $.02

If I had the $ and was willing to take a certain amount of risk to potentially have one of the rarest and most striking T's around, I'd do so. And I'd pay whatever price the market set. These are not coming in to one dealer who can corner the market and demand exorbanant prices. Several people have them and they price according to the old laws of supply and demand. A pretty simple equation. If nobody wants to buy one at the prices they've set they'll have to drop them to meet demand.
As for hype, look this is no different for some folks than any other business. Marketing works wonders. Some of these folks rely on this business for most or all of their income. Don't fault them for attempting to trying to make enough to eat. You want to whine, go talk to Microsoft or any of hundreds of other companies who inflate their prices just so they can make an extra few million today. 'Cause believe me, none of these breeders/dealers are rolling with fat cash like them. In fact if it weren't for them we'd all have a much more difficult time getting some of these rare, beautiful species.

 

[Henry Kane]

I didn't say the dealers suck. I said spider hype sucks. The dealers aren't hyping these T's the way the HOBBYISTS have been for the past year. Can't blame anyone and I wasn't blaming anyone. I contributed to the hyping myself actually.
I have a full understanding of how it all works. I know what the supplier's price is and I know what, in turn, the dealer's price must be. Furthermore, I don't think my post was whiny in the least. It was a statement, just like your's. Don't blow it out of proportion...like the price-tag on these spiders.

I also know the dealer's aren't becoming millionaires in this business. I don't know about the whole "making enough to eat" comment though. Again, a little far fetched I think.
If it was a matter of just scraping by for food, would they even take the chance at a batch of 90-100 dollar (just a theoretical supplier's price) s'lings?

Atrax

 

[Code Monkey]

No, dealers aren't getting rich; in fact, I find it amazing that there are the number of good, national mail-order suppliers that there are. Most deal in Ts/inverts as a 2nd job, and as those of us with even a few dozen know, keeping hundreds of Ts on hand must take up a large chunk of their limited time. I'm amazed and thankful that at the time in my life I wanted to get back into the hobby I found more species available then I could have dreamed of at prices that have allowed me to amass a nice collection that is several times larger than I intended initially* for a decent price tag.

But, when all is said and done, Ts are 100% a luxury item, and no matter how rare, no matter how much hype, there is a ceiling on what people will pay in the general populace. For the P. metallica and miranda that are coming into this country for the first time as captive bred, the only reason to pay these sort of prices is if you want to get into the very flaky field of tarantula speculation. For those who've got the money to blow, hey, more power to them. If they produce a series of sacs in the next couple of years, they might even turn a profit. For me, though, I know I'm not going to get any more good out of a $150+ P. metallica than I am going to get out of my $18 A. versicolor, and neither will anyone else lest they buy into Todd's nonsense about how price tag affects how we personally value them.

* As an aside, all I *intended* to get was a B. smithi and A. avicularia, heh...

 

[kellygirl]

I personally think that high prices for rare tarantulas makes sense--it seems rather obvious.

P. miranda and P. metallica are only recently being bred in captivity. What if, right now, they entered the market at $35? They would be gone in a flash but there would be no way to ensure that they'd make it into the hands of experienced keepers who would care for them properly until they reach adulthood and then make sure they were bred so as to increase the captive bred supply of said species.

At the current prices, only serious hobbyists (who probably know what they're doing) will get ahold of them, minus the handful of rich tarantula-lovers... Michael Jackson probably has 50 each of the miranda and metallica by now... he especially loves the juvenile ones. ;P But I digress... my point being that this hobby seems to follow a pattern and it appears to be working well. Rare species are more expensive... as they become more common, they become cheaper. Supply and demand, as Lucifer noted.

So let's not cut down the 100 or so people that are able to get these beautiful species at $150--especially since a few years from now, once they are more common, we'll be begging the same people for them!

kellygirl

 

[RegalReptiles]

Hi

Hi,

Just curious becuase of your last comment, is Michael Jackson into spiders?

I sell to a company that sells him reptiles, but I was unaware of him also being into spiders.

Just curious,

Pat

 

[kellygirl]

Re: Hi

Originally posted by RegalReptiles
Hi,

Just curious becuase of your last comment, is Michael Jackson into spiders?

I sell to a company that sells him reptiles, but I was unaware of him also being into spiders.

Just curious,

Pat

I'm pretty sure... unless that article was a hoax...

http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnob...age=15&highlight=michael jackson&pagenumber=1

kellygirl

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
and neither will anyone else lest they buy into Todd's nonsense about how price tag affects how we personally value them.

Well put CM, this rerminds me of a time when one such dealer mentioned killing off all B. vagans slings to keep prices up. Know who you're buying off people! I don't care much that these pokes will be quite highly priced, many new spiders to the hobby come with high price tags, it's just marketing and how it works, besides, P. metallica are the nicest T there has been, even if they only keep that color for a short period. What I think is ridiculous is marketing an item (and taking money beforehand)a dealer doesn't even possess yet! If these dealers can't afford it first up, well, they aren't offering anything the average Joe could obtain now are they?. Think about this folks, what's to stop you all pooling your money, creating a dealership, then buying in bulk together at greatly reduced prices? I know the dealers do it for the love of it, no doubt, but what they do get out of this are a bunch of free specimens for thier time. All power to them for taking the initiative I suppose, but why on Earth people aren't pooling their money is beyond me, they'd save a fortune.
Then again, maybe someone knows something I don't.

It seems funny to me that the only spiders wereby people have been able to prepay have been the exceptionally high priced ones(does anyone know of any other spiders bar P.miranda and P.metallica?),hmmmmm. I smell marketing here, hobbyists go crazy on forums such as this one and some dealers can cash in.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[invertepet]

Originally posted by Atrax
I didn't say the dealers suck.

That's the nicest thing anyone's said all day!

bill

 

[Ultimate Instar]

<besides, P. metallica are the nicest T there has been, even if they only keep that color for a short period.>

So, they are blue only as juveniles? Are there any color differences between males and females? What do they look like as adults?

Karen N.

 

[Devildoll]

I'll be getting 2 if all goes well.
can't help it.... have to drop the $$$$