So how is the T market doing? Inspire me....

[Billru]

So,

I am in the Ball Python market and it has really suffered the last couple of years. Is the T market holding strong? I was curious? What is the average price of a high end T? I am very new with Ts but could totally see myself getting into some hobby breeding on them. Is it a good ol boy network? Or is their plenty of hobbiests keeping the higher end market fun and profitable. I spent a descent amount on my Brachy female and I felt that was a reasonable deal. I have been told they cost a bit more because Mexico hits the retailers with a higher Sites cost out of Mexico. Anyway, what are the high end Ts selling for? Just curious for when I am ready to go up another level. I really like the caging the pros are using. They look really cool. I am an addict when it comes to promoting an animal as a way of learning about a species....Please don't turn this into a thread of slamming anyone...Just wanted to see what I am getting myself into....

Thanks for you input,
Bill

 

[jebbewocky]

From what I've seen, slings of M.balfouri are about $325.
And that's slings, which it is next to impossible to sex, and may or may not make it.

 

[jayefbe]

From what I've seen, slings of M.balfouri are about $325.
And that's slings, which it is next to impossible to sex, and may or may not make it.

Actually, balfouri slings are half that.

Basically, the only people that make money off of tarantulas are dealers and importers. It's possible that breeding a few of the rarer species could bring in some money for someone, but there just isn't the type of demand needed to continually support it. Even something like a P. metallica, the most often sought after tarantula, will see a price drop pretty soon. There are a lot of people working with them, and a few sacs will see the price dropping pretty dramatically. There are only so many people that are willing to spend $100+ on a sling. In general, profit is not something a tarantula hobbyist ever even thinks about.

 

[SPDRgod]

If you could raise an edible species in bulk relatively cheap you may find a niche for a business with bugs right now...otherwise its gonna be tough...most do it just for the cause a handful make a lil cash but they work really hard at it....

 

[Exo]

B.smithi slings are popular and are worth at least $25.00 apiece, so they might be worth breeding.

 

[jayefbe]

B.smithi slings are popular and are worth at least $25.00 apiece, so they might be worth breeding.

There's someone selling them for $8 per sling.

http://www.tarantulaspiders.com/?q=page/breeding-loans

This has an interesting read about tarantula pricing. According to this, $25+ and you might be able to make a profit. <25 and you're gonna lose money in the long haul.

IMO, the only way to make significant money as a hobbyist is to stay a step ahead of everyone else. Be one of the first to produce sacs from rare species.

 

[un33dit]

Actually, balfouri slings are half that.

Basically, the only people that make money off of tarantulas are dealers and importers. It's possible that breeding a few of the rarer species could bring in some money for someone, but there just isn't the type of demand needed to continually support it. Even something like a P. metallica, the most often sought after tarantula, will see a price drop pretty soon. There are a lot of people working with them, and a few sacs will see the price dropping pretty dramatically. There are only so many people that are willing to spend $100+ on a sling. In general, profit is not something a tarantula hobbyist ever even thinks about.

Sorry to be a jerk and call you out on this....but what makes you think P. metallica slings will drop in price anytime soon:?

I haven't been around that long, but I've been here long enough to see quite a bit of people come on the boards and talk about how they are breeding P. metallica and are going to sell the slings cheap. So far none of those people have been succesful! P. metallica is an extremly hard species to get viable slings from. Getting them to breed is only half the battle.

Saying that there are only a few people willing to spend 100+ on a P. metallica sling is also crazy. Any time they have been offered, they sell out within a matter or days.

If you can show me otherwise, I'll be happy to apologize....

-Gary

 

[Xian]

Sorry to be a jerk and call you out on this....but what makes you think P. metallica slings will drop in price anytime soon:?

Saying that there are only a few people willing to spend 100+ on a P. metallica sling is also crazy. Any time they have been offered, they sell out within a matter or days.

If you can show me otherwise, I'll be happy to apologize....

-Gary

Over 4200 people have visited AB already today. With that number of people, those slings should sell out in an hour. The last time I saw them for sale there was 10-20 slings available. I do think the price is why they were not sold instantly. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[un33dit]

Over 4200 people have visited AB already today. With that number of people, those slings should sell out in an hour. The last time I saw them for sale there was 10-20 slings available. I do think the price is why they were not sold instantly. Just my 2 cents worth.

I'm not sure where you are going with this:?

What are you trying to say?

 

[Xian]

I do think the price is why they were not sold instantly.

There are alot of people that visit this site everyday. With a limited number of P. metallica slings for sale, the slings should sell out in an hour instead of days.

 

[jayefbe]

Sorry to be a jerk and call you out on this....but what makes you think P. metallica slings will drop in price anytime soon:?

I haven't been around that long, but I've been here long enough to see quite a bit of people come on the boards and talk about how they are breeding P. metallica and are going to sell the slings cheap. So far none of those people have been succesful! P. metallica is an extremly hard species to get viable slings from. Getting them to breed is only half the battle.

Saying that there are only a few people willing to spend 100+ on a P. metallica sling is also crazy. Any time they have been offered, they sell out within a matter or days.

If you can show me otherwise, I'll be happy to apologize....

-Gary

How much were P irminia back in the day? How much are they now?

I don't mean to step on anybody's toes here, but it wasn't too long ago that the first breedings of P metallica were done in the US. Since that time, P metallica are much more commonly available. In the past couple months, I could've bought a ton of slings and even breedable females. Tell me that a couple years ago those would have even reached the public for sale. The fact is, P metallica have reached the point that if you are willing to pay the price for them you can have them. Not too long ago it was waiting lists and hoping to be the first one to e-mail. Now it's just paypalling the cash and the next day it's at your door. I know that breeding this species is more difficult than most, but it still doesn't change the fact that once there were a handful of people breeding this species. Now there are a lot more. I know of 3 different people with sacs or gravid metallica females right now, and that's just from the people that post or I've talked to personally. P metallica produce a large number of offspring (at least compared to other species of exotic pets) and grow very quickly. It's not inconceivable for someone to be breeding their metallica two years after they bought it as a sling. Couple that with the fact that hobbyists are constantly learning new techniques for breeding these tarantulas and we're gonna see an exponential surge in P metallica slings available. That's just the way it is.

 

[jayefbe]

Over 4200 people have visited AB already today. With that number of people, those slings should sell out in an hour. The last time I saw them for sale there was 10-20 slings available. I do think the price is why they were not sold instantly. Just my 2 cents worth.

Actually, that's exactly my point. P metallica used to sell out practically within the hour. Now, it takes a week to sell ten at the same price. The demand is beginning to be saturated (at this current price) and the supply will only continue to increase. I'm not saying that two months from now they're gonna be $50 and a year from now people are gonna be giving them away. I just think it's totally possible that a year from now they'll be half the price they are now.

 

[Exo]

How much were P irminia back in the day? How much are they now?

I don't mean to step on anybody's toes here, but it wasn't too long ago that the first breedings of P metallica were done in the US. Since that time, P metallica are much more commonly available. In the past couple months, I could've bought a ton of slings and even breedable females. Tell me that a couple years ago those would have even reached the public for sale. The fact is, P metallica have reached the point that if you are willing to pay the price for them you can have them. Not too long ago it was waiting lists and hoping to be the first one to e-mail. Now it's just paypalling the cash and the next day it's at your door. I know that breeding this species is more difficult than most, but it still doesn't change the fact that once there were a handful of people breeding this species. Now there are a lot more. I know of 3 different people with sacs or gravid metallica females right now, and that's just from the people that post or I've talked to personally. P metallica produce a large number of offspring (at least compared to other species of exotic pets) and grow very quickly. It's not inconceivable for someone to be breeding their metallica two years after they bought it as a sling. Couple that with the fact that hobbyists are constantly learning new techniques for breeding these tarantulas and we're gonna see an exponential surge in P metallica slings available. That's just the way it is.

Yup, just like the fact that more people are successfuly breeding T.blondi than ever before. Not so long ago it was almost unheard of.

 

[Vaughn]

Actually, that's exactly my point. P metallica used to sell out practically within the hour. Now, it takes a week to sell ten at the same price. The demand is beginning to be saturated (at this current price) and the supply will only continue to increase. I'm not saying that two months from now they're gonna be $50 and a year from now people are gonna be giving them away. I just think it's totally possible that a year from now they'll be half the price they are now.

I agree, a year and a half ago G. Pulchra were $125 a sling if you could find one . Now they are fraction of that . They will be even less now everyone has them to breed . I understand thats due to imports but who's to say it won't happen with P. Metallica . Supply always catches up to demand .

 

[jesters22]

mayb its just me.. but when someone is only interested in the "high end" of a anything for simply turning a profit. i look down apon this.. it seems to me that the op only wants to collect and breed the expensive T's just to make a quick buck but doesnt actualy care or take pride in them.. just seems wrong that u talk about "high end" and "profitable".. kinda makes me angry actualy

i myself have 5 t's and when they mature ill b sure to breed them. but not for money purposes. but to have more t's. sure ill sell a few. but nothing like a stores cost.

 

[Xian]

i myself have 5 t's and when they mature ill b sure to breed them. but not for money purposes. but to have more t's. sure ill sell a few. but nothing like a stores cost.

Well said! That's what makes the difference between a hobbyist and a businessman. I agree with you all the way.

 

[jayefbe]

mayb its just me.. but when someone is only interested in the "high end" of a anything for simply turning a profit. i look down apon this.. it seems to me that the op only wants to collect and breed the expensive T's just to make a quick buck but doesnt actualy care or take pride in them.. just seems wrong that u talk about "high end" and "profitable".. kinda makes me angry actualy

i myself have 5 t's and when they mature ill b sure to breed them. but not for money purposes. but to have more t's. sure ill sell a few. but nothing like a stores cost.

He's just coming from a ball python perspective. People literally spend thousands of dollars on ball python morphs (hell, I have) and view them, at least partially, as an investment. Unless you're spending hundreds on a P metallica female, I doubt anyone looks at tarantulas this way. Bill posts on a reptile forum I frequent, and is a good guy. You jumped to a conclusion that Bill was not trying to make. He just got his first T and was curious as to what the tarantula market was like.

 

[Billru]

Hi jesters22,

You need to reread what I wrote. How old are you? You don't really sound that educated. Did you read any of my previous posts? I am a ball python breeder. I breed snakes that sell for between 500 and 1000 dollars. There are ball pythons that sell for 30,000 dollars. Do I own any? No. Would I ever own one? No. I breed for total hobby. If you knew how much money my wife and I make together you would definitely know I am not interested in being the Donald Trump of Ts. Before you are going to insult me do your homework. You have no idea who I am or what my motives are. Why don't you PM me next time before you make a jerk out of your self and me on this really well done forum.

I wanted to purely know what some of the high end spiders where selling for so I could know if I could ever afford one maybe two years from now. I also wanted to know that if I would spend between 500 to 1000 dollars setting up a breeding group with Ts that I could potentially make some of my investment back to other hobbiest and breeders.

If you took two minutes to read my threads you would see I bought a Brachy for my daughter and I to have as a pet. We are really enjoying it and yes I would be very interested in breeding them one day. Not with the intent you have graceacely shared with the forum on my behalf. Guess who is angry now. You are lucky the moderators keep us at bay because I would love to share a lot more choice words of what I think of you. ;P ;P ;P

Hey JFB, you beat me too it....Thanks....

Regards,
Bill R.

 

[Billru]

mayb its just me.. but when someone is only interested in the "high end" of a anything for simply turning a profit. i look down apon this.. it seems to me that the op only wants to collect and breed the expensive T's just to make a quick buck but doesnt actualy care or take pride in them.. just seems wrong that u talk about "high end" and "profitable".. kinda makes me angry actualy

i myself have 5 t's and when they mature ill b sure to breed them. but not for money purposes. but to have more t's. sure ill sell a few. but nothing like a stores cost.

Hey,

Guess who is going to grow and make Ts more enjoyable to the public and make more Ts available for guys like you to sell to? Do you think it is going to be the wholesalers and the retailers? If you said yes to this you would be wrong. Do you think it would be other responsible animal enthusiast that would want to get into breeding Ts, would help grow the hobby and make the higher end Ts more desirable and more marketable to help supplement the cost of breeding Ts? Hopefully ROBC will come in with a response to this question. I will let you answer that question back in your reply to me. I think if you rethink what you wrote about me earlier you would see you where completely off base.

One more thing....What if every ball python breeder decided to get into breeding P Metalicas...Do you think that would really hurt the T industry...DO YOU? There are thousands of BP breeders. You really think all the BP breeders would come in here in ruin the T industry. If you are like 14 years old I apologize for the rant. I assumed you where older.

Regards,
Bill R.

 

[jesters22]

first... grab ur panties outa ur cornolieus.. wat i said was not a big deal.. next this is a public forum. i can say wat i want. 3rd with it being a public forum and not english class i truthfully dont care how well.. i type my sentences. or run on sentences for that mater..

and to go further since u decided to pm me bc it was such a big deal.. if you mentioned the population of tarantulas as a whole. when talking about breeding and selling i wouldnt say a word. but u spoke at directly the specific "high end" that will make u the most money.. to me that is crappy. take it or leave it. i dont care.

i dont have a problem with anyone. i simply voice my opinions as i see it.. thats it. plain and simple.

and to answer your little tid bit bout humidity in my snake. i bought the snake in mid shed. on crapy woodchips. changed it to shreaded paper and gave it lots of water. im not stupid. but when u buy a 20$ python from a kid who didnt care about it. u have to fix mistakes or carelessness of other ppl. so dont get snippy with me..

and for the record im 22. and i dont care about spelling. go ahead and bash me.. it wont hurt me at all.. have a nice day.

edit- and about the petcoe coment.. i dont buy anything more then supplys at petcoe. i dont buy anything live from their. i actualy havnt bought anything more then crickets their.