Tarantula Pricing

[wesker12]

Hi y'all, I was just hoping I could get some average prices for various theraposidae species, was out of the hobby for a bit more than half a decade but probably kept over 30/40 different species at one point or the other. I've noticed that prices have jumped up quite dramatically, once upon a time (say late 2013) I would get C.versicolor slings for under $15 a pop, GBB slings for around ~20/25$, P.irminia for around $7.

I would assume that there is just influx of demand with no changes in supply but are there any other reasons or restrictions? I know that certain pokies are restricted to state trade among other things, are there other regulations impacting breeders? I've also noticed how before local sellers and even reputable breeders/dealers would offer LAG with 2-3 day shipping but now it's primarily only offered with the doubly expensive 1 day shipping (when tarantulas are packed well, easily survive multiple days, look at all the EU shops offering LAG with 6 day shipping!).

I shopped around for a month and went through average prices on the boards via classified for a couple months but there was alot of discrepancy in pricing (cheapest versicolor slings were $25, some people charged $80!). P.irminia which breed relatively easier compared to other theraposidae I saw going for around $30-50!

So for the species in general I was wondering what average price is thus know the difference between a okay, good or great deal. All slings around .75-1.5 inches (DLS).

1. C.versicolor
2. P.irminia
3. G.pulchra
4. P.sazamai (these only exist as 1/4 inch)
5. C.cyanopubescens
6. P.cancerides
7. A.geniculata
8. B.albiceps

Thank you!

 

[Chebe6886]

1)25-35
2)15-25
3) 60-90
4) 15-25
5) 35-45
6) not sure
7) 25-35
8) 35-45
These are the ranges I’ve seen and think are fair for “typical” sling sizes of each. Obviously if it’s direct from a breeder your on the lower end of that and maybe even under
Never had 6 or searched for it

 

[wesker12]

1)25-35
2)15-25
3) 60-90
4) 15-25
5) 35-45
6) not sure
7) 25-35
8) 35-45
These are the ranges I’ve seen and think are fair for “typical” sling sizes of each
Never had 6 or searched for it

Appreciate that my man, exactly what I was looking for. Would you say the lower end of your spectrum would be considered a great deal?

Here are the prices I've paid in the last 2 months building up a beautiful collection again.

1. $25 each versi slings (min was buy 5 for 25, was originally getting 4 for 30 each)
2. $18 each for 4 irminia slings.
3. $50 each for 3 G.pulchra slings!
4. $25 each for 2 1/4 inch sazamai
5. $55 each for 2 1.5 inch GBB slings
6. $20 each for 5 .75 inch slings currently on the way! Always kept pamphos wanted to try out the phormictopus genus, love good eaters!
7. $30 each for 2 genic slings (on the way!)
8. $50 each for 2 B.albiceps slings (on the way!).

I was literally watching the phormictopus sell out of stock until the last 5 were left and I had to move fast! Threw in the genics and albiceps cause didn't want to spend 50% purchase price on shipping

 

[Liquifin]

There has been a increase of demand due to new hobbyists coming into the hobby. Sadly, prices online are steadily going up for some species and down for some species that are new to the hobby. Locally, I can still get a good price range, but even then it's still slowly fluctuating up for certain species (pokies and versicolors) and down for the new species in the hobby (P. victorii for example). I'm currently hoarding a few species just to see where their prices will be in the next few years. Pokies have gone up the most in price from what I've seen. Used to be $15 a P. regalis sling online and now I see a sling for $30 (average price I see online). I have not bought any T.'s online for a while now because prices are outrageous online and I still see those 1/2'' LP slings for $28. @Chebe6886 got most prices on the nail regarding online pricing, but I will tweak some prices in regards to what I see on the average online price.

Based on a 1'' size scale:
1) C. versicolor $25-$35 (very cheap at the moment due to recent Europe import bringing hundreds to thousands of them to the U.S.)
2) P. irminia $15-$25 (P. irminia hasn't changed much in regards to price)
3) G. pulchra $50-$90 (Super slow growing makes larger sizes more desirable)
4) P. sazimai $30-$45 (Slow growers so larger sizes sell for more)
5) GBB $35-$75 (Either cheap or expensive depending on breeder/vendor/seller online)
6) P. cancerides $20-$40 (these come and go in regards to breeding)
7) A. geniculata $15-$30 (over supply of breeding last year so quite cheap from last years stock from most online sellers)
8) B. albiceps $35-$50 (slow growers so larger sizes sell for more).

 

[Chebe6886]

You got a good deal on the pulchra only thing you could have done a little better on was the GBB but if it’s a decent size not bad

 

[ErikElvis]

I paid about $85 for a 3/4” pulchra. $65 for a 3/4” GBB. Got a freebie sazimai that was $45. He’s a 1/4”-1/2”. My genics were in the $30 range.

 

[viper69]

but are there any other reasons or restrictions?

Yes. I've been buying for decades.In general, there has been an explosion in this hobby with a lot of ignorant AND stupid people looking to buy "whatever is pretty and popular"

There has been a dramatic increase in the use of "rare" for species, that no one has any idea if they are rare or not. But because only 1 person, or small group of people own them, (these are new species to the hobby), the sellers often start with triple digit prices more often than not. This high pricing really started more often than not when H. pulchripes came into the hobby. Sure there were a few that were 3 figure Ts before this one, but they were the exception, NOT the norm as you often see now.

The influence of STUPID media as I call it, people posting etc, fuels the price hiking.

Most new people have no idea of the value of a T (granted subjective ultimately) but when I hear peeps paying for a species at 80+ when I know you can get them for 20-30, one can't expect prices to stay down.

Also, some countries stopped exporting etc..normal stuff.

You got a good deal on the pulchra only thing you could have done a little better on was the GBB but if it’s a decent size not bad

I bought a confirmed female G. puclchra for 50$, this was long before the prices for them were through the roof like they are now. The prices for these slings is ridiculous. The species back then had the same "mystique" it does now. All black, shiny--"oh I want it" luster.

 

[EpicEpic]

People have been wondering for years why our hobby is not more popular? Why so few items are produced for strictly spiders? Why there is so few good places/books to find knowledgeable information? Why so few people appreciate arachnids? and so on.....

Well its finally taken that turn from "underground" to "mainstream"....

And unfortunately price hikes are an inevitable detriment to the hobby because of it....

I've seen 1/4" sazimai for $75

 

[wesker12]

I paid about $85 for a 3/4” pulchra. $65 for a 3/4” GBB. Got a freebie sazimai that was $45. He’s a 1/4”-1/2”. My genics were in the $30 range.

Oh man a freebie sazamai sounds like a great deal thrown in! Appreciate it.

Yes. I've been buying for decades.In general, there has been an explosion in this hobby with a lot of ignorant AND stupid people looking to buy "whatever is pretty and popular"

There has been a dramatic increase in the use of "rare" for species, that no one has any idea if they are rare or not. But because only 1 person, or small group of people own them, (these are new species to the hobby), the sellers often start with triple digit prices more often than not. This high pricing really started more often than not when H. pulchripes came into the hobby. Sure there were a few that were 3 figure Ts before this one, but they were the exception, NOT the norm as you often see now.

The influence of STUPID media as I call it, people posting etc, fuels the price hiking.

Most new people have no idea of the value of a T (granted subjective ultimately) but when I hear peeps paying for a species at 80+ when I know you can get them for 20-30, one can't expect prices to stay down.

Also, some countries stopped exporting etc..normal stuff.

Oh man I feel that...so you would say the main cause is an influx of unknown buyers who don't know pricing so buy whatever at whatever price, inflating price? I was also hoping to pick your brain on the price range for those 8 species, if you can shoot me some numbers offhand! Also a confirmed female pulchra for $50.....damn man that sounds like an amazing deal.

People have been wondering for years why our hobby is not more popular? Why so few items are produced for strictly spiders? Why there is so few good places/books to find knowledgeable information? Why so few people appreciate arachnids? and so on.....

Well its finally taken that turn from "underground" to "mainstream"....

And unfortunately price hikes are an inevitable detriment to the hobby because of it....

I've seen 1/4" sazimai for $75

I know!! It seems like there is no objectivity to pricing as I see some places selling em for $15/pop. I would think making the hobby more mainstream would be a double edged sword that would increase supply as more and more people got into it but it seems prices have just gone up!

There has been a increase of demand due to new hobbyists coming into the hobby. Sadly, prices online are steadily going up for some species and down for some species that are new to the hobby. Locally, I can still get a good price range, but even then it's still slowly fluctuating up for certain species (pokies and versicolors) and down for the new species in the hobby (P. victorii for example). I'm currently hoarding a few species just to see where their prices will be in the next few years. Pokies have gone up the most in price from what I've seen. Used to be $15 a P. regalis sling online and now I see a sling for $30 (average price I see online). I have not bought any T.'s online for a while now because prices are outrageous online and I still see those 1/2'' LP slings for $28. @Chebe6886 got most prices on the nail regarding online pricing, but I will tweak some prices in regards to what I see on the average online price.

Based on a 1'' size scale:
1) C. versicolor $25-$35 (very cheap at the moment due to recent Europe import bringing hundreds to thousands of them to the U.S.)
2) P. irminia $15-$25 (P. irminia hasn't changed much in regards to price)
3) G. pulchra $50-$90 (Super slow growing makes larger sizes more desirable)
4) P. sazimai $30-$45 (Slow growers so larger sizes sell for more)
5) GBB $35-$75 (Either cheap or expensive depending on breeder/vendor/seller online)
6) P. cancerides $20-$40 (these come and go in regards to breeding)
7) A. geniculata $15-$30 (over supply of breeding last year so quite cheap from last years stock from most online sellers)
8) B. albiceps $35-$50 (slow growers so larger sizes sell for more).

Thank you for that list! Pokies were definitely on my list but since I don't live alone, I can't justify any medically significant species at the moment miss my obt and ornata forsure. Would you say your local deals are better than the classifieds here?

 

[Liquifin]

Thank you for that list! Pokies were definitely on my list but since I don't live alone, I can't justify any medically significant species at the moment miss my obt and ornata forsure. Would you say your local deals are better than the classifieds here?

Yes, local prices at shows are almost always better for me. I always get discounts and free tarantulas every time I go to a show. I do wholesale to vendors at local shows which is why I get such great experiences most of the time. If you were at my local area during a show, I'll give you really fair price if I'm wholesaling to someone. I sold a C. versicolor sling to someone who wanted one for $8, since I had a bucket load of C. versicolors I was stuck with locally. I still have 24 C. versicolor slings, but they are mines for future breeding projects in the future.

 

[EpicEpic]

Oh man a freebie sazamai sounds like a great deal thrown in! Appreciate it.



Oh man I feel that...so you would say the main cause is an influx of unknown buyers who don't know pricing so buy whatever at whatever price, inflating price? I was also going to pick your brain on the price range for those 8 species, if you can shoot me some numbers offhand! Also a confirmed female pulchra for $50.....damn man that sounds like an amazing deal.


I know!! It seems like there is no objectivity to pricing as I see some places selling em for $15/pop. I would think making the hobby more mainstream would be a double edged sword that would increase supply as more and more people got into it but it seems prices have just gone up!

I think you'd be right in the longterm wes! But right now with those super popular YouTube channels and such....id imagine a lot more people are just getting into the hobby...and getting gouged for it. In the future with more experience, there should be more breeders and then the prices should settle some I'd imagine!

But prices are definitely all over the place! Some places charge triple what others are charging!

 

[wesker12]

Thank you for that list! Pokies were definitely on my list but since I don't live alone, I can't justify any medically significant species at the moment miss my obt and ornata forsure. Would you say your local deals are better than

Yes, local prices at shows are almost always better for me. I always get discounts and free tarantulas every time I go to a show. I do wholesale to vendors at local shows which is why I get such great experiences most of the time. If you were at my local area during a show, I'll give you really fair price if I'm wholesaling to someone. I sold a C. versicolor sling to someone who wanted one for $8, since I had a bucket load of C. versicolors I was stuck with locally. I still have 24 C. versicolor slings, but they are mines for future breeding projects in the future.

I appreciate that brother, will def have to look into the local scene here, so-cal should def have some arachnophiles here and there! If I ever get a sack or a bunch of slings, definitely remember you. Some of the best times I've had in the hobby was just trading with friends and surprising them with stuff and vice versa. Good luck with any future breeding projects!

I think you'd be right in the longterm wes! But right now with those super popular YouTube channels and such....id imagine a lot more people are just getting into the hobby...and getting gouged for it. In the future with more experience, there should be more breeders and then the prices should settle some I'd imagine!

But prices are definitely all over the place! Some places charge triple what others are charging!

Exactly my man...hopefully the pendulum will shift in our favor! Still more people in the hobby is a good thing, just hope they're doing their research Yeah it's pretty hard to get a subjective pricing for anything with how variable it is man, I've been using some stats and averaging pricing to try and figure price ranges for certain species. Just dropped about a grand so wallets definitely feeling the sting.....still had to make up for the last 5 years!