Tarantulas' price question

[ReMoVeR]

I am not very much into business but can someone explain me why when talking about the same species the slings are cheaper and the bigger ones are a bit more expensive ? I guess i understand when it is a female spider wich lives more. Slings are cheap because they are bit more dificult to care so breeders will "get rid" of them faster ? How about unsexed juvies? shouldnt they be cheaper than slings ? When buying a bigger specimen you know it is not gonna live so much as a smaller one and it is more expensive.. why ? xD I can't even understand how to ask what i want but i figure you kind of understand the point...

It is also a very stupid question xD I admit!

//Tiago

 

[Xian]

I think it's the time people put into raising them. There are just so many slings available at one time that they are considerably cheaper.

 

[forrestpengra]

You will notice a huge price jump in juvies when they can be sexed.

Juvies are more expensive than slings because the earlier stages of their lives are the most difficult. Not to mention the cost of food to get them to that size. I would say if you buy a sling for $20 or a juvie for $40 the extra money is well spent if you don't want to wait it out, or have the hassle of micro crickets. Species like B. smithi's can take a good year to get to a reasonable 'juvie' size

I would never worry about 'losing time with them'. What's 6mths-1yr in the whole scope of things. Some Ts live 25+yrs...

 

[jayefbe]

More than anything else, you're paying for time when buying anything larger than a sling.

 

[ReMoVeR]

hmn... makes sense x)) hehe !

 

[GartenSpinnen]

One must not forget that some species such as Aphonopelma sp., Grammastola sp., etc. take an especially long time to get to a larger size. It took almost 6 years so far for my 'chaco' female to get the size she is now and she still is not full grown. There is nothing wrong with charging more for tarantulas based upon the years of work put into caring for them while waiting for them to get larger.

Kinda like a cattle farmer... but instead of slaughtering the cow you just throw it in a glass cage, name it 'Tiny', and throw crickets at it.