What's the deal with Tarantula prices in the US these days?

[Tarantula155]

they will price at what you will pay
If you see a price and go "too high" and still by, the price therefore wasn't too high.
So pricing is based on "what the market will bear"
See the differences between men's and women's clothing.
Zeeman brings up a great point, yes you need a space, staff, feeders and heaps of time to care for hundreds or thousands of specimens, plus there is also a level of die off among slings.
Imagine with the lack of shows how much inventory they are sitting on, taking care of and losing a % of them versus normal times

Yeah, while our hobby is blooming let's overprice certain things for the newbies to buy. If many retailers are listing the same product for much cheaper than the other side of retailers...there's a red flag.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Has anyone done the math to verify what housing thousands of spiders at various sizes, feeding them, paying for sufficient employees to care for the T's, answer customer questions and address orders and shipping before calling it greed?

What about the costs of import that has to be spread out over the entire collection so specific species aren't grossly overpriced?

If people aren't happy with the prices there's always the option of yourself going into business pf breeding and importing as potentially your sole source of income, advertising, and selling them at European prices. I'm sure people would buy.

I totally get what you're saying, but it's like... a funeral home. Do they NEED to charge you $600 for retrieving your dead loved ones body? Nah. Are they going to anyway and say it's a general service fee that helps the upkeep of the funeral home? Yes. Does someone NEED to charge you $200 for an A. mooreae sling? No. Will they? Yep.

 

[Matt Man]

Yeah, while our hobby is blooming let's overprice certain things for the newbies to buy. If many retailers are listing the same product for much cheaper than the other side of retailers...there's a red flag.

well we have clearly learned Poecilotheria are far cheaper in Europe than they are in the US. So either A) Europe has better breeding B) Europe is getting live caught imported C) US Breeders are gouging, or any combination of the above. I have been involved long enough to remember Pre CITES Brachypelma AFs for $35. And again, they charge what people will pay, so if we want prices to drop, don't pay high costs. Also depends on availability, Chalcodes are cheap out here, I am guessing Anax / Hentzi are cheap in Texas and Oklahoma

 

[moricollins]

I don't understand complaining about prices. If you don't want to pay the price, then don't buy from the people who you think are overpriced , simple as that.

My invert dealer of choice provides a 7 day guarantee on their stock, if it dies within 7 days of arrival you get your money refunded or a replacement. That is worth a great deal to me.

 

[Matt Man]

Yeah, while our hobby is blooming let's overprice certain things for the newbies to buy. If many retailers are listing the same product for much cheaper than the other side of retailers...there's a red flag.

and in regards to 'other dealers' you have to weigh in rent, wages, etc.... because I am going to wager a breeder in San Diego or San Francisco has higher running costs than a dealer in the mid west

 

[Tarantula155]

and in regards to 'other dealers' you have to weigh in rent, wages, etc.... because I am going to wager a breeder in San Diego or San Francisco has higher running costs than a dealer in the mid west

You know what, you guys are totally right in the sense of simply dont buy from certain vendors. No doubt about that. I just wanted to make sure others are aware of this, I already had a couple PMs from users asking for other reliable sources

 

[Frogdaddy]

Is it possible vendors are overpricing adults to prevent people from breeding them?

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

Has anyone done the math to verify what housing thousands of spiders at various sizes, feeding them, paying for sufficient employees to care for the T's, answer customer questions and address orders and shipping before calling it greed?

What about the costs of import that has to be spread out over the entire collection so specific species aren't grossly overpriced?

If people aren't happy with the prices there's always the option of yourself going into business pf breeding and importing as potentially your sole source of income, advertising, and selling them at European prices. I'm sure people would buy.

Some of these so called legit importers are the same ones who are part of the greed. Trust me I know that for a fact!!!! All that about import fees, employees etc. does not warrant a triple price tag on many of their precious gold cargo lol.

 

[viper69]

A perfect example of “greedy vendors”. Aphonopelma moorea wholesale price was $70-$75 each. The entire egg sac were purchased. I believe there was at least 300 babies that were sold to the U.S market. Your typical vendors/tarantula enthusiasts sold/retail them at $300 to $350 each. Nice markup price for an Aphonopelma species that grows slowly

Yep mi amigo- which is exactly why I passed on them. Always wanted one, but I knew the source etc, not worth it.

Is it possible vendors are overpricing adults to prevent people from breeding them?

Why waste time showing something, answering emails etc for something you’ll never sell. I don’t think that at all.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Price is a perceived measure of value, we value tarantulas in the US, maybe a little more than last year. You should see some of the incredibly high prices for certain specimens of beetles, tridacna, goldfish, etc. in Japan because they value those animals and quality.

 

[mantisfan101]

Welp I was wrong...thank god for the classifieds section here

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

Yep mi amigo- which is exactly why I passed on them. Always wanted one, but I knew the source etc, not worth it.

On top of the selling price of these gold Aphonopelma mooreae nuggets, there was no import fees added. The seller paid for export and import fees lol. And of course the U.S sellers wanted big bucks for each one of these gold nuggets making customers believe that these were purchased at a high dollar amount .

 

[cold blood]

I am going to wager a breeder in San Diego or San Francisco has higher running costs than a dealer in the mid west

Generally, the highest costs involved are the cost to heat....the colder the climate, the higher those heating costs. Places in the north (much of the mid west), have hands down the highest heating costs as we have the coldest temps. Heating a room when its 50 in winter isnt comparable to heating a room when its 0 outside....my heater runs from september through June non stop.

 

[Matt Man]

Generally, the highest costs involved are the cost to heat....the colder the climate, the higher those heating costs. Places in the north (much of the mid west), have hands down the highest heating costs as we have the coldest temps. Heating a room when its 50 in winter isnt comparable to heating a room when its 0 outside....my heater runs from september through June non stop.

you aren't factoring in rent or mortgage? A 1 bedroom in Green Bay is $700, in San Diego $2200, in SF More. So unless your heating costs are $1500 more a month you are still ahead. Last I checked people weren't converting living rooms and dining rooms into bedrooms to turn a 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom (sort of) in the MW to make rental somewhat affordable

 

[Frogdaddy]

you aren't factoring in rent or mortgage? A 1 bedroom in Green Bay is $700, in San Diego $2200, in SF More. So unless your heating costs are $1500 more a month you are still ahead. Last I checked people weren't converting living rooms and dining rooms into bedrooms to turn a 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom (sort of) in the MW to make rental somewhat affordable

Well then you would be bad at business. These days you could literally live anywhere and be able to ship T's across the country. A smart business person that lives in an area with cheap rent, utilities, etc. and charging going market rates would maximize their profits.
If you could move your T business to China you could even take advantage of cheap child labor. Oh wait that's Nike.
Check out the electric rates for Commonwealth Edison in Illinois, some of the highest in the country.
@Matt Man not busting your chops, just playing Devil's advocate.
How many "T" business employ 3 or more people? I would think in most cases there is no payroll. It's a mom and pop shop. Or husband and wife team or a single person doing it on their own.

 

[viper69]

you aren't factoring in rent or mortgage? A 1 bedroom in Green Bay is $700, in San Diego $2200, in SF More. So unless your heating costs are $1500 more a month you are still ahead. Last I checked people weren't converting living rooms and dining rooms into bedrooms to turn a 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom (sort of) in the MW to make rental somewhat affordable

2200 is cheap - depending on neighborhood and sq ft

Can’t find that in LA in a decent neighborhood anymore- including W/D, central air

 

[Frogdaddy]

2200 is cheap - depending on neighborhood and sq ft

Can’t find that in LA in a decent neighborhood anymore- including W/D, central air

And that place in LA comes with a $500 a week cocaine habit.

 

[cold blood]

you aren't factoring in rent or mortgage? A 1 bedroom in Green Bay is $700, in San Diego $2200, in SF More. So unless your heating costs are $1500 more a month you are still ahead. Last I checked people weren't converting living rooms and dining rooms into bedrooms to turn a 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom (sort of) in the MW to make rental somewhat affordable

You aren't factoring in that those costs exist whether one owns ts or not....ts don't add to those general costs.

You are factoring costs irrelevant to t keeping and more relevant to living. Heating costs are costs on top of what you would already be paying for even if you didn't own a single t.

 

[Matt Man]

it's still cost of doing business. Consider wanting an extra bedroom to have as a T room, that all factors in. So if I have to come up with $2K a month for rent and $200 for heating, my cost of operation is $2200. If you spend $700 on rent and $500 on heating you are $1000 cheaper on COO.
You point on heating is the same, you are going to heat your home whether there are Ts there or not. So we factor in all costs. In my case I don't heat my home EXCEPT for the T room, so almost all my heating expenses are T related.

Well then you would be bad at business. These days you could literally live anywhere and be able to ship T's across the country. A smart business person that lives in an area with cheap rent, utilities, etc. and charging going market rates would maximize their profits.
If you could move your T business to China you could even take advantage of cheap child labor. Oh wait that's Nike.
Check out the electric rates for Commonwealth Edison in Illinois, some of the highest in the country.
@Matt Man not busting your chops, just playing Devil's advocate.
How many "T" business employ 3 or more people? I would think in most cases there is no payroll. It's a mom and pop shop. Or husband and wife team or a single person doing it on their own.

I totally concur, which is why some businesses leave CA, rent is expensive and COL for their employees is high. If I was solely in the T business I'd probably choose Arizona, cheaper to operate. But that is making my point, the prices you get from someone with higher operating expenses will be more than a guy in his Mom's basement

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Unfettered capitalism FTW