Which Ts are unusually common/cheap or unusually rare/expensive in the hobby where you live?

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Whenever I look at vendor's lists in the US, Canada or Europe compared to vendor's lists here, I'm always reminded of the fact the selection of available Ts and other inverts in the hobby varies drastically depending on where you live. My signature basically sums up the situation I have here; most of the Asian fossorials and arboreals are relatively cheap or even dirt cheap here. I am not exaggerating when I say I can get a 1/2" C. lividus sling for $CA5/3.5€ (though this is an extreme example) or a sexed female 4" C. sp. "Bach Ma" for $CA60/42.7€. At the same time, some of the staples of the hobby in American or European markets are quite rare (though not all-Grammastola and A. geniculata are still pretty available), with Brachypelma being particularly hard to come by to the point of being nonexistent on current vendor's lists!

Has anyone else noticed a trend similar to this where you live, with some species being a lot easier to find and a lot cheaper than is usual in the hobby and others being far rarer?

 

[MariaLewisia]

I'm from Sweden so my range is anything within the EU, and while I can't say I've noticed any particular trends (other than some Avics being fairly rare and expensive) I'm always blown away by the prices anytime I browse the forums or US based vendors. Everything is SO expensive! Most of our slings are in the $5-25 range, and personally I hesitate to buy any at $60-80, and $100+ is reserved for the most rare species. Meanwhile in the US, $80-100+ slings doesn't seem too unusual, or unreasonable! I did some calculations with my own collection a while back to see what I would've payed for my tarantulas had I been in the US and the end result was something like 5-6 times the price I paid here. In other words, I would've gone bankrupt.

 

[8 legged]

In Germany you can find almost every 8-legged creature, since, as I already wrote, the trade works across the EU. The fact is that the standard types of that time have developed into real rarities. An A. chalcodes or G. rosea cost around €15 in the 90s (a different currency at the time), today you pay a similar price for an adult female as for example a T. seladonia...
As far as slings are concerned, the offer here is unbeatable!
Examples (slings from fh2 to fh4):
Brachypelma hamorii - 10 €
Grammostola pulchra - 20 €
Nhandus chromatus - 7 €
Aphonopelma chalcodes - 40 €
Psalmopoeus irminia Pterinochilus murinus - 5 €
T. seladonia - 50 €
T. blondi - 40 €
These are ~ internet prices, we usually trade with other hobby people and don't buy in per shops. Deals between friends are much cheaper than the prices above...

 

[taranbandido]

Spain
Lasiodora Parahybana : 5€.
Grammostola Puchra : 25 €.
Pamphobeteus Solaris : 250/300€.(Very difficult action).
Theraposa Blondi : 70€.(6 months in stock)

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Brachypelma hamorii - 10 €

Good luck even FINDING these on vendor's lists in Korea nowadays; used to be a lot more commonly available in the 2000s but they seemingly vanished overnight.

Pterinochilus murinus - 5 €

Funnily enough that's almost the same price as over here.

T. seladonia - 50 €

WAY cheaper than in Korea, though this probably has to do with the fact Korean breeders have only recently managed to breed this species.

T. blondi - 40 €

Again, significantly cheaper than in Korea (Theraposa in general are pretty pricey here, though not to the extent of some other NW terrestrials)

An A. chalcodes or G. rosea cost around €15 in the 90s (a different currency at the time), today you pay a similar price for an adult female as for example a T. seladonia...

I knew that G. rosea had gotten rare and expensive in the trade after Chile banned all exports, but holy crap!

G. rosea are still pretty common and cheap in Korea (a 1/2" sling goes for around 9€ nowadays); they're rarer and more expensive than they used to be, but not to the point they're anywhere near as rare/expensive as a T. seladonia (a single 1/6" sling of which costs around 106€ here) and people still breed them regularly. Might have something to do with the fact we haven't gotten any large WC G. rosea shipments at any point in the history of the Korean T-keeping hobby....

Another thing I'd like to add: we almost never get amblypygids of any sort in the trade in Korea and Uropygi are also quite rare. A massive shame, especially as I am personally very interested in amblypygids.

 

[Liquifin]

In the United States, everything is variable because our country is so large and wide with a bit of inflation because of expenses and taxes (somewhat) if you're an operating business. Depending on where you live in the USA and where you are locally, will determine or fluctuate on what you have on pricing locally. If you live in the west coast of the United States, you're going to pay a lot more for tarantulas than if you live on the east coast. Online prices is kind of like a balance between east and west coast prices. But overall, it varies on a lot of factors.

Species of tarantulas and arachnids we have in the USA is second behind the EU in most cases. The only problem is that niche species come and go and many are not established into the USA hobby because of the lack of market sales or the numbers in the USA hobby is not enough. There are some species I would like to work with, but my goodness is the prices not worth it for me. When I want females, I get males. But once I get females, I have no males.

I would like to get in touch with some exporters in the future. But as of now, that's a pipe dream.

 

[Wolfram1]

I'd say in Austria we have about the same prices as you would find in Germany, maybe the selection is a little smaller locally, but if you factor online shops from all over europe into the equation it really is the same.
What we lack in comparison to the US are many of the common Aphonopelma sp., Avicularia sp. are also less prevalent.

We do have a breeder focusing on Pamphobeteus and Xenesthis, recent prices for Xenesthis sp. "bright" slings are 60€, still too much in my opinion ...

 

[curtisgiganteus]

I can’t seem to find haplopelma Hainanum anywhere here in the states. It’s frustrating

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

I can’t seem to find haplopelma Hainanum anywhere here in the states. It’s frustrating

Not exactly common here either, I've only seen them available once or twice. Probably still easier than in the US.

 

[viper69]

Yes- been this way forever

 

[me and my Ts]

We do have a breeder focusing on Pamphobeteus and Xenesthis, recent prices for Xenesthis sp. "bright" slings are 60€, still too much in my opinion ...

That’s a really cheap price in the US

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

That’s a really cheap price in the US

It's also pretty cheap for Korea, where anything Xenesthis tends to go over double that (Pamphos are more variable depending on species or locality). Breeding is reasonably common but prices still remain high.

 

[Tarantuland]

A lot of people in the US overpay in my opinion as well. There is the retail market, but some vendors will charge a lot for common species and people will have no problem paying it due to the good reputation. This is a largely a result of so many scammers, brown boxers, and here today/gone tomorrow vendors. So people are willing to pay for the service and peace of mind. If you spend some time looking you can often get better deals, but people will also buy more spiders to avoid paying multiple times for shipping

Are there a lot of scammers overseas

 

[Pedipalpable]

I have recently discovered that it is frustratingly difficult to find ANY Aphonopelma species here in Canada. Even A. seemanni seems difficult to reliably find captive bred slings of!
Aphonopelma species seem to come and go from dealers’ stocks, and appear to only be somewhat reliably available through import preorders. And even then, the pickings are slim and they are a pretty penny compared to other slow-growing North American species like Tliltocatl and Brachypelma. I just don’t get it.

The same is true of Pamphobeteus and Xenesthis, which are not stocked by dealers and only available at high prices through import preorders as well.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Whenever I look at vendor's lists in the US, Canada or Europe compared to vendor's lists here, I'm always reminded of the fact the selection of available Ts and other inverts in the hobby varies drastically depending on where you live. My signature basically sums up the situation I have here; most of the Asian fossorials and arboreals are relatively cheap or even dirt cheap here. I am not exaggerating when I say I can get a 1/2" C. lividus sling for $CA5/3.5€ (though this is an extreme example) or a sexed female 4" C. sp. "Bach Ma" for $CA60/42.7€. At the same time, some of the staples of the hobby in American or European markets are quite rare (though not all-Grammastola and A. geniculata are still pretty available), with Brachypelma being particularly hard to come by to the point of being nonexistent on current vendor's lists!

Has anyone else noticed a trend similar to this where you live, with some species being a lot easier to find and a lot cheaper than is usual in the hobby and others being far rarer?

P Metallica is very expensive in USA but dirt cheap in Asia . Similar trends for different species . Europe has better prices we often get price gouging here I’ve seen lp slings $35 each !!!