Why are tarantulas so freaking expensive in North America?

MerryAdvocado

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 23, 2022
Messages
9
Personally i cannot believe that the prices in the US represent the actual availability of said animals, correct me if i am wrong, but if you look at how they reproduce, in big clutches and how much effort it is to raise even a small batch of slings for some time it is reasonable that private breeders want to get rid of them as quick as possible, that includes wholesale or otherwise dropping the price. So ether there are very few private breeders or your economy is so bad that people would rather sit on them because they need to recuperate the money they invested. Or there are many Middle men in sales, that take a cut.

A more sinister possibility is that people actively destroy some of the offspring to keep the supply-demand ratio the way it is.
Anyways, i have said it before, the prices in the US make no sense at all from an outside perspective.
It's not only the supply (breeders), but also the demand, the ease of breeding, the egg sack size, growth rate, survival rate and whether there are WC specimens. All these will have an impact on the value of the arachnid.

The reason why the price varies between countries is because some of the above varies between countries.
 

AmbushArachnids

Arachnoculturist
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
629
I live in S. Korea for now, and I was appalled by the prices of Ts on Classifieds. For example, <edit> one of the most famous tarantula stores in Korea sells juvenile P. Regalis for 10 bucks, OBT for 5, GBT for 25, P. Metalica for 30, etc. Just every species is so much cheaper. And in addition to the cheap prices, they give you common species such as Grammostola pulchripes or A. geniculata for free if you purchase more than 20 bucks. I heard <edit> one of the best stores in Canada, and the prices of that store just made me horrified. Some of them were like 10 times more expensive. If you buy Ts from individuals, the prices get even cheaper. I actually bought a juvenile purple earth tiger and two Chilean rose hair for 10000 won last week (which is equal to 8.5 bucks). However, importing anthropods such as tarantulas or scorpions is strictly forbidden in Korea and there is no way to import them legally unlike in North America. So it makes sense to me that the prices in North America should be much cheaper.
The prices in the US are mostly fair as far as I understand them. People compete to keep prices low and people hoard them to themself to create value. If you buy slings and manage not to kill them for a few years you’ll see it’s a quality worth while investment in your own time and effort. Not to mention the personal growth rewards.. challenges, success, setbacks, relationships with friends, integrity, self control. Tarantulas are growing in popularity at an incredible rate as well!
 

Matt Man

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
1,685
and prices are totally dependent on who laid a sac. Sometimes a dealer/breeder gets a new sac and reduces the price to move the inventory. Typically the price they offer is cheaper than any dealer who is buying wholesale can compete
 
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