So I had just asked @stewart_reptiles about this so hopefully she doesn’t mind reiterating on this post for all of us but what do all of you think the ball python market will be like in the wake of covid? Do you think prices will plummet and people will try to sell off everything they have due to many of us unfortunately becoming unemployed? Will morphs that are staples in the industry such as clown and pied fall drastically in value? What advice would you share so the rest of us dont have to feel like we need to sell everything? I would love to see all of your predictions and reasoning behind your answers but I also must add for the sake of the mods and so this thread doesn’t get locked, this does NOT mean I am asking for political views or anything of the sort. Just your predictions and any advice you may have for other sellers or buyers.
So would you say that as a buyer now is good time to buy into projects? Are prices on morphs such as clowns going to drop drastically because alot of breeders would be quitting? I just want your opinion or predictions on it since you have experienced and seen this before and I haven’t but I would think that prices would drop since there would be a sudden surge of breeders trying to sell off their collection right?
Will people get desperate and drop their prices in a few weeks, sell their entire collection even? Yes I have seen it a few years back when the housing market crashed and this will not be any different.
You will see that from people, you will see it from those that did not make a smart investment to start with, those that mass produce, those that can barely afford to sit on their animals for a while if they do not sell and will panick,etc. At the same time you will have people thinking they are getting great deals (buying while the prices are low) they will buy entire collection which will be turn key however chances are those were already not a great investment before and will definitely not be now. (If you are smart and have a great investment in your hand you don’t sell out, youwait it out)
So will there be deals? Yes however that does not mean the people taking those deals will make it because it is a luxury to own a snake not a necessity and it will take a while this time for things to bounce back to normal but they will and well established breeders are more likely to succeed and make it than others unless those investing now make smart investments that they can afford to sit on until the market comes back to what it usually is.
With so many people out of the job and much of the economy cut down to essential services and remote work, I’d be surprised if demand doesn’t go way down until things are looking better. How far prices drop I think will depend on how willing people will be to hold on to animals until things are looking better.
I’d guess that morphs that are selling in low quantities but high price will see the smallest change in price since more people would be willing to keep them as holdbacks vs sell them at a steep discount.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this anywhere but, my order with TGR Rack System was just refunded with a note stating that due to these difficult times they are going out of business.
No freakin way man.
Wow feel bad for them they just bought a bunch of new machinery etc too. That’s too bad.
Yeah it’s sad. I’ve done business with them and have nothing but good things to say. Hopefully they are up and running again when this is all over
As a reminder not only are we getting off topic but we are also crossing the lines into TOS violation.
I think it’s rational to expect there to be less demand on the buying side this year [in the coming months which I expect will be very difficult]. It will take longer for stuff to sell, or they may not sell at the prices they did before. On higher end stuff I would want to hold out for prices to firm up. But on lower end stuff you have to factor in the maintenance cost too.
On the selling side, if someone panics and sells, that’s kind of like selling out of the stock market once it’s already fallen, not a good time to liquidate. However, it’s not always about people making poor decisions in the present (although they may have made bad choices prior to now which set up the circumstances, but we wouldn’t know). Some people will genuinely get squeezed and have to get some cash to pay their bills, so they will have no choice to sell some of their assets. That will create some deals.
However, if there are deals and even some dips, I would expect a recovery that loosely corresponds to the economic recovery. I think some people only believe prices go down, but I don’t see why they can’t recover as well. It’s just supply and demand.
My heart goes out to everyone who is struggling in this time, and especially businesses in the reptile community which have to fold.
Personally, I think it’s going up with nothing to do but shop for snakes. I always have at least 15 snakes on my wishlist, and every day, at least 3 get sold, so I find 3 more to replace them, next day, a different 3-5 get sold. So, if anybody thinks sales is slowing down, then somebody is mopping up.
The market will stay strong despite a small percentage of people panic selling. I personally do not buy from panic sellers, or what I call “fire sales”. Those few percentage of sellers will not, and never have, dictated market prices. Once the panic sales are done, the market prices are held strong by a solid base of breeders who have good business models.
My first quarter was strong, and already my second quarter has started out strong with people paying off payment plans early and purchasing investment quality animals. Sure, I’ve had lowball offers which I turned down politely, but I did not waiver on prices which I knew were really solid investment animals. I have also made investment purchases at the same time. The stock market has already rebounded to again close to historical highs with the largest one week gain in several decades on only a 4 day trading week.
If you are starting out now, or relatively new to this hobby you will always have to be patient with sales. That should have been part of your business plan to begin with. This is a hobby/business of patience. Females take 3 years or more to breed. Males take a year or so to breed.
Nothing happens overnight here. Stay calm.
Ive seen very few collectors/breeders have to sell out their collections due to this. I think it has to do with how well they were managing before, although i cant speak for everyone. I could see if you had tons of snakes and were making just enough to take care of those how a loss in income would greatly affect you.
But it also seems like for the most part the market is somewhat unaffected, Ive been watching snakes get sold right before i try to make an offer and its so sad lol. Although I doubt too many high end snakes will be sold it is just a matter of breeders holding out til this is all over
This is also happening here in the U.K., pisses me off no end, why not just give them to a rescue, i’d have taken them if I’d have known or been contacted, as would many more people I’m sure
thats just awful! if youre in it for the animals you should at least give them to someone who will take care of them! not just dump them!
Personally I just purchased an animal but thats because my partner and I are not as affected by this pandemic as others are. My fiance is working full time still and I am working from home (limited hours but better than nothing).
As far as the market goes I have been getting blown up on Morph Market and have sold all of my lower priced animals ($100 or less) in the last month. All thats left are animals $200 and up, mosy of which were not produced by me.
We are moving in a couple months and were taking that opportunity to re-evaluate our collections. We found snakes we just don’t really need and those are currently for sale. It just happened to coincide with this pandemic so to others it may look like we are panic selling when really we.are doing well financially. We werr the couple that went out for drinks and food often sp we are actually saving money now that every is closed down.
I do believe lots of customers are timid about shipping animals at this point. I’m personally only shipping within my same state or offering to hold them for no extra charge until this pandemic is over and its safer to ship. Of the 13 inquires in the last 2 weeks only 3 were in my same state, I sold the animal to a local and am arranging to meet halfway.
Sales have been unprecedented. Animals that I have been watching for 6 months+ are all gone. I think MM inventory has gone from 16k to 13k? Stimulus + people on unemployment making more than they normally do + no where to spend money = BIG online reptile sales. Crazy times! Jeff Bezos is poised to become the first trillionare.
While I haven’t been selling anything, it really does seem like snakes are selling out much faster than I’ve ever seen. I thought now would be a good time to get back into balls as it might be a “buyers market” but actually the opposite has been true. I’ve tried to buy 8 different snakes now within an 12 hours of them being posted, and they were still already sold. It’s crazy.
I’m guessing a lot of other people had the same idea and are choosing now to get into reptiles while they’re out of work? Or everyone is buying spending their stimulus checks on pythons?
@biologicalcanvas I have noticed the same thing. Inventories flying off the shelves.
With many having a late start to the season though the real rush of 2020 babies I think have yet to hit the market. And there’s still the unknown long term effects to consider but so far I agree sales seem to be going well for people on MM.
I sell reptiles and reptile supplies for a living. I don’t have another job. I have seen lots of animal sales. Most of the things I sell are $150 and less. That being said without shows going on there is a drop off in sales. Normally February, March, and April are the big 3 months of the year. Without shows we’re down 56% against last year this time. Will it come back yes. How long is anyone’s guess.