Hello, I have a question for other breeders and sellers on MorphMarket .
I sell baby/ juvenile gargoyle geckos. I’m having a very hard time selling and getting inquiries. I currently have 10 baby/juveniles up for sale. All are on the lower end of the price scale but not the lowest. I am a member and have 8 reviews all positive. These ads have been up for at least 3 months and I haven’t gotten any inquiries on majority of them. Each ad has 2 professional pictures of the gecko that showcase the true beauty of that individual gecko.
Please give me any advice, or if your experiencing the same thing please reply as well.
This is my second year selling on here and I haven’t had this problem before however since I’m still new I don’t know the market very well. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly and it’s not just me.
So I’ve been in your boat before, and when comes to male geckos I think everyone is.
So for one, are they sexed? A lot of people want sexed animals.
Also a lot of people I’ve noticed recently that are selling gargoyles are working with ‘higher end’ colouration…
So reds, oranges etc and usually a lot of red/orange colouration the the gecko itself. (I went for a pair of orange striped last year, female comes with lineage too and also has red base). Lineage also helps with selling.
The thing is, if you aren’t selling what people are looking for then they’ll skip over you, it’s nothing you’re doing wrong, but we all, and I’m sure including you, want certain morphs, traits etc and that’s what it comes down too really.
I breed Cresties myself and I’ve got a few up I recon will be up for a while, especially males as people aren’t after them…
Same boat here for ball pythons @lizzyslizards I have mine on the low end as well, have had over 40,000 views but so far only 2 inquiries. Honestly hope I can move them before it gets too hot to safely ship. I also don’t have any social media, I think people get a lot more interest when you do the whole social media thing as well. I do have a website, but I don’t get much traffic on that so I would say do the social media-it’s free unless you do a free website. Don’t get too discouraged just keep at it! Hopefully just a little lull, and we will both sell out next week! Good luck!
It’s the market lately don’t take it personal. Inflation is eating into everyones entertainment budget. It should rebound a little this summer. I’m sitting on a bunch of stuff from early last year still, and I do reptile shows, have a large Instagram account, and sell on MM. This game is a lot of peaks and valleys sometimes. Ride out, sales go in cycles when the economy is rough.
I think the best option may be to wholesale the low end morphs to pet stores and other distributors. And then advertise the mid - high end on MorphMarket .
A lot of people do this, and I personally wouldn’t advise.
I don’t go to pet shops if I’m looking for reptiles, because I know they’re bulk bred and sold, I don’t know how they’ve been raised, usually sold to small. No lineage. I’m in the uk myself so may be different where you are.
But I want to know where my animal is going when I rehome, not give them all away cheap to a shop after I’ve spent months raising them…
I agree with this.
@lizzyslizards to be honest, I have experienced this selling locally as well, not just on MM. I even talked to some vendors at the last expo and they had the same results. I think it is the inflation (along with other circumstances specific to certain people) just as Ballornothing stated.
Thank you for the reply. That’s what I thought that the inflation has people not being able to spend any extra money. I just wanted to check in and see if anyone else was having this issue, which it sounds like a lot of people are. I definitely have the room to grow them up for a long time if need be, just had be a bit worried there for a minute haha.
I thought of that but majority of them are beautiful coloring or have repashy lineage which is rare and a sought out lineage.
Hello, I have a question for other breeders and sellers on MorphMarket .
I sell baby/ juvenile gargoyle geckos. I’m having a very hard time selling and getting inquiries. I currently have 7ish baby/juveniles up for sale. All are on the lower end of the price scale but not the lowest. I am a member and have 9 reviews all positive. These ads have been up for at least 5 months and I haven’t gotten any inquiries on majority of them. Each ad has 2 professional pictures of the gecko that showcase the true beauty of that individual gecko.
Please give me any advice, or if your experiencing the same thing please reply as well.
This is my second year selling on here and I haven’t had this problem before however since I’m still new I don’t know the market very well. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly and it’s not just me.
Since there are a lot of reptiles for sale you need to make yourself stand out. Since MorphMarket puts everyone on a level playing field you need to let the geckos speak for themselves. If they are average quality geckos that is likely why you’re having a tough time selling them. Do they have lineage past just the parents?
The 3 things that people see when scrolling is the picture, title, and price. You need those to make people click on your ad. The picture is the most important. You want a very good picture that’s bright with good lighting and you need the colors on the geckos to pop (obviously without editing it to make it look better than it actually is). People aren’t very likely to read the title or look at the price unless the picture makes them stop.
Look through the marketplace and compare two things. Sort by the least expensive and look through the pictures. Not all of them, but most of them aren’t very good pictures. They have dim lighting, a bad background, and a bad angle on the gecko (a birds eye view might show the gecko well but it doesn’t make people click on the ad). A picture that shows the side, top, and head of the gecko is the best.
Now sort by the most expensive, a lot of these are very experienced sellers that know exactly what they need to do to sell the gecko. Most of the pictures have great lighting, the colors pop, there is a very sharp contrast between the gecko and what it’s on/what’s behind it. The composition shows the top and side of the gecko very clearly and is visually appealing.
You can tell what is going to make someone stop and click on the ad instead of fitting in with everything else. Hopefully this helps a little bit.
There’s a lot of good info to review in the thread here where you previously asked this question: Hard time selling on morphmarket
With the current state of the economy and inflation and such, many people are having to put more of their money toward essentials, rather than their hobbies. I think a lot of people have been seeing fewer sales these past few months due to this. It sounds like you’ve sold three since the last time you posted this back in May though, so congrats on that! Maybe not as fast as you would like to move them, but it sounds like you’re making progress.
Thanks for the reply! I use a professional canon rebel t7 camera with adequate lighting for all my ad pictures. Some of the geckos I sell have repashy lineage which is a sought out rare lineage for gargoyle geckos. My prices are right in the middle of the price range.
I actually sold the 3 from that post , another seller found the post and processed to purchase from me.
So other than that I haven’t gotten any inquiries. Normally I would have many inquiries even if they don’t go through I still get many questions and such. Unfortunately this season I’ve gotten maybe 3-5 inquiries on 10-12 geckos total. Which is a bit concerning to me. I’m not sure if I should slow down the breeding or try to promote and sell on another platform as well.
Wow! This was actually very helpful for me to read right now. Last gargoyle gecko I sold was taken after just 2 weeks. But’s it’s been close to 2 months for my other gargoyle I uploaded, and no one has even shown an interest. So this has all helped a lot!! Thank you! 
So im going to be a little critical here @lizzyslizards but i mean it with a good heart…
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First thing, most people are working on high contrast lines so you want to show these guys when they are at their brightest. Constantly keep them updated. If you get a better picture then replace the old one.
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secondly, while your pictures are great pictures of the animals, they are not the best for selling them.
heres your images for theses animals…
now lets look at the pictures of a store i think have really cracked the formula with gargs …
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The foliage in the background isn’t part of the sale, however it makes you feel like it is living in a healthy environment. I know what colour a leaf generally is, so i can use that to determine the actual colour of the animal.
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Gargs have very cute faces, use that to your advantage. Me and my wife have had to talk each other out of buying a lot of animals that don’t fit our plans simply because it was smiling in the picture. A side body shot is definitely needed but it doesn’t need to be completely parallel to the animal… in fact, this takes a little character away from the picture and makes it look like a stock image. -
- While a white backdrop works great with bright animals, it doesn’t work so much with dark ones or ones with small intricate patterning that needs looking at closely. Dark animals against the white background become difficult to see and very dull. Im not saying white backgrounds cant work here, but its gonna take some added fun to make it interesting… look at UGRs images for example -
I understand wanting to have the full focus on the animal, but i think there is a misconception in the hobby that a white backdrop makes you look professional, whereas to me personally it makes me wonder “why wasn’t the enclosure nice enough for a picture?”.
And lastly, there is no brand recognition with your pictures. There is no way I would scroll through the latest feed and know all these animals are from you. There is no uniformity throughout your images, or logo… How do I know you own these guys without asking for more pictures?
Took me around a month to sale 2 pastel desert ghost. Funny thing is when one sold, within an hour sold the 2nd. I also think its the economy. People cant afford gas, food, healthcare so they certainly are not buying reptiles.
I’m not a seller and I absolutely do not have a business-oriented mind, so take what I say with a mountain of salt, but I can speak to things that stand out to me as a buyer.
I think the advice about using a more naturalistic backdrop for the photos is spot-on. Having some greenery and/or rocks and branches in the photo definitely makes it more eye-catching and makes the animal pop a bit more. Also, since so many sellers use plain white backdrops, having more naturalistic backdrops will help make your ads stand out from the crowd a little more, in addition to being more aesthetically pleasing.
Also, I personally always appreciate it when a seller takes the time to write up a little description of the animal. It doesn’t have to be a novel, but just a few words about the animal’s temperment, eating habits, history, parentage, etc. helps the ad to feel a little more personal.
I’ve only bought one animal off MM to date, but both those things I mentioned were things that initially drew me to the blood python I ended up buying. In addition to the fact that she was just a beautiful snake from a seller with good reviews, her photo featured her sitting on a rock with some nice green grass in the background, which helped her colours pop and didn’t look as sterile as the ads with a white backdrop. And additionally, her ad had just a sentence or two about her, which I liked. Sometimes those little things really can help to set an ad apart and catch people’s attention.
That said, I also agree with others that the current state of the economy is working against you and likely all other reptile sellers right now. People just have less spending money, since they’re having to spend more on basic necessities like gas, groceries, rent, etc. So many people just have less money to spend on things they can survive without, like a new reptile. I know that I’m having to be a little more frugal now that it costs me nearly $100 just to fill my car up with gas.
Thank you so much, that was extremely helpful. I am new to this so the advice is definitely appreciated! I will definitely use that advice about the pictures and background and retake pictures soon! I am confused what you mean by there is no Uniformity throughout my ads? What would you recommend? Adding my store name on the bottom of the ad pictures?
As a buyer i like to have a bit of info, things that help maybe answer a few basics, doesn’t need to be a long read. Think of it this way its like a label in the grocery store or whatever. Sometimes you may only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention. Like would we rather buy a plain label that says chicken soup or would we rather it say creamy chicken and pasta in a savory sauce? Its no accident that companies spend fortunes on advertising, focus groups etc. That plain label chicken soup is probably just as tasty as the creamy chicken, but we will look at the packaging and the descriptions. ( not saying you need to spend tons in advertising) dressing up your ads with vibrant lively pictures descriptive wording that tells why your product is better than the next.
While Sometimes im in the market for a specific species looking at page after page of the same species gets a bit tedious ( imo) like some of the animals there is like 900 animals thats a lot of clicking, so you really gotta grab my attention so that ill stop and look otherwise your great animal becomes just another picture i aimlessly browse.
If you don’t already have a high end camera ( i don’t) id definitely invest in one and one with great macro capabilities so that you can capture the essence and beauty of the animals. If you are not great at taking pictures ( such as myself because i have poor vision) than having a friend or family that takes great pictures maybe is an idea. As i have poor vision ( to give you an idea strong reader glasses are around +300 i am at +625 that are bifocal with a very strong prism because my left eye tends to go way left because of my traumatic brain injury.) So i already really have to zoom in on my phone just to see, so a picture that really catches the detail and perspective and personality of the animal is key.
Most of us are browsing on our phones instead of say a monitor so the pictures need to really pop. My corrected vision is at 20/50 ( so yes my eyewear even with polycarbonate lens is still like coke bottles)
This is just my opinion of course and im not trying to be negative in anyway. As i stated early in the the tread, and many people have echoed the same, the current state of the economy is causing most people to have to tighten the purse strings so to speak. Im not rich by any stretch of the imagination, however i have a unique situation where i don’t have to work and i live alone and don’t have many bills, so i can decide what i want, most people are not like me they have obligations etc. Rent, food, gas, healthcare, maybe daycare etc even if they have some extra money maybe they are saving it just incase. ( im not trying to brag or whatever, just trying to think if i had those responsibilities where id put my money) before i finally got my service connected disability with the VA i was living on 200.00 a month and 65 of that was rent, so the 99 cents store, dollar tree was my reality. I often had to make tough choices about do i buy this or food etc. I lived this way for a good chunk of 10 years so i can only imagine how tough it would be for a family. I even noticed that this year barely any companies participated in the free meals for veterans on Memorial day, where there use to be hundreds of restaurants would have some kind of free meal, or bogo or free desert whatever this year the list was 36 companies and the best they offered was 10% off.
Im hopeful things will turn around and i hope that your business picks up.
One last thing about pictures (as it pertains to me) my animal choices are in the mm to 3 in range typically, so taking into account my poor eyesight, very tiny creatures in most cases ( as i love arachnids) i really need a great macro photo that pops.