Morph Prices

[GeckoPalace]

I dont think we've every really discussed this or anything like that but its a good topic for discussion.

Why exactly does a morph cost so much more than a "normal" Leo. For example, hypo, super hypo, super hypo carriot tail, snows, and much more common ones. They should all really cost the same, if you look at this way: They are all leopard geckos, they're still the same species, they all grow the same length (except for giants and they should probably cost more), and their scientific name is all eublepharis macularius. I know supply and demand comes into play but lets face it, there are hundreds of thousands of hypos, super hypos, super hypo tangerines yet their prices are all still higher than normals. Every site that i've seen that has normals along with all the other morphs people like the normals are sold out before all those others. The only thing that should really cost more is the morphs that arent so common right now, for example those RAPTORs and bell hybinos and all that good stuff. When they are so common that anyone can get a male and female and breed two super hypo tangerine carrot tails together, then they should be lower cost. The prices should really only fluctuate depending on how rare the morph is and the quality.

Thats how i look at it, feel free to discuss and add your own opinions.

 

[WiteLeo]

It took allot of time and work to turn the normals that we got into the SHTCT's and others that we have now.

I Leopard Gecko is only worth what the hobbyist will pay for it. I know Urban Gecko has leopards for very high prices, but they are very nice Leo's. But then you can go to Kelli and get even better IMO for less then half the price.

I takes allot of money to create, hatch and grow the babies we have anyways. I bet just one of my Leo's this year ate over $50 in crickets. I don't even know if thats close, but they eat your money and when you are buying leopards, that money has to pay back the other stuff.

I don't know if I made any since. But still my 2 c3nTs.

 

[GeckoPalace]

So your telling me that a common super hypo tangerine that costs 100 dollars eats more and needs more supplies than a 25 dollar normal? Geesh, talk about bad luck being born a normal =(

 

[Xelda]

Tangs and super hypos are a lot rarer than you probably think. If you surf the Internet and the classifieds, it might seem like they're everywhere. But if you go to reptile shows, you don't actually see very many people (if any) selling high end morphs. In fact, you may be surprised how many gecko breeders would look at a mediocre shtctb and say, "That's the nicest leopard gecko I've ever seen."

 

[Gekkonida]

Morph prices are usually associated with supply and demand and how rare a particular animal/morph is. Look at ball pythons. Just look at the history of the spider ball python or the pied. I have always believed the advantage of leopard geckos is the line bred traits. They continue to improve every year keeping the top end prices stable.

 

[montezuma]

Tangs and super hypos are a lot rarer than you probably think. If you surf the Internet and the classifieds, it might seem like they're everywhere. But if you go to reptile shows, you don't actually see very many people (if any) selling high end morphs. In fact, you may be surprised how many gecko breeders would look at a mediocre shtctb and say, "That's the nicest leopard gecko I've ever seen."

I wouldn't go THAT far... in fact I don't think I have ever even thought that! For some of the newer morphs (for instance APTOR's and RAPTOR's for this year) the prices will generally be higher due to the lower volume of them in the "system." However, when it comes to SHTCTB's and the like that have had a few years to establish themselves and the volumes of them have grown it becomes more of a "what the customer is willing to pay" and personal value by the seller and what the seller is willing to sell it for.

Thats my .03 cents, because sometimes .02 just isn't enough!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

agree...

Morph prices are usually associated with supply and demand and how rare a particular animal/morph is.

Exactly! Prices are market-driven, just like anything else.

 

[Xelda]

I wouldn't go THAT far... in fact I don't think I have ever even thought that! For some of the newer morphs (for instance APTOR's and RAPTOR's for this year) the prices will generally be higher due to the lower volume of them in the "system." However, when it comes to SHTCTB's and the like that have had a few years to establish themselves and the volumes of them have grown it becomes more of a "what the customer is willing to pay" and personal value by the seller and what the seller is willing to sell it for.

Thats my .03 cents, because sometimes .02 just isn't enough!

Yes, but you're a leopard gecko breeder. I was referring to gecko breeders in general who don't pay attention to leopards.

 

[Herpcam]

Tangs and super hypos are a lot rarer than you probably think. If you surf the Internet and the classifieds, it might seem like they're everywhere. But if you go to reptile shows, you don't actually see very many people (if any) selling high end morphs. In fact, you may be surprised how many gecko breeders would look at a mediocre shtctb and say, "That's the nicest leopard gecko I've ever seen."

Actually, this may be a geographic thing. I believe there is at least one of the mega-suppliers (CRAP, Gourmet Rodent, etc) releasing SHCT and SHCTB into the wholesale (PetCo) market. I've got the $30 proof here at the house and see them often at local stores. As far as shows, I wonder how many leopard gecko specialty breeders (big number producers) actually attend shows (excluding the NARBC and NRBE). I mean, short of the few we have on here, Kelli, Marcia, Steve (occasionally comes here), and a few select others (Albey, Alberto, Jodi, Cody), how many are there? Even if we said there were 25 'big-time' leopard gecko breeders out there, how many would show up at one show, seeing as they're spread out across the country? Instead, you have 'stores' and brokers (LLL, Reptile Depot, etc) coming to shows pawning off leos they know little about because they can't hardly remember where they got them from, or they're one of about 200 species they're selling at their table. (BTW, I would never buy another leo from Rep Depot)

These Dom/Co-dom are so easy to produce in an animal that breeds like rabbits (actually how many rabbit-lings does a female rabbit make in a year, anyway?) for them to demand high prices for too long. However, the top specimens (best color, size, pattern) of even the most common morphs will always receive Top Dollar.

For Example, earlier this year when you could get RWPAs from several breeders for $75-100, I paid $150 for this male from Kelli, because he was one of the best she's ever seen (an assessment I'm willing to pay for, based on past dealings with Kelli and her outstanding rep). He's clearly heads and tails above any other PA I've ever seen and worth every penny of what I paid. This picture was in March, you should see him now

Oh yeah, and ditto on the market-driven aspect.

 

[KelliH]

I knew I should have kept him. Great post Rob, BTW.

 

[AquamanX]

IMO, there are more of the morphs out there than normals these days. I was in the "Market" trying to find what I was looking for. Funny thing is there was Everything BUT Normals. I ended up getting a (what they were calling) "Tremper Albino" (who really knows if it's true) & a Blizzard. I think alot of the Breeders are Inbreeding WAY too much! They're all "Trying to make the Buck". Breeding daughter to father & mother to son... Just sounds creepy to me... Maybe if your from the south it's normal... LOL! Why don't they start outbreeding for a few. Especially as there are so many breeders that know eachother. It would be easier to get a non-related Leo from somewhere & get an other nice line going. Sorry I just don't believe in inbreeding. Not trying to sound like a jerk, it's just not right & immoral!


& Yes I agree with the "Market Driven" aspect also. Supply & Demand, just like anything else.

Steve X.

 

[Gregg M]

So tell me something..... Should a leo like this go for the same price as a normal????

I can also say that you will NOT see a loe that looks anything like this at a petco anytime in the near future.....

Not all SHTCTBs are created equally..... You are paying for the degree of hypo, tang coloration, and carrottail.....

 

[g&mgeckos]

So tell me something..... Should a leo like this go for the same price as a normal????

Gregg if they are put me down for 10 of them LOL! I agree with you. When you deal with a reputable breeder and buy a high end gecko you get what you pay for. Reputable being the key word there.

 

[Chris@TSE]

I dont think we've every really discussed this or anything like that but its a good topic for discussion.

Why exactly does a morph cost so much more than a "normal" Leo. For example, hypo, super hypo, super hypo carriot tail, snows, and much more common ones. They should all really cost the same, if you look at this way: They are all leopard geckos, they're still the same species, they all grow the same length (except for giants and they should probably cost more), and their scientific name is all eublepharis macularius. I know supply and demand comes into play but lets face it, there are hundreds of thousands of hypos, super hypos, super hypo tangerines yet their prices are all still higher than normals. Every site that i've seen that has normals along with all the other morphs people like the normals are sold out before all those others. The only thing that should really cost more is the morphs that arent so common right now, for example those RAPTORs and bell hybinos and all that good stuff. When they are so common that anyone can get a male and female and breed two super hypo tangerine carrot tails together, then they should be lower cost. The prices should really only fluctuate depending on how rare the morph is and the quality.

Thats how i look at it, feel free to discuss and add your own opinions.

This post does nothing but show me you know nothing about basic business and general 'supply and demand'

'They should all really cost the same...'

Oh, so a morph specimen a particular breeder puts years and years into producing should command the same price as a wild type specimen? A morph that is not as readily available as wild types should be priced the same even though they are in a much greater demand? Higher quality specimens of a particular morph should command the same pricing as a lower quality or wild type specimen?

I could go on all day but I will not waste my time, I'll simply say this....

What the hell are you smoking?

 

[robin d.]

IMO, there are more of the morphs out there than normals these days. I was in the "Market" trying to find what I was looking for. Funny thing is there was Everything BUT Normals. I ended up getting a (what they were calling) "Tremper Albino" (who really knows if it's true) & a Blizzard. I think alot of the Breeders are Inbreeding WAY too much! They're all "Trying to make the Buck". Breeding daughter to father & mother to son... Just sounds creepy to me... Maybe if your from the south it's normal... LOL! Why don't they start outbreeding for a few. Especially as there are so many breeders that know eachother. It would be easier to get a non-related Leo from somewhere & get an other nice line going. Sorry I just don't believe in inbreeding. Not trying to sound like a jerk, it's just not right & immoral!


& Yes I agree with the "Market Driven" aspect also. Supply & Demand, just like anything else.

Steve X.

ok do you understand ALLOT(more so than you would like to see) of the normals are infact the offspring of some morphs maybe a het or possible het but none the less allot of what people are seeing as normal (not all) do infact fiit into one of these two cattigories. that being said.... even geckos from other breeds to "outcross" to have some of the same bloodlines in them.... yes the responsible breeder does the best to out cross their breeders but considering that at this time NO leos are being inported it's extremely hard to find totally unrelated animals. just because the normals you see LOOKS normal they may just be as inbred as any other leo maybe even more. you never know. so unless you know for sure you have WC leos or WC offspring you really have no clue what that "normals" actual genetics are.... and btw what most people are refering as normals today are infact high yellows... what allot of people are refering to as hypermelanistic are infact, what a true normal actually looks like, however there are some leos that are extremely dark, even more so than what a true "normal" looks like.

 

[WiteLeo]

So your telling me that a common super hypo tangerine that costs 100 dollars eats more and needs more supplies than a 25 dollar normal? Geesh, talk about bad luck being born a normal =(

Show me an adult normal leopard gecko for 25 dollars! You might be able to find a baby, that has had allot less work put into him...but even full grown adults go for more then 25!

 

[A_Kendergirl]

I'll second that Austin....the lowest I've ever seen an adult normal was $50.00.

 

[GeckoPalace]

This post does nothing but show me you know nothing about basic business and general 'supply and demand'

'They should all really cost the same...'

Oh, so a morph specimen a particular breeder puts years and years into producing should command the same price as a wild type specimen? A morph that is not as readily available as wild types should be priced the same even though they are in a much greater demand? Higher quality specimens of a particular morph should command the same pricing as a lower quality or wild type specimen?

I could go on all day but I will not waste my time, I'll simply say this....

What the hell are you smoking?

Thats a little.. immature? All i can say about your basic business remark is that, im glad you got rid of all your blue tongue skinks, it must have been easy.... Most people won't know what im talking about but you should... But im not trying to get in a fight with you over some bad business, simply because i didnt buy them.

And this post "So tell me something..... Should a leo like this go for the same price as a normal????" Well honestly its an opinion, if they were both priced the same as a normal i'd probably go with a normal because i like those a lot more. But thats my opinion i guess.

 

[Chris@TSE]

What, we had some blue tongues mis-labeled?! Yes, I'm aware. Patrick told me....

Oh wait, was that your pathetic attempt at some type of cheap shot? Is that it? Anything else? Is that all you got? LOL

Keep trying son. Nearly every dealer, breeder, and wholesaler has made similar mistakes from time to time. In fact you can show me lists from every major dealer out there, I'll be happy to point out errors on each one. You point one out and all of a sudden you think it means something? Did you think you were saving that for a rainy day?!

I like you. You're funny.....


Anyways.........

And yes, you're stating an opinion. You like normals more, thats great. Stating that the others should be priced the same though based on that opinion is simply asinine. Your opinion will never take precedence over a market or supply and demand for that matter. Many share your opinion about normals, but I've never seen any of them go as far as to state what you have. Its simply preposterous! lol

I commend you on speaking up though, good form..... haha

 

[saltwaterreptiles]

I dunno.... I read your statement that they are all essentially the same animal and because they are the same, they should cost the same.

A couple of things came to mind. All dogs are essentially the same, all the same animal, all have four legs, 2 eyes,etc. So should a mutt cost the same as a Great Dane or a Lab?

The other was cars...I mean,again, they are all basically the same, a motor, seats, 4 tires.... but the cost is different. You could make the arguement that there is alot more attention to detail in a corvette then a cavalier, that the materials are of a higher standard, that the engineering is greater, thus the corvette SHOULD cost more.

I would argue the same would apply to high end morphs. It takes more time, more attention to detail and more engineering to create a higher morph. The people who not only breed the exsisting morphs, but strive to creat new ones work hard and long to create them. Thus, the rewards, other than the obvious one of the pride in creating and presenting a smoking new gecko, should be a little higher to the breeder.

There will be a market for cavaliers as long as people want to drive, but for those of us who want to cruise in style, there will always be the corvettes as well...