Its good old supply and demand. The more the species is bred, the less the demand is and the lower the price goes. All good for the hobby as a whole.

When the hobby first started in SA one would pay R1000 bucks plus for Curly's and Rosies ... just because it was new, scarce and in demand.

As they started breeding (and as more T's became available) the prices dropped ... till where we are now - where some slings are sold at R20 a sling - just because of oversupply and fluctuations in the demand.

I guess it would be how you look at the hobby ...

I am glad that more people can now afford to be introduced to our wonderful hobby - but it doesnt mean those who have invested time and effort in breeding the T's shouldnt be making a profit.

I do however have a problem with the "dealer wheelers" who abuse people's ignorance to turn a quick buck.

At the shows and expos you can have a HUGE price variance for the same T - hundreds of rands difference in fact - but the difference by us in SA is that the spirit of co-operation that one sees elsewhere in the world on most forums across a varied range of animals is sorely lacking in SA still. I am not referring to the members on this forum as such btw :dry:

as for standardising and stabilising - watch this space there are some rumblings to be shared soon to protect both the breeders and the traders (petshops) from exploitation...

I know in the Ball Python curcuit (color morphs specifically) the fact that a monopoly was held to a certain degree has backfired rather nastily - people spent thousands to buy the snakes only to have the supplier near half his prices to compete with the overseas market. Effectively halving the value of the specimens in our country.

Do i see this happening in SA with our T's? Not really. We have a growing market that can be supplied by more and more T keepers who are succesful in breeding the T's. Prices are determined by demand and supply - whether it be "Pokemon" collecters who just HAVE to have one of each of these creatures, newbies that are just looking for the average pet rock, or collecters who specialise in certain species.

What would be good to see in our hobby (which is still in its kiddies shoes) is more keepers who focus on specific T's - this would invariably increase the chances of breeding the rarer or more notorious difficult to breed T's - attention and research will be more focused, and the supply and pricing more controlled. The males needed would be easier to obtain as they will be more centralised ...Having said that - (is now missing the waving white flag we had on the other forum) i am delighted with the breeders that are supplying us with varied species! :S while the rest of us practise.

Another thing is, when T's where imported, a guy would probably import 10-20 of a species, keeping the demand high. Now that we breed them locally there are plenty slings to go around and just so many T-keepers. So, you can still sell the first couple of slings for a good price but the rest you have to "give" away(I have done so on occasion ) Let's keep the prices low, then each keeper can buy two or more and the breeder can still make good profit. IMO

I say no.

Over-monopolizing the hobby limits its availability and robustness to adapt and expand. It’s still a young trade and as such any slight increase in product interest causes these 'fears'. Eventually though the ‘gold rush’ will desiccate and the breeders/enthusiasts that tried to milk it will feel it the worst.

Secondly arachnophobia plays a massive role here in the fact that MANY pet shops refuses to stock these widely misunderstood species. That’s why we have been seeing an increase in online sales and such.

Supply and demand will never end. The real question is rather when will ‘you’ be losing enough interest in the hobby to call it quits?
I ask because only the people passionate about the hobby won’t care if they can’t sell their slings for 20 bucks more.

Angelus wrote:

Supply and demand will never end. The real question is rather when will ‘you’ be losing enough interest in the hobby to call it quits?
I ask because only the people passionate about the hobby won’t care if they can’t sell their slings for 20 bucks more.

Well said.
I have been in this hobby for many a year and have seen tons of people come and go. Its pretty easy for me to see who will be in the hobby in 3 years time when i meet or speak to them. On the other point, I would rather supply people with cheap spiders than try make a killing. Im not in the hobby to make money.

...I think it is simple to see who is passionate about the hobby and who isn't - investment in correct caging and all the extras, investment in photography, investment in time spent documenting etc etc.

the money-makers want a simple in and out...they dont care for the finer details.