Problem Selling Babies?

[theguy67]

I am going to breed a pair next year and was wondering If anybody is having a hard time selling the hatchlings at a decent price? With out selling whole-sale or at whole-sale price?

Thanks

 

[peera]

Unless you have some really nice babies or are an established breeder, there's pretty much no way to even make your money back when you factor in the expenses.

 

[spyder79]

everyone is feeling the current economic pinch. i suggest you sit down and think it out. 1 breeding can yield up to 200 babies. say you are able to sell 25% well thats 150 babies you still have that are at various sizes and aggression levels. each of these babies still needs to be fed and hydrated and you have to start seperating them into smaller and smaller groups as they get larger due to dominance issues. do you have the ability to have say 75 seperate enclosures all with UV and heat? Id wait it out and see how things are sitting next year right now it would be foolish to do it In my opinion. Heck i only hatched out 4 this season and the three im offering for sale at very low prices for what they are have not moved or gotten any interest because as is said above unless you have a very well known name you arent selling them for anything.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Again to anybody that wants to breed!! Think about it first!!! This is one of the many reasons we preach to people to do your homework before you do it!! Good luck, just my 2 cents!! :wink:

 

[john_ny217]

You will not make any money breeding, lets get that out of the way first and foremost. So if you are thinking about doing this to make money then I would seriously reconsider. You may see a lot of people telling you and other aspiring breeders not to do it because of everything that is involved.... well its the honest to god truth. We aren't trying to discourage you or make you scared because we are afraid of competition. Lets face it, the bearded dragon community is so saturated already from the big name breeders to the small no name breeders that have absolutely no idea what they are doing. You will be lucky to sell any babies at a decent price, unless previously stated, you are a very well known breeder with top of the line morphs.

I can't speak for EVERYONE else, but I do it as a hobby. The money that I make from selling my dragons goes right back into buying feeders, supplies, etc.

If you want to breed, then by all means do what your heart desires. But if you are breeding for the wrong reasons, then you may be in for a rude awakening...

Either way, I wish you the best and Good Luck!

- John

 

[crickest]

Just as a FYI - on another thread - we ran a cost estimate of set up and maintenance for the first breeding, based on input from two breeders. The cost of supplies was over $5000 and the cost of electricity to run the various vivs and equipment was $3000 for six months. For one breeding.

Good luck.

 

[theguy67]

Im not really looking for money, at the start at least, but just looking for a simple way to "get-rid of" the hatchlings so i wont be stuck with them for years to come.

 

[spyder79]

best way is selective hatching.
clutch of 20 or 30 or whatever only incubate 6-10 of em freeze the rest. thats what i do.

 

[crickest]

To TheGuy67 - Then why breed? Why create more beardies if you don't have a defined market?

This same thing happened to me when I first got my boxer. I decided it would be cheaper and "fun" to have a litter of puppies. I ended up sued by the owner of the male, because he didn't want to abide by the terms of our verbal agreement, and a court case and $3000 later I have four boxers. I will never breed dogs again.

Not only that, but there are tons of beardies available. There are babies and there are adults all in need of good homes. Why would you breed?

 

[vanruyven]

My advice, in terms of testing your market, would be to first watch your classifieds (any other media for selling beardies?) and then, once you have a feel for the language (prices, tag-ons, descriptions etc. ) put in a phony add advertising what you someday hope to be offering. See for your self what the response is, and decide if it's worth the effort. Sure you may end up sending a couple dozen emails apologizing for having sold out already... but if it goes the other way, and you only get 3-4 responses think of the work you'll save by keeping them apart, or as spyder says; freeze a portion of the clutch, raising a number relative to the response.

 

[amerika80]

Why do you freeze a portion of them? What is the purpose, and are they any good after freezing them?

 

[spyder79]

freezing effectively stops the embryos growth (ie kills the embryo) this way you dont hatch more than you can handle.

 

[mike91383]

You will not make any money breeding, lets get that out of the way first and foremost. So if you are thinking about doing this to make money then I would seriously reconsider. You may see a lot of people telling you and other aspiring breeders not to do it because of everything that is involved.... well its the honest to god truth. We aren't trying to discourage you or make you scared because we are afraid of competition. Lets face it, the bearded dragon community is so saturated already from the big name breeders to the small no name breeders that have absolutely no idea what they are doing. You will be lucky to sell any babies at a decent price, unless previously stated, you are a very well known breeder with top of the line morphs.

I can't speak for EVERYONE else, but I do it as a hobby. The money that I make from selling my dragons goes right back into buying feeders, supplies, etc.

If you want to breed, then by all means do what your heart desires. But if you are breeding for the wrong reasons, then you may be in for a rude awakening...

Either way, I wish you the best and Good Luck!

- John

Our family just rescued TWO BD's! We were considering starting a resuce for these animals. I have been looking on craigslist and the way people set up there living conditions makes us sick! There are BD's at pet stores that have been rescued and then sold for 90.00. I am just venting but when people breed animals do they just sell them, or do they make sure that people know what they are getting into when buying them? These animals are not like dogs or cats that just need food that is bought from the store, water and to go outside to go to the bathroom. I love our BD's but they are a lot of work! Are breeders telling people what they are getting into? Are they telling them the right bulbs to buy? The right cages? The right greens? Enoungh crix or dubias? I just feel like people don't understand that they are loving animals! That they need to get out and cuddle and play. That they are not just to look at. They need a lot more then any pet store shows in their displays. I hope I do not offend anyone, I just don't understand how people can be so cruel to these animals.

 

[spyder79]

You will not make any money breeding, lets get that out of the way first and foremost. So if you are thinking about doing this to make money then I would seriously reconsider. You may see a lot of people telling you and other aspiring breeders not to do it because of everything that is involved.... well its the honest to god truth. We aren't trying to discourage you or make you scared because we are afraid of competition. Lets face it, the bearded dragon community is so saturated already from the big name breeders to the small no name breeders that have absolutely no idea what they are doing. You will be lucky to sell any babies at a decent price, unless previously stated, you are a very well known breeder with top of the line morphs.

I can't speak for EVERYONE else, but I do it as a hobby. The money that I make from selling my dragons goes right back into buying feeders, supplies, etc.

If you want to breed, then by all means do what your heart desires. But if you are breeding for the wrong reasons, then you may be in for a rude awakening...

Either way, I wish you the best and Good Luck!

- John

Our family just rescued TWO BD's! We were considering starting a resuce for these animals. I have been looking on craigslist and the way people set up there living conditions makes us sick! There are BD's at pet stores that have been rescued and then sold for 90.00. I am just venting but when people breed animals do they just sell them, or do they make sure that people know what they are getting into when buying them? These animals are not like dogs or cats that just need food that is bought from the store, water and to go outside to go to the bathroom. I love our BD's but they are a lot of work! Are breeders telling people what they are getting into? Are they telling them the right bulbs to buy? The right cages? The right greens? Enoungh crix or dubias? I just feel like people don't understand that they are loving animals! That they need to get out and cuddle and play. That they are not just to look at. They need a lot more then any pet store shows in their displays. I hope I do not offend anyone, I just don't understand how people can be so cruel to these animals.

unfortunately the majority of breeders do not give information they take for granted that their prospective customers have already done their research

there are a few of us breeders that do spend much time talking with prospective customers. i spent two weeks talk to my latest customer multiple times a day helping her get the new home for her baby all setup. The last thing she bought was the beardie from me.

 

[mike91383]

I have been thinking about what you have wrote. I think that it is great that she did her homework on BD's but not everyone does there homework like she did. I know that these is not just your problem but breeders in general. For must case breeder have to many BD's and just want to get rid of them. Also they are so happy to have a consumer they dont want to sare them off by tell them how hard or how must money it will cost them in the long ran. just my to sense.