P. Rugosus - Market saturation and future value?

[JMorash]

Hey,

I've been battling the idea of getting some Pachdactylus rugosus for the past year however I keep putting it off because of one reason or another. Which hasn't really been a bad thing. Every time I turn around I seem to find them cheaper and cheaper. A bit over a year ago I was finding them as high as $1000+usd each, then it seemed that I was finding them around $800usd, and now I can find them for around $600usd. Moreover, I see more and more people with them (of course simple supply and demand). I know the species is desirable, and relatively prolific, so I understand why everyone is breeding them, but it looks like they will be another species that will be quickly over saturated in the market. Which should result in a significant drop in prices.

I was wondering if people could comment on this better? I'm not really an expert on the value/market of geckos, especially pachydactylus. And truthfully I'm curious because I don't want to spend $1200 on a pair of geckos that I could get for half the price if I wait a year or two.

What do people think? What should we expect in the next year or two?

Thanks,

Justin Morash

 

[thorrshamri]

That's a difficult question. None of us have crystal balls, you know (maybe Ethan has two small ones, but that's another story:biggrin: )
The demand is there and they are desirable geckos. IMO the prices won't dump too much. I recently saw a lone male for sale for $ 250, but it was just a lone male, you know. People in SA do have a lot of success and even feel it difficult to sell them at very low prices, but the import/export system makes it almost impossible to get them out of SA.
Compare with leachies: lots of people have them and breed them and they are also very popular. Yet, prices won't drop to a certain minimum value

 

[MattL]

I think if there was a Pachydactylus to loose its value it would be fasciatus. Not rugosus.

 

[mat.si]

I'll reply to this when I get back from Hamm. Everything is packed and we leave in an hour.

Matjaz

 

[sushigex]

Hard to say on any gecko. I have a pair of rugosus, easily one of the coolest species I have ever kept btw. Its hard to find people who will part with $750+ for an unsexed gecko. Granted their are plenty who part with dumb amounts of money for crested geckos. But for me I'm not gonna be the asshole that waters down the market, so with geckos like this and my s.ciliaris babies I am more opt to trade for other rare stuff. To me there is also a difference than advertising low prices and giving somebody your cool with a really good cash deal "off the record".

 

[mikew1234]

What will destroy the market will be when breeder A gets rid of everything just to make a buck. Corn snake market had this happen a while back. Since that, nothing too crazy has happened. Crested geckos are a poor example because of how they breed. When I had them, I had to leave eggs in the tank to die because I had so many. I kept them in the early 00's and made a huge splash, spending over 1000 to get a colony started. 2 males and 5 females. Within 6 months, I had 75 babies or eggs roughly. I couldnt get rid of them fast enough. I would forget about eggs and they'd still hatch. I didn't even use an incubator. The price will drop like it did with many geckos, but not enough where everyone will want one. I figure along the lines of the Aussies. Not so much wheeleri but close to levis, where an adult female will get around 800, and males and babies hover on the 2 to 400 mark.