It's really hard for me to effectively set hard and fast rules on what I sell. Usually I prefer to sell privately and negotiate, which has its pros and cons. I find it's a lot more interactive and involving rather than sorting through listings and can, in some cases, be more profitable.
But overall, I price my pets based on a few variables: research, color, lineage, stats/genes and, obviously, profit margin. If an individual is fully researched, I'm usually willing to pay/sell at least 3k (2k research fee + 1k pound bonus) unless the individual really has some crummy genes. If I sell pets from my own breedings or breeding stock I typically will sell them for more because:
- They're almost always fully researched or partially researched with researched parents, making genes a breeze to ID
- I get attatched to them.
- They usually have decent to good genes or are level 20+
- By sometimes making people hesitate to buy my pets, I save myself considerable trouble later on when I find other breeders have bred the crap out of my sold pets and I run into huge inbreeding problems in my own stock.
The color of a pet is always vital to note to me, even in species I don't deal with. I've had it where people will pay very nicely, sometimes far more than my typical sales, just on the basis of color. I don't research species I don't deal in, so with my wild-caught tames' color and visible genetic flaws are huge selling points. Typically, desirable and popular colors will go for at least 2k more in an average individual than if they were another color.
The lineage of a pet is hugely important to consider, especially when you're working with select genepools. I sell and will pay more for pets that are not closely related to mine. If it's wild, I'll usually sell it for a little more, especially if I know the person asking after it breeds whatever species the pet in question is. People are usually willing to pay more for new blood, though I haven't really studied this enough to give any exact numbers.
Genes, obviously, are also important in how I price things. Some genes are more desirable than others, even if they're not a negative gene. Getting to know the feel for what people are generally breeding for and breeders' preferences is important. If someone approaches me about an animal, you can bet I'm going to look at your stable and see what you're breeding for before I toss you a number. Because so many breeders breed a set, certain way for certain traits, certain combinations of genes are common in the sales that I've seen - and so I sell unusual combinations for a bit more. I sell potential gene combo breeders for a lot more too, like if a pet had an agile paws and a quick mind recessive. Usually I'll sell for ehh, maybe 1-2k more for pets like that. Else, if an individual really doesn't have anything going on, but has at least 4 recessives that people like to breed for, I usually price them for about 4k or more.
Because I constantly trade and wheel and deal, I end up with a LOT of pets that I purchase. If I previously bought an animal and I find that it's not what I'm looking for, I at least try to make back 80% of what I paid for it. I don't usually try to recoup my research cost, because I found people don't consider or care for what people paid in order to present a researched pet for sale.
I guess the most concrete thing I can present in terms of how I price and buy things would probably be my wanted ad in my sig.
I collect and breed cockatrice - See my wanted ad if you're willing to breed or sell your cockatrice!
Do you breed or dabble with cockatrice? NEW! Join my cockatrice breeding group, The Golden Standard! A group dedicated to helping cockatrice breeders and hobbyists meet their goals!
Looking for Pets? Check out my profile! I always have a variety of different species for sale.
