I used to have an SL budget of about $50 a month to pay for my land, decorating, and shopping addictions, but now, most of the time (most but not all) my sales cover food, my cart rent, putting 10k a month into a sim I share with others, an occasional splurge on a kitty with a newish trait, with a little left over for a shopping budget. I also at one time had 200 cats that overwhelmed my time and my budget, left breeding for awhile because of that, but the kitties just wormed their way back in. The second time around, here's what I've learned:
1. Do it because you enjoy it and don't expect to make any profit. This is a hobby, not a business.
2. Live sells better than boxed. I sell more cats at the 100% love tables than anything.
3. Use bidboards and auctions if you can afford the time. I don't have enough time for auctions, but use bidboards regularly. Advertise when you do.
4. Recessive sells better than not recessive, no matter how pretty the cat.
5. 8-9 traits or new traits sell best.
6. Go beyond eyes and fur. Well-traited cats do sell.
7. Don't overprice, don't underprice. It's very hard to hit the right spot and I probably underprice, but then sales are steady and I can feed my cats. I do try to comparison shop so I'm not terribly undercutting my neighbors.
8. Be patient: Patience is a virtue in all kinds of ways, in long-term breeding projects, in waiting for a good cat to sell, in breeding starters for that trait lottery (not a game to everyone's tastes).
9. Stay focused. Choose your projects carefully and limit yourself to just those projects.
10. Use the menagerie liberally. Don't keep cats that disappoint or duplicate or simply aren't meeting your ambitions.
11. Be ambitious. Do try to get all your favorite traits on a single cat. May never happen, but it's fun to try.
12. Control numbers #1: Rotate in, rotate out. I try not to open new boxes unless I am removing some older breeders. I have some pairs of boxes I haven't opened because I don't have room, and it's okay if I never open them.
13.Control numbers #2: Reassess regularly. I sometimes find I have too many pairs trying to achieve the same goal and didn't realize. Every week when I open boxes and repartner kitties, I am looking for ones I should weed out.
14. Control numbers #3: Don't breed cats too long. Once a pair has passed on their DNA to 1-3 breeding offspring pairs, I sell or menagerie the parents. Some really good cats I'll breed all 120 days, but most of the time I don't keep them that long.
15. Rent a cart, not a cottage. It's cheaper. I've never needed all that room.
16. If possible, get a good location. I'm by the bidboards at Too Adorable where there's a lot of regular traffic. By 100% love tables is good too.
17. Advertise but don't spam 497 times a day. If you can be just a little bit witty or clever, you'll get noticed more. I only send out notices a few times on weekends or when I have something special. People do respond to notices.
18. If you're going to buy cats, buy fewer and the best you can afford. One strong cat is worth 2O mediocre ones and eats far less. Negotiate prices. It never hurts to ask if a breeder will take less than the asking price. Try trading rather than buying when you can.
19. Wait for new traits to become cheaper before investing. Yeah, I've broken that rule a few times. Jolita Korobase makes me do it, damn her to hell.
20. Use the online cattery. Don't pay for land prims except for the kitties you love and want to keep close. I use it exclusively for breeding and love it.
Hope that helps,
Mellyn Llewellyn, the wise sage of Kittydom.
(11-10-2013 04:17 PM)Troubadoura Resident Wrote: Anyone care to share some tips and tricks to keep breeding under control and not break the bank?
Do people really cover their costs through the sale of kittys? If so, how? there seems to be 100's if not 1000's of kitty's out there for sale?
Are there strategies for not going over board in the breeding?
I didn't get into this to make money, I enjoy the intellectual puzzle of it, but I see my expenses growing more than I thought they would. And feel like I have to start backing off or even pulling out of this.
Any words of wisdom or support?
How do you manage to keep breeding without going broke
