Kitty pricing!

[Nocshadue Balbozar]

OK, I see now that the undercurrent of this thread is or has become more about undercutting than pricing in general.

I feel there is a courtesy involved in this but there is no black and white answer.

When I found a new trait around the same time someone else did, I chose to IM them and ask what their price range was. I explained that I was breeding it out as well and was about ready to sell a few boxes and I didn't want my pricing to be too much over or under theirs. That was my choice for two reasons, first as a courtesy to let them know I would be selling and also to not drastically undercut their price thus prematurely lowering the value in the eyes of the buyers. Most of the time though, when I've had a new trait I've sold at auction and through a few buyers just IMing me.

One thing I learned about breeding out a new trait is this: if you're one of the first to find it, you have to learn when to let go. What I believe now and what I wish I had understood then, is it's ok to move on to something else once the "premium" market is saturated. In fact I think now that is the wisest thing to do. Let's say today you bought an Aussie Blue with Scotty Folds from me for 75K. Then a few weeks later, as you're hoping to get a box to breed back with you see I have another for sale at 50K. Bummer, but at least you've got a headstart on whoever buys that one. So your box is the wrong sex and as you finally get one that you can use you see I have a few more boxes out at 20K each. See where this is going? The price the trait sells for will drop naturally, it always has, always will. But since it's "me" dropping it, you may just feel a bit slighted since you so recently coughed up 75K for something you've yet to make a dime from.

I was also harshly chastised by a few people when I put up a really great cat with the new trait up at an auction with an open bid. Now the cat sold for around 40k, but even so, a few people were outraged by the opening bid. I chose to do an open bid because I knew there was still a lot of interest in the trait. I'd been receiving IMs asking to buy and I knew the range the trait was selling for. The open bid created a lot of interest. Sure, there was still a slight risk that the interested buyers wouldn't show up or decide not to bid for some reason, but I was fairly confident. So you see at least at auction I feel if you've done your homework and you've kept your finger on the pulse of the market, a lower opening bid can work well. It's also a good reason why we shouldn't take the amount that a certain trait sold for at one auction as the new "set value" for it. Sheet can happen, people don't show, RL can take a bite out of their pixel budgets. We need to take it with a healthy dose of discernment when we hear "that sold for 76k at auction three days ago". I know a few auctioneers will hate me for saying so, but bidwars happen because of excitement and ego more than the "actual resale value" of a trait.

I'd also like to state that sometimes it's just a really beautiful cat that starts bidwars and sells for outrageous sums. I saw one with no new or "most recessive" traits fetch over 80K. And many others sell on "looks alone" for very respectable sums. So I really think though we all love new traits, we also put too much emphasis on them in the short term and forget them too quickly in the long term.

Auctions for the most part generate good sale prices I think. I also love to buy at auctions, even if I could wander through shops and find pretty much the same thing for less, I'd rather not. I'm happy to pay a bit more so I don't have to.

That being said, I fully support auctioneers being able to set their own rules. They know their audience and sellers would be wise to listen. I remember asking an auctioneer if I should put up a cat with a certain fur again since I had already sold several over the past few weeks at the auction. I followed their advice and am glad I did. It's wise to ask a good auctioneer, but remember, they can't read minds and despite what we may think, they aren't superheros that can always get top dollar for your cat.

Like Wendi, I also tend to be a loyalty buyer. I love seeing new breeders and am excited to see what they offer. I do not hesitate to buy from them unless something has made me uneasy. I trust my gut. Now there are hundreds of awesome people I've never bought from cuz if I did I'd be broke! I can't buy a kitteh from everyone I'd like to. So please don't think I haven't bought from you cuz I think you're a bad person or something, but to be honest I do avoid people and places in general where I feel, see, or hear stuff I don't like. Don't you? I mean if you go out to eat and the food is awful and the waiter is rude, how likely is it that you'd go back? I wonder how things would change if there was a yelp for kitty sellers? O.o


Let me see, have I ranted enough yet? Hmmm... I guess I'll shut up now and go off to my corner to hiss and fluff a bit. I hope my rambling thoughts make sense.