(01-03-2016 11:10 AM)fabioazevedo Oh Wrote:
But here's a point, people who recommend you to create what you like, should be more honest and say, you should have a good credit card to pay for your hobby. And do not let you discover this, along the way, with a great disappointment.
I recommend you create what you like, wholeheartedly, always. But I also will be absolutely honest and say it's expensive. It is. Maybe not everyone is upfront about that, but I'm completely willing to say it. (I would also argue it's no more expensive than supporting a Starbucks habit...)
When KittyCatS was new (and maybe still now) people would start breeding, make boxes, open ALL their boxes, end up with 400 cats to feed, and then have "fire sales" and sell hundreds of cats and boxes well below value to raise Ls to feed their huge cattery. Their excitement outstripped their common sense. It's understandable, and sometimes I'd help these people, give them kibble for their hungry cats, go over to their catteries and help them decide which cats to keep and which to menagerie or give away.
I've always understood the desire to be swept away in your love for the kitties and have too many or live too large. As a long-time auctioneer, I'm also there every week telling people to buy more cats. I see what people think it's worth it to splash out on, what people think they shouldn't invest in. And I definitely agree there are two types of people--people who are in kitties because they love the kitties, and people who treat it as a business. I've always been in the camp with those who want to treat it as a hobby...and hobbies
cost money, in general. They don't make it.
I'm fortunate that my cattery often comes close to breaking even, but I've never turned an actual profit on KittyCatS, even auctioneering for four years straight. I've always supported this hobby with my RL cash. And I've budgeted for it. This is what I do instead of going to see movies in the theater, instead of going out to eat. It's something I deeply enjoy, that I share with my partner, and that has given me access to the most wonderful community of friends in SL. I was in SL for years before KC started, DJed in indie clubs for a long time, was involved in RFL and other charities... KC was the first time I found a "home" in SL. It's worth the cost to me. I don't need it to make me a profit... I'm already profiting from the sense of community it gives me and the joy I get from opening new kitten boxes.
When I say "breed what you love," I'm definitely saying "be ready to back up your love with RL money," and I used to offer "KittyCatS budgeting" classes for those who were getting in over their heads. (If anyone wants help with that, let me know.)
Perhaps this is also why some people feel the need to combine cats from someone else's line and make clone cats... They spent more than they can strictly afford to and need to turn an immediate profit on the cat before the trait loses value.
Or, as Fabio said, they may be Type 2 buyers who see the cats bought as an investment and are planning to recoup on that investment by immediately reproducing the trait and selling as many as they can to capitalize on the trait's current popularity.
That's valid. I avoid buying such cats because it doesn't fit with what I value in kitties, but lots of people snap them up. The KC market is unregulated, so as long as there's demand for those cats, people will continue to profit from it. That means that, as Fabio also suggested... If you breed a perfect cat and want to share it but don't want someone else cloning it, PermaPet is a great idea. If, however, you want to make maximum profit from the cats you're selling, you'll be risking clone cats if you sell more than one from a single line.
There's a small percentage of breeders who can afford to spend 5k+ on a cat. There's a smaller percentage still who can afford 10k+, 20k+, up to the hundreds of thousands of lindens. That percentage of breeders is smaller and smaller the higher the price tag goes... And those people are more and more likely to be Type 2 business-minded buyers. If you're selling a cat in that price range, you need to prepare that those buyers will start selling copies of your cat to get their investment back immediately.
Your maximum profits invite others to make their maximum profits. That seems to be the bottom line.
That said... Some of the highest selling cats ever at our Late Nacht auctions were very "ordinary" cats who had extraordinary cuteness. Rampant bid wars over porcelain gerbera eyed black russians... 30k+ a couple years ago. That boom lasted weeks. Crazy bid war over a 9t Snowshoe Lilac with beautiful traits... 9k not long ago. Bengal Black with violet eyes (after violet eyes weren't new anymore) 6k+.
And I've seen brand new desirable traits go No Sale because it opened for what that trait sold for
last week and the bottom's already dropped out....or the buyers already own one identical to the one on sale.
There are no sure things in KittyCatS business-wise... but the joy of their cuteness can always be a sure thing. Getting the exact traits you wanted... that win is a definite win. Everyone has different goals. If yours are making you happy, then you do you.
Devaluing problem within selling kittycats
