Frustration in the Cattery! (Let's rant ;))

[Mirsoul Resident]

(05-08-2012 08:28 AM)Kayleigh McMillan Wrote:  

(05-08-2012 08:16 AM)Sisch Firecaster Wrote:  Secondary market? What secondary market? It's death valley at the moment, and has been for quite a while...

Good to know I'm not the only one who noticed this ...

(05-08-2012 08:16 AM)Sisch Firecaster Wrote:  So yes, I too would love love love sex on boxes. I'm perfectly aware that the cats are just prims, but still I hate to menagerie them. I can't sell them, because the market is down. And because I have set myself a limit of how many cats I have running around, it's even worse when I unbox the wrong sex. I too have been thinking on giving up.

Ironically I sell mainly boxes due to this as they don't expire or eat.

Unfortunately, the world economy affects the virtual economy as well. I have a feeling the market will be soft for many months to come. As as with any supply and demand market, we may be best served to lower our prices and sell, rather than stay high and end up with kitties sitting on shelves or sent to menagerie. While we feel they are worth a certain amount, the market/economy just does not support it (in some instances).

[Khea Karas]

(05-10-2012 06:22 AM)Mirsoul Resident Wrote:  Unfortunately, the world economy affects the virtual economy as well. I have a feeling the market will be soft for many months to come. As as with any supply and demand market, we may be best served to lower our prices and sell, rather than stay high and end up with kitties sitting on shelves or sent to menagerie. While we feel they are worth a certain amount, the market/economy just does not support it (in some instances).

Disagrees...this only damages the market more, and causes an avalanche effect. I would much rather keep my cats priced higher to support the market than try and out-price my neighbor for another 500L.

Its all about perception...if a cat is cheap it is therefore perceived as being not so good and will not sell. Buyers are almost always willing to spend more as long as they understand the additional benefits they will receive from the more expensive product.

This is how I manage to keep my cattery running and at cost. Im not trying to rip anyone off but I believe in my product and the work that has gone into making it a great cat, and I will not undercut for an extra few L. I understand my prices are not for everyone, but this has always been my advice to anyone for selling and works in my opinion if you are willing to stick with it and market your business well just like any RL business.

[Kayleigh McMillan]

I buy my traits from people who perhaps do not know what they sell and therefore I can buy hidden treasures for often an absurt low price.
Watch out people check your cats hiddens their great great grand parents even and value them properly or I might "steal" them
Such cats with genesis fur even feel só at home in my cattery
And breeding cats from them, I think are pretty, is what I do.
I almost never buy a finished cat from an other breeder, as cats are so taste sensitive, I rather do it myself, that's the best part from having and breeding cats for me!

[Malicia Python]

Lowering the prices - beyond having a lot of unwanted effects - wont do the trick to sell cats. Look at yourself: if you want something and see it for a reasonable price you will pay (even if it means saving up), if you dont want it, you wont, even if it is almost free.
The supply of good cats is too big to sell medium traited for less. And when you do the maths what you pay for the cats' food and maybe milk and land a cat under a lets say 200L is a loss.
There are some guidelines for pricing cats, but they only apply to sellable cats, meaning having some recessive or coveted traits (shown or hidden) at all. A cat that doesnt have such is virtually unsellable, no matter how low you price it (ok, you might find someone who is just after a burmese blue with azure eyes and a mysterious tail, but do not count on it)
Especially older breeders still know the times when about any cat was ripped from your hands. But they are over and we all lived through some fire sales when people jumped ship during the first crises in catland.
As far as I know economics, and thats not very much, the market will recover when demand meets the supply again or the other way round. However that will happen :/

[Saga Felix]

Wow - I am amazed at how much attention this rant of mine got - thanks for all the replies, and thanks to the KittyCatS team for chiming in too - now I can't wait for next update :-)

While my rant was indeed about gender, the focus of the post was more like "Hey, let's share some of our unavoidable frustration - here's my rant, what's yours?" - but I see the whole thread did indeed turn into a new gender-thread ;-)
While it may not have been my original intention, I guess that just means that this topic is still hot for many, many breeders out there! -And in that case, I am glad I took it up again - and overly happy that the KittyCatS team have some surprise up their sleeve for us. They say it'll solve the problem - and that just makes me super-excited! <3

Oh, and to the one who asked "Who's Ozzy?" - try and read my first post, lol. Yes, many know Ozzy, but for those that don't, I explained what kind of a cat he is.

For me, it was good to let out this steam - I had a WHOLE lot of frustration building up after a seemingly endless streak of wrong-gender-kittens. -And then today, I unboxed two kittens, and you know what?? Huh?? Know what?? THEY WERE BOTH THE RIGHT GENDER!!!!
I seriously can't remember when I had a kitten with the right gender last time - and now I had TWO! Omg... This is a good day. I will enjoy it while it lasts! lol...

Meanwhile, a lot of the "wrong" kittens are still eating and doing nothing in my cattery, but I arranged a "patron"-auction for myself next Wednesday... so maybe there's hope ahead. Hopefully, those "wrong" kittens can be just right for someone else ;-)

Saga

[Tad Carlucci]

The question for breedables is rarely supply/demand. We can take it as a forgone conclusion that supply will always exceed demand. Any portion of the market which depends upon supply/demand will see dropping prices. When we examine the supply/demand portion of the market, the primary effect we note is a strong relationship between time-since-discovery and price.

In economics, there are a number of 'marginal utilities' .. things which increase values.

Time and place utility are often cited because they are fairly simple to see. For breedables, time utility is having the specimen a potential purchaser wants, when they want it. The most obvious example of this are the "love tables." There are other time utilities, such as age, which can both increase, and decrease value.

Place utility is having the product at a location where the potential purchaser wants it or, at least, can find it. Market stalls and auction rings are one form of place utility .. as is taking your specimen TO the customer's location.

Another marginal utility often cited in breedables is akin to functional utility .. that is, for breedables, the specimen offered in the marketplace has the proper gender, fur, eyes, or traits, to meet a potential customer's individual needs. One functional utility often desired is "in the box"; another, less often sought, is "already perma-petted."

While complaints about low prices are rampant, there is little to nothing anyone can do to successfully push prices higher other than work to improve the marginal utility of your offerings. Not only do we see complaints about low and falling prices, but we see suggestions that certain functional features should be concentrated upon, instead.

My suggestion is that all these suggestions are correct .. in as far as they go .. but they are incorrect in the presentation that any one solution is somehow better or more appropriate than any other.

Instead, I believe that a successful marketing plan would include all ALL aspects. One should push to attempt to discover, and quickly develop new deliveries; one should push to combine traits and non-traits into functional combinations customers might desire; one should pay close attention to time-sensitive features (such as "love" and "age"); and one should strive to present their products in as many locations as possible, moving stock around often to ensure maximum exposure. Finally, one should attempt to devise marketing plans which include means of presenting ones offerings in ways that potential customers can find what they need, and see the advantages of your offerings over others, and set your products apart from others.

[anna Acanthus]

**** the server.

[anna Acanthus]

(06-15-2012 02:52 AM)anna acanthus Wrote:  **** the server.

I totally agree !

[Yip Jannings]

So there... this was my rant - what is YOUR big frustration these days? Let out the steam - maybe it helps ;-)

Awww Saga!
Yip hands Saga a some tissues and a big box of chocolats.

[GhostCollective Resident]

Well yesterday I opened 8 out of my 9 boxes I had been saving, since a few of the parents are really getting up there in age. out of all the boxes opened I got two girls and the rest turned out to be boys, which was frustrating to me because both the first and second born of the oldest parent (82) I have needed to be a girl for back breeding. It will still be fun either back breeding to the mother or even each other, but still its like 6 boys in a row? Ugh!!!