Question: Fair Pricing for Axolotls

In South Africa, mine were roughly 80 - 100 dollars each

I would say in the US a fair price would be anywhere from $15-40 depending on color and size. I wouldn't sell/buy any axolotl that is under 2" because they are wayy too fragile at that stage and require some extra work. Since axolotls are such prolific breeders you need to build your reputation that you can successfully raise all of the babies without over crowding or massive die offs.

The axolotls I have for sale right now range from 10.00 to 100.00. Price depends on type and size. I see some people slashing prices for "two leg" specials, small axolotls, and inadequate shipping. It is an invitation to disaster.

I insist on well started axolotls and express shipping in a styrofoam box with an ice pack.

I got my three inch long juvis from a lfs and they were $10 a piece. I bought two.

I gave 23 of them away for free :happy:

We paid AU$30 for our albino axie (Boris) at a local aquarium shop. He was in a tiny space, though alone, with one rear leg removed at the joint and all the gills on the opposite side nibbled off. He (we are pretty sure he's a he) is about five inches long and in the two weeks since we got him, his leg and his gills have already made a lot of progress growing back. Of course, we have no idea what these new parts will end up looking like.
The thing that bothered me the most was that no explanation was given about the missing bits (we only discovered the extent of the damage when we got him home) and very little concern was shown about how little we knew (absolutely nothing) about raising and caring for axies. We bought the tank new with the axie but were told nothing about cycling the tank, nor the need for careful water monitoring or anything else. All the guy did was sell us a pack of frozen bloodworm to feed Boris. Luckily, I came straight home and found this site, but really, it is more than a little horrifying.

I just purchased two leucistics from LFS about 3 inches and supposedly about 6 weeks old for $35 a piece. Wild colors were around $20-25 I think... I didn't realize this was such a huge thing or I might have ordered 2 golds online instead. But I'm happy so far. Though I think they need to gain a little weight.

Here in Oregon I've seen juveniles on craigslist for $15-40 depending on type and size. The adults are usually about $50, but I hardly ever see them listed.

A local pet store in my area has axolotls for sale at Fifty each. The first ones I saw there looked good and were about 4 inches long. They got some more recently I felt so bad they were a little over a inch missing gills and limbs but same price even spent christmas there. I wanted to bring them home and give them some food. Poor little ones were probably. Very hungry.

In the UK it seems Axolotl go for around £10 if they are juvenile and up to £25 for adults, depending on size, color/uniqueness.

I currently have 9 which are 3-4 months old and it seems that most places will only pay around £10 for that size, considering I have to drive for 40 mins in total to get to a store that sells live food, and then spend around £8 a week on that food (daphnia, brineshrimp and blood worm) I am spending so much per week on food and petrol that when it comes to the Axolotl being of a decent size to sell I wont make any return on what I've spent (not that i need to). Thank goodness I've got them onto small pellets (Novolotl).

I think the best way to keep them is to culture your own live food, which his why i began a small daphnia culture.:happy:

I live in Toronto, Canada. There are two local breeders/vendors that I'm aware of. One of them is at all the reptile expos with a table, tanks with axies. They also have a stack of detailed care sheets that they hand out. Theirs were the first axies I'd ever seen and I was tempted. I asked questions which they were glad to answer. They sell axies with full setup, 10 gal tank, filter, water conditioner etc. Three shows later, I was making arrangements to buy an axie and setup, and they were willing to deliver to my home. $125 for a 3" GFP golden albino with setup.

Then there's another place. Their prices are a lot lower, $30 for a GFP leucistic - no size specified. I emailed them and it took 2 days to get an answer. They don't deliver and don't sell any equipment. When they replied they said they'd be available next week for a pickup. I replied asking for their address. 3 days later, no reply.

As a newbie, I'd rather pay more to get someone who responds to my questions in a timely manner. After the non-reply from breeder #2 I contacted the first breeder and now have a new little guy (GFP golden albino - Goldfinger). The breeder remembered me right away and asked how my first axie is doing. He always brings a selection of axies so the buyer can choose the one they want. Next time I buy an axie, it will be from him.

1. I don't have any idea what a decent price would be, but when I looked up adult axolotls for sale a couple weeks back, I saw them for $100-200. I think they probably did include the cost of living on that one!

2. Probably the fair price; I see it as I see art. You have to factor in the time and effort that went into what you're buying, not to mention the materials. And it's probably a good way to keep people from buying animals they haven't read up on. Personally, the more expensive an animal is, the more care I assume it needs.

3. Definitely. If I thought/knew that it was coming from very good conditions and had been well taken care of, I would be willing to pay more.

4. I like the idea of a juvenile because I can watch it grow. My leopard gecko started out as a new hatchling (I bought a juvenile and they sent me a tiny little baby!), and it was wonderful to see how big she got. It also gives you more time to get to know the axolotl's "personality".

5. I did actually stumble upon a website that sold them, but the way they articulated was very odd for being a US company. It was mostly broken English and that worried me, although the information was very high quality. I think they called the axolotls "beautiful water dragons". Like literally, they would only say "beautiful water dragons" on their page. It was very odd. I don't like buying animals from large companies, however, so I highly prefer private sellers. Not to mention they usually reply faster!

wANTING TO BUY

Hmm, personally I'd be willing to pay $50 per axolotl with shipping if they were an adult. $25 if they're a juvenile. But i'd definitely want to see the breeders set up, and the health of the axolotls. If i know the axolotls are in safe, uncrowded and healthy conditions, i'd be willing to pay almost any price.

Question for UK breeders

This is a question for breeders of axolotls in the UK, NOT shops

How much do you sell the following axolotls for if its direct from youself:
Leucistic - 3 Month old
Leucistic - 6 Month old
Leucistic - 8 Month old
Leucistic - 10 Month old
Leucistic - 12 Month old
Leucistic - Over 2 year old

Wildtype - 3 Month old
Wildtype - 6 Month old
Wildtype - 8 Month old
Wildtype - 10 Month old
Wildtype - 12 Month old
Wildtype - Over 2 year old

electronfusion said:

I am looking into large-scale breeding and selling of axolotls, and would like to know what people think regarding pricing for axolotls.

1. What do you consider a fair price (for both breeder/seller and buyer) for an adult axolotl? Should this price include the full cost to produce said healthy adult, like a year worth of food, energy use, etc.? If not, why not?

2. If you were in the market to buy an adult axolotl, would you look to buy one at the "fair" price mentioned above, or look for one for less (not including "rescue" scenarios)?

3. Would factors like breeder's reputation, breeder's availability to answer questions, and breeder's recommendations for useful aquarium products, etc. influence how much you are willing to pay for an adult axolotl? By how much?

4. In general (and especially if you are new to caudates or axolotls), would you prefer to buy a "ready-made" adult axolotl, or a "do-it-yourself" egg or juvenile axolotl? Does initial price factor into this decision? Do you feel that one or the other option is more economical over-all?

5. If you had never cared for caudates or heard of axolotls, and stumbled upon a website that advertised a beautiful type of aquatic pet, and provided useful information and materials to get you started, how likely would you be to buy one of these animals from them? As an experienced caudate enthusiast and/or axolotl owner, would you consider buying from an outside website if it looked professional and legitimate?

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1. The average price I've seen for a juvie (which seems to be the most popular age) is $10-40 depending on rarity of the color morph. Adults that need rehoming are a wild card, it's usually $20-60 but depends on a lot of other factors as well.i

2. Yes, I would buy an adult axie! It would also be fun to watch them grow and change from babies, but if I saw an adult that I really liked the color of, needed a GOOD home badly/broke my heart, or was for a low price I would definitely adopt an adult!

3. Yes and no. If you know what you're doing or I have heard a lot of good things about you then I would be more willing to buy from you, but I wouldn't spend more than a few extra dollars because you can recommend products.

4. Price would play a small role, but not much. I feel like by raising eggs and the cost associated with that it turns out the same (if not more) as buying an adult.

5. Generally I'm more distrusting of websites (especially expensive web designs) because it often indicates breeders who are in it for the money rather than the animals (not always but in most of my experiences). I would much rather prefer a small breeder or hobbyist who happens to have eggs/raise babies for fun than someone who is making it their only job because hobbyists are more likely to give the best dare they can because they truly care about axies. Not that you can't care about animals if you plan to breed them in a large scale, but just make sure that you put more stock into their health and happiness than the price tag they can carry. When I first heard of axolotl a the first thing I did was see if they could be kept as pets, the second was check on their proper care requirements. So if I stumbled upon a website the first thing I would do would be to fact check any info they give me, and see if they are a reputable breeder/make sure their website isn't sketchy or inconsistent.


Hope this helps!!

This thread should give further more conclusive answers if anyone needs them:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f57-axolotl-general-discussion/105369-question-uk-breeders.html

electronfusion said:

1. What do you consider a fair price (for both breeder/seller and buyer) for an adult axolotl? Should this price include the full cost to produce said healthy adult, like a year worth of food, energy use, etc.? If not, why not?

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Hmmm, I've never purchased an adult. I think it depends on the age/size though. The purchaser should pay for shipping in my opinion, but I'm not sure they should pay for the time/energy to produce said animal. Price of raising them should definitely be factored in, but the total price of everything added in with the animal seems a little overkill. When I buy a pet from a breeder, I kind of expect that they raise these animals because they find a kind of reward or value in the process. If I'm paying that extra price and you explicitly tell me that it seems like you didn't want to raise it? I don't know it just seems odd and kind of aggressive to tell someone that outright. I'd pay $35 to $50 dollars depending on morph, size, age, and health.

electronfusion said:

2. If you were in the market to buy an adult axolotl, would you look to buy one at the "fair" price mentioned above, or look for one for less (not including "rescue" scenarios)?

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I would look for one on the low end of that spectrum. If one is being sold for less than that, I'd be skeptical of its well being and health.

electronfusion said:

3. Would factor] like breeder's reputation, breeder's availability to answer questions, and breeder's recommendations for useful aquarium products, etc. influence how much you are willing to pay for an adult axolotl? By how much?

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If I think something is awry, I'm not going to buy the axolotl at all. It's very suspicious, especially when axolotls are kind of "fad" animals in some circles. When I buy a pet, I'm not going to impulse buy. I want to buy when the breeder is knowledgeable, has good feed back from other pet owners, and answers EVERY question I have.

electronfusion said:

4. In general (and especially if you are new to caudates or axolotls), would you prefer to buy a "ready-made" adult axolotl, or a "do-it-yourself" egg or juvenile axolotl? Does initial price factor into this decision? Do you feel that one or the other option is more economical over-all?

Click to expand...

I'd only buy an adult if it was a rescue. Part of the experience of owning a pet is watching it grow, at least for me. I feel like the economic really wouldn't differ to much.

electronfusion said:

5. If you had never cared for caudates or heard of axolotls, and stumbled upon a website that advertised a beautiful type of aquatic pet, and provided useful information and materials to get you started, how likely would you be to buy one of these animals from them? As an experienced caudate enthusiast and/or axolotl owner, would you consider buying from an outside website if it looked professional and legitimate?

Click to expand...

Not really, I find that websites often sell pets that have lived and been born into bad conditions. I like finding a knowledgeable breeder. I love the personal aspects of buying an animal this way, unless it's a rescue.

Price seems to be relatively consistent from seller to seller on this site. My big problem is finding someone who has the colors I'm looking for in stock. If anybody is selling or knows anybody who has a gfp golden albino and a gfp leucistic message me. I'm looking for juveniles and at this point pretty much willing to pay whatever it'll cost to get them to me

Around here I'm seeing about 25 in stores...the place I go for my supplies regularly has leucestic and albino juveniles. Breeders maybe 20-30, probably more for less common colours, though when I was looking I mostly saw albino and leucestic for sale locally. I've seen adults for rehoming where they are asking for more, though they may not be motivated sellers. I recall one for 60 dollars once, but I've also seen 70 dollars tank included....5 gallon tank with gravel though, if I had had a bigger tank for her at the time i would have considered it just to get her in to a better space.