Honestly, if I were in Don's shoes, I doubt I would sell any of them for at least 6 years. Maybe longer. Give myself time enough to establish full visuals of every combo I could think of before selling them at all.
Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind. I had four of them sold to trusting customers before I even revealed to them what they were. Literally all four of the customers (2 in the U.S., one in the UK, and one in Germany) offered me $4K each for them without even knowing their color and/or general appearance. I just told them they were unique and never before seen in the corn snake industry. After considerable deliberation (and sharp criticism from Daryl and Jim, I elected to disappoint at least four people this year, and sell only females in 2012. I will likely sell only females again in 2013, and when I finally decide to part with the gender powerhouses (males), you can bet the price will be scary. After telling one guy I was not going to sell them this year, he offered me $10K for a pair of babies. When I said "no", he asked me to name the price. As you point out, Rich, once they're out there, all those that would be tickled to sell them for $2K each will be clawing for top market position. We dreamed about a white corn that was not a hybrid product. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to land something this rare, but knowing this is the biggest thing to hit our industry and knowing I can't sell corns forever, I'm doling them out sparingly. And "yes", Rich, I really should have put off selling them until 2015, but a many of you are aware, I have secret projects in the works that may eclipse this one. Stay tuned . . . (ps - I hate when other say that, but I just couldn't help myself. I just hope I learned from the master well enough to keep them under wraps until the right moment. I'm usually the first one to let the catsnake outta the bag.
It appears that Don has a complete monopoly on them at this time. That is extremely rare. And it ends when you sell ANY of the stock. In most cases, you don't realize you have something unique until gene carriers have already been sold off and spread out all over creation. Since the gene came from a wild caught, it is HIGHLY unlikely to just show up anywhere else spontaneously.
Yes, this is a first for me. Most of the time, new morph compounds are do-able by anyone. Their genetic components are already in the corn snake genetic tool box for anyone to contrive. This is the first time I haven't felt the hot breath of runners behind me in the race. I thought about holding them for several years, but I don't know how many more years I'll be doing this. Holding them one more year will work for (before my next surprise is revealed) and cornsnake breeders will appreciate that they were available sooner than later. :shrugs:
