Reptile show

[mantidmomma]

Hi all!  We did a reptile show last month and sold only 1 Chinese mantis. My son was a little bummed. But we had a lot of people interested and we were happy with the people we educated at our table.

We are going back to the same show this weekend. We now have L5 Chinese and I am curious as to how to display/sell them. Last month we sold for $5 including the 32 ounce container and a cute flower. We also have coconut substrate in the bottom. 

We have our personal mantids set up the same way but I am not a fan of the coconut substrate. It does however cover where we glued the flower. Is this a good display? Being an L5, is $5 still a good price? I feel as we have more time and money in them now. But truly want them to go to new homes where people can enjoy them.

Should we label females and males? Would you sell a "pair" for a discount? Such as a pair for $10?

In June we have a HUGE show!  Would you bring nymphs there instead of L6?

Sorry for so many questions. I have scoured the internet and can't seem to find any answers. I know that nymphs sell for much more online. But I am tying to help my son build his business and feel like this is a good way to get people to step into the mantid world. 

Fingers crossed our orchid ooth hatches soon. 

 

[Mantis Lady]

I think it would be good to sex them. Then ppl can choose for a male or female. I like the set up you sell them (with cup and flower) . A good starter set for a mantis.

About the prize I don't know. I live in NL and used to buy stuff in €.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

If you are able to hand feed a mantis (either insects or diluted honey) in front of the really interested people and show them that mantises can be handled that is usually what most people I've shown my mantises to find the most intriguing and usually what gets them wanting one too. For people interested because of their kids, you can stress that they are easy to care for and don't need a lot of expensive equipment to get into the hobby. For the older people interested for themselves this doesn't seem to matter as much, I know I've already put many hundreds of dollars into my mantises even though I didn't really have to. You can explain that there are easy to care for species and more exotic ones that require more specialized care. Basically you tailor your pitch to the audience.

What would actually help a whole lot is to put a really fancy set up in a well lit 8x8x12 or 12x12x18 Exo Terra with live plants and an older mantis next to your nymph cups to grab attention and show the potential of where the hobby can go. That "wow" factor will bring people to the table. I understand that you might not want to put so much money into it, but that is what I would do. Maybe do a compromise and build your own large enclosure to show off the mantises?

 

[Predatorhousepet]

As for the price, you can actually raise it a bit, especially if you are including the habitat. If you set the price too cheap it lowers the perceived value of the mantis and people won't buy them...too high and they are not as accessible. You have to find a happy medium.

 

[Synapze]

@mantidmomma Did you raise them in the 32 oz cups? I'm raising a batch of Chinese mantids (ooth hatched yesterday) and I'm curious... did you raise them in the 32 oz cups, or did you start with something smaller?