Black Copper Marans Eggs on eBay

[mothergoose1963]

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Thank you! I have had them six or seven years now.

 

[millebantam]

Mothergoose, Ebay can sometimes be a strange and unpredictable entity. Although I don't own any BCM's, I have been kinda watching the current "trend" in regards to these. It is just my opinion based upon my observations, that your eggs are just about as good as anyones. I think that part of the reason that your eggs aren't getting bid as high as others, is because you actually have TOO much honest information in your listing. You list your eggs, if I remember, as 4 to 6 on the Marans chart. That description is honest and fair, but not what the buyers want to hear. Many other listings claim "7 to 9" for color, and clearly the eggs are not even close to that. Then, there are other listings, where the color chart is not even mentioned, but there are pictures of eggs taken in natural light, with dark shadows outlining them, and the shadows really give a false darkness to the egg color.

I agree with the other posters who say that the eggs are worth exactly what the market will bear, but when it comes to Ebay, a sellers words and pictures determine the final price. Keep up the good work and don't be discouraged, you may not get rich, but you can't put a price tag on honor and integrity. when the dust finally settles on this "Marans frenzy", the cream will rise to the top, and the reputable, hardworking, honest breeders who are in it for the love of the birds, will still be doing well. I'm still keeping an eye on all this because I do eventually want a few Blue Coppers, or sports to experiment with into some of my Blue Standard Cochins.

Merry Christmas to all

 

[stoneunhenged]

History is replete with examples of financial bubbles, those unique moments when excitement trumps logic and prices overshoot the intrinsic worth of a thing. The first recorded bubble involved tulip mania in the 1630s when the price of tulip bulbs in Holland exploded in value. Eventually a single bulb was sold for twenty times as much as a skilled worker earned in a year. And then in 1637 the bubble popped, leaving tulip bulb speculators bankrupt --but with the potential for a really pretty spring garden.

Greed and excitement inflate speculative bubbles. Economists explain the logic of bubbles --to the extent logic has any role-- by advancing the Greater Fool Theory. The Greater Fool Theory holds that a participant in a bubble buys an overpriced asset with the aim of quickly selling it to the Greater Fool, who in turn will want to sell it to yet another and even Greater Fool. This chain of foolishness proceeds until there are no fools remaining, at which point the bubble rapidly deflates and prices return to normal.

Thankfully, there has always been a generous supply of fools to keep bubbles merrily inflating. From railroad stock in the 1800s, Florida land in the 1920s, and dotcoms at the beginning of this century, our country has spawned more than its share of speculative bubbles. All of these, of course, pale in comparison to the Great Marans Bubble of '08.

Marans are beautiful birds, and they do lay what are undoubtedly the most beautiful chicken eggs in the world. But it was only this year when the 'madness of crowds' gripped the marans market and catapulted prices to breath-taking heights. It would be wealthy person indeed who could eat a marans egg omelette for breakfast when they are selling for $40 an egg.

 

[ddeans]

I wonder if next year, the BCM's will be so popular that they will lose their value??

 

[millebantam]

Well Done! You just so eloquently explained the current phenomenon. Thanks for your insight.
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[millebantam]

ddeans, it is safe to assume that in the not so distant future, that good quality CPM's will become quite affordable and plentiful. It is just basic "supply and demand". Right now, there is more demand than supply, but pretty soon, probably as soon as this upcoming spring, many people who bought birds and eggs in the last year or so will be selling their first eggs produced to try to quickly recoup their initial investments. This heavy infusion of CPM stock into the waiting market will drag current prices down dramatically. It's just like anything else that's collectible or valuable. The less that there is of something, the more that everyone wants it. Once there's enough to go around, there's nobody left to buy the extra. I'm guessing that by the fall of 09 that current prices will at least be slashed in half, if not more. JMHO.

 

[drom]

With regard to the ebay auction, I was surprised when I saw it last night as well. It is high even for her auctions. But it could be that the person who is bidding that high on them is planning to ask her to incubate for them.

I think there will be a glut of BC eggs this spring. Many of the eggs will come from unproven stock and there will no doubt be many lessons learned.

But, it seems to me you can also get mediocre egg color, or genetic faults or sports from proven stock as well.

 

[stoneunhenged]

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You might want to direct that question to the emu farmer who, in 1990, routinely paid $40,000 for a pair of birds.

 

[Laskaland]

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Well said!!!
Christina

 

[onthespot]

don't forget that most of these eggs are being bought by people who do not know what they are doing, breeding wise. I am new to chickens this year, but have been breeding various kinds of animals for decades. I think the biggest mistake newbie CBM breeders will make will be to keep and breed every hen. I got six eggs, and have only three of them left, one roo and two hens, one of which I am on the fence about. I got three other roos from the same breeder to raise up, culled two of those, one of my hens, one of my roos, all in a matter of a few months. I don't care if the eggs sold for $50 apiece, it wouldn't make me keep any but the highest quality birds for my breeders. I have so much to learn about heredity, conformation and feather pigment versus egg color. Less is more when it comes to breeding top notch anything. A few top shelf birds will get you more top shelf offspring than a whole flock of "almost" good enough birds ever will, and for a whole lot less money and hassle.