Lady Gouldian Pricing

[Justy213]

I was wondering what the going price for a pair of Lady Gouldians are and does it vary by age and/or region?
I purchased a pair of societies from a hobby finch owner (I can't really say she was a hobby breeder because she just had an overflow of society finches). She also had the Gouldians and I mentioned that I was interested in buying a pair after they had fledged and were ready to be weaned. She was excited and I was excited until she hit me with the price $125 for the pair. I was floored because I had just bought the pair of society finches from her for $10.
I guess I'm asking if $125 for a pair of gouldians fair or was she asking too much?
Thanks!

[JohnBoy]

That is a fair price. Average is $75 and up per bird.

[Viking]

I bought my pair of red heads for $150. The other color morphs are more. Did you realize that a pair red factor canary can be price higher? You talking about flegdlings should be cheaper. At that age you have no idea of the sex. It can take six months to a year or more for them to color up. You should know that often some birds do not survive the stress of molt. I would suggest that you buy an adult pair so you know what you have. It is sometimes difficult to find female. Many breeder tend to have more boys than girls as you will hear about if you read some of conversations about breeding Gouldian Finches.

I saw some juveniles for $45 each.

[lovemyfinch]

I can honestly say that if I could find a pair for $120 I would be jumping for joy. Usually a minimum is $65 per normal gouldian...and that is a cheap rate.

[DVBourassa]

It sounds about right to me too.

[Sally]

That sounds like a fair price to me too. I have seen normals for $50 each in my area, but usually they are more than that. Were you surprised at the difference between the price of the Societies and the price of the Gouldians? Societies are much cheaper, as they are easy to breed and readily available. Gouldians aren't quite as easy to breed, and not as readily available. The old supply and demand system at work. $10 for a pair of Societies is actually quite cheap, that is normally the price for one (not petshop prices, of course).

As others have mentioned, buying any finch just after they have been weaned is not a good idea. They should be weaned and independent for a while before they are moved to a new home. Juvenile Gouldians are a bit fragile if you haven't had a lot of experience with finches. If that is the case, I would recommend you wait and get a pair that has molted into their adult colors, so you know that you have a male/female pair, and you know what they will look like. And make sure you get an unrelated pair--you don't want brother/sister pairings.

[HoangQuan]

125$ is a fair price for gouldian, but as Sally said, you shouldnt buy birds right after they wean if you dont have much experients.

[Hilary]

Price is also tied to how long a breeder has to keep a bird before it can be sold. Societies can be sold once they're weaned, though I wait until they are a bit older. It can take a gouldian 3 months to a year to color up, and I will not sell a bird until it's fully colored. That means care, food and housing for up to a year before I'm willing to let a bird go. So heck yes, it costs more!

[Sally]

Price is also tied to how long a breeder has to keep a bird before it can be sold. Societies can be sold once they're weaned, though I wait until they are a bit older. It can take a gouldian 3 months to a year to color up, and I will not sell a bird until it's fully colored. That means care, food and housing for up to a year before I'm willing to let a bird go. So heck yes, it costs more!

Very good points, Hilary. I've also noticed that African species have been going down in price lately. Many of the brokers are selling these birds cheaper than they can be raised, which is great for the buyers, but makes it hard for some breeders to keep working with some of these species.

[adiekaty]

Around here a Gouldian is 99.00 (for one) sometimes 125.00 each
Usually a pair they will cut a deal... but that being 175.00 for the pair..
I have a lady I can get juvies from for 30.00
I think it's a great price.. I get them just weaned... and I have no clue what sex they are and I have to be really careful with diet and temperature etc.

So far, all is well.. They are coloring up nicely, and I have 4 males and 2 females.

So yes... 125.00 is a great price.
Societies here are $20-22.00 each.

[Meagan83]

Sounds like a decent price. Around these parts breeders usually sell juvie goulds for about 45.oo-50.oo ea and adults in full color (reg green backs) cost between 65.oo-75.oo ea.

[poohbear]

£50 for normals in excellent condition in the UK...thats $80 US a pair 20% less from breeders I know.

[dfcauley]

:[/quote]Very good points, Hilary. I've also noticed that African species have been going down in price lately. Many of the brokers are selling these birds cheaper than they can be raised, which is great for the buyers, but makes it hard for some breeders to keep working with some of these species.[/quote]


Sally,

I am not sure of all the facts on this, but I have heard that the airlines that bring the african species over on will no longer do this and we will soon be seeing those prices go up very much!

I will try to get more details on this, but it is what I heard this week. Maybe Misty will chime in on this soon as I think she knows more about it.

[ac12]

Prices are all over the map for gouldians.
I was at a bird mart yesterday and here are some of the prices

from one breeder
All is gouldians were $65 ea
Green Back (GB) and Yellow Back (YB)

from another breeder
YB-PuprpleBreast $90+ ea
YB-WhiteBreast $120+ ea
Blue Back $200
Silver (did not even ask)

Zebras were selling for $5 ea.

So price varies a LOT and by various factors
- first with the species (gouldian vs society vs zebra),
- then the specific species within that family (Gouldians: Green Back vs Yellow Back vs Blue Back vs Silver),
- geography
- the breeder (in my example above, same species and geography, but one breeder was 2x the other breeder)

[Sally]

I am not sure of all the facts on this, but I have heard that the airlines that bring the african species over on will no longer do this and we will soon be seeing those prices go up very much!

I will try to get more details on this, but it is what I heard this week. Maybe Misty will chime in on this soon as I think she knows more about it.

Yes, the rumors are flying, so we'll just have to wait and see what develops. Makes me wish I could have bought about 50 pairs from Floyd!