$$ whats a good price for conures?

[velarey]

Hi all, we live in the Midwest, and am wondering what the best price for conures is? What is considered too expensive and overpriced? We're looking for a green cheeked conure. TY

 

[SilverSage]

This is really a tough question. To be honest a lot of us cringe at the word "price" and "worth" and things like that, but for the sake of answering your question, let me take all emotion out of it and treat it like it is purely a "product."

Your question is a bit like asking how much a certain make and model of car should cost. You don't mention age, mileage, condition, etc.

A "new" green cheek; a baby who was recently weaned, can range in price from $250 (normal green, private sale) to $600 (pretty color combo, less common but not rare, such as blue pineapple), and that's assuming the bird is basically tame and healthy with nothing special.

My birds run a bit pricier than many because I fully fledge, abundance wean, heavily socialize (including kids and pets), harness train, etc. in other words I put 10 times as much effort in as most large breeders and pet stores. So price may vary based on these "custom items" to stick with the car analogy.

Price tends to go down as the bird ages and is "damaged." Unfortunately many people who rehome have this silly idea that they should "get back what they spent" in some way, and often try to justify their prices by saying "the bird still has 25 years left to live" even though they have spent the last year teaching it bad habits and ruining his health.

In other words, the VALUE of the bird is in the temperament, the way he was raised, and what damage has been done to his soul.

The PRICE of the bird will be based on age and color.


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[Piasa]

A chain pet store like PetCo is going to ask one of the highest prices you'll see. I think the cheapest green cheeks I've seen were $100. I paid $265 for mine from a breeder in one of the most expensive places in the US, so maybe that's on the high end?

Best value for a conure would be from a good breeder. Someone that pays attention to parent health and genetics, and rears the baby on good foods and lots of healthy interaction. This will save you money and time and tears too!

 

[Piasa]

Silver Sage gave you a fantastic answer.

 

[Terry57]

A chain pet store like PetCo is going to ask one of the highest prices you'll see. I think the cheapest green cheeks I've seen were $100. I paid $265 for mine from a breeder in one of the most expensive places in the US, so maybe that's on the high end?

Best value for a conure would be from a good breeder. Someone that pays attention to parent health and genetics, and rears the baby on good foods and lots of healthy interaction. This will save you money and time and tears too!

Completely agree with Piasa.
You might want to try birdbreeders.com to find a breeder.

The pet shops here are ridiculously priced and breeder prices vary so it never hurts to look around

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

A lot goes into pricing- location as well as source and species. You WILL pay more for a conure purchased from a pet store than you will buying directly from a breeder. Most pet stores get their birds from breeders, so they mark them up.

If you get them as a rescue bird, then pricing is much more complicated because the price is set by the seller at whatever they want to charge.

Generally, I've seen breeders sell green cheeks for around $200 and suns for $300. Pet stores around here sell green cheeks for $400-500 and suns for $600.

I paid $600 for Skittles and he was a little over a year old when I got him from a local pet store chain (Maine run).

 

[snowflake311]

When I decided I had to have another parrot in my life I thought I was only going to spend $200+ tax on a Green cheek. I think $200 is a fair price for a not fancy green cheek.

I ended up getting a black capped conure from a pet store the bird picked me. This BCC was originally priced as GCC the first day I saw him. I should have bought him then before the bird lady came in the next day and changed the price. I tried to haggle the price they would not budge at all. I was pissed. I ended up spending WAY more than I wanted to but like I said this bird really picked us. I have yet to see a green cheek pull out all the tricks my little BCC did to come home with us. He also had a bad rep of being "mean" yeah he was nippy but not mean.

So $200 is what you should expect for a young baby GCC. Be ready to pay more if a fancy conure just has to come home with you. Thats what I say. I was not going to pass up on this little guy just because he was WAY over priced. Something about this little guy I could not pass up. I have only had him 2 months now and he is on his way to being the best birds ever. So I am happy I spent the extra.

 

[velarey]

thank you all for the information. The little guy will be family and we will treat it like our own, just don't want a shady breeder is all.

 

[MoLo]

I am also in the Midwest and I seen Green Cheeks at Petco for $399. At a parrot store near me, they had GCC for $275 and Black Capped Conure for $325. I was a sucker and paid extra for the BCC (currently just paid a deposit, waiting on the cage to be delivered). I don't know if he was more because he is black capped, or if it was because his personality is so much friendlier and easy going than the 4 GCCs at the store.

 

[snowflake311]

I am also in the Midwest and I seen Green Cheeks at Petco for $399. At a parrot store near me, they had GCC for $275 and Black Capped Conure for $325. I was a sucker and paid extra for the BCC (currently just paid a deposit, waiting on the cage to be delivered). I don't know if he was more because he is black capped, or if it was because his personality is so much friendlier and easy going than the 4 GCCs at the store.

That's a good pice I paid more for my black capped but it was a chain store. The bird picked me so I paid the price. Black capped conures are harder to find the rarity is what you pay for. I had never seen a black capped before I found mine. My Sprinkels is very outgoing and fun. Totaly worth the extra.

 

[MoLo]

I am also in the Midwest and I seen Green Cheeks at Petco for $399. At a parrot store near me, they had GCC for $275 and Black Capped Conure for $325. I was a sucker and paid extra for the BCC (currently just paid a deposit, waiting on the cage to be delivered). I don't know if he was more because he is black capped, or if it was because his personality is so much friendlier and easy going than the 4 GCCs at the store.

That's a good pice I paid more for my black capped but it was a chain store. The bird picked me so I paid the price. Black capped conures are harder to find the rarity is what you pay for. I had never seen a black capped before I found mine. My Sprinkels is very outgoing and fun. Totaly worth the extra.

That's great to hear about your bird's personality! I didn't know they were more rare, I'm so glad we are getting the BCC! My kids and I are so excited, we will be getting him on Tuesday, until then we keep buying lots of toys in anticipation. This is going to be one spoiled bird!