Seems like buying from hatcheries has just become way less popular than it used to be, I've been using this site for 9 years on and off and I remember it used to be so easy to start one up and get at least a few takers.
Now it just seems like half the posts in every hatchery are just bumps, the prices have skyrocketed and starting out leads to virtually no takers.
Honestly it's a bit disheartening, spending hours trying to make nice breeding cards, getting unique pairs and all that, only to have to drop your prices to virtually nothing on the AH before eventually exalting!
Obviously not every pair is going to be a winner, but it just seems like making a hatchery just ain't the way anymore. Anyone else noticing this?
Seems like buying from hatcheries has just become way less popular than it used to be, I've been using this site for 9 years on and off and I remember it used to be so easy to start one up and get at least a few takers.
Now it just seems like half the posts in every hatchery are just bumps, the prices have skyrocketed and starting out leads to virtually no takers.
Honestly it's a bit disheartening, spending hours trying to make nice breeding cards, getting unique pairs and all that, only to have to drop your prices to virtually nothing on the AH before eventually exalting!
Obviously not every pair is going to be a winner, but it just seems like making a hatchery just ain't the way anymore. Anyone else noticing this?
Yes!! Not necessarily with a hatchery as I don't run one/never have, but it's felt *hard* to sell dragons if they're not fodder prices. I assumed I just wasn't breeding dragons people wanted, and have just gone back to my own breeding projects then leveling/exalting the ones I don't want.
I feel like genes, breed scrolls etc. are easier to get vs years ago, so maybe more people are trending to their own breeding/gening vs buying? Especially since if you have genes kicking around from various events/dailies you can buy some random all basic fodder dragon for nothing and gene it up pretty easily.
Yes!! Not necessarily with a hatchery as I don't run one/never have, but it's felt *hard* to sell dragons if they're not fodder prices. I assumed I just wasn't breeding dragons people wanted, and have just gone back to my own breeding projects then leveling/exalting the ones I don't want.
I feel like genes, breed scrolls etc. are easier to get vs years ago, so maybe more people are trending to their own breeding/gening vs buying? Especially since if you have genes kicking around from various events/dailies you can buy some random all basic fodder dragon for nothing and gene it up pretty easily.
I'm still new, but I've noticed many hatcheries have stockpiles of unsold dragons. Gorgeous graphics, gorgeous dragons, fun lore - but barely any customers. Not even huge sales seem to help D:
There's also not much discussion except (affiliate) bumps, yeah. Nobody is obligated to chat or hype up new hatches, even when pinged, but owning a hatchery seems like a lonely business.
I'm still new, but I've noticed many hatcheries have stockpiles of unsold dragons. Gorgeous graphics, gorgeous dragons, fun lore - but barely any customers. Not even huge sales seem to help D:
There's also not much discussion except (affiliate) bumps, yeah. Nobody is obligated to chat or hype up new hatches, even when pinged, but owning a hatchery seems like a lonely business.
so i can't speak for every niche but i mostly buy pastel or pastel adjacent dragons and i did try to start a hatchery this year but got overwhelmed. but here's my two cents
i don't want want to spend a lot on a g2 dragon AND i gotta deal with a good majority of the currently active pastel dragons are related. i want almost all my g2 dragons to have a mate and im not going to buy a dragon unless that criteria can be met ya know? that also means im rarely a repeat customer. i also really only like to buy dragons with newer genes like harlequin/jester/soap or something like that.
as a seller like i said i tried to do the hatchery but my brain is too scrambled. for now i hatch a nest everyday day. the less desirable i put directly into my exalt tab the pretties go into my sale tab. i do not sell them as hatchlings only as dragons!! i list anywhere from 3 to 5 dragons on the ah at any given time, usually at 15g to 75g for my more desirable gene combos and for 3 to 7 days. of the 3 to 5 dragons i have listed usually at least one sells, the past week i think ive sold three or four which is the most ive sold in a while.
so i can't speak for every niche but i mostly buy pastel or pastel adjacent dragons and i did try to start a hatchery this year but got overwhelmed. but here's my two cents
i don't want want to spend a lot on a g2 dragon AND i gotta deal with a good majority of the currently active pastel dragons are related. i want almost all my g2 dragons to have a mate and im not going to buy a dragon unless that criteria can be met ya know? that also means im rarely a repeat customer. i also really only like to buy dragons with newer genes like harlequin/jester/soap or something like that.
as a seller like i said i tried to do the hatchery but my brain is too scrambled. for now i hatch a nest everyday day. the less desirable i put directly into my exalt tab the pretties go into my sale tab. i do not sell them as hatchlings only as dragons!! i list anywhere from 3 to 5 dragons on the ah at any given time, usually at 15g to 75g for my more desirable gene combos and for 3 to 7 days. of the 3 to 5 dragons i have listed usually at least one sells, the past week i think ive sold three or four which is the most ive sold in a while.
Fact is there’s just so many dragons available these days, including fodder dragons, which makes finding colour combos so much easier. A couple of times this year I’ve come up with a breeding project, went into dragon search, and found there were only 1 or 2 dragons with those colours. But they were in someone’s fodder tab so their owners were happy to let me buy them! Plus there’s lots of easier ways to get treasure/gems now than there were during the early years of the site so the easiest way to get a dream dragon is often to breed the colours then apply scrolls later.
Another thing that the abundance of dragons contributes to is forcing people to be pickier about the dragons they want. At least that’s the case with me :D In the past, I used to buy every hatchery baby that caught my eye, but there are so many more gorgeous dragons out there in recent years that I could end up buying a new one every day of the year if I don’t force myself to be choosy.
Fact is there’s just so many dragons available these days, including fodder dragons, which makes finding colour combos so much easier. A couple of times this year I’ve come up with a breeding project, went into dragon search, and found there were only 1 or 2 dragons with those colours. But they were in someone’s fodder tab so their owners were happy to let me buy them! Plus there’s lots of easier ways to get treasure/gems now than there were during the early years of the site so the easiest way to get a dream dragon is often to breed the colours then apply scrolls later.
Another thing that the abundance of dragons contributes to is forcing people to be pickier about the dragons they want. At least that’s the case with me :D In the past, I used to buy every hatchery baby that caught my eye, but there are so many more gorgeous dragons out there in recent years that I could end up buying a new one every day of the year if I don’t force myself to be choosy.
As a hatchery owner; I can weigh in on this to some degree.
Firstly, I find it varies. Sometimes my hatches sell incredibly fast, sometimes they don't and I end up having to sell at fodder prices just to clear them - there doesn't really seem to be much of a trend to it as far as i've noticed.
Secondly, as others have pointed out, there are just so many dragons out there that selling any dragons for any amount becomes difficult. Add in the sheer amount of breeds & gene combos, and yeah, your pair that has older genes that isn't a newer breed might be a hard one to sell the hatchlings of.
I find keeping my pairs fresh by retiring them and swapping in new pairs after a certain amount of hatchlings definitely helps keep it interesting, not only for myself but for anyone who follows my hatchery thread. This is just what I have a preference for though, I'd never tell someone else how to play FR ^^
Unfortunately breeding dragons just isn't super profitable now that there are so many users & dragons around xD For me that doesn't really make it any less fun - I simply enjoy breeding my dragons and seeing what hatchlings I get :3
edit - I should probably say as a buyer I also tend to avoid Hatcheries because more often than not, they're out of my price range. Also the same reason why my own Hatchery prices are no more than 20k/g unless the dragon is like super new breed etc
As a hatchery owner; I can weigh in on this to some degree.
Firstly, I find it varies. Sometimes my hatches sell incredibly fast, sometimes they don't and I end up having to sell at fodder prices just to clear them - there doesn't really seem to be much of a trend to it as far as i've noticed.
Secondly, as others have pointed out, there are just so many dragons out there that selling any dragons for any amount becomes difficult. Add in the sheer amount of breeds & gene combos, and yeah, your pair that has older genes that isn't a newer breed might be a hard one to sell the hatchlings of.
I find keeping my pairs fresh by retiring them and swapping in new pairs after a certain amount of hatchlings definitely helps keep it interesting, not only for myself but for anyone who follows my hatchery thread. This is just what I have a preference for though, I'd never tell someone else how to play FR ^^
Unfortunately breeding dragons just isn't super profitable now that there are so many users & dragons around xD For me that doesn't really make it any less fun - I simply enjoy breeding my dragons and seeing what hatchlings I get :3
edit - I should probably say as a buyer I also tend to avoid Hatcheries because more often than not, they're out of my price range. Also the same reason why my own Hatchery prices are no more than 20k/g unless the dragon is like super new breed etc
Totally agree that it's much easier to get currency these days, and there are WAY more dragons! I do definely try to cycle my pairs and keep up with current new genes, but honestly I don't really enjoy taking on gene projects that require me to spend real world currency if I don't have to, so it does make getting some of the newer genes quite difficult.
Obviously none of this makes the game less fun for me, and I still like making breeding cards and hatching new babies, think it might just be time for a bit of a new playstyle haha.
Totally agree that it's much easier to get currency these days, and there are WAY more dragons! I do definely try to cycle my pairs and keep up with current new genes, but honestly I don't really enjoy taking on gene projects that require me to spend real world currency if I don't have to, so it does make getting some of the newer genes quite difficult.
Obviously none of this makes the game less fun for me, and I still like making breeding cards and hatching new babies, think it might just be time for a bit of a new playstyle haha.
i love going into hatcheries! buuut in addition to the above points... once someone gets a hatchling of a certain pair, they usually don't want another hatchling, unless there's some variety in the potential hatchies (which, it's hard to find a pair with good variety that still looks great!). so eventually, unless more people are interested in hatchlings, the pool of people buying slowly dwindles as well.
e.g. if 10 people want a hatchling from a pair, the hatchlings may be in high demand for the first nest, but after 3-4 nests, the interest may die out unless more people notice the hatchery and get on the pinglists. in addition, if there IS variety in a pairing's hatchlings, some people may only be interested in certain colors or genes.
in addition, a LOT of people are giving away dragons for free, especially to new players. this is not a bad thing, i think it's a wonderful thing, some of my most cherished dragons i got for free! but... it's also impacting hatcheries, in that if people can get beautiful dragons for free, paying 50kt/g or more for a hatchie is suddenly less appealing to many people!
to be honest, due to the nature of the site, it has ALWAYS been this way--demand is much, much less than supply of dragons, unless it's a certain creative/rare theme or color combo. but as the site grows more and more, and the population of dragons skyrockets... yeah.
i feel like there's always new ways to stir things up though! there's lineage hatcheries and lore hatcheries now! when i first started those were VERY rare! players are always inventing new ways to play the game ^^
i love going into hatcheries! buuut in addition to the above points... once someone gets a hatchling of a certain pair, they usually don't want another hatchling, unless there's some variety in the potential hatchies (which, it's hard to find a pair with good variety that still looks great!). so eventually, unless more people are interested in hatchlings, the pool of people buying slowly dwindles as well.
e.g. if 10 people want a hatchling from a pair, the hatchlings may be in high demand for the first nest, but after 3-4 nests, the interest may die out unless more people notice the hatchery and get on the pinglists. in addition, if there IS variety in a pairing's hatchlings, some people may only be interested in certain colors or genes.
in addition, a LOT of people are giving away dragons for free, especially to new players. this is not a bad thing, i think it's a wonderful thing, some of my most cherished dragons i got for free! but... it's also impacting hatcheries, in that if people can get beautiful dragons for free, paying 50kt/g or more for a hatchie is suddenly less appealing to many people!
to be honest, due to the nature of the site, it has ALWAYS been this way--demand is much, much less than supply of dragons, unless it's a certain creative/rare theme or color combo. but as the site grows more and more, and the population of dragons skyrockets... yeah.
i feel like there's always new ways to stir things up though! there's lineage hatcheries and lore hatcheries now! when i first started those were VERY rare! players are always inventing new ways to play the game ^^
I can only speak for myself, but I've been very much bitten by the project bug. When I was a new player, it was enough just to buy & have neat dragons; now I want to create neat dragons. It's a bit like becoming a g1 lair, except I still take dragons of all gens.
If I buy a gorgeous off-the-shelf hatchery dragon for 100kt, it's like, okay now what? It's not that satisfying.
If I find a neat XYZ fodder dragon for 6kt (and probably spend hundreds of kt fixing it up with breed/gene changes) that's more satisfying for me - it's a unique product, having been born from wide-range parents and probably being a rare color combo overall. It gives me a warmer feeling that I recognized the potential in a diamond-in-the-rough and rescued them from exalt. Also the added expense is kind of a good thing because it prevents my lair from ballooning out of control.
So I really appreciate hatcheries and like browsing all the cool pairs they come up with, but I generally don't end up buying anything.
I can only speak for myself, but I've been very much bitten by the project bug. When I was a new player, it was enough just to buy & have neat dragons; now I want to create neat dragons. It's a bit like becoming a g1 lair, except I still take dragons of all gens.
If I buy a gorgeous off-the-shelf hatchery dragon for 100kt, it's like, okay now what? It's not that satisfying.
If I find a neat XYZ fodder dragon for 6kt (and probably spend hundreds of kt fixing it up with breed/gene changes) that's more satisfying for me - it's a unique product, having been born from wide-range parents and probably being a rare color combo overall. It gives me a warmer feeling that I recognized the potential in a diamond-in-the-rough and rescued them from exalt. Also the added expense is kind of a good thing because it prevents my lair from ballooning out of control.
So I really appreciate hatcheries and like browsing all the cool pairs they come up with, but I generally don't end up buying anything.
As a hatchery owner who started out way back in 2016 ish I don't feel like mine ever "took off" so I suppose I never saw much change over the years lol
Then again, I'm mostly a casual hatchery. I have pairs, I still create more without expecting to make a profit or getting back the loss from gening them, and don't like to sell most at prices higher than 30kt unless demand is high
Sometimes they sell within a day or two and sometimes they don't sell at all. I exalt and move on bc I know there are a ton more dragons and users on site now than in the past, making it easy to find cheap dragons at fodder prices
As a buyer, I almost tend to avoid hatcheries just because so many I come across have 100+kt/g dragons and I'm not paying that much for 1 dragon without something special about it beyond "rare color combo" or "new genes"
Even 50kt pushes it for me bc I have to really like that specific dragon over similar cheaper ones I might find on the AH.
As a hatchery owner who started out way back in 2016 ish I don't feel like mine ever "took off" so I suppose I never saw much change over the years lol
Then again, I'm mostly a casual hatchery. I have pairs, I still create more without expecting to make a profit or getting back the loss from gening them, and don't like to sell most at prices higher than 30kt unless demand is high
Sometimes they sell within a day or two and sometimes they don't sell at all. I exalt and move on bc I know there are a ton more dragons and users on site now than in the past, making it easy to find cheap dragons at fodder prices
As a buyer, I almost tend to avoid hatcheries just because so many I come across have 100+kt/g dragons and I'm not paying that much for 1 dragon without something special about it beyond "rare color combo" or "new genes"
Even 50kt pushes it for me bc I have to really like that specific dragon over similar cheaper ones I might find on the AH.
