Quite a few people have asked me what I think about the mega prices that some alpacas are now achieving.

So here are my thoughts - first lets keep this "Gold Rush" in perspective we are talking about a handful of alpacas and a handful of big players. At first, I thought we might see some sort of "ripple down? effect on the price of other stud males but this hasn't happened so far.

This tells us that these deals really are one offs and we are not seeing a change in the market as a whole. But tell me if you know otherwise.

The business model that appears to be evolving goes along these lines:

First, you need an outstanding alpaca. Almost certainly a proven stud and one with all the right attributes plus a good spread of blue ribbon winning offspring.

Then you need someone with deep pockets to buy a significant stake or even all of the boy in question for a very high price.

This guarantees instant recognition and awareness in the market place.

Next step is to stop all outside breedings. Because of course the way to maximise your income is by selling the offspring not taking stud fees.

You have now created a monopoly in the genetics of that male. Monopolies nearly always allow for what economists call super normal sprofits.

The final step is to now find sufficient punters willing to form an orderly queue at your farm gates to purchase the cria as they arrive.

This may be the part you do not like to read. Nevertheless, this whole business model relies on people like you being prepared to pay over the odds for the cria. I guess it is the final sting in the tail of a closed registry.

It is well accepted in marketing circles that when consumers cannot tell the difference between two similar products then they will often times use price as a guide. Yes, even with alpacas people will go for the more expensive of two animals simply because it is the most expensive.

This happens even when the more expensive alpaca is the inferior of the two?its just human nature where the buyer isn?t expert enough to tell the difference.

Caveat Emptor as the Romans used to say (Let the buyer beware)

Adrian Stewart