Why are Maine Coons so expensive? Are they?

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Are Maine Coons really so expensive? Some people think they are because they ask Google this question. But every product in the world has a price which is dictated by market forces. The person sells a product at the price that they can get for it. It doesn't really matter whether it's good value for money or not. That is what the market dictates.

Not the most expensive

And this philosophy comes into play with cat breeders because the Maine Coon cat is not the most expensive breed. The F1 Savannah cats which are not actually a formal cat breed are far more expensive than a classy Maine Coon. These F1 Savannah cats can sell for well over $20,000.

And the Internet tells me that the Toyger, which is a cat breed developed to look like a miniature tiger, can sell for upwards of about $5000. This will be generally more than the cost of a Maine Coon which is around $1200-$1500. 

Quality and who's buying?

But the price depends upon the quality of the cat. And it depends upon whether another breeder is buying the cat as a foundation cat from which to breed themselves. Those cats are going to be more valuable because they are a financial asset as they can produce offspring which can make money.

There is a great deal of flexibility in the pricing of Maine Coon cats and indeed all purebred cats. This makes it hard to say that Maine Coon cats are "so" expensive.

They might be towards the top end of price for a purebred cat and if that is so it is because they are currently a very popular cat breed. In my estimation, they are about third in the list of most popular cat breeds with the Exotic SH and the Ragdoll (top) being a little bit more popular at the moment.

But then again popularity varies year-on-year. Although the Maine Coon is likely to stay this popular because it is such a beautiful cat breed. It ticks a lot of boxes for purchasers such as size and an impressive appearance.

The point which I don't want to overstate is that the Maine Coon cat is not so expensive. The price is just right as per market forces.

Breeder expenses

And these prices are in fact justified very often because there is quite a lot of expense in breeding purebred cats including Maine Coons. There are overheads and the breeder has to make a small profit margin or a big one if they can get it!

My distinct impression is that the pricing of Maine Coon cats is somewhere near the norm if purchasing from a top-quality breeder and the cat is herself top quality.

What are you buying?

It is probably worth stating that buyers should beware. In the legal term his caveat emptor. What I'm saying is this: you can buy Maine Coon cats online and the price might look very attractive at well below $1000 but what exactly are you buying? 

The seller might admit to the fact that the cats are non-purebred but Maine Coon mix cats as they are called. If you buy a Maine Coon mix cat you are not buying a Maine Coon cat period. 

And if you want to buy Maine Coon cat you got to buy a purebred Maine Coon cat. This is an example of how you can get large price variations but these variations are in line with the quality of the "product".

Registration

And sometimes a purebred Maine Coon will be sold without registration papers which prove that they are a genuine MC. Without papers you can't be sure. They are worth money.

Quality breeder

If you buy from a good quality breeder with a bit of a reputation and who has been around for a long time, and who does all the right things such as providing a contract and ensuring that their cats are fully vaccinated and registered et cetera then you will pay a good price and quality always attracts top pricing.

I disagree, therefore, with asking the question because it implies that they are expensive.

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