What Do The Crested Gecko Breeder Award Badges Mean?

IN 2021 we started compiling data from Facebook, Instagram and MorphMarket in an attempt to sort through the sea of crested gecko breeders. 

This whole idea was brought on after a few assholes stole a bunch of the top breeders photos (ours included) and tried to scam people by advertising for sale a gecko they did not own. 

The problem was that their Facebook pages looked legitimate and on the face, they looked like they owned these stolen gecko pictures. 

I thought, how can customers find a crested gecko breeder that they can trust because this was really bad for the crested gecko community. 

The last thing we need is for people to say, stay away from Crested Geckos, they are shady AF. 

I knew there were hundreds of great breeders in the US and around the world that could be trusted and we set out to find a way to identify them. 

These charts and lists of objective trackable achievements are the results of those efforts. 

If you have constructive ideas, thoughts, concerns to help further this cause, please contact us. 

What Do The Badges Really Mean?

If you see a breeder on one of our lists or with a badge on their website or email, what does that mean? 

To me, it means that they probably have been breeding for a few years and have either gained some popularity within the crested gecko community or they have sold some really high-end investment quality crested geckos for sale.  

The lists are fun and to some degree they are meant to be just that.

Just because someone is #1 on any of these lists doesn't mean that they are the 'Best', it just means that in that category they presently have the highest score. 

All the breeders on these list are the Best in our book! 

Which means you should be able to safely purchase an excellent crested gecko from them and expect a pleasant experience. 

** I also want to say that just because a breeder is not in one of the charts does not mean you should not buy from them. But, maybe do a bit more due diligence and ask around to make sure they are legit. **

What Are Your Thoughts About The Investment Quality Crested Gecko Award?

Honestly, this article about the most expensive crested geckos sold on Morph Market sorted by morph was just going to be that.

It was supposed to be a list of the most expensive crested geckos sold on MorphMarket that was organized by morph or trait. 

I'm a nerd, I was curious and I was looking for patterns. 

I also wanted to compile the charts so that people could see how much the really nice breeder quality crested geckos cost. 

We regularly here negative comments from people who say, 'Wow, that is way too much!' 

By compiling lists of the top selling geckos by morph you are able to see what is 'way too much' and what isn't, compared to previous sales. 

Guess what, that is how values are determined, so with these charts it is just one more tool to make it easier for you to decide what is a fair price. 

However, these lists are not perfect, the problem with this list is two fold: 

1) Some breeders don't list their crested geckos as 'Sold' on MorphMarket so we don't have access to all the sales figures.

2) Some breeders sell their crested geckos privately, at reptile shows, on Facebook, Instagram, or on their website. 

These lists will be ever evolving. 

This list is for fun and reference but understand, it is not a complete list and will never be. 

If you are a breeder who sold a crested gecko that you believe should be on one of the lists, contact us.  

We'll figure out an easy way to document it and get you on the list. 

What's With That Most Poplar Breeder Award?

Again, this list and award was born after some people stole top crested gecko breeders photos (ours included) and attempted to sell geckos they did not own. 

So, I arbitrarily chose a minimum number of Facebook (3,000) and Instagram (1,000) followers and compiled a list of the most popular crested gecko breeders. 

What does that even mean?

This might sound like a small thing but I like knowing that the person I'm talking to has spent a bunch of time trying to build up a customer base. 

People don't do that to then turn around and try and screw you out of a couple hundred dollars. 

But wait, you said the award probably doesn't mean much. 

Ok, maybe it means you most likely can trust the breeder on the list to sell you a good quality gecko and not screw you over. 

So, yes, buying a gecko from any of these lists are probably a good way to increase the chances of you having a good crested gecko purchasing experience. 

Buy safely from any of the breeders in these articles. 

What's The Deal With Some Of The Shade?

Occasionally I see in Facebook groups or people send us emails, or screenshots of people making fun of these badges. 

Some people say they are not fair because they didn't qualify for one. 

It is funny, because some of the people who talk the most shit are the same people who contacted us to be added to the list. 

But, when they don't qualify for a chart, all of a sudden they have to burn everything down and they say they are worthless. 

I don't know why some people have to be negative towards something that is positive and meant to help. 

I would just say that in life, I try and avoid people who talk shit behind your back or are always looking to tear things down instead of build things up. 

Just keep in mind that when these types of people aren't talking shit to you about someone else, they are talking shit to someone else about you. 

To avoid the drama, avoid the negative people who are always talking shit about other people. 

Rest assured, we have literally received hundreds of emails requesting to be added to the lists, thanking us for our efforts, and requesting that we compile more information about crested gecko breeders. 

What Are The Positives Of Adding One Of The Badges To My Website?

If you add one of the badges to your website then people will see it and probably think you are pretty badass. 

99% of your customers aren't involved in the Crested Gecko community and aren't going to debate if XYZ company should be on the list or not. 

Nor do they care. 

They are going to see that award badge as an earned achievement and it will increase the chances of them buying a crested gecko from you. 

Don't believe me, do some research on trust badges and what customers say about them. 

In a recent survey something like 70% of people said they DID NOT buy from someone online because they did not have any trust badges... Wow! 

So if you've made the list you should add the appropriate badge to the footer of your website or at least make a blog post on your site with the badge so your customers can find it. 

I've even paid a developer to write instructions on how to add the badge to your website. 

See how to add your badge to your website here! 

What Does Tenny's Crested GEckos Get Out Of All Of This?

Nothing is done for free, right? 

Of course, what do we get out of this? 

Well, for one, relevance, whether you like the award badges or not, you are reading this article right now on our website which helps our Google rankings. 

We get a lot of free traffic to the website by compiling these lists which theoretically may translate into some sales. 

Now, before you breeders think we're stealing your potential customers, consider, I've linked your company name to your site so that you too should get new customers from promoting and being on these lists. 

That's called a win-win. You get exposure to new customers and we get exposure to new customers. Everyone on the lists win. 

I really enjoy making charts and lists and looking for patterns. For instance, if you look at the related tri-color investment quality charts you will notice that Cali-Donia is the queen of the Tricolors. 

If someone is looking for Tricolors and didn't know who were the top breeders of them, this list might be very beneficial.  

The last positive thing for us is if you add a badge to your website that award badge links to the article that your company is listed in. 

This is called a backlink and it helps get our website some authority and possibly a bit more traffic.