As our economy has changed over the last few months, there have been some interesting stories regarding buying Alpacas as an investment.  It started with a Wall Street Journal article back in October.  The article talked about alternatives to the traditional 401 K and Common Stock investment strategies.  There was the investor that bought Champaign.  We have all heard of how expensive champaign gets even more expensive over time.  There was the investor that purchased a parking place.  Then there was the investor that bought Alpacas.

Of course, the Champaign was not compared to beer, the parking lot was not compared to swamp land, but the Alpaca was compared to Emus.  For the record, Emus and Alpacas are entirely different, and I discuss that in a different Blog.  Check out the Wall Street Journal article here... 

A couple of months later, another news story comes along, but this one was on the CBS nightly news during prime time.  This one concentrated on Alpacas only, but still compared them to Emus.  The new Alpaca owner talked about her investment in Alpacas, and there were a dozen or so comments on the video from Alpaca Owners and Breeders talking about the success that they had.  Check out the story and the video here...

One thing that the CBS story recommended was "Do your research". This is true with any investment or business venture.  Owning Alpacas is a job, not just an investment so you need to keep that in mind.  It is also a lifestyle choice for many.  It's also not a "get rich quick" proposition.  Alpaca herds grow slowly, which is part of the reason that demand exceeds supply.  Alpacas can go up and down in value, just like any other investment.  And the business of owning Alpacas can be profitable, but can also be expensive, just like any other business venture. 

But, how many investments can you see, touch, and even hug?