What's it worth?

[Simple]

Just thought we would run a post to find out what peoples views are from both experienced and veteran reptile owners, to newbies.

We have had a great breeding season this year and noticed that in quite a few cases, people would not buy if we had to freight. Also saving a few dollars seem to be a lot more important in a lot of cases than spending an extra $20.00 or so and getting a snake that is advertised as feeding well, no problems with previous sheds, known sex and fairly placid animals.

What dollar value do you think the following criteria are worth???

Complete history of snake
Sheds well
Known amount of times it has been fed, defecated etc
Sex
Handling history

We would also love to know if other breeders have noticed similar patterns.

Thanks!!

 

[chad]

RE: What

i would 100% get that freighted to me care to lobby calm, change the law, then freight to wa? some eastern siders just dont know how good they have it.

to me, i would rather pay 20 bucks for something that is of higher quality, thats just obvious

im a realist.. think in the long run, if its healthy and going well, then there np with having to PAY to go to a vet when it all goes to ****

 

[AustHerps]

RE: What

Hmmm good question I don't think a dollar value can be put on those things though.

At the end of the day, I've got no probs paying good money for good animals. I certainly wont buy what I consider to be dull/drab for the sake of saving a few bucks. I'd rather go without.

I'd rather deal with someone who I know to be easy to deal with, easy to contact, honest, and trustworthy, and pay more for quality animals, than to find a cheap snake from some dodgy dealer. The above things - history, shedding info, feeding info, sex, handling history, etc would all raise the rapport of the breeder, thus attracting more buyers, and securing repeat business (which is ultimately worth far more in the long run).

Cheers,
Austy.

 

[NoOne]

Reptiles are only worth what people are willing to pay for them.

Complete history of snake: If it's a hatchling then thats not much History

Sheds well: As will any snake if care for properly

Known amount of times it has been fed, defecated etc: As a hatchling that
wouldn't be much info, as an adult that would be a silly amount of useless info.

Sex: Very important if the buyer is wanting to breed them in the futre but not important to everyone.

Handling history: Pointless as any snake can change after moving house, has happened to me many times both ways.


IMO those point you listed are worth nothing to people who don't care IMO they are thing you shouldn't be paying for you should be expecting when you buy any reptile.

I have never had a problem with people not wanting to freight, i find if you supply quality animals and are honest and helpful to buyers then they will come back and word spreads.
I do agree that there are people out there who want to save every penny and i have been stuffed around by a few over the years, i won't deal with them again. I in many ways prefer not to sell to people like this as they are ones you will get problems from, they don't have the money to set things up and care for the animal.
To this day i have only ever had one person come back to me with a problem, and that was a simple non feeding problem which was easily resolved.

 

[grimbeny]

RE: What

I think its vitaly important to find all those things out, i dont think i would buy a snake without at least knowing how well it is eating, and how well it handles.

 

[Simple]

RE: What

Wow, thanks for the honest opinions, quite a few valid points dug. But I have had at least two occasions where I was pumped for info (which I was more than happy to give) only to find out that they later bought an animal which was a bit cheaper but was not sexed and no info readily given. My partner and I agree that this standard should be a given in every sale but it's not. I have found that it tends to be people who are new to reptiles that are willing to buy according to dollar value, but I stress that majority of the people I have dealt with have been great customers who I would recommended to any reputable breeder given the chance. I'm a bit surprised about the comments on feeding; shedding, handling info etc are useless. I think they are at best just a guide, but if provided then you are giving the person buying your animal a good start to keeping accurate and good records which we believe is essential.

 

[xander]

RE: What

I was more than happy to pay for freight for my MD.The person I got him off had a record of all his details from when he hatched.I would never buy at a petshop(well not the ones here)I would of even paid more in freight.The people I got it off have also made it clear that I can ring them anytime with probs which I thought was great.Freight is not a issue for me,but a healthy and happy snake is.

 

[triptych_angel]

RE: What

I picked up my new jungle from the airport today. I dont have a problem with freighting, although i HATE sydney airport. The background info is handy but not essential. All i like to know is, what size its been fed on mouse or rat? When it was last fed, sex. etc i dont think its important to know when they defecated either. JMO

 

[macsnake]

RE: What

I just got my MD from SA on last Friday night, and with it came her last feed date, shed date and her birth date. The breeder i got her from was really happy for me to stalk her with questions and help with my import permit. The price is not important at all for me, what i rather have is a healthy and good handling snake( which i got) There for i would not hesitate to buy from her agian and would recommend them to anyone else looking for a snake.

 

[krusty]

RE: What

i just go by what it or the adults look like and what sex it is and if its what i want then i'll pay what they want all that other stuff i dont care about..........imo.

 

[Davo66]

The history of a snake means nothing from the breeder, news flash! it is about the money these days and that means integrity has been sold out to the dollar. On the slim chance the breeder is honest then you can probaly assume the person who sold the breeder the snake 2 years earlier lied and the snakes heritage is unsure. Some breeders may think it is OK to breed siblings a dozen times and you would not know until your two headed coastal was off it's food.
Davo

 

[BlindSnake]

RE: What

I think some people are less likley to import something now, when with a bit of research, great breeders of most species can be found in any state, who will provide all of the above.
I rekon its more the experienced keepers, looking for that special animal, who will be regularly looking interstate for animals. Or those who have had a particular line or breeder recommended to them.

 

[BlindSnake]

RE: What

PS. As for the second issue, I dont think I would pay extra for info any breeder should have.
What I pay for is the overall quality of the animal, relative to the species.

I also forgot to mention that some people would rather buy a snake that they can look at and assess in the flesh, than risk the arrival of a less than satisfactory animal. (which came with all its info!!)

 

[NoOne]

I give out feed cards when i sell a hatchling, but most of the time it's pretty pointless info and won't make a difference to the buyer if they are keeping it wrong.
At the end of the day you can only do so much, if you are helpful and have good animals people will be happy.
I'm honest with everything i sell and have never had a problem with it, i also sell pretty much everything i breed cheaper than the going rate even though i could get more for them, i'm not out to make money from herps just enough to cover my costs.

In many ways i prefer buying snakes straight from the egg and unfeeding, i don't have any problems getting them feeding and theres less chance of problems. That is not something that a first time snake keeper should do though.

 

[Magpie]

I wanna know that it's fed a few times (or not if I'm buying a non feeder, but I'd pay less in that case).
Apart from that? I'll ask if I wanna know.

 

[Simple]

I give out feed cards when i sell a hatchling, but most of the time it's pretty pointless info and won't make a difference to the buyer if they are keeping it wrong.
At the end of the day you can only do so much, if you are helpful and have good animals people will be happy.
I'm honest with everything i sell and have never had a problem with it, i also sell pretty much everything i breed cheaper than the going rate even though i could get more for them, i'm not out to make money from herps just enough to cover my costs.

In many ways i prefer buying snakes straight from the egg and unfeeding, i don't have any problems getting them feeding and theres less chance of problems. That is not something that a first time snake keeper should do though.

We pretty much agree with everything you have said, and are in the same situation, our reptile addiction got too much for our normal jobs so we decided to breed so that we could add to our collection without sending ourselves completely broke. We also try to be competitive with pricing, and whilst we are not the cheapest, we were still well and truly below the most expensive ones we saw advertised. What we were trying to say, was that we found some people would buy a snake that cost $160.00 but which was not sexed and not feeding, instead of buying one that cost $180.00 but was feeding and sexed. We didn't mean to imply that this information should be charged extra (on top of the amount you are paying for the animal), but rather that some people would sacrifice what we consider is valuable info for a couple of extra dollars.

 

[Morelia_Hunter]

Any breeder can make up a feed chart for a snake. Thats just how the industry sometimes works. You get honest ones and you get crooks. Thats just how i guess life is. Feeding history is pointless if the snkae is not being kept right. Same goes with all the other info that is given I agree with duggawhats his name!!! Its all info that is just supplemental and is of no use if the animal is kept differently.