Do you care who you sell to?

More for the smaller scale breeders... though I'm sure some of the larger breeders care too.

After seeing all of the abuse threads (as in deliberate abuse/neglect), I have to wonder if breeders should also take responsibility for who they sell to.

Last year I screened my buyers. I insisted they know basic care of the animal before pick up. I was willing to sit on my hatchlings until I found good owners.

So one woman insisted that she could pick up the baby ball python, but didn't have the money for the UTH. O.o; I'm like, well, then, how are you going to feed it adult mice (was up to mice) once a week? No sale.

Teenager e-mailed me that his father kept making him get rid of his large pythons/boas and wanted to know if he could buy mine. Uhh... no. I don't need it to sell and then bounce to another home. I need it to get to a good permanent, or at least near to permanent home. If you want to raise a ball python for a year, go ahead, not one of mine. No sale.

Another person wanted to buy it with a heat lamp, another a heat rock, another refused to look up instructions on care... uhhh... yeah, like I'm giving up my precious snakes I waited a year for to the likes of you guys. Mass buyer wants snakes. (I do not trust mass buyers, because I don't know if they are going to feed them properly and also they probably won't care for them properly.) No sale.

I screen my potential owners and make sure they understand that they will grow, need feeding once a week, etc. Also cite if they had previous problems. (Like slow to start eating.)

I also make sure to let the buyers know that they can contact me with questions, problems and sell back the snake at what I sold them for. Snake first over money. And I sent off both with a meal in their bellies because I knew they were going straight to their new homes and probably wouldn't be eating for a few weeks.

There is no guarantees, but at least I try to screen out the idiots...

That's my thought anyway.

I plan to do something similar when i start breeding. Maybe not AS strict with screening. I plan to include a bp.net care sheet with every purchase. And some sort of buy back gurantee for the first X weeks. Not positive on everything yet though.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

I plan to do something similar when i start breeding. Maybe not AS strict with screening. I plan to include a bp.net care sheet with every purchase. And some sort of buy back gurantee for the first X weeks. Not positive on everything yet though.

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x2

Unsure as to how to go through screening though. :/ like how do you bring that up haha

I refuse sells to minor without parental consent.

I provide a caresheet and I am available to answer any questions pre and post sale as for the rest all I can do is hope for the best because once you sell an animal there is no way to predict how the animal will be cared for (they might say one thing and do another)

If someone really sounds off yes I do reserve the right to refuse a sale.

I think letting people know that you're available for questions, help, etc is very important and is something I do for my customers. I usually ask what their reptile experience is and am sure I've lost a fair share of customers after explaining the right way to set up a ball python. I've had a couple younger people make inquiries this year and requested they bring a parent when they come pickup their snake so I could be sure everyone is on board and knows that I'm available if they have questions.

I have before and will continue to refuse to sell any animal, snake or otherwise to certain people. That is my right.

Most people who contact me are at least somewhat knowledgeable. They understand the basics at any rate. Perhaps I am fortunate that way. But yes, certain people will sometimes rub me the wrong way, or even just give off a bad vibe to me, and I won't sell to them.

I've done it since my bird breeding days. And I will continue to do so if I feel the need. For example, if you ask me what my snake is eating and how often, I look at this as a good thing. If on the other hand you ask how often you have to feed it, that throws up a red flag. It sounds to me like you want to know how little you can care for my animal and it still live.

Or if you ask me if I think your puppy/kitten will get along with the snake, that is also a big no-no to me. With all of the horror stories out there about snakes eating peoples pets, you should not even consider letting them be near each other.

If you ask me if a snake is a good pet for a kid, that's a yellow flag to me. If it is an older child, one who understands the responsibility of caring for a live animal, then I'll consider it. But if your screaming 5 year old is running circles around your legs while we talk, the answer is no.

I make it a point to talk, really talk with potential buyers. Have they ever owned a snake ? What species ? Do they already have an enclosure set up, or do they need to get one? Can they answer basic questions for me: Are ball pythons climbers ? Are they dangerous ? What do they eat normally ? Do they have fangs? If they hesitate before answering, or don't know the answer, I ask what research they have done, and gladly point them in this direction.

Most people who are just getting started are very willing to learn, and I have had a few people who agreed to do some homework here and then get back to me on purchasing a baby. Only a couple have flat refused to even try to learn, and they got no snake from me.

Gale

I always ask questions of the seller to check their knowledge of BPs and include a care sheet with each purchase. I always tell them to contact me with any questions. I also never sell to minors and make the parents hand me the money directly to make sure the parent cannot say they were not involved in the transaction. Of course, if they pay by Paypal then they must be over 18.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

I refuse sells to minor without parental consent.

I provide a caresheet and I am available to answer any questions pre and post sale as for the rest all I can do is hope for the best because once you sell an animal there is no way to predict how the animal will be cared for (they might say one thing and do another)

If someone really sounds off yes I do reserve the right to refuse a sale.

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This x2. I had someone interested in one of my snakes. But they started asking what they eat, how often and if a 30 gallon tank was large enough... I did not like this at all, thankfully they stopped asking about it.

I had one person who told me they were going to house the two ball pythons he was going to buy off me in a cage with 3 other ball pythons he already had living together, which i already knew from seasoned keepers this is how many bred snakes 1.4 groups like 30+ years ago. I explained to him how there was plenty of new information available that was both more successful and better for the snakes, even giving him a link to the caresheet here and a breeding info page. Still said he was going with what someone else told him, I refused the sale then. then I never ran into a problem for a couple years....until last week.

I got an email inquiring about a breaded dragon my girlfriend put up for sale. Already odd because besides a website link, there really no other way to link her to me as far as a fauna ad goes. Asks a few questions, agree on a price. The person seemed a little off, but hey aren't we all? He asked about shipping and I asked him for his address. He then emails me his email address.....*face palm*. I'm thinking about refusing the sale, right now based off of this alone. Giving him the benefit of a doubt, I explain to him I need a shipping address to get a price for shipping. So then he sends me a number and a street. No city, state, or zip. Giving I might of been able to find it still with a little google search, but the incompetence of this guy, I don't think he is ready to take care of an animal. Then to add icing to the cake, I let the girlfriend know she is refusing a sale lol and before I even got a chance to tell the guy, he emails my girlfriend. Asks her if she will take less money for the same animal... any ad she put up would of been the exact same picture, I have no idea why this guy thought he was asking about a different animal. He's a great haggler.... lol

LMAO OWAL^

That guy sounds like he was a bit simple lol...