Haggaling?

They would probably just laugh. :gj:

I don't think haggling necessarily means you don't value the snake that much; for some people, those extra dollars might be a serious monetary strain. Obviously if you're too poor to actually care for an animal, you shouldn't purchase it at all, but snakes and the like tend to be much more expensive up front than they are to maintain. Plenty of breeders understand this.

Technically, I haggled my own BP down to free =P I work at a major pet retailer, and at the time I was looking to get a snake, the ones we had were new and had come in with various issues due to botched shipping. They were on the mend with our treatments, but I wanted to get a problem-free snake if I could. So I went to a local reptile shop that was having a deal where, if you essentially purchased the entire setup for an animal--terrarium, bedding, hides, etc--you could get a reptile worth $50 or less for free. Their normal BPs were $55, and when I first called them and asked if they'd still be willing to let them be a part of the deal, they said that the owner was likely to be very firm with the price.

I went there anyway and found a little stunner of a normal (stunning to me, at least =P). We talked for a bit and I mentioned that I'd love to buy all my stuff from them, as this was my first snake and I needed a setup anyway, but if the BP couldn't be a part of the setup deal then I'd likely purchase one from my place of work. Buying the snake and everything with my employee discount would have beat buying full-price from their shop, but if the BP was free then the total cost would beat both of the former. I'll admit, I felt like a jerk when I presented my case, but as a college student it's practically law for me to be cheap, haha. However, they seemed perfectly happy to let my snake be part of the deal when I explained all this, and I didn't get any feeling of resentment or offense from them. So I bought all my stuff there and my little girl was free :) (Though I've looked at their website, and the deal is still going on, but their BPs have gone from 55 bucks to 45 . . . so if I'd bought from them now this wouldn't have been an issue. Ah well!)

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Originally Posted by Angiebeast

I don't think haggling necessarily means you don't value the snake that much; for some people, those extra dollars might be a serious monetary strain. Obviously if you're too poor to actually care for an animal, you shouldn't purchase it at all, but snakes and the like tend to be much more expensive up front than they are to maintain. Plenty of breeders understand this.

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For me, it's not really about "I can't afford those extra dollars." I just LOVE a good deal, which again you can blame on my being Jewish. :D I also think an expo just asks for haggling, whereas I'd be less likely to try that in a pet shop (or private breeder's home/site).

I just sold my first clutch last year, and one buyer did bargain a little. I was selling a full setup with the snake, and he offered about $5-10 less than my total asking price. I accepted their reasonable offer, and was not insulted in the slightest... even threw in some extras (accessories) to seal the deal!

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

For me, it's not really about "I can't afford those extra dollars." I just LOVE a good deal, which again you can blame on my being Jewish. :D I also think an expo just asks for haggling, whereas I'd be less likely to try that in a pet shop (or private breeder's home/site).

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Yeah, there's definitely that too :) I don't think trying to save a few bucks is so terrible, so long as it's reasonable on both ends.

Breeders also will be much more keen to haggle if you are buying more than one snake from them.. I don't know if that's an option for you or not, but it would help the haggling part. You could probably get a much better deal if you are willing to take two snakes off their hands!

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

Breeders also will be much more keen to haggle if you are buying more than one snake from them.. I don't know if that's an option for you or not, but it would help the haggling part. You could probably get a much better deal if you are willing to take two snakes off their hands!

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That is true! At the San Mateo Expo last year, I was purchasing a female ghost-motley corn for $50... then I saw a little granite boy (corn) out of the corner of my eye, and said "oooooh, I love his skull head pattern!" The seller responded with "I'll throw him in for another $20." Done, done and done. ;)