New members/sellers talking cheap

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

I'm not upset, but I will disagree. As a buyer if I can buy a snake from one of the "big guys" who has a solid reputation and you know exactly what you're getting for a given price, I'm probably not going to buy a snake for that price from the "little guy". I'd rather with my money somewhere that's a surefire bet.

I honestly just don't think that us little guys can price our animals the same as the bigger guys and expect to sell them.

---

I'm not upset either, but I've gotta disagree with you. ;) You might have a tougher time selling an animal at the same price as the bigger guys, but I believe that if the quality is there and you build a good reputation for yourself, someone WILL buy your animals for the same price.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

There are a lot of different buyers out there and they all have different buying habits ... just because it's not what you would do, don't limit your market ... it's a horrible business decision as any business class or text will tell you ... My busines plan has proven that a little guy can go head to head with the big names and be successful and I'm very proud of that ... maybe I had to work a little harder or wait a little longer to make a sale than the "big guy" but I've sold every animal that I've ever attempted to sell for exactly what I felt they were worth.

I wish you the best of luck with your business and hope that you don't compromise the value of the animals just because you're not a "big name" ... your animals are worth every penny of what you believe they are.

-adam

---

I will say that I always do sell them for no less than what I think they're worth. For me, that frequently ends up being less than the "big guys". I try to price them as if I was a potential buyer. That being said I did sell some of corns for more than what the big guys were asking, because they were exceptional examples of their morph - and they sold right away.

I guess when I price them I price them for what I would be willing to pay for them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by m00kfu

I'm not upset either, but I've gotta disagree with you. ;) You might have a tougher time selling an animal at the same price as the bigger guys, but I believe that if the quality is there and you build a good reputation for yourself, someone WILL buy your animals for the same price.

---

You're right, but the hardest part is building that reputation. It's like a catch-22. It's like trying to get a job w/o experience, but how can you get experience w/o getting a job?

To build that reputation someone has to take a chance on you, and especially with the higher end animals with $$$ at stake, for most its safer to to go w/someone who is very well known. But you're right that once you get some good sales and people get your name out and your name is synonymous with quality, it will get easier.

I have not sold any yet or even bred any yet but why would animals from a small hobbiest be unhealthy? mine would be in great shape because of the time I put into them & my feeder animals that have more time into them than my snakes. I want to breed for fun not to make a million bucks,heck I don;t even know if I can breed them yet,Im still growing them out.I agree that crashing the market can make some people mad but the economy is bad & only getting worse so prices will come down no mattter what.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by greghall

I have not sold any yet or even bred any yet but why would animals from a small hobbiest be unhealthy? mine would be in great shape because of the time I put into them & my feeder animals that have more time into them than my snakes. I want to breed for fun not to make a million bucks,heck I don;t even know if I can breed them yet,Im still growing them out.I agree that crashing the market can make some people mad but the economy is bad & only getting worse so prices will come down no mattter what.

---

On the contrary I think small hobbyists have some of the nicest animals. The problem is there are people who are in it just to make a buck and are more concerned about selling animals than about caring for them and ensuring that they have the best animals. That's the problem - is it worth the risk?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

You're right, but the hardest part is building that reputation. It's like a catch-22. It's like trying to get a job w/o experience, but how can you get experience w/o getting a job?

To build that reputation someone has to take a chance on you, and especially with the higher end animals with $$$ at stake, for most its safer to to go w/someone who is very well known. But you're right that once you get some good sales and people get your name out and your name is synonymous with quality, it will get easier.

---

What in the world did people do before the internet? :confused::weirdface

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

What in the world did people do before the internet? :confused::weirdface

---

We didn't have discussions like this one ... that's for sure. :P

-adam

Adam I agree with you brother. FatBoy and I are new and when we sale, we will sell for what the snake is worth to us. As far as selling it for as much as the "big guys" sell it, well those big guys where little guys at one point in time. As far as being reputable well that goes like anything else thats up to how much effort you put into it. This discussion is getting to deep. Kind of reminds me of those drunken three oclock in the morning heart to hearts. haha

This being our first year breeding and hoping we get some snakes we want to keep I know we will also get some that we will want to sell. We have done a lot of research on pricing and tried to do some tracking of different balls that were put up for sale to see how long until the were listed as sold and such. Ultimately speaking I can see the view from both sides. I think ultimately building a reputation is the key to being able to sell for what the big boys are, but you don't build your reputation by starting out selling 1K+ morphs. You start out on the lower end where people are more willing to take a risk. Then as your reputation builds through good customer service you can start selling those more expensive morphs. This year we are playing with Graziani Pastel, Cinnimon Pastel, Mojave, and a Genetic dark morph that is also a Co-dom reduced morph that was proven by Ian G. as our little dinking project. I don't see any $1000 dollar morphs in our list, but I see enough that those who want to try us out will have some options. You have to start slow and build up or you will end up playing the bubble game we are all to familiar with.

I have dealt with smaller breeders, big breeders, and brokers. When no issues arise all is good regardless.

Now I have had issues with one snake from a smaller breeder and they were pretty much calling me and E-mailing me asking what they could do to fix the problem. I would buy from them again, even though the only snake I ever got from them was sick, if they had something I wanted I would buy with the confidence that if things are not right it will be made right. Also additional circumstances occured that were out of this breeders hands, but we will not get into a Fed-ex rant here. This breeder knows who they are and I still say thanks for the big girl as she is doing great now! :gj:

I also bought 3 snakes from a large main stream breeder. 1 of the three is doing very well. The other two have eye issues that make them look like they are always getting ready to shed cause the eyes are cloudy. We have taken them to 3 different vets and all of them have come up with the same conclusion and method of fixing it which is to stick a needle in their eye and try to suck the material out. The only problem is it could cause full blindness if it is not done exactly correctly. We contacted the breeder about two months after we got them concerning this cause at first we just thought they were going into shed and did not get alarmed until a month later when things were not clearing up. They said they would send us replacements once they had some. They really have not answered E-mails and trying to call them is kinda like a yea we will once we get the right het replacements. Well we have now moved and our phone number and E-mail address has changed so I know nothing is going to happen since we are already 4 months later. Now this is a major breeder and if I started throwing out names I would get crucified with as big as their name is. This is why anymore I actually feel more confortable with the mid size and small breeders with histories than the big ones. I now have the feeling the big breeders feel they can do whatever they want cause they know nobody can touch them becouse they have their following that will shield them.

Well that is just my take on the whole reputation building idea. Probably rambled way to much, but when I think about it, it just "T's" me off.

I am working on getting a breeding project going. When i sell my snakes I will sell them for what they are worth if it takes me a year to sell them I will sell quality snakes at a reasonable price. I don't think people should sell them self short just because they aren't a big name brand.