Payment plans?

How do you go about this? Several people made me offers on my pastel het clown girl, but most of them want to do a payment plan. I'm going to ask for a non-refundable down payment, but then how many months should I hold her?

Depends on how nice you are and how quickly they can come up with the $$$...:gj:

I personally think a month is pretty generous for what you're selling.

I would require at least a 20% down payment, and then give them 3 months (5 if the price is super high) nothing ships until payment is received in full.

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

Depends on how nice you are and how quickly they can come up with the $$$...:gj:

I personally think a month is pretty generous for what you're selling.

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Hm.. I'm pretty nice :P:D.

I think a month is a bit much, especially since she grows like a weed!!

You'll no doubt get some ridiculous requests...I once had a person ask me if they could pay $25 a month for a $350 dollar snake.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I would require at least a 20% down payment, and then give them 3 months (5 if the price is super high) nothing ships until payment is received in full.

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I have her listed at 1000 shipped. I have to feed her live rats which is just a major inconvenience for me... That's one of the reasons I decided to sell her. Is 1000 considered super high? I think 3 months is a bit much. I could be wrong though.

No, I would consider $10,000+ super high.

For me anything above $1,000 would get 3 months. I migh raise the price slightly to compensate for rodents/time.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

No, I would consider $10,000+ super high.

For me anything above $1,000 would get 3 months. I migh raise the price slightly to compensate for rodents/time.

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I got her for a steal of a price, so I don't mind too much about buying the rodents. It bothers me, but not enough to add more to the total. I just want my money back tbh, but I want to take advantage of the deal I got too.

The store we got Munch from ask for 50% payment as a non refundable deposit, and hold the animal for 4 Weeks :) Thought that was pretty good :)

I would do 20-25% down as non refundable deposit. Then probably give them 3 months max to pay it off. For someone like me on a college student budget i cant come up with that kinda money in a month. But paying it off over 3 months is no problem. Id also be willing to pay an extra $20 for the rats for those 3 months.
And as far as a steep price. I would say anything over $10K like aaron said deserves a 6 month plan. I believe most breeders do 20-25% down and 3 months max. Unless youre a repeat customer or you have something else worked out.

From everything I have seen/experienced, the standard for most bigger breeders seems to be 25% down, the balance to be paid within 30 days. For snakes over $500, some do 45 days. Over $1,000, and a particularly nice breeder might do 60 days.

Bottom line is how serious does the buyer seem ? They can put down the required down payment easily, and ask for a month or two to break the remainder down is good. They hem and haw about the down payment and then say it will take a couple of months or so to pay the rest, I'd pass.

Gale

I accept 25% down (non-refundable) and the balance over 60 days. When someone makes a payment on a snake, I send them an email outlining the deposit is non-refundable and when (the exact date and time) that final payment is due. If you do payment plans, make sure that they are clear and in writing.

I do 25% down non refundable and 60 days unless the buyer convinces me of longer, which has happened :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by h00blah

How do you go about this? Several people made me offers on my pastel het clown girl, but most of them want to do a payment plan. I'm going to ask for a non-refundable down payment, but then how many months should I hold her?

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That's what I do

30 Days (Minimum purchase of $200.00*)
60 Days (Minimum purchase of $400.00*)
90 Days (Minimum purchase of $800.00*)

And I require a 20% non refundable deposit.

This isn't a slam against the seller, money is money, but I've never understood a payment plan for a, I don't know, $500.00 snake. If your that broke that you can't come up with $500.00, you probably shouldn't be buying a snake......

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Originally Posted by Trochu

This isn't a slam against the seller, money is money, but I've never understood a payment plan for a, I don't know, $500.00 snake. If your that broke that you can't come up with $500.00, you probably shouldn't be buying a snake......

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Alot of people don't have $500 or $1000 just laying around to buy a new snake with. If they are in the process of saving for a snake and then they fall in love with one they see it gives them the opportunity to put a deposit on the animal and continue to pay for it so someone else doesn't buy it. Or if they know they will have some additional income coming in the near future(tax returns).

As a seller it makes perfect sense to offer payment plans as long as the terms are understood by both sides and the buyer doesn't want some crazy long term plan.

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Originally Posted by Trochu

This isn't a slam against the seller, money is money, but I've never understood a payment plan for a, I don't know, $500.00 snake. If your that broke that you can't come up with $500.00, you probably shouldn't be buying a snake......

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Ha ha, I've accepted payment plans for as little as $130 for a snake. If someone is going to put a 25% nonrefundable deposit, then there is little chance they are going to not pay the rest for such a small purchase. It creates good will and gives you 60 days to develop a relationship with a buyer (I email when I feed or there are other developments). I'm sure that those folks who use the plan, will remember that I worked with them and will return if they are in the market again.

People may be broke, but it doesn't mean they are poor forever. I'd rather have a good return customer than quibble over the payment plan. In fact, there have been some situations where I refunded the deposit because of extraordinary events.

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Originally Posted by C&H Exotic Morphs

Alot of people don't have $500 or $1000 just laying around to buy a new snake with. If they are in the process of saving for a snake and then they fall in love with one they see it gives them the opportunity to put a deposit on the animal and continue to pay for it so someone else doesn't buy it. Or if they know they will have some additional income coming in the near future(tax returns).

As a seller it makes perfect sense to offer payment plans as long as the terms are understood by both sides and the buyer doesn't want some crazy long term plan.

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Oh I understand the concept of a payment plan, I just don't understand why people are buying snakes if they have to scrimp and save to come up with $500.00. Seems to me they likely have better uses they could put their money towards. Maybe I listen to too many financial talk shows, then again, maybe the average US household debt is approaching $100k.

25% down and 30 days

sorry trying to figure out how to reply to this.

I'll go with my personal view. I would rather stretch any payment for a snake over a couple of weeks for a few reasons.
1.) When trying to maintain my lack of debt, it's important to establish a good buffer of income incase of emergency expenses, and savings just because I have the option to drop a good percentage of my paycheck on a snake does not mean I want to, and honestly if that person(s) is maintaining their life well, there's no reason that a snake isn't a good investment of their money.
(basically I doubt snakes are causing the 100$K debt per house).
2.) If you're new to the scene, like I am it allows you to establish a good relationship with your seller, something that I believe to be priceless regardless of what you're buying (for instance I was able to call the guy I bought my car from and ask him some questions after he had no obligation to help me and he was nice enough to answer because we had established a buyer/seller relationship)

sorry, that might be a little long winded.

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Originally Posted by Trochu

Oh I understand the concept of a payment plan, I just don't understand why people are buying snakes if they have to scrimp and save to come up with $500.00. Seems to me they likely have better uses they could put their money towards. Maybe I listen to too many financial talk shows, then again, maybe the average US household debt is approaching $100k.

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Depending on the price I do 20%-25% NON REFUNDABLE deposit. And then also depending on the price I do 1-3 month. If at the end of the specified time you have not paid off what you have agreed to I'm putting it back up for sale

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Originally Posted by Trochu

Oh I understand the concept of a payment plan, I just don't understand why people are buying snakes if they have to scrimp and save to come up with $500.00. Seems to me they likely have better uses they could put their money towards. Maybe I listen to too many financial talk shows, then again, maybe the average US household debt is approaching $100k.

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I'm a college student, I don't have $500 AFTER expenses lying around. There is a big difference between not having $500 and not having $500 after you pay all of your bills and other expenses. I don't have any debt. I pay for everything cash. I don't even have any student loans at this point. But if I wanted to buy a $500 BP I would have to save for a few months before I could purchase it.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I'm a college student, I don't have $500 AFTER expenses lying around. There is a big difference between not having $500 and not having $500 after you pay all of your bills and other expenses. I don't have any debt. I pay for everything cash. I don't even have any student loans at this point. But if I wanted to buy a $500 BP I would have to save for a few months before I could purchase it.

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I feel ya. I'm in college too. I had student loans my first 2 years but now I'm paying up front. I'm lucky enough to have saved a good bit of money. But I still do payment plans sometimes. Except last month I was a little loose with the wallet and dropped $1550 on 2 snakes that I had to have NOW. Ha but now I'm in Pinch-a-penny mode till I get my savings back up to my min acceptable level ha. Is it ok to spend emergency money on BP's? :banana:

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Originally Posted by zach_24_90

I feel ya. I'm in college too. I had student loans my first 2 years but now I'm paying up front. I'm lucky enough to have saved a good bit of money. But I still do payment plans sometimes. Except last month I was a little loose with the wallet and dropped $1550 on 2 snakes that I had to have NOW. Ha but now I'm in Pinch-a-penny mode till I get my savings back up to my min acceptable level ha. Is it ok to spend emergency money on BP's? :banana:

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I always convince myself it is lol. I mean they can be technically considered an investment!
I too am a college student. Payment plans are alot more convenient for me at this point. Hopefully once i finish school ill have mad money to throw around on bps though!

I bought about 10 snakes while I was in college ranging from about $300 to $1800 and did payment plans on all of them. Some were a few weeks and some were upwards of 6 months, so I definitely a fan of them. As long as a buyer stays in communication and let's me know what's up, I'm really flexible with them

I am a long way from college now but I am a fan of using payment plans when buying snakes. Makes it easier to hide from my wife how much I'm actually spending. She doesn't yet appreciate the investment value of a nice Ball Python morph. One of these days she'll see the light.:)

I'd love to see more then 25-50% of the users on this forum drop $1,000+ like it was $10.... Payment plans are to RESERVE snakes while you pay them. Most people make $5,000-$20,000 more towards the lower end, it has nothing to do with the fact we can't afford to keep the animal...Just we can't afford the one we want. It's ridiculous when people use statement like that....

I saved up for 3 months before we went to Tinley, and spent $600 $400 on snakes, $200 on the "event" itself. That was something if you asked me to do in a weeks time it would be impossible....