Reptile expo question.

I am going to my first reptile expo soon and was wondering is it okay to negotiate prices or is that rude.
And is there any tips for buying from an expo

It's fine to do so however keep in mind the followings.

Don't offer 50% of the price, that will not be well received.

Remember that on $100 animal the breeder hardly makes any money, once the animal is a few months old between housing and food the animal is often sold at a loss.

You can negotiate not a problem but be reasonable about it. Don't offer $100 bucks for a $1000 snake.

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Originally Posted by ong

I am going to my first reptile expo soon and was wondering is it okay to negotiate prices or is that rude.
And is there any tips for buying from an expo

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Negotiating is expected as long as you don't low-ball.
Tips:
- Bring cash.
- Don't touch anything (both animals and equipment) you're not buying.
- Even if you don't buy anything shower immediately when you get home.

When I haggle, I first ask if there is any wiggle room in the price. If they say yes, I'll ask for a number that is divisible by 20. Like, if the snake is 325, I'll ask for 280. We usually settle at 300, or somewhere in the middle.

Don't expect to get much off, but sometimes you get lucky on the last day of an expo.

I’m definitely not trying to low ball anyone. I just wanted to know if negotiating was the norm. Thanks for the advice!

Happy hunting! Out of my 12 snakes I think I only paid the asking price on one of them and that was the Butter I bought from NERD, their website doesn't make negotiating easy, I'm sure I could have called and gotten him down a little but I didn't really have the time.

I negotiate like hell on the last day. Breeders go there to SELL. They DO NOT want to have to take animals home.

There is usually some fluff built into the price. Very few list their rock bottom price first. Usually offering 75% or so will be well received and result in a deal around 85% of list. There is usually more wiggle room as the price goes up. Go on Saturday if you are looking for something very specific especially if it isn't common. Go on Sunday if you want a bargain. As the show comes to an end you can usually scoop the best deals.

Everything is negotiable at expos.....

Marked prices at shows are starting points. As the others have said, don't offer too low. Offer what you are willing to pay based off the listed price.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Negotiating is expected as long as you don't low-ball.
Tips:
- Bring cash.
- Don't touch anything (both animals and equipment) you're not buying.
- Even if you don't buy anything shower immediately when you get home.

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This guy has some great tips. Cash is always KING and by saying you'll pay straight up in cash the vendor may be willing to wiggle a little bit more. Using cards generally means the vendor has to pay fees, though very small they can add up.

His second tip about not touching animals is great, unless the vendor hands the animal to you. Who knows what germs you may come in contact with, you don't want to be accidentally spreading them around and possibly hurt someone's collection. Some people are not as anal about this and have never had issues, but you can never tell which vendors care and which don't off the bat so it's better to be safe than sorry.

Haggling is always expected, and it never hurts to ask... But be respectful! Always using nice manners goes a long way too :p

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Originally Posted by AlysonAME

This guy has some great tips.

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Psst... I'm female. :P

Sorry breeders, but be polite. Don't insult. And never pay full price if you can help it. There was some good advice in this thread, take it. Sometimes just asking nicely will get you a deal. And buying more than one at a time will get you even better deals, it makes both sides happy. XD

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Psst... I'm female. :P

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Haha oh my I apologize, still new to this forums :p

This gal has some awesome ideas then!

Ahhh, the "which day do I go to the Expo to get the best deal" dilemma. Basically, for a weekend expo, the first day has the best selection but higher prices; the second day has less of a selection, but better deals.

There is an expo coming up in August that will be the first one I am able to go to. I plan on getting weekend passes for my husband and I, and one day passes for the kiddos. I'll take the kids on Saturday, where we'll get necessities and look for a couple snakes that they have been asking for (they're fairly cheap options, so haggling not required, but my husband never pays full price if he doesn't have to, lol). Since it's the first day, we should get to see a lot of new and exciting things. On the second day, my husband and I will go alone so that we can have reptile play time without having to keep an eye on the little ones. While the two of us are there, we'll look for deals and haggle to see what we can get away with. :D Like already mentioned, the breeders would rather not take their animals home.

I have an empty 55g tank that's in need of an occupant. ;)