Giving a Discount

I recently came up with the idea to offer a $10 discount on any ball python I had up for sale if the customer was willing to show me a pic of their proper setup. My fiance seems to think this is a bad idea and makes me sound "condescending" which of course I don't want to come off as a jerk to possible customers. I have heard of other sellers ask for pics of a setup before they are willing to sell to someone as well as asking husbandry questions so, I'm asking for opinions on what you think? Would you pass up buying from someone if they offered you a discount in exchange for a pic of your setup? My exact words used are "PSST! Want a discount? Show me pics of your proper setup and I'll give you $10 off any animal on this page." I appreciate any input!

Not the first time I've heard of that. I appreciate a breeder who cares enough about the future care of their snakes to bother.

I don't know the stats. for what happens to most pet snakes, but I'd bet they are not encouraging.

Hardly condescending. Have you looked at the sales contracts many pure bred puppy breeders require? And, those contracts are lenient compared to what many dog rescues ask for. I find the rescue contracts impossible (those often ARE condescending).

It doesn't sound like a bad idea at all to me! I would definitely be willing to show a breeder my setup, with or without the $10 incentive. It just shows that you care about your animals.

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If I email a breeder and they start making request like that I will personally pass simply because what is to say that the way I keep my animals will be to their liking and do I want to jump through hoops afterward and explain the way I keep my animals.

After you do this a while you will get a feel for people soon as you start communicating with them without having to be nosy and making demands.

Now if this is something you really want to do I could see 10% percent but not $10, if the animal purchased is $250 or more it will not mean much to get $10 off.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

If I email a breeder and they start making request like that I will personally pass simply because what is to say that the way I keep my animals will be to their liking and do I want to jump through hoops afterward and explain the way I keep my animals.

After you do this a while you will get a feel for people soon as you start communicating with them without having to be nosy and making demands.

Now if this is something you really want to do I could see 10% percent but not $10, if the animal purchased is $250 or more it will not mean much to get $10 off.

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I should say that I would not force people to give me a picture if they want to buy a snake. The offer is just there if they would like to take advantage of the discount but I do see what you're saying. I was also thinking about doing 10% but then I figured how much is a picture really worth? If I sell an animal for $1000 that's $100 off for a picture. Maybe bumping up the discount for higher valued animals isn't a bad idea but I'll have to put more thought into this apparently lol. Any other ideas are appreciated.

I agree with Deborah, I keep my snakes in naturalistic setups in aquariums and this is something that some keepers really frown upon, the same people who think it's a death sentence to keep lizards on anything but paper towels.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm accusing you of this, but It would come off better if you at least had some photos of examples of acceptable setups. If anything I'd give the discount for a picture of a thermostat. If they have one of those then it's likely they have done their research into whichever "style" of setup they want and can keep a ball python alive.

I could see this turning into a real sticky wicket, not so much with people thinking it's condescending(though some might think of it as that, just due to the state of our culture as a whole IMHO), but when someone is happy with their set-up, you're not, they get pissy about the $10, post a review on a site like this, then you have three groups in the thread, and you're at the center. One group is going to side with the owner, say the habitat is fine and get upset with you. Another group is going to get upset with you because you saw the enclosure, refused the discount, but were going to sell him the snake anyway. And a third group of people are going to step in and say that you're not the habitat police, but you have every right to offer any program you damn well please. It will devolve badly.

IMHO, if you're a hobbyist selling a few snakes, you can ask about people's enclosures, some will mind, some won't but it's not as big a deal to you. If you're trying to make an honest, genuine business out of it, this is just going to be WAY more headache than it's worth. People won't buy from you to try and save those $10, if the rest of your business and pricing isn't solid.

Different cultures, I guess.
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The higher end goat breeders will grill you before letting a kid go. They still might not.

I had to fill out a long questionnaire, have a phone interview, and take pictures of my fencing when applying to purchase a Livestock Guardian Dog.

I almost never part with my rabbits. They are raised in spacious pens on the ground. I won't sell to anyone who uses the standard cages. I'm polite about it, but people have still been pissed about that. Whatever... people come to me. I don't even advertise.

The discount depends on your goal. If your goal is to make sure your snakes go to a good home, then I don't see how the discount could hurt if planned properly. If your goal is to just make sales, I don't really see how it would help.

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Originally Posted by Jhill001

I agree with Deborah, I keep my snakes in naturalistic setups in aquariums and this is something that some keepers really frown upon, the same people who think it's a death sentence to keep lizards on anything but paper towels.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm accusing you of this, but It would come off better if you at least had some photos of examples of acceptable setups. If anything I'd give the discount for a picture of a thermostat. If they have one of those then it's likely they have done their research into whichever "style" of setup they want and can keep a ball python alive.

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A thermostat is pretty much what I'm looking for. I understand that people have different ways of keeping animals and I respect that. I can see now from the customer's point of view though they don't know I am accepting of different ways to keep animals and as such might be a little defensive. I'm trying to find a way to pass along a discount for them providing me with some evidence that my babies are going to good and prepared homes. By giving me a pic of the setup, I know that someone isn't just taking home one of my babies and throwing it into a tank with a screen top with no heat or a heat rock or a heat mat with no thermostat and sand as substrate or something. I understand that someone could lift a picture off the internet but even then, at least it shows me that they have seen what a proper setup should look like and maybe inspire them to further look into how to do their own.

This is partially inspired by an incident from a past customer of mine who oddly enough was a vet tech. It was awhile ago, but I felt horribly bad for this person (and guilty myself for not probing more about the setup he was going into). They really did care for the animal (they called me to let me know and they were literally sobbing), they just honestly didn't know any better. They asked if I would be willing to sell them another like the one they had so, I went through the steps of what they needed to do to prevent it from happening again which they understood and (although I'm sure many would disapprove) I even replaced the one they bought with a multi-gene animal that was a relative of the one they had (once they were clear on the heating situation and promised me that they would fix the problem) free of charge. I know that was a lot of "they's" but I do not wish to name this person, as I believe they have learned their lesson the hard way. So now, I'm just trying to think of ways to hopefully prevent something like that from happening again in the future without prying too much or looking like a jerk.

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

The discount depends on your goal. If your goal is to make sure your snakes go to a good home, then I don't see how the discount could hurt if planned properly. If your goal is to just make sales, I don't really see how it would help.

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And this is pretty much the reason my fiance has a problem with it. If I don't sell snakes and scare people away, then he looks at it as a bad choice. I would keep them all if I could but I obviously can't do that. I have to sell some to at least help with some of the cost of keeping them. This is a hobby for me at the moment. I'm not making any money from breeding. Actually quite the opposite, I'm pretty far into the red lol. He would like them to at least be able to start paying for themselves. I can't do that without selling some snakes. I still would like to see them go to good homes though. How do you guys insure that the babies you produce go to prepared homes? Or is there even a way to insure that without taking a huge loss in sales?

I offer something from a similar but from a very different approach with my dragons. Bearded dragons come with a 48 hour health guarantee. This is reasonable in the industry and generous compared to some. For no charge, I will extend the health guarantee to a length of my discretion (usually 1-3 weeks) if pics of the set up are sent before receiving the dragon. It makes sense to link the set up with an extended health guarantee if it can be done with little "fuss". Your goal should be offer an incentive that helps those who want to take advantage of it while not impacting those who don't (I'm assuming that $10 is already an upcharge built in your price otherwise that's a very high percentage discount on low priced snakes).

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Originally Posted by BlueMoonExotics

I still would like to see them go to good homes though. How do you guys insure that the babies you produce go to prepared homes? Or is there even a way to insure that without taking a huge loss in sales?

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You can offer incentives and refuse sales where you sense something is off but you can never ensure a prepared home. Not possible short of in house inspections and I certainly would never buy any animal or product in existence where the seller demanded this. Remember, it's just an incentive and going to far will just ensured you get 'gamed' with set up pics from the internet. You'll learn to get a sense of people over time and can refuse sales at any time. I have in the past and am sure that I will again.

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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky Dragons

It makes sense to link the set up with an extended health guarantee if it can be done with little "fuss". Your goal should be offer an incentive that helps those who want to take advantage of it while not impacting those who don't (I'm assuming that $10 is already an upcharge built in your price otherwise that's a very high percentage discount on low priced snakes).

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No, I was going to keep it at $10 even if it was a $20 normal. It's not that big of a deal for me but hey, who doesn't like $10 off anything else they buy? I like your idea of an extended health guarantee as well. I was thinking about doing 10% like Deborah had suggested but I haven't decided yet what I want to do now that I've got everyone's input on the matter. I did take down the statement until I can think everything over and decide what's best. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to offer something like that and not scare people away once I build up a good reputation. Maybe for now, I should just try to do my best at getting a feel for someone. Although, like in my previous scenario, they were a very sweet person and since they were a vet tech I figured they had a pretty good handle on things. I guess you just have to hope for the best. It sucks but I suppose it comes with the territory for anyone who produces animals.

Just a thought, maybe it would be better to have pictures of proper setups available and send a full caresheet with each animal, at least when you have first time buyers. Sometimes simply putting the info in front of them can make all the difference. And no, in the end the only way to guarantee perfect homes forever would be to keep them all, which no one can do if they breed. We can only do the best we can.

I tend to think people would be much happier with a 48hour or 72hour, or 1 week health guarantee than an extra $10. That extra *sense* of security is probably worth a lot more to most. When you're writing that up though, make sure to clearly exclude mites from the additional days of guarantee as there is no way to check for them in pictures of someone's enclosure.

If your only worry is going to an educated home or not, I also personally think the best you can do (considering all factors) would be to just provide proper caresheet links, let them know in advance that thermostats are a required piece of equipment to avoid severe burns, digital hygrometer/thermometers are the only accurate ones, etc. before making a sale, and watch the way that they reply. If you get a good feeling, then great- and if you get an iffy feeling, you can still refuse the sale. It's tough to go any deeper.

And of course with this, the discount conundrum doesn't apply, so you won't need to worry about that. :P

It is a different culture compared to other animals. Since there are just SO MANY hobbyist breeders/big-time breeders in ball pythons, it's easy for a buyer to pass up a seller for seeming too nosy/too many holes to jump through, and simply find another equal seller (in the buyer's eyes) on the same day. Assuming you're not selling quirky three gene combos or something.