I have never haggled in my life for a snake. Is it even possible to do so?

[angllady2]

As a buyer and seller both I can offer a few things to keep in mind.

1. Know what you are looking for and what market value is. Keep in mind a 500 gram snake is worth more than a hatchling.

2. Be sincere. If you like what you see, tell the vendor/breeder so. Tell them what it is about a certain snake or snakes they have that catches your eye versus someone else's animal.

3. It never hurts to ask for a discount, the worst they can say is no, but PLEASE be aware of how much of a discount you are asking for. Don't see a snake for $800 and ask if the breeder will take $300, that is just plain rude.

4. Don't try the old, " This guy over here has XXX morph for $xxx less than you, will you meet that price?" If that guys snake is so fabulous for that price, BUY HIS, don't insult me or my animals by comparing my top notch stock to his bottom of the barrel junk. There is a reason his are so cheap and still haven't sold you know.

5. Cash in hand generally speaks louder than a check or payment plan that is true, but don't be afraid to ask for a payment plan if you need one. Especially if you have a nice size deposit in your hand.

6. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the snakes you see. If the breeder has three spiders and 2 are one price and the other is $75 more, ask why. Maybe there is something there you can't see right away. If you see a really nice looking example of a certain morph, ask how the breeder achieved his results. Breeders like to talk to interested people, and interested people may just end up getting a discount they would not have gotten 15 minutes ago.

I've done haggling from both sides, and I will tell you, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but if you do it right, you will pretty much always make a friend.

And just to throw this out there: At a show I vended, there was a really sweet lady and her husband looking at my pieds and hets. It seems that she, much like myself, had dreamed of making pieds of her own. We talked for quite a while, and she decided she wanted to get at least a het pied female from me to get her foot in the door so to speak. She was so much like I was a few years back, it made me all sentimental and mushy. I made her a deal, not the other way a round. I offered her a male and female het pair, each from a different mom so she could feel safe about breeding them, for $150. Granted, I was asking that price for just the female, so she got the male I was asking $75 for for free, but to me that didn't matter. Maybe I could have gotten more for them, maybe not. But to see the light in her eyes when I told her my offer, and to hear her say she just couldn't that it would not be fair to me, and to see the tears when I told her how now that my dream of making pieds had come true, I was only too happy to make someone else's dream a little bit closer to reality. Well, that is why I do what I do. She came back to my table at least 6 times before the day was out, grinning from ear to ear and trying not to cry. Everyone she knew at that show had admired the babies and congratulated her on the first step towards making her pieds. That my friends, is what this is all about.

Gale