Tire kickers might just be that, but someone might be asking 4 different breeders about 4 different animals and decided on one they like best. This even happens when you vend at shows. Then life happens sometimes and they might of had something happening between asking questions and you answering them. It does suck using up time for pretty much nothing, but just figure that time is carried over to the person who actually buys something.
As for the 50k snake dropping to 5k, it is the (imo) stupid game this hobby plays of advertise price vs selling price.