Payment plans and plummeting prices...

[xdeus]

How does a breeder/dealer handle payment plans on morphs that have a considerable price drop? Maybe this hasn't been a problem in the past, but it seems like it might be now. Say someone put 10% down on a Lesser a year ago with a price of $35K. A year later he notices the market price has dropped quite a bit.

Do most dealers renegotiate, or try to stick to the agreed price? On one hand, the buyer might end up saving money by breaking the contract, losing his deposit and any money paid, and buying it elsewhere for the current market price. On the other hand, the dealer might have received the full amount if he didn't accept a payment plan and held out for someone that could buy it outright.

[JLC]

Well, if you take your example, the person should have been paying off that snake for a full year, so would have a LOT more invested in it than 10%....and that snake would also be a year older at that point, making it that much more valuable than a baby.

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

A year long payment plan or more seems kind of long. If they put 10% down and have been paying for a year on a 35k snake, how much is left to pay?


Judy beat me to it.

3.5k + 1k a month? Thats 15.5k , only 19.5k left to buy a snake that is 1+year old, or 10-15k from a lesser known source? Assuming you could find another lesser from an equivalent source for 15k.... you are only paying 4.5k more for an older snake.

[pythonweb]

Is there a money tree somewhere???

[Melicious]

Is there a money tree somewhere???

I'll race you to it if someone knows.

I'd definitely agree with Judy on this one. By the time you've finished paying off your snake, it'll be worth more as the year plus goes by. A year, knowing that the breeder's giving the utmost care, would leave you with approximately two left before your male/female is ready for breeding season. And what does that equate to? MORE MONEY! Woohoo. I'll stop ranting.

[elevatethis]

I think that most breeders who even offer payment plans are giving you the opportunity to obtain an animal that you otherwise would not be able to, and thus shouldn't be obligated to give you an even bigger break by dropping the price dramatically on an animal they've kept, cleaned, and fed for a year, regardless of what the market is doing. Just my .02

[xdeus]

Good points! I guess I've been seeing a lot of breeders advertise "flexible payment plans", and I didn't think of all the details. As a breeder, you probably wouldn't want to make it too flexible, either.

[jglass38]

It shouldn't matter what has happened to the morph price in the 3, 6 or 12 months since you entered into the payment plan. The price at inception is the price you pay. Payment plans come with a premium price like credit cards come with an interest rate

[cassandra]

I would think to that the people buying $10K+ animals are one of a couple things; people who've very carefully thought about their purchase and have planned for the expenditure who either are going to pay for the snake in full or very quickly because they made the decision to buy the animal and they want it now. A breeder selling a 10, 20, 50 thousand dollar snake isn't gonna sell it to someone they feel isn't going to pay for it or who want a "five-year" plan to pay it off.

I would think breeders would experience difficulty with lower priced sales, 5000 and under...but what do I know? =)

Me, I'd put the lesser on my AMEX and watch AMEX go nuts, hehe...("you spent HOW MUCH for a snake?!")

[xdeus]

I know it wouldn't be any different than if you had bought it outright a year ago and raised it yourself. I was just wondering if breeders have to deal buyers trying to renegotiate or if it's just a non-issue? I know payment plans can be used as an effective marketing tool, but I wanted to know how many problems come up because of it.