Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Assuming there is a product you are seriously in the market for, what are some things that stop you from buying?

* Bad or no reputation?
* Unprofessional seller?
* Better price somewhere else? How important is this?
* Perceived after-the-sale value?
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

* Bad reputation
* Unprofessional seller
-----
Matt Lerer
Ghi Reptiles

np
-----
Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

# 1, Poor customer service, reputation or not, many of the big boys in this industry seriously lack customer service.

Your right there medusah alot of the bigger guys do have poor cs skills. But as far as buying from someone other than them I go by reputation
-----
Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

Price....lol, I only buy from a very few breeders and they are all local.
-----
Pastel 0.1
Spider 0.1
Normals 2.1
Het Pied 0.1
Leopard Geckos 1.1
American Bulldog 0.1

I could care less if someone sucks at service... if they are cheaper than everyone else. If they are a jerk, I will avoid them, but if it's a deal I can't pass up, I will do business with them... but on my terms.
Money talks and butters up most who are bad at customer service... after all, they are just weeding out the years of B.S. I'm not looking for luxury on most of my purchases, I am looking for bargains. If you don't have the cash, you aren't going to make the purchase.

Snakes aren't worth a dime if no one is willing to pay for it. Markets always fluctuate, but there are times when we have to face the facts. I am seeing the same ads posted every day, and things aren't moving. So get real and lower your prices, or stop posting, because it's starting to look bad.
One thing as a salesman everyone must know: Everyone has there buying price... even when a buyer is broke, if they think they are getting a great deal, they'll whip out the CC card.

We as sellers have to adapt to the market and find that price that moves inventory off the shelves.
It's fine if you think your item is worth more, and want to hold on to it. It's hard to let go something for far less than invested (time and money) but things aren't worth what you paid, they are worth what others are willing to pay. Waiting for the perfect buyer to find your ad today is like playing the lottery.

Sales aren't based on luck. Ideal sales are made with good communication between the seller and buyer, and understanding the market, where the seller is coming from on the price, and where the buyer is coming from on the offer, then meeting somewhere in the middle without offending the other party.

Lower the price, and they will come... If that makes it not worth the time and effort, find another hobby you enjoy.

~ Evan

So Evan basically what your saying is you would rather sacrifice quality animal just because the price is good? Then you can breed it and pass on an inferior quality animal just to save money?? No me I would rather have quality over anything.
-----
Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

Did I ever say anything about breeding animals of low quality? In fact, I didn't mention quality once. Read again.. I "assumed," we were discussing about purchasing something one desires; Therefore, quality has already been assessed. I was simply stating the obvious: Sales (on items one is interested in) are ALWAYS based on price!

I disagree, if you are looking for the very best bargain prices, you are skiping out on quality.

Top notch specimens command a premium and I'd rather pay a premium and produce top notch offspring down the road.

Before, during and after sales customer service dictates IF I would dish out my hard earned coins again with the same breeder.

Sadly, very few qualify eventhough they have quality stock

IMO, If you are looking for Bargins, then you are not looking for the snakes that are 10's or perfect examples of that morph. If I was selling a Genetic Stripe that had several breaks in the stripe the price would be lower (a bargain). The buyer would get the genetics that would produce more Gen Stripes, but a lower quality snake (I am referenceing quality as being closest to the perfect form of that morph, not health, if it isnt healthy it doesnt get sold!!) If the snake had a perfect unbroken stripe and was a snake that a buyer would proudly display on their collection page of their website, it is going to have a price tag that reflects that (quality)!

Just my 2 cents.
Shawn
www.twistedconstrictors.com

"Snakes aren't worth a dime if no one is willing to pay for it. Markets always fluctuate, but there are times when we have to face the facts. I am seeing the same ads posted every day, and things aren't moving. So get real and lower your prices, or stop posting, because it's starting to look bad.
One thing as a salesman everyone must know: Everyone has there buying price... even when a buyer is broke, if they think they are getting a great deal, they'll whip out the CC card."

Exactly! My full-time job is at a gun shop and people come in every day looking to trade and they tell you how much their gun is worth when the truth is it's not worth a dime over what you can get for it. If you put up a tag of 300$ on one you'd sell 250$ and someone offers you that it's sold. If it sits on the rack for a month or more you want that thing gone so you can move in new inventory. I just bought a spider for little of nothing because of the market right now. I'm enjoying this because I'm a poor boy, lol.
-----
Pastel 0.1
Spider 0.1
Normals 2.1
Het Pied 0.1
Leopard Geckos 1.1
American Bulldog 0.1

Getting a bargain is nice, but getting quality is key......quality animals can command higher prices, sell better, and attract the BEST customers.......

Also, just because the same add is posted over and over doesn't mean ANYTHING........maybe if it's ONE animal, but for all other ads, how do you know nothing is moving? I put up the same ads for a while, then change them up.......and I'm selling just fine! So for those of you reading, keep posting! You may not sell that day, that month, but someone will come along.......I KNOW......THEY ALWAYS DO!! Sometimes I may not sell anything in one week, the next week I sell dozens, maybe more......be patient, there are several months of the year that are drastically better than others (less sellers around, people have more to spend, etc), and the bigger your animal gets, the easier it is to sell.

Brandon Boeke
Priceless Pythons

I could care less about the price, the service or anything else. As long as the person is selling a great looking healthy animal that I know will not give me any problems or geneticly will better my breeding projects then everything else is a wipe in my opinion. If someone is selling an okay looking pastel for 150 and I need a pastel for a breeding project, and someone else is selling an amazing pastel for 250 I would buy the 250 dollar one. In the future if the better looking pastel is producing better looking offspring then in my opinion i will be able to get more for my babies then the so-so looking ones. I would never sacrifice quality for price. Of corse if the amazing looking animals are cheap well then so be it but that is not a deciding factor to me.
Kim
N.A.R.C
North American Reptile Connection
www.NorthAmericanReptileConnection.com

Thanks! I totally forgot to mention quality, I assumed we were discussing an animal we were actually interested in. Everyone has there own definition of quality. Ones mans trash is another mans treasure.

At this point in the game I only buy from someone that I know and trust or can get positive references from people that I know and trust. If I'm looking for something specific I ask those that I know are working the project or I ask around for a referral. So for the most part the only thing that would stop me from buying would be if there were more than one animal under those conditions that I was considering and one seller had a higher quality animal or was willing to give me a better deal on a like quality animal.

If I see something random in the classies that peaks my interest I'll be sure to get a good reference from my friends before I pursue it. Anyone with a known bad reputation or ethics will be skipped over no matter how good the deal.

Clear as mud?
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

As far as quality/appearance, isn't it possible for a "lesser quality" animal to throw some fantastic babies?
-----
0.2 Leopard Geckos (Fire and Mello)
0.0.1 Blue Tongue Skink (Smoot)
1.0 Ball python (Kilby)

>>As far as quality/appearance, isn't it possible for a "lesser quality" animal to throw some fantastic babies?

Yes and vice versa.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Sometimes yes, sometimes no - depends on the morph and the project -- but the way I look at it -- if I'm going to add an animal to my collection it's going to be the best quality I can get.
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

I would say reputation is big...I always ask around or look for info on certain sites...that would be a quick kill for a deal...and has been for me several times. Price...bottom line...if i cannot get it for the price i want...I don't get it...quality...i agree with the low quality can through high quality...but you still want a nice anmial too look at...so anybody else?
-----
Michael Enriquez