Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm wondering how much the big reptile suppliers offer when they buy western hogs in bulk. Soon I will have about 30-50 hatchlings that will be from color morph breedings (blonde x yellow and blonde/yellow/blonde). I would like to unload them all in one shipment. I intend to have them all feeding on frozen thawed before I sell them. I'm just curious about whether or not it's worth doing. If anyone has done this before I would really appreciate some feedback.
Thanks
Mark

Hi, My experience in the past with "buying whole clutches" buyers is that they will offer you "next to nothing"...usually it doesn't matter if they are feeding or not, so don't waste your time with tough starters if you're gonna wholesale them. Sex doesn't usually matter either...or genetics, or possibilities. You may end up wondering why you spent so much time and effort producing them! You're probably better off taking the time to get them started and sell offer them to regular buyers. Just my opinion....

My question is this...

Why bother breeding them if you just want to "unload" the offspring? What are you breeding them for? The experience? the extra 25 bucks you can make on a normal?

And did I really read not to worry about problem feeders if you are just going to wholesale them? Seriously? Does the well being of the reptiles we produce not mean anything anymore? Going up for wholesale or not, it is our responsiblity as keepers and breeders to make sure the animals are well started before they leave our hands. How much effort does it take to get hatchling hogs to feed? It is to simple to not put in the extra effort.

While I do agree with you 100% Gregg, I think what Joe was referring to was not necessarily his own ideology but the wholesale culture as it stands.

Case in point, early this summer I had a lengthy conversation with a very well known and large breeder who also buys wholesale animals and flips them. He told me that he wanted to create a partnership with me so that I could supply him with hognose snakes and actually told me that he didn't care if they were fresh out of the egg and not even eating, as long as I could ship to him in large numbers, that was all that was wanted/needed. I basically told him that I didn't operate that way and would never willingly sell a non-feeding snake which would reduce the amount of animals being sold. Interestingly enough, he never got back to me, perhaps because I was unwilling to be a "snake mill", or who knows. But what I do know was that he expressed no real concern about establishment of the animals, it was all about numbers.

So with that said, it all comes down to the individual and what this hobby means to them. You and I both know people who are into this hobby solely for the money aspect of it as well as others that are simply into it for the love of the reptiles regardless of whether they make any money or not.

I think the hardest part of this hobby are those people that think they want to get into the breeding game without any idea of the cons that can sometimes outweigh the pros, like breeders that produce a bunch of animals that do not sell right away and end up having to be taken care of over the long haul which the breeder might not be able/willing to do; those are the people that are going to make certain short term decisions like market crashing or wholesaling animals at cheap prices regardless of the overall health of the animal. Unfortunately, I think that once somebody starts down that road, it becomes the "normal" way of doing business that just never goes back to simply being about the animals anymore.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

I made an inquiry 2 years ago to a west coast buyer / seller to sell off about 3 dozen milks, babies and some young adults. Price offered was rock bottom, plus they wanted me to pay shipping also.
From NYC to CA. you do the math. Never bothered to reply. I get a better deal selling off wholesale to shows in white plains if I wanted to sell on the cheap.

Mike

Hi Gregg, Like Troy stated, I was just making a point based on past experiences I, or friends I know, have had. Some wholesale buyers really don't care about feeding or sex of the animals they buy. Sad to say it all comes down to $$$$

Another thing I would like to add is that this is not just about hogs, but any groups of animals. When I said "don't waste your time getting them started", I'm referring to their "don't care" attitude, not mine.

First off I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to my question. I guess I was a bit naive about the whole process of wholesale. I do take great pride in the animals I raise, and would never sell an animal that was not well started. However, I am in a situation where I will need to move my hatchlings as quickly as possible due to an unexpected life situation. After reading everyone's replies about wholesalers though, I think I would rather take the time to sell the hachlings to buyers who concern themselves with the well being of the animals, rather than just the almighty dollar. Again, thank you all for your insight, it is greatly appreciated.
P.S. Keep on the lookout for my adds if interested