Brokering Questions

I have some question about animal brokering.

My friend wants to sell my animals for me and make a little bit of cash.

How does that usually work?

1. Does he put them up for sale and just takes his percentage as he sells them?

2. Or does he actually fork money ovedr to me....basically bying them...then selling them.


if 1.... Do they go to his house or stay at my house?

What is the usual percentage?



I am going on vacation some time soon and won't have time to sell them.
So I told him to broker them for me.
Unfortunately I don't really know what that means or what it entails.

thanks for the replies

Much like the breeding loans or studding arrangements, there's no real set way of working out a situation like this and the bottom line will be whatever the two of you agree to do.

As an example; I have a friend who owns a retail shop who is approached frequently by people looking to sell animals. He offers them two options- sell them to him straight up for a small fraction (usually about a quarter to a third depending on the animal) of what he'd price it at IF it's an animal he's interested in OR place the animal on consignment and let him broker it for them, and then he takes half of whatever it sold for. Some people would rather have the cash up front, which is fine... others don't mind the wait (which can vary depending on the animal) and would rather have a bit more money.

In addition to doing these things, he's also got the ability to obtain animals requiring a USDA permit for resale in the state he operates in... This means that if you wanted it, he can get you a tiger, chimp or giraffe and he does maintain a price list of these animals, none of which he owns at the time but that he brokers from another dealer. This sort of brokering is a bit harder since he doesn't have the animals in his posession and it requires constant communication between the individuals involved in order to make sure that the same animal doesn't accidently get sold twice.

In the situation you describe, it might be easiest for you to work out an arrangement where your friend takes the animals and houses them, in case he needs to ship them out while you're unavaliable, the two of you work out a way of splitting the costs/profits to your mutual satisfaction and then you both discuss the minimum price that they should be sold at to prevent any disagreements afterwards about anyone being ripped off.

If you do decide to let your friend house them, or in any arrangement where your animals are in someone elses possesion be a store or friend, have in writing EXACTLY what is to happen should sickness set in or death occur. Do not do this on a handshake or verbal agreement. Put it in black and white and hope you never need to fall back on it.

Way back when I had my shop I used much the same formula that Seamus described and it worked pretty well.


Wes Pollock

If you do decide to do it on a consignment basis, I would also suggest having an outside date of completion for the deals involved. If the animals are not sold by such and such a date, you get the animals back, with no further responsibility to the broker. That way, the deal doesn't just linger on and on when you could have sold the animal yourself, several times over. Sometimes a broker gets dollar signs in his eyes, and passes up deals that you would have taken, if you were in the driver's seat.

I had the misfortune of learning that little lesson the hard way when I was trying to help out a friend. When the problem arose, it was harder to deal with BECAUSE he was a friend too, so I would be certain everything was worked out in advance.

As I do a lot of brokering maybe I can help.

You GIVE him the animals and he tries to sell them. When/if he manages to sell them, he pays you whatever your previously agreed upon price was.

He does not pay you up-front. That would be the same as buying them.

Since you are leaving town, he probably needs access to the animals. That could be a key to your snake room, or if you are comfortable with it, they could be kept at his house.

MAKE SURE, if they are to be kept at his place, that you guys discuss what happens if something dies. $hit happens, and it's way easier to discuss before hand.

You also need to discuss what happens if he sells the animal(s) and his customer has a problem with them. He may be expecting you to guarantee the animals for some period of time, and you may be thinking that once they leave your care, they become his to guarantee.

That's all I can think of right now, but let me know if you have any other questions.

It might be good to either develop a template or list items that might be included in a WRITTEN contract signed by both parties prior to initiating a broker agreement.

For those who have done such agreements please list what you feel are critical points that you feel should be included.

Here are some general ones:

Duration of agreement
Who assumes risk if the critters become ill? Die? Are stolen? Are injured?
What sort of division is expected if the critter produce while in the care of the broker?
Who pays for food?
What happens if one of the parties dies? Becomes ill? Is arrested and removed from the residence?
What pricing changes might be made if the morph value declines?
Perhaps there should be a written requirement that changes to the agreement need to be in writing and signed by both parties.

What else?

additional considerations.

Shipping responsibilities:
Who assumes what cost when shipping to and from breeder and broker?
who assumes what liabilities when shipping to and from breeder and broker?
Same thing with local deliveries. Who assumes what costs? who is responsible for drop off and pickup?

Trades:
what sort of policies should be considered for trades?
if there is an agreed upon trade (in writing), what happens to the animals taken in trade when the contract expires?

Also, I would advise taking the time to write a contract even if the brokering/consignment deal is between good friends; it is more professional and can save a lot of grief (or a friendship) if something goes wrong.

Instead of going through a protracted and bitter argument if something goes wrong, specify a dollar amount ahead of time for various possible outcomes. So let's say the critters are neither sold nor returned at the specified time frame, specify a dollar amount to be paid in lieu of return.
Specify the state law that governs if there are disagreements that must be enforced in court.