Reasonable length of time for a warranty period?

p.s. that three day guarantee is not really a guarantee...but a time limit to bring something to my attention. If a problem is noticed within three days..then I can definatley extend the "guarantee period" or do whatever it is that would make the customer happy.

If someone is truly selling a quality animal, and they are honestly willing to stand behind that quality, then the 7 day guarantee should be no problem.

Damn Clay...good point.

All of a sudden I am feeling inadequate and am putting more thoughts into extending my three day guarantee.

My only problem with the seven day is that it all depends on husbandry. I cannot guarantee an animal for seven days that was not given heat or a proper set up. Or what about one put in with a sick animal. Or a baby lizard put on cedar shavings which they accidentaly ingest with the first cricket...
I use a 24 hour guarantee with a ton of exceptions, that way I can decide on a case by case basis--if you think something is fishy you can always fall back on the guarantee.
But you know you could just write up a 7 day one with a ton of exceptions the other way too...LOL
I agree with Daniel--the biggest thing is that they notify the seller immediately of any issues--not after it has been going on for too long or after they've tried a bunch of "remedies" that do more harm than good.
When I wrote up my guarantee, I went around to a lot of sites and read other peoples. It really helped a lot. And so did the BOI. Although it did make my terms page a little long and tedious.
: )
dana

My only problem with the seven day is that it all depends on husbandry. I cannot guarantee an animal for seven days that was not given heat or a proper set up. Or what about one put in with a sick animal. Or a baby lizard put on cedar shavings which they accidentaly ingest with the first cricket...

I agree with what Dana said. The seller should probably ask enough questions to get a feel about how versed is the buyer in keeping that particular species. Only then he should probably take the chance of the 7 day guarantee. In my opinion the guarantee should be related to health issues and/or misrepresentation of the animal in question. With certain snakes like ball pythons for example you can have a guaranteed feeder that will not eat within the 7 day period due to the change in the environment.

Regards.

I personally stick by the 24-48 hour guaranty. If the buyer notifies the seller of any problems immediately, the seller can adjust accordingly. For me, anything longer than 48 hours is too much - you never know what happens to that animals once it is in the purchasers care. Depending on the species and the conditions it is kept in, 7 days is long enough to be terminal IMO. I guess I've just gotten too pessimistic these days, but I believe in 'cover thine own behind first!'

Dianne

Right now my guarantee is "Live arivial and satisfaction only." I DO encourage my buyers to contact me if they experiance any problems. I know enough about my animals that if something does go wrong I can determine weither the problem is with my animal or with the buyers husbandry. And I am more then willing to work with a buyer if they do experiance problems, even to the point where I will replace an animal or refund money. Because I do not know how the animal is handled and set up when the buyer recieves it I cover my bases with live arival/satisfaction only. Once I talk to the buyer I am normally more then willing to work with them after I find out more about how they handled the animal and had it set up.

For example:

Billy calls up two days after purchasing a crested gecko baby from me. The baby is dead. The first thing I do is ask him how he had it set up. If he tells me he had it in a 10 gallon with sand substrate and a 100 watt bulb to get the temps up to 120 there is no way I'm going to replace the animal or refund it. (Note: I send care sheets with all my animals.)

Now if the husbandry was correct and he didn't handle it to reduce stress then I would consider replaceing at no cost (If I had another baby at that time) or refunding cost plus shipping.

I'm very willing to work with people, but to protect myself from people who have horible husbandry practices I have to do a live arivial/satisfaction guarantee only.

Terry Dunham is amazing. He offers a 30 day waranty. I could not do that for fear of being taken to the cleaners. Evan

We personally gaurantee live arrival and allow 48 hours for a phone call or e-mail to let us know if something is wrong. We also try to contact whoever we sell to and ship to when the animal is delivered to make sure there were'nt any problems with shipping and to make sure they are happy with their purchase. Also, depending on where and who it is going to, we will gaurantee the health of our animals up to 30 days as well (at our discretion). Each sale is handled differently, with many questions and many contacts to follow through with the sale.
I think most of us can get a feel to who we are selling to if we do our homework as sellers and ask questions and offer care before and after the sale as well. Communication is one of the biggest problems most people have. Heck, I probably get on some people's nerves following a sale just to make sure they are taking care of it properly and no problems have arisen. Good communication skills and habits would save sooo many people soooo many problems, it can't be said enough.
Bob

I've been offering a 30 day guarantee on my animals for years, with no real regrets. I've only caught one person taking advantage of it and getting a free snake from me. Fortunately her memory wasn't all that good and she tripped over her own tongue trying to get another one.

30 days seems reasonable to me to safely determine if the animal is going to do well at it's new home. I think the extended period also gives the customer the confidence to wait it out to see if minor relocation problems will be self correcting.

The whole point if this it to present a customer with a safety net to make them feel confident about purchasing an animal sight unseen and being exposed to the stress of shipping. If you tell them that you are confident enough in the process to back the health of the animal for 30 days after delivery, it goes a long way in giving a buyer the feeling of security in doing business this way.

I'm thinking a lot of sellers have plenty of confidence in their animals but not quite as much confidence in the ability of purchasers to properly take care of said animal. Also, in the case of snakes, which eat about once a week (I think, not a snake person), 30 days may not be too much time (in most cases) as that is four feedings. For a six week old dragon (mine, anyway), four feedings is not even two days. For some animals, the metabolism is much faster, and with some exceptions, the animals with slower metabolism seem to develop problems at a slower rate. I could be totally off base with this, as I am only speculating, having the vast majority of my experience with Beardeds.

In short, I think that complications due to improper husbandry (unless grossly improper) won't cause problems in snakes as fast as some other animals, and thus, a longer gaurantee is still cost effective for the seller. If I am wrong on this, feel free to correct me by post or pm, as I can always use some more education.