Just Starting

My snakes are coming out of brumation.
Females are eating like there's no tomorrow.
Last year I produced a clutch of 5 - two holdbacks, two gifts, and I just sold one to a local pet store (a good pet store) - so I guess with that sale, I'm officially started. That one was suppose to be a gift as well, but the receiver never came to get it, so I got sick of waiting and just sold it - if she couldn't get her act together to pick up a free snake when we live in the same city, she clearly can't care for one.

My FedEx certification is in process.
Web Site will be up soon.

Soon I will contribute to this forum and start the good trader seal thing. Probably closer to hatch time (hell, they haven't even mated this year yet)

I'm in it for the hobby, not the money.
Right now I'm only breeding Cal Kings. There is no money
I probably spent about as much feeding the neonate I just sold as I sold it for ...

My question is on what type of policies a breeder should have with respect to customer satisfaction.

How long is a reasonable health guarantee?
What about DOA - do I need to add a few bucks to S+H costs to put away in a jug so I can refund shipping on a DOA? I hope I never have a DOA but stuff happens. Or is it OK for me to expect customers to assume the shipping cost as a loss on a DOA? What kind of proof should I require for a DOA refund?

And another policy thing -
I'm not experienced with popping. I can watch videos of it all day long but I will not do it myself until I've had time to sit down with an experienced breeder and watch it done several times because of the possibility of spinal damage.

I do not like to probe snakes below 18". Maybe I shouldn't be so uncomfortable about it, but they are so small as neonates ...

In my experience, the males in a clutch will have a tail that is a full centimeter longer than the females in a clutch, and usually visually different geometry. I've rarely been wrong when sexing a kingsnake or gopher snake visually, but I can't claim to bat 1000 at it either.

My plan with respect to sex is to state the method used (tail measurement and geometry) and that sex is only probable, not guaranteed.

Is that acceptable? This year I will not be producing any high value kings - I have some projects and by the time they are ready (several years from now), I will have learned proper popping technique, but for this years clutch, I'd really rather not guarantee sex.

Are there any good sample policies out there I can look at that are fair to both me and my customers?

I'm not in it for the money, but I don't want policies that will allow customers to walk all over me either.

As far as payment, I plan to only accept paypal from verified paypal accounts and only ship to the verified paypal address OR a USPS money order (that I'll cash at the post office before I ship). Those are my eBay rules and I've never been stung be a con artist since implementing them.

Thanks for suggestions.

There are a couple of threads about guarentees and shipping policies but off the top of my head I can't recall which forums they're in. Try doing a keyword search on guarentee and shipping policy.

It's been covered pretty extensively. I've also got a copy of my TOS somewhere, let me know if you'd like it and I'll either post it or email it to you and you can feel free to use all or part of it. I think it's pretty solid. I breed mainly calkings too and have done so for a long time. Great snakes if you're not looking to make money.

as for guarantees and TOS, just look at people's sites...you will find a lot of things that appear consistently (they are there for a reason).

as for sexing - you are better off selling them as unsexed, IMO, than "best guess". If somebody wants a female and you hand them a snake, saying I think this is a female...they are going to be unhappy if you are wrong. You'd just be setting yourself up, in my eyes.

Michael,
Kudos to you.

It's refreshing to see someone just starting out who is concerned enough to ask the important questions before they have a problem.
It is people like you who will build something from nothing and eventually become a name in this industry.

I would be more then happy to help someone such as yourself to get started. I invite you to check out the "Terms of Service" posted on my website. The link to my site is in my signature.

Beyond that, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at: mike@reptiliandreams.com

I'll be happy to answer any question that you have to the best of my ability.

Good luck with your animals.

Wow Mike, that's great and it seems like you have put thought into it all.
I read your post and saw so many things I was worried about a mere 2 years ago and some I am still worried about.

I have started too. Very tentatively in the past two years. Taking things real slow and methodical.
I went and had my property re-zoned to permit me to have a small business or in home business and got everything straight with IRS and State and in the process of re-doing a part of my home (there are limits to how much a home can be business) until I can build on an actual shop on the property, hopefully this summer
For two years I have had some babies and have sold locally or given away. Testing the waters so to speak, lol. I could not probe or pop either and sold as "unknown" for the sex of the snakes, the BDs I knew.
I received a sick snake that would not eat and after many hours on the phone, webcaming (I was so nervous) I just had to jump in and learn force feeding. I saved a snake! So I thought well if I can do this I can learn how to sex and have since learned.
I have not applied for anything in the way of shipping as I am terrified of shipping! I pace when they are shipped to me, calling the shipping company if they are a minute last and continue. Where I live it is ALWAYS hours late. So that is my big fear.
I am glad you started this thread, especially here on fauna as there are so many knowledgable people here. I did not, I went with calling people I knew. So I will be watching for replies here as well.
Great job and good luck. I have found that many suppliers are really nice and will answer my many many questions.