Putting money down for unborn clutches

[The BoidSmith]

What do you all think about the practice of requesting money in advance for clutches that haven’t hatched yet? I’m actually wondering how many people actually put money down towards babies that are not available yet. Has anyone reserved animals in such a way? How did it go?

Thanks

[shrap]

Nope, never have and probably never will. I want to see the specimen first. Take pastel or spider ball morphs for example. There are run of the mill looking ones and there are really nice looking ones. What if the whole clutch, or whats left after friends get theirs first and "hold backs", are all run of the mill? No thank you. Same can pretty much be said about every species, be it normals or morphs. I need to see the exact specimen I am buying.

[Bill & Amy]

Nope, never have and probably never will. I want to see the specimen first. Take pastel or spider ball morphs for example. There are run of the mill looking ones and there are really nice looking ones. What if the whole clutch, or whats left after friends get theirs first and "hold backs", are all run of the mill? No thank you. Same can pretty much be said about every species, be it normals or morphs. I need to see the exact specimen I am buying.

I agree with Sammy, never have and never will.

[reptilebreeder]

Probably would be okay if it was for something where the whole clutch is "generic" or identical like a clutch of Rosy Boas or something, but then in that case why would the demand or desire to get one be enough to make you want to give an advance deposit? Seems the scenario for a deposit is when something is in high demand for whatever reason (usually the newest morph of something), and lots of times it will be something that's variable like when vanishing pattern or hypo Honduran milks came out, or spider or mojave balls, where you can have everything from top of the line (top dollar) screamers, to ones that barely look much better than normals. So if it's easier to sell the screamers, why not unload the lesser specimens to those whom have already paid, then the rest will be easier to sell, and for probably more money. I'm with the others on that one, unless I'm buying something generic in bulk, I need to see the picture of the actual snake before I send payment/deposit.

[ldydrgn]

We don't agree with this practice, either. What if you get all slugs or the eggs go bad? What happens to that deposit? Does it get refunded or do you then have to wait another year before another litter or clutch comes along? "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"

We don't accept deposits until babies have had their first shed and first meal, although we're happy to put you down on a waiting list. If nothing comes of the breeding then no one is out any money.

Just our opinion on the matter :)

[Clay Davenport]

I wouldn't put a deposit on eggs or the hope of eggs either, nor would I accept such a deposit.
As far as I'm concerned I don't want the hassle of keeping up with who paid what and all that. If done properly, all the deposits would be held in cash until the deals were completed. In the event of a total clutch loss all those deposits would need to be returned. If you can't (or at least shouldn't) do anything with the money you collect for 3 plus months, why collect it in the first place?
This also leads to a potential problem. Many sellers, and we've seen it on the BOI in the past, will accept the deposit and go ahead and spend it counting on the eggs to hatch. Then for whatever reason they fail to produce what they needed to and no longer have the money to refund nor do they have excess funds anywhere to cover it. This just creates problems and is a situation best avoided completely.

[starwarsdad]

The only way I would participate in something like this would be with a person I trust fully. The ironic thing about that is that someone I trust that much would have to be pretty close and would never ask such a thing of me.

So, I suppose my answer is no. There is no way I would pay a deposit on an animal that has not hatched or been born yet.

[The BoidSmith]

Nope, never have and probably never will. I want to see the specimen first. Take pastel or spider ball morphs for example. There are run of the mill looking ones and there are really nice looking ones. What if the whole clutch, or whats left after friends get theirs first and "hold backs", are all run of the mill? No thank you. Same can pretty much be said about every species, be it normals or morphs. I need to see the exact specimen I am buying.

All excellent points, furthermore some ads specify they will refund the money ONLY if they can’t produce the animal they were about to sell. What if you don’t like the animal produced? Sammy makes an excellent point. When I purchase an animal I’m not buying a “generic” item. I’m looking for something that really attracts me, for example color, pattern, and general appearance.

What if after you sent the money you are shown only three pictures to choose from animals that were produced? Having any animal already sold and paid for a breeder might decide to hold back to the best of the clutch either to keep it to himself or sell it later at a higher price. When I’ve seen this option offered the “price” is usually very competitive so I’m pretty sure they will be people tempted to send advance payments. But I agree with has been said: “picture first, money later”.

Regards

[Dennis Hultman]

I did place an order in advance this season for a large lot. I normally wouldn’t do such a thing but I have a wonderful local customer that requested a large quantity of a species I don’t work with.

As a customer service issue, I decided to place this order in advance in order to obtain the quantity needed.
The deposit was nominal, not a huge risk at all. Not even close to what I would pay for one snake for myself. All those I contacted privately spoke highly of the breeder and he has nothing but positive feedback here.

If I were purchasing to add to my personal collection, I wouldn’t have considered it for all the reasons already mentioned.