How do you choose where to buy?

[newmann]

As a small time snake breeder that sells at area shows, I wonder how the rest of you decide who you will buy from? I am seeing an increase in wholesalers/jobers ,roving businesses some with store fronts, most without. I know many breeders that are losing to the competition because it costs more to offer a quality animal. Wholesalers buy and resell before they have to spend much on the animal. They don't want to hold on to it, so it is priced to move out the door before something happens to it. I carefully breed and FEED and care for the animals, pack them up,show them talk about them.... and the customer buys the little cheap one from the dealer over there.

To everyone that has bought a reptile recently, why did you buy from the person you did. I don't want to know who, just why you made the decision to purchase one over the other.
Thanks
Amanda

[Wilomn]

It's the nature of the beast Amanda. Most people are just looking to get in as cheaply as possible; especially if they are just getting started but don't yet have "the bug."

Once your name gets known you have some better leverage for selling at higher prices but until then, and even after truthfully, you just have to hope enough people number wise see your quality to enable you to sell for what your snakes are worth.

One of the reasons breeders come and go is this very problem. The ones that care and produce high quality animals spend a lot of time and money and personal involvement to produce the best snakes they can. Then some yahoo catches a gravid female or buys a clutch from someone who had eggs by accident and is way undercutting not only your prices but what the snakes are really worth just to make a few, and I mean very few, bucks.

If you're breeding corns or kings or something fairly common you just need to deal with it because it's not going to go away.

There will be a few who know that quality will cost them a tad more and they will pay it, but they are by far the minority.

Good luck.

[WebSlave]

Amen and hallelujah!

One of the reasons we stopped doing most of the shows around was because they were extremely tough sells. At least when you looked at it from an "effort, time, and money expended vs money earned" perspective. If it weren't for other vendors buying from us, many of those shows would have been washouts. The problem was that with many shows, the promotors did get people in the doors, but in a lot of cases, most had no clue as to who was who at the shows. So reputation meant nothing to them. They looked solely at price and nothing else, in their purchasing decisions. Heck, at one show there was a vendor telling customers that the leopard geckos with fat tails were unhealthy and they should buy his with the nice "normal" thin tails.... :rofl:

Plus you are not only competing against other corn snake sellers, but everything else being sold as well. People come into a show with only so much money to spend, and there are a lot of different animals catching their eye.

I remember one show we were doing OK on Saturday, then word went around that some big shipments of baby ball pythons had landed and dealers were picking them up that night. Sunday absolutely SUCKED because there were so many baby ball pythons on the tables being sold for dirt. Honestly the average Joe will USUALLY pick a python over a corn snake when prices are even close. Regardless of the python being literally "right off the boat".

[shrap]

To everyone that has bought a reptile recently, why did you buy from the person you did. I don't want to know who, just why you made the decision to purchase one over the other.
Thanks
Amanda

I am the exception I am sure, but I only buy from quality breeders. Big name or small it dont matter, quality animals speak for themselves. I never buy from jobbers/whole sellers who have little or no history with the animals they sell.

I have no problem spending the extra money for a quality animal, in fact that is all I will spend my money on. I also want to reward the people that are in this because they love what they are doing and put in the hard work, time and money to produce quality animals.

So that is why and who I buy from. And will only buy from. But like I said, I am sure I am in the minority. Most people just want a deal and dont care about the quality of the animal or the quality of the people selling the animal as long as they are spending as little money as possible. Sad but true.

[wcreptiles]

I am in agreement with Mr. Gregg, I only purchase from quality breeders. Price isn't a factor as long as it's around current 'ball park' price for quality animals. I usually will not purchase from a seller the first time I see them at a show I'll check them out at the BOI and view their website if they have one and if all is OK make a mental note and keep their card for future reference.

Also if the seller is not proud enough to put their business name or at least a business card of some type on their table I pass it by. They may be famous but if I don't know them too bad.

I also pass by all tables without prices on each animal, I don't feel like asking how much each animal may cost when I'm looking.

Also if it appears that the seller is allowing almost everone to handle his animals and every Mr. Wiseguy to pop his baby's to see if they are male or female, I run away from his table. I haven't seen as much of this lately as a few years back.

I might add, I don't buy very much at the one show I attend semi-regularly, the All-Ohio Show.

[AncientDNA]

Personally, I only go to shows for two reasons: to pick up supplies(racks, rodents, bedding, etc.) and, since it can be difficult to judge the veracity of pics on the web, to see for myself what morphs that interest me look like.
Thinking about it, only my original pair of San felipe rosies came from a show(and that was in 1993). Almost all of the rest came from well-known breeders, although I have taken a few chances on some breeders who were unknown quantities before sending them my $$$. Luckily I haven't been burned...yet.

[dellessa]

I don't know what other's do, but I buy from breeders based on their reputation. And I do a LOT of research.

In my exerience the people that buy from wholesalers are mostly people buying on whim and the uneducated. :\

[DISCERN]

I think everyone's posts are valuable and put forth informative opinions. :)

My collection is to a point to where I am not buying as much these days cause:

1. I only have so much room.
2. I have about almost everything I have ever wanted.

My collection of 42 was reached by being very picky about what I buy. Since I am making a life commitment to raise and keep the specific animals I buy, I do try my best to stick to certain things. Some thoughts I usually pick through are:

1. Does this person have the BEST specimen of what I am looking for?
2. Is this person a good businessman? Giving out contact info with each sale if there is a problem? How are they to deal with personally? Do they let me ask my millions of questions about that certain animal and answer honestly to the best of their knowledge? Do they seem like they care about the animals themselves?
3. Is there a good reputation to go by? Or are they a fly by night type of operation??

Over the years, I have become good friends with most of the breeders I have purchased from. So...that means that I usually will stick with them for future purchases if they have what I want. Shrap made an excellent point. Support the ones that DO put in hard work, time, and money to put forth exceptional animals. They deserve it!! Spread the word about them as well!!!

If I can get a good deal on a specific animal, fine. If not, but it is still something I can't live without and that person is a great breeder to support, by all means, I will buy from them. Price to me isn't a factor as much as quality and the specific type of animal it may be. For example, there is one breeder I have purchased from 6 times and although some of his prices were considered steep by others I knew and they criticized him, those specific animals are the best of that kind I have ever seen throughout all the snakes at shows I have seen and compared them to. Obviously, the breeder knows it for being around for 20 + years, and he sells out every year.

To me, the animals I buy to take care of for the rest of their lives are priceless works of living art that were hatched out by awesome people. Quality animals and professional and courteous breeders are such a great combination!!!

If I have to pay a little more for quality, then so be it. I believe in this biz, you do get what you pay for, for the most part.

[FunkyRes]

I prefer to buy from the breeder. When you buy from the breeder, you have a contact point should there be a problem. When you buy from the breeder, you know it is captive bred and not imported.

I mostly look at shows. I don't buy a lot at them. Some stuff but not a lot. Last year two snakes were bought at show. One was from a breeder with a small table and one was from East Bay Vivarium with large table. The EBV purchase was done because it was my little brothers first snake, and they are a business that always treated me right when I was young and are local to where my parents live in case there was an issue.

One of the issues with middlemen is you don't know how much inbreeding went into the herp. Most breeders are honest and will tell you if the parents are related or not etc if you ask (related parents aren't a big deal to me if I'm buying just one - but if they are related, then I likely won't buy a pair for second generation inbreeding)

I generally prefer small breeders to big breeders - for the simple reason that they have a lot of pride in what they produce. There are some big breeders that do too, but there are also big breeders that don't. Hobbyist breeders are more likely to put a lot into their stock and take pride in it. At least that's my world view.

[Golden Gate Geckos]

This is a GREAT thread with some excellent points! Amanda, there will always be buyers that are looking for the best deal they can get, and unfortunately many of them have the 'disposable pet' mentality and/or are impulse buyers. I can't tell you how many times I have talked myself blue in the face at shows giving information on my reptiles only to have the potential buyer go to a supply vendor and buy the cheapest, often youngest or unhealthy, specimen. Too often they think, "Well, if it gets sick and dies, I'll only be out $19.99 instead of $75.00".

When buyers ask me why they should spend $75 on one of my geckos when they can get one for $19.99, I give them the best answer I can... because they also get ME along with it. Every single gecko gets my 100% care and over 12 years experience from the moment it's mother becomes gravid, and even before that. Each egg is precious to me. Every hatchling is thoughtfully cared for, housed individually, and handled frequently. I offer my support to all my customers for the lifetime of the gecko. Can the 'jobbers' offer that?

So, to answer your question, I buy my geckos from people who have similar ethics as I do. Big or small, it's the ones that have made the investment in time and effort, take pride in raising their reptiles with utmost care, and have a personal investment in these lovely creatures. I can see it it the quality of their animals, I can hear the enthusiasm in their voices, and see the love and pride on their faces when they show their animals to me. Like me, they want their reptiles to be cared for properly so they can have long, healthy lives... and bring their new keepers the same amount of joy they brought the one that raised them.

Does this sound like you, Amanda? I'd buy an animal from you!

[FunkyRes]

When buyers ask me why they should spend $75 on one of my geckos when they can get one for $19.99, I give them the best answer I can... because they also get ME along with it.

I've seen your geckos (well, some of them) and I've seen the $19.99 geckos - and there is a huge difference!

You have very high quality geckos.