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Heterozygous traits, how much would you pay for 100% reassurance?

How much would you pay for this service?

  • $75

    Votes: 10 13.0%

  • $100

    Votes: 23 29.9%

  • $125

    Votes: 5 6.5%

  • $150

    Votes: 23 29.9%

  • I'd rather take my chances.

    Votes: 16 20.8%
  • Total voters
    77
The BoidSmith

The BoidSmith

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Some consider reptile morphs beautiful animals in their own right. Some view them more as an investment and are mainly interested in breeding them for a profit. The appearance in the market of recessive normal-looking animals heterozygous for a certain morph has resulted in all kinds of discussions about origins, genetics, and if they truly are what they are claimed or normal animals sold as such by unscrupulous individuals.

Buying a baby reptile, raising it to maturity, breeding it and then discovering it’s not what it was claimed it’s highly frustrating to say the least. We invest money, hope, effort, and time into a venture with total uncertainty on the outcome until most of the time it’s too late. The individual that sold us the snake will not assume responsibility of what he had done and most of the time there is little legal recourse.

Now, if there was something that could be done and that would legally protect us while at the same time reassure us that we have in effect a heterozygous for such a morph, would you utilize such a service?

How much would it be worth to you to have the peace of mind than in those 4-5 years before we produce that first anxiously awaited clutch we will produce what in fact we were told and if not you have grounds for an easy lawsuit?

No, I’m not rambling, this is for real. Please take some time to think if you might use such a service. Think of all the time, effort, and expense you are putting during those years before you answer.

How much would you be willing to pay for that peace of mind and reassurance (yes, it's kind of an insurance) as a one time payment per animal. Please bear in mind that we are talking about expensive recessive heterozygous animals here, those that the visual morph will be worth between $1,000 and your most wildest ($$$) dreams! Just remember that you, the customer would be the one to pay for this service and not the breeder.

Please keep in mind that we always want to pay as little as possible. The question is actually asking "how much would it be worth to you" rather than how much would you be willing to pay.

Best regards,
 
i picked $150 . i would definately think that it would be worth it if i was going to buy a critter that i had hopes for future breeding . peace of mind is something that i can see spending a little extra money on .
 
So I buy an animal and pay a $150 insurance price. Would this insurance need to be purchased again by a third party if they were to buy the animal it from me?
 
So I buy an animal and pay a $150 insurance price. Would this insurance need to be purchased again by a third party if they were to buy the animal it from me?
Click to expand...

No, it can be transfered with the animal provided there's a picture ID that can unequivocally identify the animal.

Thanks.
 
Who would hold the "insurance"? Is this completely hypothetical?

I would rather buy from a trusted source and pay more than take my chances with a supposed bargain. I would not take a chance on a 66% het or 50% het period. To me, those animals are normal and would not command any premium for MY dollars.
 
vote

I voted for $100 because the only hets i have are a pair of 100% het albinos.Plus i trust the breeder on his guarantee that they are true hets.I also feel $100 is a fair price for insurance just in-case something does turn wrong since everyone does make mistakes.
 
When it comes to hets, "you get what you paid for", and "if it seems to good to be true......." are theories I adhere to. So I'm only going to buy hets from someone I absolutely trust 110%, these are usually well known and respected people in the business. As such you are probably paying a higher price, so the guarantee is kind of "built in" to the price. OTOH, there are a lot of unknown breeders who are as honest and ethical as some of the well known breeders, many times their prices are cheaper, because they aren't selling a [known]reputation. The problem is if this insurance is going to tack on another $150 bucks or so, it may bump the price back up to the market price, so you might as well just pay the market price the known breeder is asking.
 
I chose to label it as some sort of "insurance" although it's not strictly one. Something like I'm thinking off will favor the relatively small but yet honest breeder.

Thanks for all the feedback.
 
In a perfect world

To be honest, I didn't pick any price.....and would never by from an unknown source. I have suffered from a major loss last year, and have only recently bought from the best and most reliable breeders available.
We really have no true standard or AKC in our little corner of the world and beauty is in the eye of the beholder so to speak...so I could possibly see the idea as a tough sell.....hence my title...In a perfect world.
 
I wouldn't use it myself. The way I look at it is if I have so little confidence in a sellers word that animals are hets that I need insurance to feel comfortable with the deal, then I'm not buying the snakes in the first place.
 
Clay Davenport said:
I wouldn't use it myself. The way I look at it is if I have so little confidence in a sellers word that animals are hets that I need insurance to feel comfortable with the deal, then I'm not buying the snakes in the first place.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly.
 
interesting concept. I think that even the lowest priced hets out there would warrent the 150.00 "insurance" just due to the fact that the animal will produce ???? offsping over the course of its life and insuring the fact that you got what you paid for more then makes the 150.00 worth it.Say you buy 2.2 hets and three years later the seller goes under and the next year you produce your first clucth and wham nothing, well there is no seller to fall back on.
 
Let's be proactive!

In order to be taken seriously by the people I'm discussing this with I need to achieve a critical mass of members (or not) voting.

What's that figure? Well maybe 10% of the Fauna members...I know, I know that's being overly optimistic. So far I've got 15!

So if you know of friends, relatives, bus drivers :) , etc. that may be willing to vote and give their opinions please let them know about this thread.

Do we want to end with the uncertainty of the heterozygous/possibles plague or are we going to go on forever complaining about being ripped off and do nothing about it?

Thanks
 
Dan,

I am intrigued. To be honest, right now I do not buy real high dollar reptiles since my education and family take up most of my spare change.

I would like details of your interesting idea, though. In my experience, insurance is something I pay for, but many times it is difficult to deal with.

I have been with the same reputable firm for over 20 years for my homeowners and car insurance and never had a problem, but one time when a car ran onto me, it was a nightmare enforcing the other insurance company to pay, and in fact they did not end up paying for some of my damage.

If you were to form a company, based on the absolute integrity I have seen in you, I would join in a heartbeat if I ever needed this kind of peace of mind.

Insurance companies are in business to make money, so they pay out as little as they can. The good firms do it as they should, but other insurance companies make a person fight hard just to get what is coming to them.
I'd like to hear more about your plans.
 
Clay Davenport said:
I wouldn't use it myself. The way I look at it is if I have so little confidence in a sellers word that animals are hets that I need insurance to feel comfortable with the deal, then I'm not buying the snakes in the first place.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I feel about it.
 
I have to bring my pet idea into this issue.

Genetic testing.

Zoos do it. And if Biologists can gather field data about bears by setting up stations where tufts of hair are snagged off of bears just passing by, then the technology already exists.

You can get your bird genetically sexed for $20. The same lab testing birds is offering genetic sexing for iguanas.

If, the only extra expense is for labwork, not only will the fee paid be reasonable but the information gained will be superior to any type of insurance. It has to cost less than investing into the insurance industry.

Testing a newly purchased hatchling will tell you at the outset whether you got what you paid for. No more investments of years and money into an animal raising it up only to find that you were duped. You would know right away. And if this option was available, just telling the seller that you are going to have the testing done is a strong incentive for him or her to be honest.

Granted, my idea is somewhat of a pipe dream right now. A data base needs to be built and proven. Laboratories and techniques need to be proven reliable. But I still think it has merit and has highly beneficial implications for the entire hobby.
 
Lucille,

Regrettably I was asked not to disclose any more information at this point. But I can say one thing though, Marjee had an excellent idea...;)

Regards.
 
Sexing is done on a chromosomal level, what you're talking about is verifying a certain gene....MUCH harder to find. They haven't even finished the human genome project, so I doubt they have started on the various reptile genes. It's theoretically possible, but as of right now I don't see how it's anything but a pipe dream.

(unless you were talking about verifying sex....yet another common problem)
 
Furthermore Lucille, your avatar is "enlightening"! And that's all I have to say about that (Forrest Gump)...

Best regards.
 
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