Flipping reptiles ...............ggggrrrrrrr

Am I the only one who gets seriously freaking ticked off when someone buys a reptile then turns right around and sells it???? At one time I even saw my own snakes and monitors I had just sold up for sale and that was in the same week I had just sent it.

What's the point in it??????

I've seen animals purchased and be flipped the same freaking day!!!!!

Can anyone explain this to me????

I don't really buy into the 'family emergency forces sale' and 'medical bills' crap either. What I've seen is just blatant reptile flipping. What kind of BS is that? And it sure as hell isn't healthy on the animal.


Ggggggrrrrrr

I agree. It's an unfortunate as well as unsavory part of the hobby.
What's worse is when you see a vendor with for sale ads and wanted ads for the same species being posted at the same time. They've got some for sale, but they're wanting more at the same time.

This sort of behavior causes me to avoid such a seller regardless of what they have to offer. I realize that for some it's just part of the business, but buying and selling an animal in the same week makes it obvious that the animals are merely a commodity and their welfare is of little or no concern to the seller.

This is why I almost exclusively do business with other hobbyists. I first favor those who produced the animal I am interested in and secondly favor those who are just selling part of their collection. I rarely if ever buy from a "dealer" who just flips for a quick profit.

Originally Posted by TailsWithScales

What's the point in it??????

Money.

Originally Posted by TailsWithScales

Can anyone explain this to me????

Money.

The sad reality is that when your livelihood is dependent on live animals, sometimes you dont always make decisions that are best for the animals. House payments need to be made and sick kids need medicine. And more often than we care to admit, just plain old fashioned greed is the culprit.

For the longest time I thought, what more could you ask for than to make a living doing what you love? Thankfully I realized how wrong I was before I became dependent on that income. I realized I dont want to ever be put into that situation, where I have to choose between having the car repossessed or risking an animal's welfare. And I wont even get started on the other sleazy aspects that helped me realize that I dont want any part of making my living off of live animals.

In the immortal words of James Baldwin, "The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side".

It's the people who obviously DO NOT have the drive to take care and breed the animals themselves. Someone who is cutting corners in an attempt to make a few bucks and usually a lack of concern of the animals well being is the result. That type of person is NOT someone who I would be picking any animal up from. It's not just individuals, it's "businesses" too that flip and even claim the animals as their own stock instead of informing the buyer of the animal's true origin.

its a shitty thing to do. sadly i know of some very popular and amazingly deceptive people on here that do exactly that.

it pissed me the fuck off too. the ones i know couldnt give a shit less about the care of the animal, just how much they can profit from its sale.
id like to choke 'em the eff out

Originally Posted by Tenai

its a crappy thing to do. sadly i know of some very popular and amazingly deceptive people on here that do exactly that.

it pissed me the eff off too. the ones i know couldnt give a crap less about the care of the animal, just how much they can profit from its sale.
id like to choke 'em the eff out

i know this doesnt hep my original post but i do apologize for my potty-mouth

Although I agree getting an animal shipped to you and selling it same day/week does cause some stress to the herp, I don't see anything wrong with it granted it's going to a good home... Sometimes you see deals to good to pass up, and you aquire it to see if you want to keep it, and if not why not sell it, make sure it's going to a good home and make some type of profit???? Breeders constantly get in trades and such for whole clutches just to sell them, infact if you are legit and deal with quality animals, flipping them only broadens your horizons and gets you well known to start a basis. So in my open it is not so much flipping the animal which is wrong because there have been many times when I was unsure if the boid in question would be good for breeding but I would get it anyway as in it's worth a chance if all goes well and if not I know I'ld find it a good home and get close to my money back or even more.. What is wrong is people who soley buy animals to sell them to anyone just to make a profit, as well as dont properly take care of them and or feed them right till they are sold... Plus, sometimes you want to work with new species or give something a try and if it does not work out right what's wrong with sending them a good home and making some money??? A big problem with the herp industry is that everyone believes they are right and everyone else is at fault. You do understand if there was no body flipping animals, there would be no shows, no wholesalers, and even breeders as I know tons and tons of breeders who do massive amounts of trading and switching just to make profit, in fact these are the same breeders i guarantee 99% of you would be kissing ass if they posted on here, but it's ok if they're known respected figures, but not if just say you or me want to do the same thing??? It really falls down the line of hypocrisy, and possibly jealousy as a lot of people wish they had certain animals and get mad when others aquire them and then sell them, honestly don't hate the player hate the game, if everyone just worked with ethics re-selling wouldn't be a problem, infact that's what keeps this hobby going, and in this dire time of possible bans on our favorite herps we should keep the hobby close knit and not try to fight everybody within our own circle, even if they are out to make money, as long as people are not just dumping to any inexperienced individual I find nothing wrong with someone with full intents to buy an animal just to re-sell although I personally dont follow such practices I certainly don't see anything wrong if done with good intentions. After all, we need to keep this hobby thriving and realistically, trading and re-selling is what keeps it going and allows individuals to gain knowledge and work with more species as well as broaden horizons and make connections, I can care less about agreeing with people or pleasing the next man on here, atleast I'm not scared to voice an honest open opinion, I've been in this game for years and I know what goes on behind the scenes, and truth be told at the end of the day most people eat their own words and obey to what is "proper" and or accepted by not really the herp community, but by the online community and it seems that everyone just wants to be "right"......

Originally Posted by SKAVENGER

Although I agree getting an animal shipped to you and selling it same day/week does cause some stress to the herp, I don't see anything wrong with it granted it's going to a good home... Sometimes you see deals to good to pass up, and you aquire it to see if you want to keep it, and if not why not sell it, make sure it's going to a good home and make some type of profit???? Breeders constantly get in trades and such for whole clutches just to sell them, infact if you are legit and deal with quality animals, flipping them only broadens your horizons and gets you well known to start a basis. So in my open it is not so much flipping the animal which is wrong because there have been many times when I was unsure if the boid in question would be good for breeding but I would get it anyway as in it's worth a chance if all goes well and if not I know I'ld find it a good home and get close to my money back or even more.. What is wrong is people who soley buy animals to sell them to anyone just to make a profit, as well as dont properly take care of them and or feed them right till they are sold... Plus, sometimes you want to work with new species or give something a try and if it does not work out right what's wrong with sending them a good home and making some money??? A big problem with the herp industry is that everyone believes they are right and everyone else is at fault. You do understand if there was no body flipping animals, there would be no shows, no wholesalers, and even breeders as I know tons and tons of breeders who do massive amounts of trading and switching just to make profit, in fact these are the same breeders i guarantee 99% of you would be kissing ass if they posted on here, but it's ok if they're known respected figures, but not if just say you or me want to do the same thing??? It really falls down the line of hypocrisy, and possibly jealousy as a lot of people wish they had certain animals and get mad when others aquire them and then sell them, honestly don't hate the player hate the game, if everyone just worked with ethics re-selling wouldn't be a problem, infact that's what keeps this hobby going, and in this dire time of possible bans on our favorite herps we should keep the hobby close knit and not try to fight everybody within our own circle, even if they are out to make money, as long as people are not just dumping to any inexperienced individual I find nothing wrong with someone with full intents to buy an animal just to re-sell although I personally dont follow such practices I certainly don't see anything wrong if done with good intentions. After all, we need to keep this hobby thriving and realistically, trading and re-selling is what keeps it going and allows individuals to gain knowledge and work with more species as well as broaden horizons and make connections, I can care less about agreeing with people or pleasing the next man on here, atleast I'm not scared to voice an honest open opinion, I've been in this game for years and I know what goes on behind the scenes, and truth be told at the end of the day most people eat their own words and obey to what is "proper" and or accepted by not really the herp community, but by the online community and it seems that everyone just wants to be "right"......

Personally,

I don't care if anyone flips, I don't have to buy from them. It's possible that the very people that I do buy from, flip animals..BUT herein is the difference: THEY stand behind the animals that they sell.

Because they are taking responsibility of the animals and the quality, I care less about who got it from who. In fact, when I buy a hatchling and later do not need it for my own breeding stock anymore, it gets sold under MY name. I feel/believe that if I raise an animal from hatchling to adult, whatever it has or has picked up is my responsiblity and therefore, it does not matter where I got the animal from unless it is a het.

If it is a het, then it gets sold with the very identifying papers that I received when I purchased the animal, so that the chain of ownership is not broken.

I do agree, that buying an animal and not even taking the time to vet check or anything is a bit LOW and shows lack of ethics..because I am not interested in playing the "blame game" where Peter says, "I got it from Paul, and I don't know what's wrong with it, that's the way I got it,...go speak to Paul." This is the main issue that I have with Flippers.