the nonrefund deposit and credit questions.

Ok I can understand the 25% non refundable deposit to hold any reptile and such. and I see were some peopel will let people use that deposit as a form of credit on a later purchase. I was wondering on how long Most of the the breeders will allow that credit is allowed to stand with such person.
( example ) I have a credit with say ( farts snakes ) of 400 bucks from a nonrefundable deposit for a snake. that I was unable to finish paying for what ever the reason was. so that 400 dollar credit is good for how long (with most breeders ) ? I am wondering so I as I get ready to try and set up my tos and such I will be placing it into the tos. Cause I hate t ohave say several persons with credit that could wipe out my stock of snakes cause they dropped in value in one season ( 07 a pied was 1200 and in 12 it now a 400 dollar snake and I was only able to produce say 4 and all for people want to use their credit that ( 4 years old ) to purchase said snakes.

I think the credit for future purchase could lead to a event and ruin a breeder in a poor reptile breeding season.

The credit you describe is in lieu of a cash refund. It is a good faith gesture that basically tries to convey that even though you aren't going to give them their money back, you aren't trying to screw them....but the fact remains that you have that person's money, and have given them nothing in return. There are several reasons that could happen, but it's easy to rationalize with knowing specifics.
What difference does it make if the value of a given animal has dropped over time? Just keep in mind that the whole reason the person has the credit is because you wouldn't give their money back. Eventually, you SHOULD have to pay it back...which, in this case, means making good on the credit. If you are worried about being devastated by a number of people claiming their credit in a low production year, you have put yourself in that position by giving those people credit. If the fault was yours, either don't screw up so much, or reconsider your stance on refunds. If the people defaulted on payment plans, you'll need to evaluate the benefit of accepting payment plans and/or offering credit to those people that can't/don't finish them.

What I've seen: party either gets their full deposit back, gets credit towards future purchase or it's a "non-refundable" deposit; whatever is specified in the TOS. I don't believe a non-refundable deposit is looked at as 'credit', maybe if the seller is being a nice person about it... but I don't think that is the norm. Non-refundable means exactly that. It's a deposit to hold an animal off the market and continue to care for it for a specified time determined and agreed upon by the 2 parties. If after that time the buyer backs out, they give up the deposit. If they made additional payments, the monies paid above the deposit amount are refunded (or if specified in the TOS, credit is issued).

To me, if you make a non refundable deposit on a snake and then fail to complete the transaction, if I turn that deposit into a credit toward a future purchase it negates the whole non refundable aspect of it.
While some breeders on occasion have done this, it's not common practice. At least not with animals that are in hand, I have seen it offered more often when the deposit was made on a snake while the eggs were incubating, but the buyer changed their mind before they were actually ready to sell. In such a case, no real inconvenience was put on the seller.

When I'm asked to hold an animal or set up a payment plan, it's made clear that the deposit is non refundable. This is to protect me against wasting time holding an animal that could have sold and also to give incentive to the buyer to actually complete the transaction. If they know that if they back out that they are not actually risking anything but can use the money paid toward something else later, that incentive is lessened.

Basically I'm of the stance that if you aren't sure you can actually buy the animal you are inquiring about, don't make a deposit on it.

Now if you decided to be generous and convert a deposit to a credit when the buyer failed to follow through, then you would in my opinion be free to place a time limit on that credit, say it can be used this season or for anything produced next season. I personally wouldn't bother to put that in a TOS though, I'd do that at my own discretion if I felt the situation warranted that generosity.

Now if the failure is on your part that the sale wasn't completed then that's different. If the animal dies/escapes in your possession before the sale is completed or if you fail to produce what was being reserved, then a full refund is owed. I don't like the offer of credit in these cases at all, it's forcing the buyer to take something besides what he actually wanted or else lose the money, but if it's given, then no time limit should be placed on it.

The main thing is try to cover everything in your TOS and when a situation occurs that isn't covered, then satisfy the customer and amend your TOS so it doesn't happen again.
I have a general TOS that applies to sales and a separate additional one that applies to payment plans that I have a buyer read before anything is agreed on.

The failed payment plan is only one possible reason for credit...it just happens to be a current topic. There are a lot of sellers that state they will not give cash refunds in the event of a problem - so any situation that could involve a full or partial refund could result in a credit being offered toward future purchases. (ie DOA, incorrect gender, shipping injury, shipping delay, failure to thrive, etc.)
I currently have one customer with an outstanding credit for a DOA. I did offer (among other things) a cash refund, but it was declined in lieu of a replacement animal when I could provide it. When my season crashed this year, I again offered the refund...and it was again declined. While, on one hand, I'm not thrilled with having this lingering debt; I appreciate her confidence and trust in me, and her willingness to wait to get her snake from me. For that reason, I am not putting a time limit on that credit...nor am I necessarily limiting it to the originally agreed upon morph or price. I think she deserves more for being so patient and understanding.

thanks guys the replies answered my questiong better than I could thinknig about it lol
now if i canjust learn to write a web page lol

Originally Posted by hhmoore

The failed payment plan is only one possible reason for credit...it just happens to be a current topic. There are a lot of sellers that state they will not give cash refunds in the event of a problem - so any situation that could involve a full or partial refund could result in a credit being offered toward future purchases. (ie DOA, incorrect gender, shipping injury, shipping delay, failure to thrive, etc.)
I currently have one customer with an outstanding credit for a DOA. I did offer (among other things) a cash refund, but it was declined in lieu of a replacement animal when I could provide it. When my season crashed this year, I again offered the refund...and it was again declined. While, on one hand, I'm not thrilled with having this lingering debt; I appreciate her confidence and trust in me, and her willingness to wait to get her snake from me. For that reason, I am not putting a time limit on that credit...nor am I necessarily limiting it to the originally agreed upon morph or price. I think she deserves more for being so patient and understanding.

That is standup Harald.
I would be doing the same thing with a situation like that.
Glad to see reasonable business practices are still practiced!

Originally Posted by hhmoore

The failed payment plan is only one possible reason for credit...it just happens to be a current topic. There are a lot of sellers that state they will not give cash refunds in the event of a problem - so any situation that could involve a full or partial refund could result in a credit being offered toward future purchases. (ie DOA, incorrect gender, shipping injury, shipping delay, failure to thrive, etc.)
I currently have one customer with an outstanding credit for a DOA. I did offer (among other things) a cash refund, but it was declined in lieu of a replacement animal when I could provide it. When my season crashed this year, I again offered the refund...and it was again declined. While, on one hand, I'm not thrilled with having this lingering debt; I appreciate her confidence and trust in me, and her willingness to wait to get her snake from me. For that reason, I am not putting a time limit on that credit...nor am I necessarily limiting it to the originally agreed upon morph or price. I think she deserves more for being so patient and understanding.

When the buyer requests a credit rather than a refund in a case such as this that's a great way to handle it if you are willing. It shows a willingness to go to unusual lengths to please a customer.
What I don't like, to the point that it puts me off considering doing business with someone is when a seller refuses a refund in a case such as this but will only offer a credit. Some sellers do that, but i don't see that as an acceptable practice. If the buyer prefers credit that's one thing, but to offer them no choice when they have no fault in the situation is not even ethical in my personal opinion.
When the seller still holds full responsibility for a transaction, in my opinion it is up to them to do what they can to satisfy the customer. I wouldn't go so far as to require them to accept a credit situation if they preferred to give a refund, but I definitely don't think they should offer only a credit and no refund option.
When you're a seller, it's all about making sure the customer is satisfied according to their wishes, within reasonable limits of course.