• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Psychology 101: Price.

What kind of pricing attracts more your attention

  • The price of the animal alone

    Votes: 7 10.4%

  • The price of the animal shipping included

    Votes: 29 43.3%

  • The price of the animal plus shipping

    Votes: 21 31.3%

  • I don't have a preference

    Votes: 10 14.9%
  • Total voters
    67
The BoidSmith

The BoidSmith

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In the poll:

What's the first thing that attracts your attention in an ad?

We determined that the picture was by far the most important thing (67%). On second place but way down there came the person/breeder who offered the animal (8.86%), then the wording employed and finally the price (merely 3.8% of the votes).

It seems most people agreed price is not important. Now let’s concentrate on just the price for a second.

As a buyer what do you like best to see the price of the animal only, the price of the animal with shipping included or the price of the animal plus shipping separated one from each other. Think for a second about your reaction when you see the price for the first time. Will a lower initial figure (price of the animal alone) entice you to inquire about the animal rather than if you saw a higher priced animal upfront although shipping is included? Examples: Baby ball python for $45 vs. baby ball python for $90 shipped.
 
i like to see what the prices are seperate . so price of animal plus shipping is how i voted .
 
I have to say the price of the animal alone since shipping charges are a given and the actual amount may vary depending on carriers and distance.
 
Think for a second about your reaction when you see the price for the first time. Will a lower initial figure (price of the animal alone) entice you to inquire about the animal rather than if you saw a higher priced animal upfront although shipping is included? Examples: Baby ball python for $45 vs. baby ball python for $90 shipped.
Click to expand...

No one answered the second question though. What about your first impression when you see an ad for a baby snake for $90 shipped or $45. Let’s assume the ad doesn’t even mention shipping.

Is there any difference in your thought process when you see the first two figures for the first time? As Vickie states the price is a given we know we will have to pay it (Although when posting a $50 animal I’m pretty sure most sellers at one time or another have heard the question: “Does the price include shipping?”).

When someone sees the ad for the first time, will he think “Only 45 dollars, that’s a pretty good price!”, without giving a second thought to the shipping charges, and establish the initial inquiry? Or confronted with the $90 shipped he/she thinks: “well…I can’t afford to pay that much for that snake, in fact I’ve seen them posted for less”.

From my perspective I’d rather have a person e-mailing me to ask a question (even if it’s something that obvious that shipping should be added to those $45). Why? Because you establish an initial contact with an individual, the first condition for a sale to take place. When I write ads I usually include the shipping in the total price, but maybe that's not the right approach. Just remember there are no right or wrong answers here, just different opinions!

Regards
 
I voted for The prices together, I believe it makes the transaction go quicker and saves time on the fingers (ie) the typing back and forth on What the shipping would be......Leaves more time for the important questions jmo
 
i voted for no preference. in my case i can guess the shipping costs on average. and the shipping costs aren't a major factor in alot of purchases. alot would depend on what animals you're shopping for and their costs. :cool:


vaughn
 
being as i have never bought any critters online , and have never had to have one shipped , it honestly would not make a difference to me how the pricing is listed . if i think the animal looks nice and it appeals to me then i'll ask about it . although i guess if i was to buy a snake that way i would have to be concious of the total price including shipping . i'm far from rich and for now i have to watch my pennies .
 
Psychologically, I find it more appealing to see $45 plus shipping (and I like to know the shipping cost without having to contact the seller, however, it can be stated somewhere else in the ad - like in the terms of sale), than seeing $95 shipping included. You're paying the exact same amount either way, but it just looks nicer to see a smaller number.

Another problem I see with $95 shipping included is, what if you want more than one animal? Are you going to pay $95 for all of them? You don't know until you contact the seller.

When you have the price only, with no mention of shipping cost, you are FORCED to contact the seller just to find out if the shipping cost is what you consider reasonable.

When I'm buying an animal, I want to see everything possible up front. That means pictures (notice plural...I ALWAYS like to see more than one view of the animal), animal cost, shipping cost, at least a brief summary of terms. With all that information at hand, I can make a choice as to if I want to proceed with buying the animal with a minimum of questions and time wasted on both the seller and buyers sides.

Don't even THINK of saying "Best Offer"...you won't hear from me unless it's spectacular and something I'm just dying to get. Don't play pricing games! Set a price and stick with it....if you want to lower it in private, fine, but I don't need to know about it. When you say "Best Offer", how is the person making the offer going to know if you're being honest when you say "Sorry, someone has made a higher offer"?? It's a serious problem, and it's the reason I skip right past ads with no price.
 
Ultimately I don't think it really matters as long as it is CLEARLY pointed out that shipping is included. I will give two examples.

Example 1: Baby Female CB Ball Python $90 Shipped.

Example 2: Baby Female CB Ball Python $90. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. That price includes shipping.

If you place your ad like example number 2 I am likely to skim your ad and move right on not seeing that the price included shipping. So I think it is very important how your ad is worded when including shipping in the total price.
 
A_Kendergirl said:
Don't even THINK of saying "Best Offer"...you won't hear from me
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHA..... you hit one of my pet peeves right on the nose. As soon as I see best offer I dont even bother reading another word and just immediately move on to the next ad.
 
shrap said:
Ultimately I don't think it really matters as long as it is CLEARLY pointed out that shipping is included. I will give two examples.

Example 1: Baby Female CB Ball Python $90 Shipped.

Example 2: Baby Female CB Ball Python $90. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. That price includes shipping.

If you place your ad like example number 2 I am likely to skim your ad and move right on not seeing that the price included shipping. So I think it is very important how your ad is worded when including shipping in the total price.
Click to expand...

I agree - it must be stated right away if the price includes shipping or not. The actual price for shipping can be somewhere else in the ad (if not included)...I don't feel it needs to be directly by the cost of the animal.
 
I agree with Sammy.. it really makes no difference to me either way, as long as the wording in the ad is clear and concise.
 
Don't even THINK of saying "Best Offer"...you won't hear from me unless it's spectacular and something I'm just dying to get. Don't play pricing games! Set a price and stick with it....if you want to lower it in private, fine, but I don't need to know about it. When you say "Best Offer", how is the person making the offer going to know if you're being honest when you say "Sorry, someone has made a higher offer"?? It's a serious problem, and it's the reason I skip right past ads with no price.
Click to expand...

Wow! Excellent, excellent, excellent....!!! :D
 
yeah that "best offer " thing is one i avoid as well . its mostly because i've been out of the hobby for a long time and alot of what is out there is new to me . many of the morphs and what not i have no clue as to what they are worth or what would be a "reasonable offer" . i go through alot of ads just to see what the price ranges are and what is actually out there .
 
A few of the things I have read in here have been eye openers, at least for me. In all honesty I have used the words "best offer" in a couple of instances and have seen it used hundreds of times. Never would have thought there were people who disliked it so much. My thought was that there would always be someone close enough to what your are asking for your item, so why not suggesting to them that you are willing to negotiate.

Thanks!
 
There's a difference between "best offer" and "or best offer". I too avoid ads that merely say best offer, because I don't price someone elses animals.
However saying $300 or best offer is entirely different. It sets a starting point and lets the buyer know the seller will nergotiate. Honestly though, I've never seen the point in it. It's basically the seller guaranteeing himself that he will not get his asking price. I mean really if it said $300 OBO nobody is going to say I'll take it for $300 knowing ahead of time that the seller will most likely take $250.

As for the initial impression of the difference between $50 plus $40 shipping or $90 shipped, I have a mental habit of deducting $40-50 from any shipped price. I do it without thinking, so if I saw an ad for $90 shipped I would automatically read it as a $50 snake.
I prefer to see a price that includes shipping when there's only one thing to buy, be it a single animal or two animals being sold as a pair. WHen there's a clutch being offered I prefer to see the price per animal with the shipping amount listed seperately so I can calculate a total on however many I might be interested in.

The way I do it is say I have 2.2 hatchlings for sale. I'll list them as $100 per pair plus $45 shipping or take all four for $225 shipped.
That's gives a better deal if the whole group is taken and gives a quick total on them all.
 
Clay Davenport said:
There's a difference between "best offer" and "or best offer". I too avoid ads that merely say best offer, because I don't price someone elses animals.
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now that i gree with . if there is a price followed by obo then i'll check it out . when i see an ad like this i start thinking that the seller is looking to get rid of the animal in question fairly quickly which means that they might be willing to cut a nice deal if they find a good buyer .
 
I almost always list the price of the individual animals "(+ shipping)". This way, a customer can choose 1 or 3 animals and figure the total expected to pay for the animals listed.
Shipping is calculated separately - and determined by the box size and its destination. The trick is that our credit card customers only the actual UPS shipping charges. If UPS quotes $32.49 - that is what I quote the customer. No box or heat/cool pack charges involved. If they are sending payment, Ill give them the quote and then drop (NOT raise) the rounding-off to $30.00. From the customers perspective - it feels like they are getting a deal on the shipping and I'm also not "nickle & diming" them.
I believe it is obvious that all shipping materials (boxes/heat/cool packs) are calculated into the initial pricing of the dragons... I don't point it out though. :)

If I post something as "shipped" - chances are that it's a phenomenal animal and this person is paying a decent amount for the animal alone. I do not charge them shipping at all... And anyone wanting to add animals to that order get the same deal if they are shipping together.

USPS is a flat $25.00 for me to ship through. It always comes to 18-something or 22-something. The extra few $'s are for my phone calls to Philly International for flight clearances and the trip to the P.O. and having to deal with my PostMaster who hates reptiles and also happens to think that mailing any living thing is a horrible, malicious thing to do.

As for the second question - I really only pay attention if I feel that the asking price is a bit high... Ill look to see if the seller is offering a deal that includes shipping or just over-pricing.

V.
 
I would not ask further on a "best offer" either. But if it said "$100 or best offer", then I would think that $100 is the MOST the seller expects, but is open to negotiate further. That would be more interesting than a possible bidding war with no stated asking price.

I definitely like ads with the price plus shipping for the same reasons already stated - plus, here in Florida, there are so many shows, dealers, breeders, etc, that I would probably prefer to pick it up in person, so would want to know how much it is both with, and without, shipping.
 
I'm not a huge fan of OBO either. I must say, I'll at least look at the adds that say OBO, but I don't think I've ever bought from one. There is still the same issue of how do you know the seller is being honest with you. Almost everyone is willing to negotiate when you get down to it. If the price seems higher than average, or I'm just a bit short of funds, I have no problem making an offer...it's up to the seller to accept it. If they take it - great, if not I move on - not a big deal. In most cases, I'm fine with paying what the asking price is and I don't ask for a deal (a bit of selling karma...I would hope people would be happy to pay asking price for me, so I am willing to do it for others if it's something I want and can afford)

In my opinion, as seller should indicate they are not interested in negotiations by stating "FIRM". I doubt it will stop offers from everyone, but at least you're letting people know you're not interested. In a market such as this one, the people who aren't willing to negotiate are few (as far as my experience goes), and they often end up hanging on to the animal for some time. Please note I'm talking about higher dollar animals, where it's more likely that a seller will take a lower offer than stated to move the product (animal) rather than hang on to it for an unknown amount of time. Because of this, I find OBO to mean "I hope I get my asking price, but I don't expect to" and it just seems a little desperate because this is a market that lives on negotiation....why state the obvious and almost guarantee you aren't going to get the asking price? If you, as the seller, don't feel it's worth full price (shown by asking OBO), then why should I, as the buyer, feel it is? I guess you could say it's a selling/buying turn-off for me. I won't automatically pass it up, but it will give me second thoughts.
 
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