Have you ever refused to sell to someone?

[sunshinegeckos]

Have you ever refused to sell to someone for any reason? I was just curious.

 

[acpart]

Not yet, but it could happen. Rather than say "I won't sell to you because . . ." I'd probably be more inclined to say "I think you'll be happier with (waiting a while longer, a dog or a cat, etc.)"

Aliza

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

I could see that happening as well. Especially if I found myself in a situation where I knew someone was not going to take proper care of a certain animal and had no interest in learning to do so. As, acpart said though, I wouldn't just come out and say "Well I'm not selling to you...etc. etc..." No matter the reason for not wanting to do so, you must always be professional........

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I agree about needing to be professional and it is not something I am running into now but just wanted to know how people handled it if I ever had the need to refuse.

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

I'd probably respond with something along the lines of, " We appreciate your interest, however we think you may be more suited for X animal....".....That way you get your point across but you don't sound disrespectful....

 

[SilverM0on]

ì did refuse to sell but it was not for geckos... its was ferrets.. even if its a different species the idea is the same...the kids had no idea of the care they need seemed like an irresponsible 17 years old who wanted a shiny new toy and didn`t plan to house them in his house but his best friend`s house since he was always there obviously not caring that this guy had parents who may not agree.. i simply lied and told him the ferrets were already adopted

the ferrets eventually got adopted by a young veterinarian who already had ferrets but they died of old age.. i think they will be much happyer and well cared for there

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I've told people that a leopard gecko is more fragile and doesn't like to be handled as much as a bearded dragon when people are looking to purchase a herp for a 5 year old.

 

[Wowoklol]

Yeah.. You want to have a reason/excuse other than "you aren't ready".. That probably won't go so well.

 

[Wowoklol]

I've told people that a leopard gecko is more fragile and doesn't like to be handled as much as a bearded dragon when people are looking to purchase a herp for a 5 year old.

What did the beardies ever do to you!!??!

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Yesterday a kid at the show wanted a leo. I asked him what kind of "setup" he had and he sounded pretty confident in his but was lacking one key part...a UTH. I explained to him that he needed it and until he had the proper setup, I couldn't sell to him. He walked away only to come back within 5 minutes waving his UTH at me. I quickly gave him a discount on his leo and the kid walked away happy.

 

[MMreptiles]

I have yet to refuse the more simple animals like corns/leos; however, I am frequently given monitors of various ages, and I've turned down tons of people in search of finding half educated individuals to house them.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have refused sales several times because I felt that it was in the best interest of my geckos.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

Same here. I have refused some sales because I didn't feel the gecko was going to be properly cared for or the owner was looking for a part time pet which would just exist rather than be cared for.

 

[KelliH]

Yes.

 

[panthergecko]

i really wnt breed but fear lots will go wrong

 

[rickmoss95]

i have refused sales for a couple different reasons. most of the time it is people who say things like, "my friend has one and he does it this way..." and the care is totally off proper care, but they insist on doing it their way. i would rather keep my animals(no matter the species) and KNOW they are going to continue to have the best care possible. i dont care about the money, ide rather know my animals have the best life we can provide. i have yet to sell a leopard gecko, but you can bet that if i question the buyer, and dont feel comfortable selling to them, i wont. i do totally agree about trying to be professional, but sometimes you just have to be blunt and tell them whats up.

 

[Baoh]

Many times.

Lowballers, especially.

People who wanted to make inappropriate pairings. Kids without parental consent. People who think normals and XYZ morphs are "the same". People who openly act as if the low-end ones are just throw-away pets.

Like one suburbanite mother who said an adult male SHTCT I had that was very nice would be "fine" if housed permanently in the tiny-sized plastic reptile carrier she was holding. After explaining why that would be inadequate relative to the minimum environmental needs of the animal, she protested without consideration. The result? "For you, ma'am, he will be $1000. For the next customer who is willing to give him the proper care, he'll be 10% less than the labeled price." I had him listed at $125.

I had kids try to buy musk turtles from me to feed to their snakes. No way.

Or the stories from people who say they don't have a lot of money but would give [insert any animal here] "a really good home".

Lowballers offend me the most. I usually redirect them to the big chain stores if they want something unremarkable. Usually, they capitulate immediately and I'll be okay with that. However, if they are persistent or try to play any games after we have agreed on the exchange amount, I cancel the sale and deny them any further dealings with my stock. If you're working within a budget, that's understandable as well as wise in terms of managing personal finances. However, you don't saunter into an exotic car dealership and expect to be taken seriously if offering to pay Matchbox prices.

 

[fuzzylogix]

Yes I have, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I turned down a guy at the OKC show a couple of months back because he said "what kind of lizards are these" and "i need something for my 2 year old's birthday". I kindly insisted he should probably not be shopping at a reptile expo, and that i'm sure a toy store was close by. I then watched him angrily head to another table across from me, and purchase a young bearded dragon. poor beardie...

 

[Alex G]

No, but I've refused a potential adopter who, when questioned on the basic food needs of a cornsnake, happily informed me that they ate "grasshopper and flies". When I pointed out that cornsnakes do not eat insects, he replied that "thats just what i fed my igwana[sp]". I didn't even want to recommend him another animal as he sounded like a kid lured by the "free" label. I just told him the animal was no longer available and ceased communication.

 

[Reborn]

I have, despite being a simple noob breeder. I spent a few years wondering about the enigmas-what first got me into leos- and now started breeding them. I am very picky with whom they go to. I do ask them if they have research the enigma gene and if they can handle hand feeding a gecko for 20 odd years. This generally will scare anyone away looking for cheap babies with neat patterns. Ive had someone insist I give them a gecko hatchling fresh outta the egg because "it makes it easier to bond"- seriously that was there reasoning. I obviously denied that and havent spoken with them agian. I've also had to deny a sale as the person wishing to buy a few of my nicer morphed babies didnt understand genetics and was just looking for nicer babies at a cheaper price. I did educated them a bit on why they shouldnt cross albino strains-wanted to breed a mack raptor baby i was selling at the time to there bell albino- since then havent heard back I'm a simple breeder just beginning and I have had too. I dunno if this means I'm going in a bad direction or being a good breeder and screening homes.