I don't get it!

[Barbel]

Why on Earth would you respond to an ad on craigslist, inquiring about an animal (or ANYTHING for that matter) say you are interested in the item, then say never mind I can't afford it when the PRICE IS LISTED IN THE AD!!!

I just don't get people, really how stupid are you? You are wasting my time with your nonsense. And sometimes people don't even take the time to write back and say no thank you. I was nice enough to chat with you and answer all your questions, so why can't you take 30 seconds to say I appreciate your help but I think we are going in another direction. Is it really that hard??

 

[Dog Shrink]

Honestly YES it is that hard for most people to show any kind of human decency. It sickens me to see the direction the human race is going. A bunch of self centered self indulged know it alls imo.

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

very true. my CL experience folks want stuff for free or trade for something that is worthless.

 

[jerry]

Just Yesterday Someone Called Me Said There Interested Want To Meet Up The Next Morning So I Packed Everything Up And Ty Never Called, Then The Same Day They Called Again And Said Sorry They Were Busy And Asked Too Meet Up The Next Morning, Again They Never Showed Ughh. And People Constantly Ask To Lower The Price Way To Low, I Priced It That Way For A Reason

 

[Barbel]

Inconsiderate people just annoy me so much! And their population seems to be growing.

We reposted our ad and the same guy who finally told us he wasn't interested anymore after WE sent him TWO more emails asking if he wanted the snakes responded to the new ad! What a jerk first off, and secondly, wouldn't you notice if a new post appeared with the same exact items for the same exact price, wouldn't you KNOW it's the same people? What an idiot!

We said we would consider package pricing and when we knocked $25 off of the LISTED prices this girl said that it was WAY TOO MUCH! What did you think we were going to do, buy one get one free??? I don't friggin think so!

I think we are about done with craigslist. I don't think I handle the idiots on there much longer.

 

[roger]

Or when your ad says in big bold letters"NO TRADES" what do they do? They ask if u want to trade.do what i do.I have a bunch of inconsiderate ppl I keep on my spam list.The peoples emails get put in my spam folder so when they reply to one of my ads i just dont respond.these ppl have no intention of buying but just want to waste my time.

 

[ajveachster]

The same thing happens all the time even if it isn't Craig's List. If you are thinking about breeding reptiles, expect people to want 25% more animals with 25% higher quality at 25% less than what the posted price is.

 

[goReptiles]

CL is where you post adoptions not sales anyway. It's no wonder people want for free or cheap. Plus, it's not ideal to sell on CL, as it doesn't boost your reputation as a quality seller by any means.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Plus, it's not ideal to sell on CL, as it doesn't boost your reputation as a quality seller by any means.

Why not? Exposure is exposure after all isn't it? I don't see how selling n CL could damage a reputation, I see it as an untapped opportunity. Do you know of better places to place ads for sale that reach as many people as CL does?

 

[Barbel]

L is where you post adoptions not sales anyway. It's no wonder people want for free or cheap. Plus, it's not ideal to sell on CL, as it doesn't boost your reputation as a quality seller by any means.

Why not? Exposure is exposure after all isn't it? O don't see how selling n CL could damage a reputation, I see it as an untapped opportunity. Do you know of better places to place ads for sale that reach as many people as CL does?

Agreed. I don't look down on reptile breeders that occasionally sell on CL. No, I don't think they should do it all the time, but if you have some leftovers, or a small clutch you need to move quickly then why not CL? You can find out if someone is reputable breeder or not by asking a few simple questions.

We are just getting started with our business and CL is an easy way for us to get our name out.
Our customer service and quality of animals will build our reputation for us and I don't think selling a few snakes on CL will hurt us in any way. In fact we are in the process of negotiating a trade with a up and coming breeder in our area who contacted us via CL.

 

[goReptiles]

Some exposure is bad exposure.

 

[Barbel]

CL is where you post adoptions not sales anyway. It's no wonder people want for free or cheap. Plus, it's not ideal to sell on CL, as it doesn't boost your reputation as a quality seller by any means.

Some exposure is bad exposure.

Well, you can be a snob about it if you want, but the fact that you would write off a person as a bad, non reputable breeder based solely on the fact that they have a few animals listed on craigslist is totally rude, unfair and it makes YOU a person that I would not want to do business with.

As I said before, I don't think that all breeders should be selling all their reptiles on CL all the time, but there are certain circumstances when I think it is okay. And you can tell by the way the ad is written and from a few emails if the seller is trying to pull something or if what they have to offer is of quality.

Is CL our first choice place to advertise our business and sell our animals? HECK NO! We would much rather sell them on sites like kingsnake, but that costs money. Kingsnake (and other similar sites) are nationwide which means the majority of the purchases need to be shipped. Shipping certifications cost money and packing materials cost money. Now, I know most of that is made back in the sell of the animal, but when a family of three only have $12 to live on for nine days you really can't chance investing the money upfront. Other families have economical concerns as well and if they can save a few bucks on shipping and still buy a healthy, quality animal, they will jump at the chance.

When we posted our ad, we knew there would be a lot of crap that we would have to wade through, (What was making me mad were the window shoppers who would ask for pictures and then say they couldn't afford it even though the price was listed in the ad.) but after some sifting we found some really wonderful fellow breeders and made some great contacts that we will be keeping in touch with for future sells and trades. We've also made $700 this week and that money will keep our heads afloat for the rest of the year.

When we started building our collection three years ago, we of course were unaware of the financial hardships we were going to be facing. There have been a few times, especially in recent months where we have wanted to throw in the towel and sell off our collection, but we have worked so hard and invested so much time and money into our snakes and we are finally at a point where we are breeding and starting to make our money back, that we have decided to trudge through this rough patch and hope we make it out the other side.

We are getting ready for the next breeding season and will be gathering supplies so that the next time around we can sell on sites like kingsnake and not have to rely on CL.

I DO NOT FOR ONE SECOND regret selling some of our offspring on CL. We did what we had to do and if you or other people look down on us because of that, well then YOU are the one with the problem and I sure hope you don't get too many nose bleeds with your head pointed up like that, because I sure don't want it dripping down on me.