Question for Breeders/Sellers

[VampyreByte]

I'm sure a lot of you have run across this before, but I want your opinions on handling these situations or the outcome of whether you make the sale or not.

I've ran across this a couple times so far in my 3 years or breeding. A kid (anyone under 18) wants to buy a geckos and start breeding. They ask for cheaper geckos and cheap supplies. Have done a lot of research, but haven't successfully owned Leo's in the past (either haven't at all or have had 1 but it died). Ask for tips and tricks to breeding (like its a game, ha).
I started of by telling him all the downfalls of breeding, like the time and money and supplies that goes into it. And that generally you hardly even make enough money to break even (I have yet to pull a profit but I don't care because to me its a rewarding hobby). I asked what kind of morphs they are thinking about and if they have the space to house males and females seperately. They answer everything, but the one thing that bothers me a bit is that they have only had one gecko before and it died. Generally, in my experience, its very hard to kill a leo. Not that I've tried but they can go forever without eating it seems.
Another thing is if they do buy and successfully breed then thats added competition for within that town. Not that most people that try breeding it stick with it or last more than a year, but its reduced sales of my geckos.
I've sold to a few others locally also that wanted to breed, they were adults though. And I've yet to see any babies for sale other than mine.

I'm just curious if any of you have dealt with this before and how you resolved or handled it.
I'm planning on selling to him because he is dead set on breeding and If he buys i'd rather it be from someone like me who has proven stock and knows what i'm doing.

 

[insertexpletivehere]

I obviously haven't bred any geckos (or any lizards for that matter) because I just got my first but have a bit of insight as far as breeding/selling animals local to you with other species.

What about offering to mentor these people that are interested in breeding? This offers a few potential benefits - you're making sure they are getting started out properly, you are there to offer them advice if they have questions, if they run into a problem that you've dealt with you can advise them, you're helping to keep their animals healthy by cutting down on a lot of newbie mistakes that could negatively impact their animals, you are able to track how your hatchlings are doing in their new homes and what they are producing and you're boosting your reputation with these people - they will most likely recommend you to friends/potential buyers (especially if they don't have any available at the time). I'm sure there are other benefits that I'm not thinking of at the moment but just some things that crossed my mind. I suppose it also depends on what the market is like in your area as well.

However, I would check the laws on selling animals in your area - I know around here you have to be 18+ to purchase any pet. I'm 28 and look young, I get carded nearly every single time I buy something at most pet stores (fish, etc). If it's a kid under 18, that's a good excuse to get out if it if you're really uncomfortable.

 

[Olympus]

In my experience these people don't last very long. They don't really have a passion for the animals, they just see a possible money-making opportunity, and become burned out within a year, give or take. I don't think I've seen a single inexperienced person who wants to start with "cheap animals and cheap supplies" ever make it in the herp hobby very long. Because even though leopard geckos aren't difficult to care for or breed it's still a time, space, and financial investment and as soon as they see that it takes consistent effort without instant financial reward they're not going to be interested much longer. (Especially because you can't make money back on cheap geckos, it's not financially feasible, so they'll find that out really quickly.) You can potentially make money breeding reptiles if you do certain things right, but most of the time you're really just running on passion.

I would do my best to teach him how to care for these animals correctly, warn him about what he's getting into, and just let things follow their natural course. But I bet you odds are that he won't become competition. People approach me all the time asking for tips on how to become breeders the cheapest/easiest/fastest way possible and I have yet to see any of them actually do it successfully. The people that are truly interested, careful, thorough, and dedicated are a different story!

 

[VampyreByte]

Thank you guys! I'm thinking the same thing. I'm trying to be helpful to the kid but at the same time tell him about all the work, time, and money that goes into this. It can definitely be fun bringing in new life like Leopard Geckos and whatnot, but in my area there really isn't too many buyers that know of any place but pet stores to get their geckos. I told him that I even still have babies from my first season that are still for sale. And that was 3 years ago, haha.
I'm pretty sure its gonna fizzle for him when he realizes how much work it is, especially just being in highschool.

I think we as reptile breeders are some of the only people that willingly help the competition all the time! They are ususally are best customers! Hope that continues!