What to do with excess geckos???

[Geckonut]

So obviously not all our geckos we hatch will turn out to be stellar adults that command a good price. Some will just be nice average geckos that may not sell...so what do you do with all the extra geckos??? You cannot keep them all. Ideas?

 

[CHAMpion]

Well if you know a local pet store, you can talk to the owner and I bet if he has room he'll buy some from you. I sell some of my babies to the local pet store. I know it might be frowned upon but at least theres a good chance of it going to a good family. At least better than if I sold it to a corperate pet store.

 

[Redleg]

There is nothing wrong with selling your excess leos to a local pet store or a big chain type. As the seller, you just need to come to an agreement with the owner/manager on how the leos should to be kept (i.e. no sand) etc.

Don't expect to get much from them as they do get a pretty good price at wholesale cost from their suppliers.

You can always donate your leos to a local elementary school. There's always some kind of animals in a local school classroom. Two for the price of one.....Teacher will be able to educate the proper care of leopard geckos and some kids might end up wanting to get into the hobby......and so our hobby continues to grow.

 

[HugeGenes&LoLa]

We just started breeding and none of ours are high end that we will be able to sell online, but we've been thinking about having a "gecko garage sale" type thing. We haven't worked anything out yet, but we live around lots of neighborhoods, so we were considering putting up posters about selling them. Then maybe if no one calls, we'll spend a day outside on the lawn and hopefully some families will check it out. We'd have to make up care sheets to hand out to people, and I'm not sure if we'd sell supplies there or what. It's just a brainstorm.

 

[acpart]

I think I"ve responded to a thread like this before recently, but here are some ideas and considerations:

it's actually good to be producing some "average" geckos and I count on it because I think it's harder to sell gorgeous ones for a high price, especially if you don't already have a breeder reputation, than average ones at an average price.

I learned the hard way that trying to sell people on the idea of geckos results in some geckos going to people that don't care for them properly. I have actually considered a gecko garage sale and may even do it some time but I think it's a better idea to try to reach people who already want a reptile rather than to try to convert them.

The big chain pet stores have their own suppliers and generally will not be interested in geckos from you. I have sold geckos to privately owned pet stores only after going in and checking out the store to make sure I'm comfortable with how they will be kept. I have eliminated more pet stores than I've accepted.

That said, here are some things I have done that have worked for me:

--arranged to sell at a show. I sell at 2 shows currently, both on the small side. I'm prepared to share a table with someone at a bigger show if necessary.

--advertise on-line. I think local advertising is best unless you are planning to ship and shipping an averaged price gecko doesn't really make sense for the buyer (though advertising it as $75 shipped makes it less evident that you're paying $50 to ship a $25 gecko)

--Especially if you have supplies available as well, consider advertising your supplies on craigslist and then stating at the bottom "ask me about my geckos". Technically you can offer them on craigslist as "adoptions with an adoption fee" but since I'm a breeder selling my geckos I'm not comfortable with that and prefer the way I suggested above.

--check the local criagslist type listings for people who post because they want a reptile. I"ve made several sales that way

--talk to everybody you know about your geckos. Word of mouth goes a long way

--I haven't had to do this yet, but I've considered asking a petstore if they'll do some advertising for my geckos. The arrangement I've thought of is to have it advertised prominently and supported by the pet store. The store owner would get a small percentage of each sale. That way, the petstore doesn't have to devote resources to housing and feeding the geckos and I would be able to get more money for them.

--Don't panic. You will sell them.

I've managed to sell out by mid-Jan. every year using the methods above.

Aliza

 

[latshki]

not sure if this is legal or not but you can buy heat pads,dished and all the nesecities online from say LLL for cheapy cheapy then sell a complete "starter kit" with gecko and what you spent on all the supplies you just add 10 bucks to that and the price of the gecko and bam theres some profit

 

[JordanAng420]

Working at an animal hospital that mainly sees exotic animals, I am CONSTANTLY being asked about local breeders, pet stores, rescue organizations and their reputations...i'm sure if you hit a few animal hospitals, most would be willing to hang up a few flyers in their lobby or leave out some business cards.

 

[acpart]

not sure if this is legal or not but you can buy heat pads,dished and all the nesecities online from say LLL for cheapy cheapy then sell a complete "starter kit" with gecko and what you spent on all the supplies you just add 10 bucks to that and the price of the gecko and bam theres some profit

This is exactly what I do and I dont see why it wouldn't be legal because it's always legal to re-sell as long as someone will buy. I get most of my supplies from craigslist, yard sales and ebay. I sell a complete set-up (including supplements, substrate etc. --everything except the worms, water and gecko) for $50 for 10 gallon and $70 for 20 gallon.

Aliza

 

[LizMarie]

This is exactly what I do and I dont see why it wouldn't be legal because it's always legal to re-sell as long as someone will buy. I get most of my supplies from craigslist, yard sales and ebay. I sell a complete set-up (including supplements, substrate etc. --everything except the worms, water and gecko) for $50 for 10 gallon and $70 for 20 gallon.

Aliza

Why can't you live in ny :main_laugh:. When I set up my first tank I spent $70 on decorations alone, lol.