From: "Rebecca Allbritton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
| in siamese! Whoa! What I found most suprising, though, was how cheaply
| people were selling their gerbils. At pet shops, people pay ~6.99 for a
| pair of black & white or black or agouti gerbils, but people on the web
| were charging $3 each & $5 per pair. Shipping, of course, is a
significant
| addition to that. I would have paid $20 + shipping for a pair of
siamese
| gerbils without a second thought.
I completely agree. (Surprised, Rebecca?)
I've asked a couple serious breeders why their prices are so low. They
say something like "that's what the market can bear." They seem to think
they must charge a bit less than pet stores.
That does not make sense to me. If you are a breeder and you present your
gerbil as superior to what I can get in a store, why should your price
not be higher than the store's price?
You also can discount however you wish -- such as for a fellow GML
member -- but you cannot ask more than your generally advertised price.
I would GIVE gerbils to most people on GML. If I were selling to the
public, I wouldn't mention that.
Shipping costs are a complication. I won't even discuss that much. I
don't like the whole idea, but that should be something decided by each
buyer/seller. If I DID want to buy a gerbil from a breeder who was
generally less well off than I, I would pay all shipping. I would be
wanting a special gerbil so that cost would figure in, but it would not
automatically stop me.
I think that a few dollars is not going to make much difference to someone
who is looking for a quality gerbil, for either breeding or as a pet. You
breeders are NOT competing for the snake-food market.
Here's a suggestion to breeders about pricing: Go out and price a few
automobiles -- for example, a basic Ford sedan, a zippy sportscar, and a
solid Mercedes. Compute the percentage differences in those prices. Now
let's say your local pet store is selling basic Ford gerbils. What are
you selling? So what higher price should you ask?
Please also remember that the pet store prolly is pricing gerbils as "loss
leaders". They don't make money on the gerbil, but they do on its
equipment and future supplies.
Just BTW -- many buyers of anything believe that a higher price always
means better quality, so that's the one they want.
I've never sold a gerbil. I welcome those who have to explain defects in
my reasoning.
