I raise show llamas and goats. Occasionally I'll have potential buyers here to look at them, that I feel won't be able or willing to provide appropriate care. I'm very picky about who I will sell to. How do I go about tactfully turning buyers away? (Hopefully without making them mad, since they obviously know where I live if they are here looking at my animals.)
My husband has a completely different outlook. He thinks if they are willing to pay what I'm asking, I should just sell. I prefer to hold out until a buyer that I'm comfortable with comes along.
Answers:
I breed and sell miniature horses and I run into the same problem all too often. I try to be honest and up front from the beginning by saying that I will only sell my animals to approved homes and that I will only sell to qualified buyers. By stating that in my advertisement, I usually turn incapable people down from the start. Occasionally I have to tell people that one of my ponies may be out of their range and may require more than they can offer, usually when people hear that they agree and thank me and look elsewhere. I have yet to have a potential buyer be turned down and blow up in my face in anger because usually they want what I am selling and do not want to offend me. I just explain what it costs to keep the animal and what they require for shelter and maintenance and how much time they require and that usually sets people straight. Just be honest and tell the buyer that you do not feel comfortable selling them the animal and say that you feel as if letting them take the animal will put a burden on them and that a a result animal may feel the effects from that. as opposed to telling them that they are incapable and have no clue as to what they are doing and have no business raising one of these animals, sugar coat it and they will think you are doing them a favor. Good luck.
Institute an application process and let them know that owning one of your animals is a supply and demand based venture you only have so many animals to sell and you must review where they are going. Also to people you turn down, you can then send a sorry you weren't chosen this time based on this factor please apply again (if you wish).
Good luck!
Say some gross/mean/annoying stuff they do. Make up some stuff. :3 And say they take a LOT of care and they sleep with you in the house.
Do you make them fill out any forms in order to buy? Such as getting background information on animal ownership and such..like what humane societies do?
Sometimes its just better to be blunt with the people. Let them know prior to showing the animals that you are very strict in deciding whom to give them away to and that on occasion you have turned buyers down. This will let them know that the possibility is there. Keep a list for yourself on how you evaluate a buyer and based on that maybe you could make a buyer form.
I go through the same thing with placing puppies. I do not care if they have the $$$ to pay for one, if I feel that they are not what I am looking for in a home, they do not get a puppy. I usually tell them I will contact them, that way it does not have to be done while they are right there. Either call, or e-mail and I tell them the concerns I have. Sometimes it is something like a fence issue and they have the option of fixing the problem. Other times I do not get a good "vibe" and maybe feel they are just telling me what I want to hear. In that case, I just tell them that I am NOT comfortable placing a pup with them at this time. No other explaination required!! My choice. Once the home and everything was great! Loved them!! Then found out they fed "Kibbles and Bits" and intended to keep feeding it. No deal. They were miffed and bad mouthed me, but they didn't end up feeding one of my puppies crap food.
It is YOUR hard work and love that goes into what you do. You have the right to refuse anyone based on anything! Never feel bad about that!!.
Just be honest, and tell them you are just trying to find the best possible homes for them, and then apologize. Or you could say that all of your animals have already found homes. (teensy white lie)
don't sell an animal to someone unless you're comfortable with its new home. simply because if the home isn't adequate, something dangerous could happen, and you could get into trouble. just listen to your gut instincts.
i think a good way to turn them down in a friendly way, is just say it. "i'm not comfortable with this." sometimes you just have to be honest.
Lie. Tell them that someone else has already bought or made a VERY VERY high offer on the animal. That wont make them mad, just a bit upset that they can't over bid. =) Good luck!
k, now im not to good with goats or llama ling-go, but if you wanna get rid of some no good owners then try to talk fancy with them."so do you have Kentucky grown grass in there pen? you don't?! then im sorry but you can't take my little goat with you." have fun with your fibs, write down some so they don't catch you by surprise!
;)
I tell them that I want both the animals and the people to be happy, if you see a potential problem- in a kind and loving way - you could say something like "you seem like lovely people ,but I wonder if this is the right time for you?" By always stating that you like them as people but are worried about their happiness, you can diffuse a tricky situation and perhaps keep them from buying elsewhere and having an animal suffer.If all else fails say that you have others who you promised to show the animal too, and in the interest of fairness need to give them a chance too.
I think you are right on this one. You won't be able to sleep at night if you knew you're animals were going to bad homes just because someone was willing to pay the right price.
I train horses and know for a fact the people have to have the right chemistry with a particular animal. Some people/animal combinations just don't work. I would use this example when talking to buyers. Tell them that you understand that they would love an animal from your farm but you don't think any one of your critters is the right match for them. They of course will go somewhere else and it will be somebody else's problem. There is no way for you to prevent this, many breeders are in it for the money and don't care where the animals go. Don't ever feel bad about being cautious of where your animals go.
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