Sales Policy and Etiquette

[RWise]

I dont do holds, cash and carry! First one to hand me cash gets to have the bird/s, any others waiting are told it/they are gone, and the ad removed. It's business.
IMHO forget the one that did not respond and move on. I get this all the time, or idiots that ask for my address with no phone number, I ask them what time they can pick up, no answer. I also get blank replies and "do you still~" which I do not reply to.
I also make them come to me (I have delivered a pullet to replace a roo,, ops that was my bad in the dark)
I hate dealing with these people! But if I want to let these birds go I have to,,,

 

[aart]

I think this is a fine place for this thread,
don't think there's a better discussion forum for it.

Selling birds, or anything, can be a PITA.
I don't do CL anymore, FB groups are a bit better.
But it all boils down the people, either they have integrity or they don't.
Sometimes you can tell by the messaging conversations who's gonna step up and follow thru and who's a flake...but it's always a laborious process for me. I just eat most of them.

But if you want to raise chicks to sell to the public, you need to figure out what your strategy will be and stick to it...hope for the best and prepare for the flakes.
I see many ads that say 'no holds', it's for a good reason.
If someone responds to an ad with 'interested' I message them asking when, if they don't respond properly, I write them off and post 'still available'. If i get a lot of responses I start a list and post what number they are publicly. Keeping track out front can help keep the tire kickers away. I also post 'cash only-pickup only'..I sure ain't gonna drive and get skunked.

Here's a 'saying' that I often use as a mantra on some days:
"There's an idiot around every corner, some days they line the block"

 

[paneubert]

One of my recent favorites from Craigslist.

"Hey, I would love to get 50-100 quail chicks from you."

I reply that I can probably make that happen and that they will be hatching on such and such date (like I already detailed in my sale post).

Crickets......chirp chirp.....chirp chirp.....

I send another reply when the hatch date comes.

Crickets......chirp chirp.....chirp chirp.....

Happens about 50% of the time for me when people reply to my ads.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I’m going to choose to laugh so it doesn’t drive me crazy. I’d forgotten. It’s been less than a year since I gave away the five cockerels that hatched with my original six hens. I met the most interesting people. I kind of need the CL folks. All my chickens are mixes at the moment and most of the fellow chicken keepers I talk to have a few mixes but are only interested in acquiring purebred this or that. This sometimes inconsistent audience is my target audience and I chose it to be that way.

I’m putting the birds back for sale Monday, along with the younger ones today that didn’t sell. At least there’s a silver lining. After promising her these four, I decided I really wanted to keep one. I thought of all kinds of offers to make it up to her; now I don’t have to, yay!

Does anyone have input on when to post to CL? Do you notice more responses later in the week than on a Monday? People gearing up for availability on the weekend? Posting later in the week might be one way to avoid requests for lengthy holds.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Maybe the universe feels sorry for her foolishness and is compensating. I have three back to back egg and bird sale appointments this afternoon!

 

[Kiki]

Maybe the universe feels sorry for her foolishness and is compensating. I have three back to back egg and bird sale appointments this afternoon!

Good luck.
I hope all three go well.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Y’all. Y’all. Seriously? Seriously. I did not know this existed. Who doesn’t love popping into a pet store to look at the animals? And the store wants you there because you can’t buy anything if you don’t come in. But I did not realize this window shopping extended to the point of contacting someone, arranging a sale and then not showing up.

It happened again today. 7am this morning. Zoomed in a picture and said I want that one, and two others you can pick. Arranged a time and place to meet, I showed up 10 minutes early, waited 20 minutes late, nada.

Which made me late for the next sale of eggs. She was understanding, good new customer. Rushed home to drop the chicks off again and then meet my third customer, more eggs. And what happens just before I pull into the meeting place? All the eggs, in the floor.

I nearly died. I try to keep a clean mouth in front of my four year old, but not today. Fortunately none appeared broken upon quick inspection and I’ll replace any next time for this regular customer.

I think I should keep a blog. Weird Indie Sales. Anyone who didn’t have stories like this is probably the people making these stories for the rest of us.