Apparently I am out of line

[ladysown]

So pet person contacted me "desperately searching for a pet bunny".
Asked me tons of questions... I"m cool with that.
Then she starts asking for a video, would I do a video chat?
Wants me to do very specific things with a bunny to prove it is healthy and extremely friendly.

I say no.
I can video bunny no problems just hopping around, being a bunny, but I'm not into setting up my camera so it will show me doing all these different things with a young bunny... and NONE of that will prove that the bunny is healthy, just that it will accept my handling.

Apparently it's something that "any reasonable breeder would be happy to do" and "I'm out of line for saying she's asking too much".

I've been breeding and selling rabbits for 15+ years, is this a new thing? Having to video each baby rabbit to prove it's healthy and can be handled?

 

[Preitler]

Well, apart from quite some wiered people there are too many little internet bubbles out there, if a newbie stumbles in there and picks up the ideas that are stated as "normal" there that can lead to a lot of misconceptions concerning reality. Some pet forums are more tolerant, others don't allow any other opinion as the one established as truth there - there is only one right diet, they need that number of sqare feet per rabbit, breeding is evil, deadly apple seeds, 80% of does get cancer at 3 years if not spayed and so on.
If someone comes up with a new "should be" or snippet of "truth" it just gets repeated over and over, without ever hitting reality, and many don't have the critical thinking to realize that something is not a fact just because the search there turned up so many matches. It's pretty bad on german speaking boards, got already kicked out because some concluded that I'm breeding rabbits, I should have told I'm also butchering and eating them...

I guess that can explain why some people have wiered ideas about what's normal and appropriate when confronted with reality.

There isn't much to do than very politly telling how it is, if it's not accepted it's their problem.
I wouldn't send videos, and definitly not in a setting where I have no control about what pops up in the background, like anywhere but in front of a white wall. Wouldn't want to give agitated idiots ammunition by showing them my hutches, or any details of my living quarters.
I don't have a smartphone anyway, if someone wants to talk to face to face he needs to come to my fence. And over here, we don't even have problems with militant or lunatic ARAs.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I agree, the video thing is unreasonable,
and probably dangerous, both to you and your rabbits.

 

[MaggieJ]

Ladysown, you are definitely not out of line. This person has unreasonable expectations.

My answer to unreasonable requests presented as "normal" is to suggest that the buyer seek out a seller who conforms to their expectations.

If it's so "normal", I point out, they'll have no trouble finding someone. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[ladysown]

thanks all... I rather taken aback by this one. Nice to know there are the reasonable among us.

 

[hotzcatz]

Videos? With you doing specific things with a rabbit? Someone actually requested that? Can you let the batteries die on your phone so you don't have to talk to them anymore?

Was that one of those buyers who incessantly text on cellphones and get all fussilated if they don't get an absolute immediate answer? For those sorts of folks, I try to limit them to email and not even let them get to phone numbers.

There's another bunny breeder in my town who does pet bunnies, we were shipping some to another island and were going to do a joint shipping since multiple bunnies can go in an airline kennel and it's only a forty five minute flight. Her buyer for the 'pet' bunny was insane with the texting and asking questions, etc., etc. She finally turned her phone off and had the buyer text me about the shipping details. Generally buyers for fiber bunnies aren't so bizarre, I'm really glad I don't have to deal with pet bunny owners all the time.

Anybody know how meat bunny buyers are? Are they easier to deal with?

 

[michaels4gardens]

I have never had a "meat bunny" buyer do any of the crazy things talked about above...
sometimes they want to know "real info" [IE: weaning weights, litter size, info about sire and dam, etc. ]
sometimes they don't even ask questions , they want to come look at the rabbits, how they are raised,
look the rabbits over good... and buy rabbits..
I would never let a "pet bunny" person, even know where i live...

 

[SableSteel]

Personally, I'd probably do this on a case by case basis. If I were selling $15 pets as I normally do... not worth the effort. If I were selling something for a bit more money or a rabbit that I especially wanted to go to a pet home instead of cull buyer, I'd put more effort in and might send them videos. I've never been asked for a video before though.

 

[Lewis]

As someone looking for a pet/fiber bunny the most I’ve asked for are photos of the bunny and sometimes the parents. A video sounds like a lot but not unreasonable. A live video is up to your discretion as it is a lot and is intrusive but I think has more to due with all the scams going around. This lady’s reaction to saying no was out of line.

You can see the health of a bunny in the photo and when you meet it in person- there’s nothing a video would show that a photo couldn’t health wise. - eye ear nose discharge his the hair lays... sounds like you dodged a bullet with this person. And some bunnies get sick because of the stress of going to a new home not saying they were sick with the breeder- just sometimes stress induced sickness. Honestly I’d block this person or tell them your bunnies aren’t the right fit for them- way not worth the effort. Some breeders I politely disengaged with because I didn’t think their price for award winning show rabbits ( never went to a show to win an award and didn’t know some basic questions In regard to her rabbits fiber)