Help me with my future Rabbit Sales Contract

[The_Dutchess]

I won't be breeding until April-ish but I decided I will be doing a sales contract and have attempted to do so. I don't think it's very good so PLEASE HELP ME with any suggestions/comments/opinions. Here goes:

Rabbit Sales Contract
Date Rabbit was purchased:
Before selling you this rabbit, I have checked him/her over thoroughly and am selling him/her to you healthy. However, rabbits get sick easily even by just going to a new home. It is your job to quarantine the rabbit and take care of it once on your property. If you do not quarantine, or do not properly take care of the rabbit it is no longer my responsibility to make it right if the rabbit gets sick. Proper care includes feeding a good quality feed, i.e. Pen Pals, Kent, Armada and nothing with colorful, sugary bits or the cheapest feed you can find (Meijer brand, etc.). Also having CLEAN cages at least 24” x 24” in size is one requirement in proper rabbit care as well as fresh, clean water and hay at all times. If these requirements are not followed, the one week health guarantee will be breached.
If you have questions on caring for your rabbit, feel free to contact me. However, I am not a veterinarian and I certainly don’t know all there is to know (or anywhere near that) about rabbits. I do promise to help you by sharing the information I know if I can.
You can purchase an extended health guarantee for $5 IF you fill out the Pet Rabbit Application I will have printed out for you. This assures me that you will properly care for your new rabbit. The extended health guarantee states that I will refund your money or replace your rabbit if the rabbit has gotten sick or died within 2 weeks, or 14 days, after you have purchased the rabbit.


Sign here if you have purchased an extended health guarantee of 2 weeks (14 days) for $5 and have filled out the Pet Rabbit Application and agree to the terms above:
Sign here if you have purchased a rabbit from me with a one week health guarantee and agree to the terms above:
I am the current owner of this rabbit and I agree to change ownership of said rabbit to the person(s) who have signed above. Signed:



There you go. FIRE AWAY!

 

[ladysown]

Hi

Been selling pet rabbits for 10 years or so.

I will share with you what I have learned and you can do with the knowledge what you will.

1. MOST IMPORTANT have a rabbit care sheet that you hand out AND a good website you can send people to for help.

2. week long health guarantee is useless. WHY? I have learned this AS MUCH as I tell people.. go easy with your bunny.. no fresh foods for a week UNLESS they aren't eating anything within 24 hours and then ONLY parsley. give them hay and pellets only.. or perhaps a teaspoon of oatmeal flakes.. what do they do.. oh.. lets let bunny run around and lick things off the floor or nibble on this or say here bunny.. have a carrot or a piece of my cookie... Do a 24 hour health guarantee only. That covers stress related issues.. which is all you really SHOULD need to cover if your rabbits are healthy. OR tell people to take their rabbit to a vet within 24 hours like the stores do... and specify what you will do if the VET says there is a problem.

I am actually thinking of doing this.... saying health warranty is void if rabbit hasn't been taken to the vet.. stressing that I DO NOT cover veterinarian expenses.

I started with a week long policy, had no takers, shortened that to three days.. had maybe one over the course of year.. shortened again to 24 hours.... and I get perhaps three bunnies a year at the most that come back with stress related "you took me away from home" issues. Oddly enough..the older the bunny is, the more apt this is to happen. I give them a different bunny and off they go with zero issues. Week long generally isn't necessary and saves you from having to ask questions and learning things "Oh.. my three year took it out the garden and left it out there" and "I let it run in the garage and it licked something off the floor" and "but aren't carrots good for rabbits... I let my new baby bunny eat a whole carrot..he really liked it". Avoid those situations.

3. Consider if you will take returns of your rabbits, or what might happen if rabbit needs to be rehomed.

4. Make specific recommendations of what and WHY for rabbit pellets. For instance I recommend Martin's little friends rabbit food for indoor bunnies. Telling them I've done taste tests with with bunnies, it seems to be a good food, and helps neutralize the smell of rabbit urine. OTHERWISE people will do one of two things.. buy the huge bag of rabbit feed at the local feed mill/farm supply store for one rabbit (as it's cheapest) but rabbit will need to eat from the bag long after it's best before date.... or they will buy the mixed "rabbit feed" bags.

5. Why do you want a sales contract for pet bunnies? Just curious. What is your end goal?

 

[The_Dutchess]

I changed my contract some. I wrote that Armada is a good feed for people with multiple rabbits and Oxbow is a good feed for indoor single rabbits. I also changed to a 24 hour guarantee, and decided to take back rabbits, but refund or replace by request.? I'm a little on the fence about that. Do you think it would be a good idea to refund or replace or both or half refund? I don't know.
My reason for the sales contract.... I thought it would be a good idea. I had problems with refunding before.

 

[ladysown]

When I take rabbits back I do not refund or exchange. Purchase price becomes a rental then. AND rabbit needs to come back with it's "STUFF". I rehome them, having their stuff helps.

I VERY seldom refund dollars and never after a week unless it's proven the rabbit will ill or had bad teeth before it left my place. Stores won't either. AND many stores offer no guarantee if you don't buy their feed along with the rabbit.

Mine come with a transition bag of their feed, 24 hour health guarantee, and rabbit care sheet. Plus my long term support.

 

[The_Dutchess]

Updated version (I've fixed everything I think)

Rabbit Sales Contract
Date Rabbit was purchased:
When you purchase a rabbit from me, he/she comes with a sample of my hay and pellets as well as a 24 hour health guarantee.

Before selling you this rabbit, I have checked him/her over thoroughly and am selling him/her to you healthy. However, rabbits get sick easily even by just going to a new home. It is your job to quarantine the rabbit and take care of it once on your property. If you do not quarantine, or do not properly take care of the rabbit it is no longer my responsibility to make it right if the rabbit gets sick. Proper care includes feeding a good quality feed, i.e. Pen Pals, Kent, Armada and nothing with colorful, sugary bits or the cheapest feed you can find (Meijer brand, etc.). Also having CLEAN cages at least 24” x 24” in size is one requirement in proper rabbit care as well as fresh, clean water and hay at all times. If these requirements are not followed, the 24 hour health guarantee will be breached.

If you have questions on caring for your rabbit, feel free to contact me. However, I am not a veterinarian and I certainly don’t know all there is to know (or anywhere near that) about rabbits. I do promise to help you by sharing the information I know if I can.

If your rabbit gets sick within 24 hours after you have purchased him/her, I will take the rabbit back, but I do not do refunds. If you can prove that the rabbit was sick before he came to you, I will replace the rabbit with another rabbit of your choice if I have rabbits for sale at the time. If you did not provide veterinary care for a sick rabbit, I will not replace the rabbit.



Sign here if you have purchased a rabbit from me with a 24 hour health guarantee and agree to the terms above:


I am the current owner of this rabbit and I agree to change ownership of said rabbit to the person(s) who have signed above. Signed:

 

[Marinea]

You still have "one week guarantee" in two spots.

And, as a side note, please know that in no way is this a legal binding contract. If someone wants to take action despite this, they can. Why? Because you are a minor and cannot legally enter contracts.

 

[The_Dutchess]

Would it make it legal if my mother signed her name AND I did?
It doesn't matter to much anyway, it's mostly just to keep things clear of what I will and will not do. Before, there was just an issue with one "friend" of ours who wanted a refund after a rabbit stopped eating when it got to her house.

 

[ladysown]

having expectations clear is always a good thing.

 

[macksmom98]

I like this and am going to do one if I ever have more kits (yes we are still trying with no luck so far).....the only things I will say are that even with a legal and binding contract, it may not actually do much for you in a legal situation. I like that there is an attempt to establish guidelines and expectations, and to educate newbies who may not know much about rabbits, but if push came to shove it's likely all situational.
And for mine I am going to list the brand and name of the feed we use, and where we buy ours, but I am not going to list other feeds that could be an option. Here's why. I always send new bunny owners with a ziplock full of my feed anyway. And I really want them to keep using that same kind for a while. The other reason is that I can't be there to check every bag for any possible signs of mold or abnormalities. For me it's less risky to say what I use, oats, and hay rather than open myself up to lesser known brands. But that's all personal preference and I don't think it's a bad thing, just not the way I am going to word mine. And yes, some may be frustrated that there is only one option, but what I buy isn't super expensive and doesn't have any colorful or flavored parts.
It's pretty plain jane. Anyone wanting to complain about the cost would probably be sacrificing their bunnies health going with a cheaper food anyway......

 

[AprilW]

I tried doing a contract that buyers had to sign. It turned some people away from the sale. Here is a response I posted 2 years ago when someone needed help with a health guarantee:

I guess it depends on what all you guarantee. Do you only sell pets or if you sell for breeding: will you guarantee the rabbit if it doesn't produce a litter? Put in a clause that you are not responsible for vet fees if they decide to take the rabbit to a veterinarian. Are you willing to refund or replace the rabbit - under what circumstances?


I offered a guarantee years ago, but I don't like them because people are finicky. My current sales policy is as follows "Rabbits are sold as is with no guarantees of any kind. The buyer is encouraged to check the rabbit thoroughly before purchase. We offer no refunds or replacements. If you find you are no longer able to care for the rabbit, we will take it back at any time after sale."

I am always available to answer questions and have posted numerous breed-specific articles and documents on my website for people to reference. Providing a printed care sheet is great and you could even include a page or section that includes your sales policies. It wouldn't have to be a contract, just a gentle reminder of the process if the buyer needs to return the rabbit.

 

[JJCRabbitry]

I've been doing this quite a while.
I will attach the link to our website, which has our Sales Policy on it.
We require it to be signed, for every bun that leaves here.
It has been modified, and tweaked, to what you see today.

http://flemish21.wixsite.com/jjcrabbitry/sales-policy