Need advice about Craigslist sale

[Blakie83]

Hi Rabbit family I need some advice on how to handle a kind of sensitive situation.
I raise beautiful rare breed rabbits yes I'm hard to find in my area of the United States. Long story short I posted them on Craigslist I got a hit from this nice younger couple who wanted this rabbit at the pet. The parents have papers but this is the best litter I've had and probably 5 years, but as you know we can't keep all of them so I posted them for $50 the last two remaining. They came over and were interested before they saw them in two but then saw how large they are 4 months only decided to get one I actually wanted to keep one so it worked out pretty well.

They had a rabbit for 16 years or something like that they told me so I figured they know how to take care of animals. I got a message later that evening saying that the rabbit wasn't eating and I'm like well that's pretty normal seeing as if you just got the rabbit earlier today probably getting a custom and the customer was like oh I didn't ask you what kind of food to eat something like I have it on 16% pellets by Blue seal and I see that grass from outside clover or party grass clippings no iceburg make sure you look up the stuff before you give it to them, obviously carrots as trees and other vegetables blah blah...

My animals are very healthy. I got a message around midnight saying that the rabbit had passed away out of nowhere it was hopping around fine and then it just laid down and passed away with liquid coming out of the snow got into anything they said no he did they said no. I just don't know how to go about the situation but I do have the other rabbit but I feel something fishy going on cuz in 20 years of selling rabbits I've never had someone message me things that rabbit died like that fast that was in such robust health. I feel rude asking for a picture. And insensitive.

And the advice? They seem like really nice people and I don't want to and saw anybody I just want to make sure if I do till then or give them a deal in another rabbit it doesn't happen again in my ad on Craigslist does have posted that all sales our final.


Any advice would help

Thank you

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I'd suggest not giving them another one of your rabbits, especially if they haven't told you what happened

 

[Blakie83]

I know if they want to refund or what they want they showed me a picture the rabbits laying dead with the bubble coming out of its nose, said that happened when they moved it I don't know what could have caused it to die so suddenly

 

[PoppyLapine]

Definitely

Hi Rabbit family I need some advice on how to handle a kind of sensitive situation.
I raise beautiful rare breed rabbits yes I'm hard to find in my area of the United States. Long story short I posted them on Craigslist I got a hit from this nice younger couple who wanted this rabbit at the pet. The parents have papers but this is the best litter I've had and probably 5 years, but as you know we can't keep all of them so I posted them for $50 the last two remaining. They came over and were interested before they saw them in two but then saw how large they are 4 months only decided to get one I actually wanted to keep one so it worked out pretty well.

They had a rabbit for 16 years or something like that they told me so I figured they know how to take care of animals. I got a message later that evening saying that the rabbit wasn't eating and I'm like well that's pretty normal seeing as if you just got the rabbit earlier today probably getting a custom and the customer was like oh I didn't ask you what kind of food to eat something like I have it on 16% pellets by Blue seal and I see that grass from outside clover or party grass clippings no iceburg make sure you look up the stuff before you give it to them, obviously carrots as trees and other vegetables blah blah...

My animals are very healthy. I got a message around midnight saying that the rabbit had passed away out of nowhere it was hopping around fine and then it just laid down and passed away with liquid coming out of the snow got into anything they said no he did they said no. I just don't know how to go about the situation but I do have the other rabbit but I feel something fishy going on cuz in 20 years of selling rabbits I've never had someone message me things that rabbit died like that fast that was in such robust health. I feel rude asking for a picture. And insensitive.

And the advice? They seem like really nice people and I don't want to and saw anybody I just want to make sure if I do till then or give them a deal in another rabbit it doesn't happen again in my ad on Craigslist does have posted that all sales our final.


Any advice would help

Thank you

I definitely wouldn't offer a refund or new rabbit, I only offer that to friends or family, who would tell me exactly what happened. And that would be a good idea to start stating all sales are final, just as a protection.
As for what happened to the rabbit, since you would the health of your rabbit and it was literally a day out of your home, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it could have been 1 of 2 things. Maybe, since they were concerned about it eating (which is weird to me for someone to be so concerned when they just got the rabbit), they may have either tried to force it to drink or watered down food and tried to make it eat, then it exasperated. Or maybe they decided to bathe it and it inhaled water... no matter what, to me in sounds like fluid in the lungs and exasperation happened.... it would be nice if people were honest, even if they did something on accident thinking it was fine... Could have been just a weird fluke thing, but those are my thoughts.

 

[Mini Lop Mama]

In scenarios like this, I typically would offer a full refund. But since your situation is quite odd and you know this rabbit was in excellent health, I would offer a half refund, and perhaps a discounted rabbit in the future. Part of owning a business is being gracious and easy to work with. You don't want to add any sores to your name as a breeder. I typically offer refund and such within the first few days to a week.
Did you say your rabbit was four months? This is even more odd then. It's health would surely be settled and confirmed. My typical refund and discount offer has always applied to a 7 week old, nothing CLOSE to four months.

It certainly is an odd situation. Do your best to be workable and flexible to your customer. I would not give them the other rabbit. Just see how you can move around money.

 

[ladysown]

having sold tons of pet bunnies... I don't offer refunds. I do sometimes ask for the body of the rabbit back so I can do an necropsy on it to see what might have happened.

I would ask a ton of questions like "did the rabbit have a bowl or bottle?" "did you give it a bath? What did you attempt to feed it? etc etc. Tons of questions and see if you can ask the question in a different way to see how the answers line up. If something seems off, go with your gut, if something feels like maybe it was just a one off and you didn't for instance know the rabbit had a heart condition (I've had that in the past)... then you offer a partial refund.

I have never had a breeder offer any sort of a refund on a rabbit for any reason, live, dead, wrong gender, nothing.

 

[CedarRidge]

Go with your gut and what makes you happy. You're the one who has to be content when this is all over. Is $50 going to be a show stopper for you? It might, it might not. Is your concern about them getting one over on you? It might, it might not. Sometimes we just need to stand firm and hold our ground. Other times, the angst and aggravation that comes with the drama isn't worth it and we just cut our losses and move on. Not every battle must be won. I will say this, if you decide to offer a refund, or some variation thereof, I under no means (without a plausible explanation of the circumstances or 100% certainty they are good parents) offer them or sell them another rabbit. Even if they came back at some point in the future and said they wanted to try again.

 

[Sunshine Rabbits]

I usually send some of their normal feed with them so they can wean the rabbit onto the new stuff without much issue. That may be helpful for you to do in the future, though I'm not sure if that's what caused the rabbit to get so sick.

 

[RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN]

Hi Rabbit family I need some advice on how to handle a kind of sensitive situation.
I raise beautiful rare breed rabbits yes I'm hard to find in my area of the United States. Long story short I posted them on Craigslist I got a hit from this nice younger couple who wanted this rabbit at the pet. The parents have papers but this is the best litter I've had and probably 5 years, but as you know we can't keep all of them so I posted them for $50 the last two remaining. They came over and were interested before they saw them in two but then saw how large they are 4 months only decided to get one I actually wanted to keep one so it worked out pretty well.

They had a rabbit for 16 years or something like that they told me so I figured they know how to take care of animals. I got a message later that evening saying that the rabbit wasn't eating and I'm like well that's pretty normal seeing as if you just got the rabbit earlier today probably getting a custom and the customer was like oh I didn't ask you what kind of food to eat something like I have it on 16% pellets by Blue seal and I see that grass from outside clover or party grass clippings no iceburg make sure you look up the stuff before you give it to them, obviously carrots as trees and other vegetables blah blah...

My animals are very healthy. I got a message around midnight saying that the rabbit had passed away out of nowhere it was hopping around fine and then it just laid down and passed away with liquid coming out of the snow got into anything they said no he did they said no. I just don't know how to go about the situation but I do have the other rabbit but I feel something fishy going on cuz in 20 years of selling rabbits I've never had someone message me things that rabbit died like that fast that was in such robust health. I feel rude asking for a picture. And insensitive.

And the advice? They seem like really nice people and I don't want to and saw anybody I just want to make sure if I do till then or give them a deal in another rabbit it doesn't happen again in my ad on Craigslist does have posted that all sales our final.


Any advice would help

Thank you

I had a customer who wanted two rabbits for meat breeding purposes. I sold them a young doe and buck. I received an email the next day saying, “When I brought the rabbit home, it had a little fur missing on its back, and now it’s gotten bigger!” I was sure the rabbit had no missing fur when I sold it. I asked for a picture, and there was a big spot of missing fur on its back. I started asking questions: “Is the bunny outside or inside? Is the rabbit in with any other rabbits? Have you seen him pulling it out?” The rabbit had no bugs; we were both sure of that. It turns out she had him inside with toys and stuffed animals. She asked for a meat breeder, not a pet. So I said, “He is probably stressed out from being pampered and is pulling out his fur.” She said that she was going to make outdoor cages on the weekend. It’s just funny how people think that a meat rabbit, who has had a simple life, can be pampered the next second and be totally fine with it.

 

[CedarRidge]

I had a customer who wanted two rabbits for meat breeding purposes. I sold them a young doe and buck. I received an email the next day saying, “When I brought the rabbit home, it had a little fur missing on its back, and now it’s gotten bigger!” I was sure the rabbit had no missing fur when I sold it. I asked for a picture, and there was a big spot of missing fur on its back. I started asking questions: “Is the bunny outside or inside? Is the rabbit in with any other rabbits? Have you seen him pulling it out?” The rabbit had no bugs; we were both sure of that. It turns out she had him inside with toys and stuffed animals. She asked for a meat breeder, not a pet. So I said, “He is probably stressed out from being pampered and is pulling out his fur.” She said that she was going to make outdoor cages on the weekend. It’s just funny how people think that a meat rabbit, who has had a simple life, can be pampered the next second and be totally fine with it.

We've had rabbits we purchased take up to 6 months to get used to us to the point they will relax and even show excitement when we are around. Some much sooner, but certainly not a few days or even a week or two.