Nobody wants them :(

[preciousgurl63]

Why does it seem like no one wants to buy any of my bucks. I have 3 that I've posted a little bit of everywhere including town n country and rural king but still no response. Its not like I'm asking $50 for them. I'm only asking $10 since they are only pet quility but still nobody wants one. I don't get it. When I had them posted at 4 wks I had a lot of people interested but now nobody. They need a home to call their own and be loved. I can't keep them all. I already decided to keep one buck for a friend and might keep another since his a blue tort. I just don't get way nobody wants these guys. Its sad. They are only 10wks old so its not like they are over a yr old. I just don't know.

 

[ckcs]

Have you posted on craigslist? Possibly take them to a Tractor Supply Poultry Swap if you have a TSC in your area. I'm not sure what type of rabbit they are (mini rex?) but at $10 if would seem someone would scoop them up for a snake or meat (if they are larger). I try not to lower my price below $15 on my Lionheads to keep them from snakes. Usually I sell them at $25 sometime $20 if they don't sell within a week or two. I have a hard time moving my bucks sometimes. I tell people the boys are nicer in my experience but everyone wants a doe. Another problem you may have if the market is flooded with rabbits around me. A lot of Easter regrets and a lot of springtime breeders.

 

[preciousgurl63]

Yes I've even posted them on craigslist but still nothing. I just don't get it. I know if they would have had pedigrees they all would of done been gone but they don't

And yes they are mini rex. I don't want to lower my price below $10 but how its looking I might have too

I don't have a tractor suppy close enough or I would post them up. I just hope soon someone will want them and come take them to a good home.

 

[Prisma]

Are you advertising them for pet only? If not listed as just for sale or for pet/other purposes then you may not have any one that would use them for other purposes to email. I saw one on FB ask about some rabbits only to have their head bitten off when they said they wanted to eat them, the seller was anti-rabbit butcher no matter what.

Should also be ready to keep them for months. I still have a buck from January that I want to sell, brood quality holland lop black otter. He just didn't turn out the way I'd hoped he would. Unless you are willing to other purpose them yourself, some times you have to keep them for quite a while before they will sell too.

 

[JessicaR]

I have a hard time selling rabbits too. It took me 2 months to finally sell the 2 lionhead does I had and I had to sell them for 10 each. I even have trouble selling the babies. But people will by them from Rural King for $14.

 

[BusterHill]

I try to hold the same standards to my rabbits as I do my chickens, if they dont sell you cant be afraid to eat them :/ You will waste more money feeding them and keeping them to sell than you will ever make back (esp if your selling them at 10 bucks) I sell my pets for no less than 20, the meat bunny breeds go for no less than 25... I price that way because their meat means more to me than the revenue, but selling one once in a while will buy a bad of feed... I dont like killing them, but once they hit 14 weeks, thats my limit (unless i lack time to do it lol) but I figure I put a lot more feed into them than I'll get back in cash... It helps keep numbers down, the feed bill down, freezer full, and I can have no limit to my breeding, so if someone comes along looking for something, I'll have it... I only keep the ones around worth breeding, so if someone wants something breedable, they are pulling from my broodies, and they shouldnt have to worry about quality either, imo makes for a happier customer (but proven does/bucks run more pricy)

 

[Peach]

I just go ahead and eat my culls if they don't sell after a X amount of time. Show quality to pets. Like BusterHill said above, you're going to waste time,money, and feed having them sit in the barn.

So if culling is something you aren't opposed to, it's something to consider.

That's the way it is unfortunately, especially if your area's market is over saturated. (which might be adding to why they can't sell)

 

[JessicaR]

In my case, I have no problem eating the new zealands, but I just cant bring myself to cull the lionheads, they are just to cute and fluffy Which is one of the reasons why we are down to a breeding pair of LH and they might only be bred 1-2 times a year.

 

[preciousgurl63]

Well I found 2 of them a home now I have just the black tort buck. I also have a blue tort now because I have decided not to keep him even though his beautiful.

 

[akane]

It's hard to sell adult rabbits as pets. Even mini rex can be extremely difficult to sell in some areas. We went to raising netherland dwarf because the mini rex wouldn't sell. Everyone wanted a "dwarf" rabbit and all the petstores label everything as dwarf even obvious dutch and various small lops. Even if you have desirable pet rabbits and a good pet market in the area there will still be some that you have to cull another way. It's a problem with raising any animal. There will always be some that do not find a home and you have to decide what you'll do about it. Eventually if you can't part with them except to good homes you will have your breeding program restricted to make space. Many rabbit shows have cull buyers if you can't butcher them yourself.

 

[preciousgurl63]

Well none of them are adult rabbits yet. They are only 10wks old. If I don't sell the blue tort I won't be upset because I do love his color and how sweet he is but I just don't have the space right now. I'm getting a doe this weekend that is taking that spot.

 

[azbowhunter]

Increase your prices to $25, and they'd sell.
It's perceived value that you're running into.
By pricing so low, the perceived value isn't there.
Increase your prices to increase the perceived value of the rabbit.

 

[akane]

That hasn't worked for me with anything. Tried to sell horses years ago at what would have been former market value before the industry crashed and now I'm just trying to find them a good home for like $300 each to pay my surgery deductible. Tried to sell chinchillas at moderate prices. A lot lower than the show breeders, which can go up to $700, but still over $100 for common colors and $150-200 for others. Sold 1 so far. I've listed rabbits everywhere from $50-$10 and it makes no difference. If people want them they pay whatever for them. Even the people who will pick up animals cheap or free just because it seems like a good deal don't touch the rabbits. I gave up listing them with prices. I just keep listings out for what I breed and people interested contact me to ask prices. I have far less tire kicking by not trying to list a price and nearly everyone that does contact me, usually from researching a specific breed and local breeders, does buy one at the price I first ask.

 

[jimmywalt]

I sell everything on Craigslist and always have had GREAT luck. From Rabbits to kids toys to cages to bikes, etc, etc. It's all how you market it. Marketing is everything!!!

You're pictures look great make sure to include them. Also post on Craigslist in Farm & Garden, General & Pets. Then do those 3 areas again in any other craigslist cities around you.

For your title use "Very cute and adorable 10 week old baby bunnies"...... Don't put a PRICE in the box by the heading. Make the reader forced to read your post to find the price, then don't put your price until the very end. Get rid of the names in your pictures - people want to name them by themselves. They shouldn't look like they were already your pets that you named. Also don't put in the sex, let people contact you after they fall in love with the bunny in the picture! Then sell them about how the males are so friendly and you don't need to worry about them having unexpected babies. Talk it up and sell them on how they WANT and NEED these bunnies. Always use "Bunnies" too - "Rabbits" sound generic and old.

I'd put something like this.........
---------
Blue Tort & Black Tort Mini Rex. These bunnies are only 10 weeks old and ready to go. Very friendly and will make great pets, breeders or even for 4-H. These bunnies have been handled by my children daily and are great with kids.

Only $25 cash. Pick up in xxxx (your city). Don't forget a box or cage to transport them in.

Keywords - MiniRex, Mini Rex, bunny, bunnies, rabbit, rabbits, 4H, 4-H, 4 H.
---------

Use the word "Only" (only $25 cash). These words are what retailers use to make the buyer "think" that they are getting one heck of a deal!

Put in the "Keywords" so that anyone that is just "searching" CL will find your post. Doing this is PRICELESS.

Post something like I posted above in the 3 areas, then post it again in the other CL cities near where you are located. I always write my ad up in Word so that I can just cut and paste it into the next listing. Make's it easy and everything uniform. Also does spell check so that people don't laugh if you spell something wrong.

If they don't sell within about 10 days DELETE your posting and write up a NEW ad with NEW pictures. Don't "repost" to get to the top of the list because each repost shows how many days it's been since your ORIGINAL posting. If people see that you have had this ad for 28 days (for example) then there is no URGENCY on their part to contact you quick and purchase them before someone else snatches them up. You need to get them into a "feeding frenzy" so that they purchase TODAY. Also don't hold them till tomorrow for someone since 95% of people NEVER FOLLOW THROUGH or forget. Somehow get them to purchase TODAY before they change their minds. Ask them where they are coming from (where they live) and if it's close by just say "Oh well I only live about 10 minutes from you"...... Get it in their mind that they can come RIGHT NOW!

That's how you sell on CL. I've had great luck doing this for the past 4 or 5 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck!!!

 

[Miss M]

Increase your prices to $25, and they'd sell.
It's perceived value that you're running into.
By pricing so low, the perceived value isn't there.
Increase your prices to increase the perceived value of the rabbit.

We did this once, when we were having a yard sale. My husband took an old set of speakers and rewired them with some extra wire he had. Put them on the table for $5, which I thought a bit low, but figured they'd sell quickly. The tag even noted that they were newly wired and worked.

Nope. Person after person picked them up and looked at them carefully, then put them back down and kept going.

I finally leaned over to Shay and told him I thought they were priced too low. People thought there was something wrong with them. So he raised the price to $10, and they sold within 5 minutes. :lol:

 

[Prisma]

I went to a TSC swap today, rabbits for $5-$10 were selling like crazy. I had some MR babies at 8 weeks old (chocolate, chocolate otter, black otter, black...possible vc/vms sadly) was offering for $30 each with pedigree. Price doesn't matter if people are buying around here. Another thing is how are the other breeders in the area selling that are pets? How do their rabbits look compared to yours? I had several people stop to look and ooh over, but because mine were much smaller (others were meat crosses, larger lionhead crosses averaging 4-5lbs in size ugh) it was an issue, they expected a cali/nz/flemish and lh/flemish/cali to be the same size as them if they were the same age .

Even better typed pets sell easier than not, and in WV/OH/PA/MD areas there are some nice MR around offered for pets. MR are a just a hard sell around my area 90% of the time. Meat rabbits or ones butcher size are catching on again and a decline in others is happening again too, seems to happen every 2 years or so this happens. Doesn't mean I'm going to change my prices, I think what I charge is fair value and is comparable to what I paid for the same quality. Like others have pointed out, selling too cheap can cut your throat just as bad as selling too high. I tried offering cheap rabbits (pets $5-10 each, broods and ones that could be shown for $20-30) but I got people that just didn't take care of them more often or thought there was some thing wrong because they were cheaper than others they'd looked at even if they were better typed/friendlier and had pedigrees. Every one has a different strategy for their area, knowing your market is key, like as I already said I've pretty well figured I'd keep mine for a couple months or if I decide I don't want to any more they can be used for other purposes. Have you looked at what's selling in your area and for how much? What are some breeders you know selling their pets for in the area? When I started getting better MR and HL this time last year to start over, I was told to charge at LEAST what I paid IF same quality so as to not cheapen the bloodline I was buying, keep the market strong, and not try to under cut the breeder I purchased from by offering relations to their stock at a lower price. I guess I will see this year how it goes as it looks like I'll actually have several to sell before the year is out, if the rest of my planned breedings go well that is and grow outs turn out nicely. All you can do is keep trying, be patient, and be persistent.

 

[ckcs]

One thing I attribute my rabbits selling quickly are lots of nice photos. I max out the 24 photos. I also incorporate rabbit rabbits bunny and bunnies in the title as the search won't pick up the plurals. When I search on craigslist I search for rabbit|rabbits|bunny|bunnies like that to pick up all 4 names. I post in the farm area and the pets area. I've seen local sellers of the same breed (lionheads) that flood craigslist with ads. Judging by how long I see that ads (which are being renewed) they are not moving them as easy as I am. From a SOP perspective their rabbits are better than mine. I personally don't like Lionheads with large pronounced manes, especially around the face. I think it distract from their beauty. I get why that is the standard, just not a fan of it. For the pet market big manes don't seem to help sales in my experience.

Mini Rex to me are awesome rabbits but much of their appreciation comes when you touch them. Sadly it seems that if people aren't familiar with the fur and can't experience the feel of it they aren't drawn to them. I was shocked when an ad for standard rex appeared around here. I had never seen them for sale before locally and haven't seen them offered since then. The person was asking $14 for them and it took months for them to sell or be eaten. I was floored because I thought they would sell so fast it would have made your head spin.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I think Mini Rex are a hard sell to anyone who isn't already in love with Mini Rex. Which is sad and frustrating because I love the squishy little Mini Rex!!! I'm anxious over one of my own...a Breezy kit, a nice purebred with a thundering pedigree...but he has giant honkin' mule ears. I would love to sell him as a pet, but he's got the rotten luck of being a Mini Rex (which in my area is impossible to sell unless show quality, which he is certainly NOT) and the even worse luck of being REW (which a lot of pet buyers view as "creepy" looking), so I comisserate.

For what it's worth, your rabbits are adorable.....and people can be so dumb about buying pets sometimes.

 

[skysthelimit]

In in Ohio too, and the further up North you are, the harder it is to sell anything.

Basically CL here has quite a few give away rabbits, generally lops. Why buy when you can get them free. And then they want them free with cages. The rabbit business it so low TSC told me they are out of food because no one really buys rabbit food there.

So I cull almost everything I raise.


But I still post my ads.

You could try peds nd shows, but I'm sure you know how competitive MR are.

 

[preciousgurl63]

Well I'm all new to the breeding MR's. And I now see how hard it is to sell them. I still have the 3 that nobody seems to want. I'm going to give it another week and see if anyone wants then I'm either giving them away or culling them.