The "care guide" on ARBA was made with USDA regulations in mind as far as space goes. It is LESS than $500, so you can do $499 in sales but as soon as you HIT $500 you must already be USDA certified (and a business license will be needed as well, you're no longer exempt). In certain states a business license is required before you hit that limit.
I know because I used to sell to pet shops here frequently. I'd sell until I hit $400 or $450, then quit. Exchanges of goods do count towards that amount (I did that a lot, cause yeah I liked my fish and what not lol). You will also have to know the legal age to sell for that area, not just state restriction but county/zone regulations. There are a FEW places that are older than the state and even some areas that don't allow wire cages (this was a sale I went to BUT it is still possible). Don't take the lady's word for it, find out from an official yourself cause it isn't HER that will be in trouble it will be you.
Make sure you discuss health in depth. Some times no matter how perfect the care or what the new owner says they've done, rabbits get sick or die. It has nothing to do with the breeder, but you'll ultimately be held responsible. Plus if a lot of rabbits leave there, they are from you, and they aren't as hardy as the customer base needs....your going to fail. Ask about what kind of housing people use for rabbits that they get there, what kind of feed they sell the most of, etc. If it isn't in line with your current stock care, it may not work out too well.
Have a WRITTEN agreement is ideal, even if its nothing more than they will call you when they need rabbits and you are being paid x amount per rabbit at time of drop off with x in regards to health.
The pet shops I sold to had no problem with this. It was a simple statement with both signatures on it: X is selling us rabbits at x per rabbit at 8 to 12 weeks of age. X will replace if original rabbit is returned (dead or alive) in the event of a health issue. X will take back any rabbits that reach an non-sellable age/size and exchange for younger rabbits. We will call when we need more rabbits, but understand numbers/breeds available will vary and X does not guarantee availability. We do not guarantee we will buy exclusively from X nor that we will need a specific number of rabbits every month.
TSC did not do that. It was I can in with 8 to 10 rabbits, they purchased for 10 to 15 each on site as seen. No guarantees, no calls, no nothing.
All places used wire set ups and were OK, they provided decent feed and water bottles. They weren't "ideal" but better than sending to auction house and at the time I couldn't stand to process yet.
