Telly why... sell for $5?

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ladysown

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why do people do it?

why do they sell their rabbits for only $5?

I don't get it.

Don't they value what they produce?
 
Everything has plummeted in quality and price! People want cheap!!! They don't care if it's healthy, they don't care if it fits the SOP. They. Don't. Care. They. Want. Cheap. Period.
Not worth for most people to be breeding to sell any animal these days!!
PBs are flooded, crud quality, rabbits, sheep, goats and birds are all crud, worthless. Too many people buy a 'rare' or 'popular' breed and breed it pointlessly for $$$$. They don't care about health, quality, purity. They just want cash.
That is why $5 buys a rabbit of any breed, any size, anything....
 
ladysown":39d93l19 said:
why do people do it?

why do they sell their rabbits for only $5?

I don't get it.

Don't they value what they produce?


Because this is a hobby I can easily afford and recognize that for others it might be hard to get into so I give many of them away for free. If I didn't see any value in them, I would give away any random rabbit to a kid looking to show instead of giving them quality stock. I also would give away show quality stock to the raptor refuge if I didn't see the value from one to the other.
 
so how do you ensure THEY value what you have given them?

if they don't earn it, then the value is often lessened.

But everywhere I turn I see $5 bunnies and it's like why? Makes no sense to me.
 
It's tricky! Supply and demand. It ebbs and flows. There will always be extremes to every pendulum. And trends that cause them to be. Give it enough time and it will swing the other way. No choice and high prices on both the crap and quality.
 
As irresponsible as it is, it all comes down to the almighty yet worthless greenback. If they're not going to use them, it becomes cheaper to sell them for the cost of a value meal than it is to keep on feeding it.

Not condoning it, just stating the facts.

A lot of what we see around here is what we've already described, and it mainly centers around 4-h and FFA kids who want a cheap rabbit for the fair season. They want a rabbit to get them a ribbon, then they're normally done with it, and of course, there is almost always a suitor when there is the least bit of money involved.
 
I've sold a couple of rabbits for $15. I start them at $25 and lower them $5 each week on CL. Only was I can see for people to make money selling $5 rabbits is if they are fed stuff they get for free. I can see people selling them for $5 if they want to get rid of a freeloader. Maybe some people have enough money and just enjoy breeding rabbits. Just a few ideas.
 
ladysown":1n5ortnk said:
so how do you ensure THEY value what you have given them?


I tend to get a judge of people fairly quickly. But either way, I don't feel that giftee understanding the full value of a gift to be a pre-requisite for being generous. If they turn around and breed them and sell those babies for a profit, good for them. I'm more worried about finding my rabbits a good destination based on their potential than determining whether or not someone is worthy of getting one from me.
 
I don't have a problem selling my rabbits for the price I ask - it's definitely more than $5 a rabbit!

People are getting smarter about how they buy pets, because they are getting more educated. That means that people who don't spend the time writing their advertisements and maintaining a website/facebook aren't going to get much attention. People would rather pay more money to buy from a person who knows what they're doing. For the most part.

People who have accidental litters, or who started breeding for the wrong reasons(money, rather than quality and love of the animal) will end up not selling their rabbits because they are mixed, or not marketed correctly. So they lower the price, or reduce to giving them away, simply so they don't have to feed them anymore.

There are also those who don't want their rabbits to end up as reptile food, and think that attaching a price tag to them makes them immune.
 
I will admit I sell some at near that price...but that is as a bulk set to someone that sells them for 20+ as pets..I do it to help feed my other rabbits. I wouldn't sell them directly to a final buyer at that price since I agree some people don't value a pet they get that cheaply. Now if an honest person came saying I need 5 or 6 rabbits around _random_ size for my snakes, or other animals...yeah I might cut them a deal to...for the least friendly kits in the bunch >.> but these are all culls or the offspring of the remnants of my mutt rabbits; not my pedigreed, possible show stock rabbits.
 
A rabbit of any size sold for five bucks is a "loss".
You "might" be making your feed money back, but that's about it.
You're giving away your time and effort.

Those that come knocking on my door wanting "cheap" rabbits,
never make it down to the rabbitry. They're sent on their way.

I rarely sell live rabbits and when I do, it's only to folks
wanting to start raising stock for their own consumption or
selling fryers to processors.

"WHY?" do folks sell rabbits so cheaply?
In my opinion it's just to dump a bunch
they don't want to fool with. And, they're
willing to take a loss so their feed bill
will be reduced. I've seen that happen a lot.

They don't stay in rabbits very long when they start doing this.
Their days are numbered before they fold.

grumpy.
 
I would think they are not serious breeders but had an 'oops' litter or just wanted to have baby bunnies and don't know what to do with them now.

At $5 they probably don't care about the type of home they go to or if they are used for reptile food they just want them gone. 90% of my pets over the years have been this type of animal. I've never bought horse although I've owned 4, I've never bought a dog until last year, I never bought my Netherland Dwarfs that I did 4-H and showing with as a kid. There are a whole lot of cheap / free animals everywhere, not just rabbits, the Internet has just made it easier to find them.
 
I've found that as a standard, my large breed rabbits consume approximately $7 a rabbit before they hit 8 weeks of age. Typically, if I am trying to move an animal quickly and it is young, I will ask$15 for bucks and $20 for does. I did this when selling out of my rex kits, as I wanted them gone quickly, though everyone who purchased a kit paid the extra $5 for a pedigree on top of the asking price. This way if they wanted pedigreed stock and wanted to pay for it, they could. Otherwise, they could just pay pet prices. I did sell one adult for $25, and the others didn't sell so they ended up in the freezer. I have only done this with short hair breeds, or meat mutts.

I value my angoras too much to let them go for less than what I ask ($50 up depending on animal), but my angoras are my primary breed, and unless I feel they are absolute quality, they don't leave my property. I have gifted some before to help out friends, but this is rare.

That being said, I may feel $15 or $20 is very cheap for a quality rabbit, even a well built mutt, but I can't understand selling for $5. I would rather eat them.
 
I have gifted rabbits to other breeders. But I won't sell a $5 rabbit. It's worth more as rabbit meat for the dogs.
I think people who don't have any outlet and want to get rid of them quickly sell for $5.
 
I have 2 places I go to get stock for my meat program. I pay between $10 and $15 per rabbit.

I don't sell ANY of mine for less than $20, even as pets.
 
I have sold for $5.00 before.
some I just don't want to eat. or kill to feed my dogs.if my freezer is too full.
some are either just too sweet or have been too good of mothers but I want to move out due to wanting to keep younger show buns or bring in new bloodlines. At time they are GCHs.

$5.00 can get me a nice,dressed cooked chicken at Sam's club that will last 4 meals or more.
 
phillinley":2hbwvozp said:
ladysown":2hbwvozp said:
so how do you ensure THEY value what you have given them?


I tend to get a judge of people fairly quickly. But either way, I don't feel that giftee understanding the full value of a gift to be a pre-requisite for being generous. If they turn around and breed them and sell those babies for a profit, good for them. I'm more worried about finding my rabbits a good destination based on their potential than determining whether or not someone is worthy of getting one from me.

I think the point is: that which you pay for, you value. You take care of it more if it cost you something in the getting. I saw that as a teen buying my first car -- the kids in the school parking lot doing wheelies and burning rubber were the one's who were given their vehicle from Mommie & Daddie and didn't have to work for those tires or for their replacements. Those of us who did, didn't burn rubber. We have created a society of takers who do nothing and expect everything and value nothing that they take. It's just so much "stuff" to be replaced by other stuff as their whims demand.

I'd rather put a good rabbit in the freezer than sell it for $5 or $10. If the person does value it enough to pay a reasonable price for it, they won't care enough to take care of it. They will also consider that free, or $5 rabbit very disposable.

If that 4-Her wants a rabbit for show but can't afford to pay for it--how are they going to afford to feed it? If Mommie & Daddie won't fork out a decent price for a decent rabbit, let the kid help clean the rabbit barn for X number of times to earn it. Teach them the value of things instead of teaching them that things get given for nothing....
 
that is not true. there are many people who value things/animals that they have gotten free or inexpensively.

and their are many who throw away what they have paid high doller for.

it is about the type of person not the amount of $.
 
I agree with Frecs. There may be exceptions, but overall I believe that people do value things more (and money itself) if they have to earn it. I see it with my own kids and their frugality with money. They earn every penny, hesitate to spend it frivolously, and have a pride of ownership that is seldom seen in something given for little or no effort.

I would not sell a rabbit for five dollars- although I have given some away to a friend in exchange for help butchering.
 
At $5. a rabbit the breeder takes a loss. I've had a email from " future 4-H rabbit breeder" asking for me to sell him meat mutts for $5. After a laugh and a what is he serious I sent back a email telling him what rabbits he would need for that and prices with a $5. Discount for FFA and 4-H kids. Never heard back. If someone wants quality healthy animals then they need to pay the price. At $5 a rabbit that's taking a meal away from my family with nothing to show for it.
 
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