What is a fair price for Dutch Rabbits

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Mrr

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Abbotsford, British Columbia
I recently bought a purebred Dutch doe and her two kits, and while I'm keeping the doe for breeding, I'm going to need to sell the two young'uns.. Problem is, I'm new to Dutch rabbits and I'm not sure what a fair price would be to sell them for. I don't see any listings in my area for purebred Dutch that might give me some kind of indication.. Could anyone help?

Also, a friend of mine has a litter of Dutch/Netherland dwarf mixes and was asking me what to list them for.. What's a fair price for a mix? I've seen purebred ND's go for ~$100-120, and I've seen Dutch/ND cross buns go for $80.. (Keep in mind these are Canadian dollars)

What would you say are fair prices for both a purebred Dutch kit and a ND/Dutch mix?
 
It really depends on the area. I highly suggest picking up a few papers and scouring the online ads as well as any pet shops within driving or walking distance for a base price. It also depends on how quickly (or if you care they sell at all). The cheaper, to a point, the quicker sell but the cheaper price point usually brings more unfit attention and those that are buying with no knowledge and little care...although not always its been my experience its the vast majority sadly. Cheap can also work against you, some people consider a price tag the "worth" of the animal...high price tag must be really well cared for and cheap not so much cared for despite appearances.

In my area they range from free to several hundred US dollars, I'm considering all touching states in this figure. This is with pedigree and show career as well as none for pure dutch. Crosses are any where from again free to 50/60 within state, if you go a few states around it goes from free to 80 being a max. I don't know the conversion ratio though :/

If you use RT's search option, there is a sellers guide that lists many states and breeds in the US prices that RTers offer their rabbits for which may help.

Whatever you decide, stick to it. It can be very frustrating and confusing (for you and buyers) if constantly flipping prices, for example I have X rabbit priced at 30 but then reduce to 10 then raise to 45...for no reason. WHILE it is perfectly within your right as the seller to do such, it drives potential buyers away. This doesn't mean if you have a young rabbit for sale at x price, keep it for months, and you think they are worth more and want to raise the price you shouldn't or vis versa.
 
Ahh thank you so much Rebel Rose.. And thank you for not judging me for my post. I posted in another rabbit forum that I'm apart of and I got ripped into for considering selling dutch rabbits without champion bloodlines. I'm not trying to be irresponsible by selling - I have spent the last 5 years working in pit bull rescue, so I know the whole breed vs adopt argument quite well. Quite frankly, while we're trying to ensure that we only breed healthy, quality rabbits, we're getting into the dwarf breeds to try and help my boyfriend's family achieve farm status (by means of selling a certain number of rabbits and ducks). Plus, I personally love the size and look of dwarf breeds. If that sounds horrible, I'm sorry :oops:

The problem that I'm having is that I can't find purebred dutch for sale ANYWHERE. I've even done a province wide search and at best have come up with dutch mixes for $20. Its making it really hard for me to get an idea of price. Now its making my boyfriend and I wonder if we made the right choice regarding breed. Either the lack of availability could be beneficial to us - little supply in the area could mean that people might not be able to find them very easily and will want to buy from us.. OR, they just plain aren't very popular and we're going to have a hard time selling. We're wondering if we should have stuck to Netherland Dwarves instead..
 
You're welcome...not every one can afford what others think it should be to get started. There's nothing wrong with wanting to find a cheap healthy rabbit as long as seller and buyer are on same terms ;)

Doesn't sound horrible at all. We all love our rabbits, no matter their purpose despite the argument that gets tossed around (by the same people as the "adopt don't shop" group to the best of my knowledge and what I've had told).

Only time will tell, along with some creative advertising. Any free source you feel comfortable using could be of use, there's some posts on that too here :) I use Facebook, Hoobly, and 3 local pay papers that have free advertising as well as the state agriculture paper. You might check into those sorts of things. Some others use Craigslist (be careful about your location and personal information of course as with any stranger as not all are friendly as it seems you've already found out, again sadly) or even radio. There is a local station that does call in ads for a few hours 2 days a week here, so far I've either not been available or had nothing to sell to use it...BUT with all sales I use either a cell phone or email as contact. Unless I know the person or have very good refs, no house number or address. I don't think its as big a problem there as here, but there is a small growing force of "save the rabbit" clan when it comes to those who want to use for any purpose.

You might consider too, since its hard getting a starting price, to sit down and figure how much it has cost you to keep them and what it looks like it will cost for future keep. For example, I raise 2 MR does that I decide to sell at 3 months old. I first decide how long I'm going to run them for sale. I figure cost for feeding the doe/buck used for breeding for a month, 3 months of feed for the 2 does, and any other costs I incurred specifically for them (vits, supps, first aid things, show fees if they've been shown). Then I look at what the parents cost me. I figure in a certain percentage of what the parents cost me to those 2 does (at this moment its been 10% or 20% of parental cost). I figure how much it is going to cost me to keep them during the time I have them posted, typically at least 30 days, and add that to the cost. I add in $20.00 for my time, energy spent, and cage space they're taking up. IF the price is not as much as what I've paid for the parents (and they are at least as nice as them), I ask at least the same. I do not under cut those that sold to me or cheapen a blood line. You could also just use that as a starting point, consider what you paid and how much in feed they've consumed, adjust as need be. Granted there are some here that if I do sell I'll never be able to charge or recoup most of what they've cost me, but that's okay. I also consider what I'm willing to pay if I was being offered the one I'm selling. If I wouldn't pay what I've figured, then I question why and adjust accordingly. Not every rabbit I produce gets sold or is worth selling...is that some thing you've considered or is a possibility? I have no idea if your vegan or what not, but many look at terminal possibilities with that too. If the farm status allows for that, it might help too.

One more thought, IF in the end you cannot sell as you want and are completely out of options, you could go for a terminal cull buyer that buys for food or feed purposes. Lots of RAW and BARF feeders here like getting healthy culls at not so store prices. If you go to shows there are also some times buyers there. Granted, prices for such are usually no ways near what others are...but its another option of sales IF it doesn't cause problems with your farm status want and you can deal with such. I would find terminal buyers before it is a need though, that way you have several to check in with and bounce to if one doesn't need any at the time you have some that must go.
 
I agree with Rebel Rose, pick a price you are comfortable with.

I would add that, in my opinion, selling a breed more rare in your area may end up depending a lot on your marketing. Great pictures, great ad, lots of info, and the right timing. Where I live, timing plays a huge part. You have sold buns before, and I am sure you have ideas about your area. I would use these two kits as a test of the market to see if Dutch will sell where you are. Give them every advantage you can for their sale and see how it goes.

Good luck!
 
Thank you so much you guys! This has been great to read all of your feedback.

So I ended settling on a price of $60 for the buns. I feel it's a fair price - especially considering that nobody else has them. I sold the little doe the morning after I posted the ad, and had interest in the little buck but the guy tried to talk me down to $40 and got frustrated when I wouldn't take it so he backed out. No interest since then, but it's only been two days so I'm not worried. I'm not looking to just dump them on the first offer so I don't mind holding out.

I've been using Craigslist and Kijiji for the most part, but I'm stuck as to where else I can advertise. I don't think I know of any radio stations around here.. maybe I could find a livestock group or 4H club? Or posters at the supermarket? Also Hoobly might be a good idea like Rebel Rose said. I want to get as much word out as possible.

We've done some talking and we think we miiight switch to Netherland dwarves, as we have a buck lined up and can't find a Dutch buck available anywhere except MAYBE the auction - which I'd rather not do right now. My boyfriend wants to just breed the ND buck to the Dutch female, but I told him that if he's aiming for sales to get farm status, purebred might be the best option? It's so hard to tell what is best right now. If we had the space I'd love to get a pair of each just to see which is better for us, but we accidently bought 4 rabbits last weekend (long story.. my boyfriend doesn't understand auctions and proper paddle holding procedure :shock: ), so now we're desperately trying to clear some space.

Any thoughts?
 
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