Ok, so this has been happening a lot lately. Today, for example, I got a phone call asking if we had any male chinchillas. I said no, we only had a beige female available right now. "Oh, ok, what color is she?" Now, those of you that know me, knows that right there, that would aggravate me, because it shows that people aren't listening. Anyway, I said that she was beige, and they're like, "Oh, is that like white?" No, it's like beige. My passenger in the car said, "it's like tan," so I repeated that, and they were like, "oh, ok, so no males." I told them, not right now, but within the next month or two I should have some becoming available. So, they said ok, they'd call back then.
So, about 5 minutes pass and they call back, asking about the beige female. So they're like "are you still asking $100 for her?" and I told them yeah, that's what we're asking, that's what it says on the site. "Oh, well would you take $60?" I told her no, and she asked why not. I told her, $100 is already less than what people pay at the pet store, and they can live 15-20 years, the purchase price is going to be the cheapest thing they will ever have to spend on the chinchilla. I got an "oh, ok, bye," and that was it.
Now here's what I find amusing. I have someone who will be getting two chins, a cage, and food/accessories for $500+. Well I wouldn't say that's cheap, it's definitely less than the $700+ this all would have cost new from the pet store. But the point is, for some reason, the people who spend that much never seem to ask for a discount. Usually, it's the people who only want to spend a few bucks that ask for the discount. And don't get me wrong, I've had people who aren't spending a ton of money ask for discounts, but it's no big deal when they're asking for $5 off. I had someone, awhile back, who said she wanted to get a guinea pig and a chin, but didn't have the money for them right then, so they wanted to know if I could hold on to one of the animals until they had the money. I asked how much they were going to be short, as I told them I could give them a discount so they could get them both at once (note, this is someone who had adopted before, who I trusted would be taking good care of them). They asked for a $5 discount. I actually emailed back telling me to give me a number I'd actually have to think about. $5 off for a chin and a guinea pig, that's nothing. In the end, she ended up being one of those rare people that I let take the animals partially on credit, and they ended up paying me for them when they got the rest of the money, minus the $5 discount.
The problem becomes when someone wants to halve the price. It's not uncommon for me to have a cage for sale for $200 and someone ask if I'll take $100. Same with this chin. She's for $100 and they wanted to pay $60. Not that money is everything, but there is a point at which I wonder, if you want to only pay $60 for a chin, then are you willing to pay more for a cage? Cause I've run into a lot of people that think, if the pet is $20, the cage should be $10, cause a living thing should cost more than the cage. Believe me, there are people who think like that. And in reality, the cage often is as expensive, or more expensive, than the animal itself.
But what it all comes down to is this -- this isn't a garage sale. People wouldn't go into Petsmart and ask them, how bout $100 for their $150 chin. Likewise, they wouldn't go to the Humane Society, and say, "hey, I know your adoption fee for a puppy is $175, but I'd like to only pay $100, how does that sound?" I feel, if they wouldn't do it there, they shouldn't do it here. At a garage sale, sure, haggle all you want to get the best price, but this is a rescue, not a garage sale.
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