Rabbit Sales Policy

[yamaya17]

I just finished my sales policy, what do you think? anything I should add or take out?



Rabbit Sales Policy
General Policy
Rabbits are sold first come, first serve.
If you find a rabbit you’re interested in, a 50% deposit is required to put that rabbit on hold for you. I can only hold a rabbit for 4 weeks, if the rabbit is not picked up, or if any cancelation occurs, the deposit cannot be refunded and the rabbit will go back up for sale.
Rabbits sold as pets only will not come with their pedigree, only a birth certificate; this is because I prefer them not to be bred
I will not sell rabbits as gifts for children. I have had bad experiences in the past. Therefore, if you wish to purchase a family rabbit an adult in the household must take full responsibility of the animal (this applies to children under 12)
Also because of animals getting abandoned or neglected after the novelty wears off of getting an animal during the holidays, I will not sell rabbits between the dates of: March 30- April 30, or December 20-25, or for gifts for any holiday for that matter. I will only make an exception if I feel comfortable with the sale and that the animal will not be neglected or abandoned after the holidays
These are live animals and I reserve the right to cancel a sale at any time for any reason.
I accept cash and local checks only.
If you can no longer keep your rabbit(s), I will take them back- provided that they do not pose a health risk to my herd. There will be no refund provided. You should plan to include their cage/supplies because I do not always have open cages available. Once your animal(s) are returned, I will evaluate them and they will either stay here or will be re-homed as quickly as possible.

Shipping and Transport

I do not ship rabbits at this time; I will however transport them within an hour’s drive, with a cost of $5/15 Miles. I can always transport a rabbit to a show I’m going to for free, but you may have to wait till the end of the day to receive your rabbit, depending on if they’re entered in the show or not. I do not allow strangers to pick up rabbits from my home/ rabbitry.

Return Policy

It is up to the buyer to check the rabbit for sex, health issues, and overall satisfaction before they purchase a animal. That being said, if for any reason you are unhappy with your rabbit within ten days of purchase I will take the rabbit back and give you a 50% refund or exchange for another rabbit * only if I have a rabbit available to exchange.*This only applies within the ten days of purchase, no refund or exchange will be given if you plan on keeping the rabbit, only if you return it to me. I would be happy to take back a rabbit after the ten days, but no refund or exchange will be given.
If a rabbit dies within 10 days of purchase I will give you a 100% refund or exchange *if available* but only if you have a signed notice from a veterinarian stating the cause of death was not acquired during the ten days the rabbit was in your care. I will not offer a refund or exchange after ten days of the purchase
Guarantee
I do the best I can to provide healthy animals that are honestly represented. I do not guarantee and animal for any reason (show quality, fertility, behavior, health, etc.) I do not sell rabbits less than six weeks old, period. I will do my best to educate new buyers on caring for their rabbit properly, but it is ultimately up to the buyer to provide proper care and husbandry.

 

[OneTwoThree]

I'm a little confused, how is someone supposed to pick out a bunny if they can't see them all? Are you planning on taking all your bunnies to each home that wants to buy one? I also wouldn't buy one that I couldn't see the living conditions of. I've never heard of that before.

And as the breeder, you should be responsible for the sexing and guarantee of no genetic health issues, the buyer isn't going to know what to look for.

 

[yamaya17]

you would be able to see the rabbits on the website im building or at rabbit shows, people wouldnt be aloud to come to my rabbitry because some of the cleanest, and most sanitary rabbitrys ive seen have been shut down because one unknowledgeable person has reported them. Most buyers do go over the rabbit before they sell them, but in the event that they miss something they cannot be held reliable, and it is the buyers responsibilty to read up and educate themselves before going off and buying such a big responsibility. Almost every rabbitry has a "buyer beware"policy because almost every rabbitry has been taken advantage of when it comes to refunding or exchanging animals

 

[wendymac]

While I know EVERY rabbitry site I've gone to has the "no deposit refunded, ever", it's not legal. The buyer of anything has the right, for at least 30 days, to change their mind. At which point any deposit has to be returned. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

Wendy, I'm the same way. I won't give a refund once the rabbit leaves my care becuase there is no way to know for sure what has been done to the rabbit.

It's a very nicely written sales policy, a few minor typo's but it's not horrible but it's still very well written.

 

[jujub793]

Just throwing this out there for whatever it's worth, I purchased two of my rabbits from a breeder. I went to her rabbitry and got to pick out my rabbit. I personally would never pick one on looks alone from a website just because you can't tell what type of personality it has by a picture. And you shouldn't worry about somebody reporting you if everything is up to snuff ( just my opinion)

 

[OneTwoThree]

That was my thought too Jujub. Having people see your rabbitry is just part of being a reputable breeder. And people can report away, but if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing you'll have nothing to worry about.

 

[majorv]

wendymac wrote:

While I know EVERY rabbitry site I've gone to has the "no deposit refunded, ever", it's not legal. The buyer of anything has the right, for at least 30 days, to change their mind. At which point any deposit has to be returned. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I don't know anything abouthaving 30 days to change your mind. I do know that the FTC has a"Cooling Off" rule where,under certain circumstances, you have the right to cancel a sales transaction within 3 business days.

 

[jujub793]

One of the rabbits I purchased from the breeder died suddenly probably a month after I got her, she had a seizure and died...never had her tested to find out why. I called the breeder and told her what happened and she said I could come pick another and she gave me like a 10.00 discount. I certainly didn't blame her and part of the reason is because her rabbi try was very neat and well kept and all her rabbits appeared healthy and well cared for. My Willow was the one I picked out After holding about 10 rabbits and watching them and their personalities. I paid 25.00 for Willow and 35.00 for Lily the first one.

 

[jujub793]

OneTwoThree wrote:

That was my thought too Jujub. Having people see your rabbitry is just part of being a reputable breeder. And people can report away, but if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing you'll have nothing to worry about.

.

:yeahthat:

 

[majorv]

I agree that if you're looking to buy a rabbit as a pet then you would certainly want to visit the breeder and select your pet carefully, andthose who sell their rabbits as pets most probably allow this. Breeders who sell rabbits for show and brood usually transact their business at rabbit shows because it's easier.

My only comments on the sales policy is that if a buyer decides to return the rabbit they bought,Iwouldn't demand they give me thecage/supplies they bought for it. Also, we don't ship rabbits either, but we did meet an 'out of area' buyer to deliver rabbits. It was about an hour's driveaway for both of us and we never thought about charging them mileage on top of the price of the rabbits. If we had to do this very much or go very far then I guess we would consider doing it.

 

[LakeCondo]

I'd suggest these modifications:

Eliminating the reasons for various aspects. Reasons don't belong in a contract.

Not saying you'd make an exception for anything. Make the exceptions, but don't write down that you MIGHT make them. It would just upset the people you wouldn't make an exception for.

Saying "x days before & y days after Easter" rather than specific dates. Easter can occur before March 30.

Stating that if YOU cancel a sale, the deposit will be returned within 30 days.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

As someone who would be a potential client, I get very nervous whenever agreements are written in colloquial terms using words like you and I.

This is how I would personally re-write the first few lines of your draft posted above:

Original
Rabbits are sold first come, first serve.
If you find a rabbit you’re interested in, a 50% deposit is required to put that rabbit on hold for you. I can only hold a rabbit for 4 weeks, if the rabbit is not picked up, or if any cancelation occurs, the deposit cannot be refunded and the rabbit will go back up for sale.
Rabbits sold as pets only will not come with their pedigree, only a birth certificate; this is because I prefer them not to be bred

*****
At "blankity blank rabbitry", customers interested in placing a rabbit on hold will provide a cash deposit equivalent to the 50% of the rabbit's value. Rabbits will be held for a maximum of 4 weeks (28 calendar days). Should the customer choose not to proceed with the sale at any time, no deposit refund will be issued.
Pedigrees will be provided for breeding stock.
Rabbits purchased as pets will be provided with a birth certificate only.
****

Essentially, what I'm getting at is this:
This is your agreement. These are your rules.
You do not have to explain your logic or reasoning to the buyer in your agreement.
eg. "i don't want them to be bred"- if they want to know, they will ask you.

(JMO, as someone who has signed a number of contracts )

Also, you may want to take a look at the contracts provided by the big name rabbitries (whomever they might be).

 

[Blaze_Amita]

one of the only reasons I don't allow people into my rabbitry is the possibility of some more hostile momma's and I don't want the possibility of them tracking any kind of disease into my own herd. if anything is on their skin and they come in and see my other rabbits and touch them i don't want them to spready ANYTHING into my barn. I lost 5 holland lops from some bacteria that was tracked into my barn. Thus I have no more holland lops anymore. Plus with my barn, the way my barn sits, it's in the middle of my horse pasture and my horses are SUPER friendly- two of them are draft horses and can easily scare people and I don't want people screwing around with or smacking my horses either if they don't like how up close and personal my horses can be.

nope-notta-never.

I'd have to really trust another breeder to let them in my barn. I'll bring the ones for sale out into excercise pens up near my house in the yard, but no one goes in my barn. I'd rather refuse a sale than let folks into my barn without talking to them first.
it's personal preference there. Let a breeder come, chat with me first, prove to me first that I can trust them before they step foot in my barn. I used to be trusting until my sister rabbitry had someone come in looking at rabbits and then within a week had animal control taking all her animals away because they didn't like the attitudes on some of the rabbits-blaming ill care on their buck attitudes.

 

[wendymac]

Heather, what happens if they are checking out the sale ones in the exercise pens. The potential buyer touches them, checks them out etc., then decides they don't want one? You then put the bunnies back in the barn. You have now brought anything they may have been carrying on them into your stock.

While my rabbits are in the barn, I plan on putting them into the milk house (thank goodness for old dairy barns). That way people can come see the rabbits, but they won't have to go through the barn yard (where there's always a few horses turned out).

As for animal control, I'm not worried about that. I clean under the hanging cages and dump trays every day (when I do stalls). They always have tons of hay in their pens, and fresh water. I'm not sure how it is in Kentucky, but in Pennsylvania the rabbits would have to be very skinny, manure piled up, and no feed/water before they'd take them.

 

[majorv]

There is a disinfectant you can spray on the rabbits before putting them back in their cages. It's strong yet safe for animals. I use it to clean cages and nestboxes with, and I've seen breeders lightly spray their rabbits at a rabbit show. The last thing you want todo isintroduce a bacteria or illness that could wipe out your stock.

 

[wendymac]

Vicki, what is the name of it? I've been using bleach, which is a big PITA. I wanted to take Max to a show in February, but didn't want to pick anything up. After losing Ruby, I didn't want to take any chances. Thanks!

 

[majorv]

Vanodine

You can get it concentrated, or diluted and ready to use. I use a 10% bleach solution to clean cages with and then spray vanodine in 'em after it dries. I hadn't thought about spraying the rabbits after a show, but it makes sense. When my daughter was in FFA we always washed her lambs and goats down after a prospect show because ringworm was a big issue. Since I can't wash down the rabbits after a show then using this stuff makes sense.

 

[LakeCondo]

I see from an online search that vanodine also is used in hospitals, so maybe it would be good to use when one family member is sick & we don't want the rest to catch it. The last part of the name is from "iodine", but I can't figure out the rest.

Is there a way that these last few posts can be put into another topic called "Disinfectant" or something?

 

[wendymac]

Thanks so much! I just ordered some. It sure is going to make cleaning out those cages easier, plus keep from bringing anything home from the shows.