My letter to an annoying kijiji buyer...

The email I received this morning in response to my "hatching eggs for sale add on kijiji"...

From: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Hello.. We are looking for buff orpington chicks. Do you sell them 1-10days old? We are interested in 10 and not looking to spend more than $2-3 per chick. Thank you.


My reply, sent today at 2:04 pm..

Thanks for your interest! Buff orpingtons are a very popular heritage breed. For high quality hatching eggs, the typical cost is $3.30 each, so for chicks you will expect to pay twice that, and price increases per week of age. Keepings chickens is an expensive "hobby" for most, and so it is usually persons who are new to poultry that expect cheap prices for good birds. In order to prevent disease and keep happy chickens mine are not over crowded, have access to free range, have fresh food and water daily. This accounts for a lot of time, energy, and money that I spend on these animals, and it is silly for people to expect me to give them the product of my labours for essentially "free". I paid $36 per dozen eggs, then paid another $50 in shipping to get them here, then I had to spend $200 in an incubator, and then I had to spend 21 days flipping eggs and watching temperatures to get them to hatch, then I had to take care of the chicks for 6 months before they laid even one egg! 
I know this is a serious rant but I am trying to get the message out there that farming is not cheap, or easy. This is not McDonalds, land of cheap food. 
Please respect our hard working farm families and pay what is expected without complaint; at $6 per chick I am still not breaking even, as per the case with most farm products sold these days.

I only have heritage mix chicks at this time, and because they are three to four weeks old, they are $6 each. 
Thanks again for your time; no hard feelings!
Theresa

That is awesome!

Well stated. Let us know if you get a response.

$6 a chick, eh? I think you need to raise your prices.

Yeah, well Grande Prairie is still a little "back woods", and $6 is where the chicks start at here. The mixed ones I have are anything between buff orp, Chantecler to Japanese, so I don't put a bunch of value on them. If I lived closer to Edmonton, I would get away with charging more, yes?

Way to kick butt, Katuski! Man...don't you love those "hello I was deprived of oxygen at birth' type of buyers? THey want something for nothing. Kijiji might be a great place to buy and sell, but you really meet people who haven't the social skills or inteliigence that god gave a duck!

HOrsey zTeen especially loves horse buyers whom you have 3 friendly conversations with and then suddenly, you never hear from them again. No, sorry, this horse isn't gong to be for us, but thank you anyway for all your help. Nope. Nothing.

GOod for you is all I can say! Hope the reasder was able to decipher all the big words and get the meaning. Pretty tall order. But you said your piece and no one can accuse you of sitting around with your finger in your incubator when there was a point to be made! Bravo!

Ooh Uno you make me laugh!

Update; she has responded...

On 2012-05-13, at 2:41 PM, Maritza Pang <maritzapang@gmail.com> wrote:

 Yes, we are new to this breed. However not new to hatching. We have hatched Indian runner ducklings and LOT'S of finch eggs and are busy with pigeons. I understand what you are saying. Hard work and it's almost like selling your children. I'm very protective when it comes to selling any of our animals. We know, for the first few months we are only keeping them as pets and plan on spoiling them. Also, we believe animal or human, you should be free and we will NOT cage them except at night to keep the coyotes away. We don't want to take anyone's freedom away and we don't believe in punishment. They will be loved and VERY well cared for until their time comes. We are going to use them for pets, eggs and eventually meat if we can manage to loose their company.  Your price seems fair, I just saw some for $2 at another ad. I'm assuming they are not close to as well cared for and loved as your birds. I was not complaining, just asking:)  Also, we would pick them up, don't know what kind of people would be working to ship the animals here. I often find that people care less about animals if they are around them a lot. Sad but in most cases, true. We would like to get them about 3 days old. Thank you.
.................................


Hmmmm, not too sure the point I was actually trying to make has hit home...

I think they got what you were saying. To me it sounds like they plan to shop around until they find their cheap price.

Well stated, but I think those people don't get the message. Me too, I'm dealing with people that want e.g. just one (1) chick... couple of days old. Or seemed to be interested and no show on the appointed day. I'm simple not putting very much effort to such people, with this attitude I'm quite concerned that they will look well after the animals. When I get the feeling that people are just wanting a deal or not understand a little about raising chicks I will not sell them. Recently, I had a lady interested in 20 chicks, soon I had the feeling that she had no idea what was involved in raising chicks. I suggested to re-think and maybe start with adult chickens and look into chicks later on. She was thankful for my concerns. I feel responsible for my chicks and I have to do things differently when the chicks are not sold. When the people think the price is too high they have also no understanding about having chickens and the work/cost involved for the breeder and themselves. What comes easy (price wise) will go easy!

Quite an about face in tone, eh?

Reminds me of a puppy buyer I spoke to a couple years back. She had spoken to a fellow breeder who called me to warn me. Wanted a pair of dogs, was planning to be a breeder and make a few bucks. Not interested in papers or showing or testing for health. Not interested in neutering nor would she sigh a non breed agreement. She called me the next day. She wanted a pair so they could keep each other company, wanted a male and female. Was willing to spay and neuter and sign a non breed agreement. Said all the right things that a breeder wanted to hear. She had done her homework in the previous 24 hours.

There's always a few out there that want "their money for nothing and their chicks for free!!"

(Dire Straights tune in case anyone was wondering...)

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I'm afraid I may have made a mistake by letting go so many chantecler and crosses for $2. This was done to cut overhead immediately and also out of a sense of frustration. I now have a better sense of their value in the marketplace. It won't happen again with purebreds or heritage crosses. On that note, I have here a flock of Easter eggers that apparently have no value above $3/ chick, in fact I purchased them for that price fully feathered..no different from what I've just done and I regret it. Now these EE hens have laid consistently at least every other day for the past year and a half. The eggs are 98% grade A, 55-65 grams, and perfectly shaped. They range in color from solid pink shells to green and olive, light blue and some resembling a light colored Marans egg. Since the hens began lay it's a rare day I have less than 6 eggs from 12 hens. I get at best 3$ dozen for eating and have been offered more than $20 for hatching. My feeling is that these hens and their chicks are greatly undervalued. However, given the current situation I also feel that I have no choice but to hatch and sell these for the same comparable price of $3/chick until the situation changes and their value is recognized. I will probably do the same with the great gobs of F1 olive eggers I have here, I just can't take the chance of being stuck with this investment going down the gutter. If you have a better strategy for them I'm all ears but as long as someone is cornering everything by undervaluing I must regretfully make a sacrifice and at least try to compete at that level. This is most unfortunate because it is this very course of action that resulted in the supply management system that has us all in it's stranglehold.

you hit the hammer on the nail reneggaide... there is such a variety of prices people charge for their birds, people greatly undervalue them and thus makes everyone think that that is the normal price (hatchery prices).. and all that does is drive the prices down for the hobbiest/breeder

Right! This puts the power into the hands of corporations, we cannot compete on a commercial level...WARNING: there is no exemption that I know of in Alberta for operating as a hatchery, as far as I can tell anyone with more than a sportsman or a 190 has the capacity to go over the quota exemption and risks being shut down.
Or am I out to lunch again on this..ya don't answer that...where's my chikn sandwich anyway...

Hi I have listed my pure chicks at $8 each and have people waiting for them. That is day olds. Hopefully they got the point,but honestly doubt they did!

.

Oh, I definitely understand your frustration!! I am new in the chicken world and I am more than happy to pay the price from hobby breeders!! Unfortunately I couldn't find what I wanted at the time (well, I did but they were scattered all over Alberta and Northern BC!) so I had to order from a hatchery. Once I get started it won't be a big deal to wait here and there for chicks. I'm actually driving a 10 hr round trip to get the rest in June along with our first nanny goat . I really, really want Barred Rocks for some reason lol.

I breed dogs and the emails I get from people blow me away! My girls and boys cost me an arm and a leg, plus A LOT of upkeep, vet bills etc and people have a problem paying for a great quality dog. Yet, people will go to the pet store to buy a dog from who knows where for 1200!! Differing opinions I suppose. Just because my pooches are priced at $900 (which is less than the same lines in Southern Alberta) I don't make money at it. I might eventually once I get ahead. I have been told my dogs are "WAY OVERPRICED!!". I figure these people need to help for a week and pay some bills! lol

So, don't let your chicks go for less. The people who really want what you are offering will appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes!!
Sleep well. You are not alone dealing with these crazy people

Chickadee

Wow love it.
Can I print it off and hand it to people
that want to bargin when they pick up
their animal or chicks.
I had a gentleman who purchased a llama
and said where he came from it is custom to
bargin the price. I replied this is Canada
that is my price if you don't like it find
another llama somewhere else. And proceed
to explain that I was very offended when
people think my hard work feeding and caring
for these animals was cheep.

Wow love it.
Can I print it off and hand it to people
that want to bargin when they pick up
their animal or chicks.
I had a gentleman who purchased a llama
and said where he came from it is custom to
bargin the price. I replied this is Canada
that is my price if you don't like it find
another llama somewhere else. And proceed
to explain that I was very offended when
people think my hard work feeding and caring
for these animals was cheep.