Buyers give ME remorse

[thaiblue12]

Warning this is a rant......

It started with the lady who bought a one week fresh doe and her one kid the other to be given back to me at the time of weaning. She drove me nuts, she kept them in an area fit for a Chihuahua not a doe and two kids and was getting mad because they kept escaping, she wanted a refund after two months I told her no, then she was keeping them, then she was selling them, then keeping, then she was wanting me to take them back. I took my retained by back at 2 months old which I did not want to wean him that young but she hated him since he was the worst at escaping. He has caused me no issues being on 7 acres. Then at 4 months she wanted me to take the mom and other boy back since she never moved them to the bigger one acre area like she said she was going to do when I went out there and made suggestions. The doe looked like a stick and had dried up at 4 months fresh for Pete's sake. She made all sorts of excuses. She annoyed me, a lot.

Then we have people come here I swear are not looking to buy a goat but maybe are looking for some free petting zoo farm time. Why would you bring a kid here who is allergic to goats and dogs?? I showed them the wethers I had for sale and had to run to the vet for an emergency and left her here with my family. My daughter kept texting me " The little girl can't breath, she is allergic but they are still not leaving." " she keeps touching the dog ", "keeps picking up kids and has them in her face" and on and on it went for over half an hour. Why would you let your kid sit here that long if she is having health issues?! The lady said she wanted the one wether and would contact me after Thanksgiving, never heard from her again.

Then we have the people who wasted an hour of my time looking for a wether friend for their buckling who is 4 months old. I have a tiny wether who is 7 months old. They sat here petting him looking at the other wethers and he kept asking his wife " Well what do you think?" They said they were going to get change since he only had a 100 dollar bill and then he calls me and tells me he thinks the little boy is too big but he is interested in a doe I showed him, can I do this, this and that for him and he will only pay $125 for her. I have never bothered to contact them again.

Now I have ads up trying to reduce my herd since I have all these Lute babies. Two starter herds, tested, copper bolus, blah blah blah. Priced low $400-450 unregistered for 4-5 goats to move them out. First couple of emails, will you register them? Sure but the price goes up then, I am selling them as personal homemilkers, low since I need to get my numbers down, you want me to register a doe in mik or pregnant she alone is $250 and up. Of course they never email back.

They expect it all for nothing or less to nothing, if so then go to a sale barn and take the risk on buying wormy, untested, thin, unhealthy goats, stop wasting my time.
In the past I have had great buyers, some I am still in contact with and the goats are doing well. Sometimes they bought more then they planned too and I never had issues with selling. I am not sure if it is the economy or what but I am not happy with their current behavior or demands.

[mygoat]

First, stop selling wethers to people as pets. You'll save yourself a LOT of heartache/headache that way. Either butcher them yourself or sell them for meat. If someone wants a buck companion I'd probably do that. At least if you sell them DOES as pets, if they ever have to get rid of their goats, the animal has more inherent value and therefore is slightly more likely to not end up in a bad home. A wether is 'just a wether' so he is going to sell for less and therefore is MORE likely to end up in a 'bad' pet home. If he's lucky he sells for meat, IMO.

I also don't sell animals for less 'without papers'. My animals are priced by quality and what effort I put into maintaining a healthy productive herd. Neither of those things are in any way changed by having 'papers' or not... I also like selling goats WITH papers simply because, once again, at resale they are more likely to go to a better home. I try to do whatever I can for livestock I sell to give 'em the best odds - because once they're out of my hands I've done all I can do.

Will I deal with people who want to haggle? A little. I give multiple discounts, may do a little bit of a 4H discount etc. I don't mind offers for trades, depends on what they want to trade.

As for no call backs - I brush them off. No matter WHAT you sell, you run into this. Nothing leaves the farm until fully paid for, nothing is 'sold' until I get a deposit or I have cash in hand. I can terminate any sale at any time before payment in full. Otherwise if I get more inquiries on the same animal I'll tell the interested parties that I'll contact them if the sale falls through.

[mpete]

hey! You missed one!
How about the lady that claims she knows everything, but is horrible at communication so you think..."ok", but then she calls at ALL hours of the day and night "with an emergency" ... like say, her goat has a real bad smell in her mouth and she thinks its an abscessed tooth because she keeps chewing" (cudding) ... or, there is stuff coming out of her bottom, do you think she had the kid in the pasture?" ... or "she cut her udder, it's bleeding bad" you say "call a vet", vet (my friend) reports that it "was no more than a scratch... didn't even need a 'band-aid" ...

Or... how about all those people that try to bring a goat into milk only to find out that boy goats do not give milk....

sorry you have hit that "straw" .... atleast now you can be glad you had your vent

[Minelson]

Another reason why I don't breed, sell goats. I couldn't take the idiots. I have no patience for people. And I would be so scared that the goat would end up in a bad situation.

[Hollowdweller]

Originally Posted by thaiblue12

Then we have people come here I swear are not looking to buy a goat but maybe are looking for some free petting zoo farm time.

Then we have the people who wasted an hour of my time looking for a wether friend for their buckling who is 4 months old. I have a tiny wether who is 7 months old. They sat here petting him looking at the other wethers and he kept asking his wife " Well what do you think?" They said they were going to get change since he only had a 100 dollar bill and then he calls me and tells me he thinks the little boy is too big but he is interested in a doe I showed him, can I do this, this and that for him and he will only pay $125 for her. I have never bothered to contact them again.

I used to have the same problem. I try never to advertise locally and then if somebody wants to buy something from out of town I actually will drive and meet them to avoid having visitors on my place.


3 times I had people come to my place to pick up kids last year and that was the first time in years. They were all goat people and was great to hang with them but in general if there is any way I try to do the goat deal off my farm to save time and irritation.

Also always worried about advertising in local ad bulletins and such since sometimes I worry people are not interested in buying but may be casing your place to see what they could return and steal later.

One time I had a lady respond to an ad I put up at a local farmers market. As she went on I realized that she was mentally ill and had sort of confused my name with a local gov't official of the same LAST name and a TV character of the SAME name. She was very nice and I tried to set her straight but she was crazy and of course reason means nothing.

Anyway the funny thing is this lady called me about once or twice a year for 4 or 5 years after that and babbled to me. I let her of course. Then she sent me a decorated pillow cover with all these wild decorations on it and how we had met (never had) That was the last I heard from her hope she's ok (1990's)

[BethW]

Originally Posted by Minelson

And I would be so scared that the goat would end up in a bad situation.

Ditto. Stories like these break my heart. Poor goats

[chewie]

same here. hubs wanted to raise pups from his border female. i hated it, some ppl shouldn't own any critter! I said if we had to give any away, the bitch gets spayed--we did and she did.

i currently have something for sale on CL, not an animal but still planning to meet them down the road. I am home alone all day, and honestly dont' feel the need to show anyone my place/stuff/animals, and certainly not for the $50 for the item for sale!

[Goat Servant]

Numerous folks have wanted to rent brushers. MY girls. They dont go anywhere & the conversation doenst either.
Almost all males go for meat. If they offer 75 for a 125 worth of meat on the hoof it's going in our freezer not thiers.

[thaiblue12]

I do not put up ads saying wethers are weed eating pets, if they want to eat them it is their choice. I do happen to still know 6 wethers that were sold to people wanting weed eating pets, 4H goats and horse companions and those boys are in 3 different homes doing great, if the others were eaten that is fine too.
If they come to me like the two above, one for a buck companion and the other for a wether friend for their current wether that is what I will sell them.
I do not eat goat, it was forced on me as a kid and I will not eat it to this day, same for rabbit, tripe and veal. I eat none of it and I am not missing out

I do not mind if they want to come here and see the overall health of the herd, feel them for lumps etc. If they sound iffy I give them directions up to a point, then tell then to call me. If they no show fine. They also have to get past my neighbor who is very "curious" and either stops them or calls me to ask if they are allowed, after they get past him then they run into my LGD who runs up to their car keeping them inside till I come out. Chubby never wags his tail so they are never sure if it is ok to come out. Which I am glad of because some think it is ok to bring their dogs without asking.

Until recently I have had good to great buyers I still see some of the goats since I do hooves, shots and etc for them. It is of late that they are getting to me.

If they give me an icky feeling I will not sell to them. I pay close attention to how they handle them, talk to them and such. They are told they can call, text or email me and quite a few do. I also send them off with a few days worth of food and minerals.