Breeders..how long do you wait for a buyer??

I have a question for fellow breeders . . . Here is the situation: I have a kitten who I received a deposit on. Weeks go by with no communication from the person who left the deposit. Time come that the kitten is ready to leave and I still can not get ahold of her. I leave phone messages and send emails. 2wks later I finally hear from her that she does not have the money at the moment and will have it in approx 2wks. I agree to hold him for another 2 wks for her. 2wks comes and goes and I do not hear from her. She finally contacts me yesterday and lets me know she needs a couple more weeks. Says she had a family emergency and in 2-3wks she will have money again and that she really wants him and does not mean to be a flake. I have decided that I am not going to keep doing this, extending this 2wks, then 2wks and...who knows how long. I am going to let her know that the kitten is no longer available for her.

My question is, where is the line drawn on refunding the deposit?? My contract states that it is a non-refundable deposit if the buyer changes their mind. But she is not changing her mind, just keeps postponing things. Do I just refund the deposit and end things with this lady?? This kitten has been ready to leave for over a month and she keeps puting it off. (I do realize that I need to change my contact to add something for these cases, should it happen again in the future, though I have never had this happen before) But in the mean time...do I refund or does she just forfeit it??


* * * On another note, I now have a Pet Quality Seal Point Male Himalayan Kitten available if anyone is interested. (I am in CA) He is an adorbale and very lovable little boy* * *

Valerie

IMO, she forfeits the deposit.

Even if she hasn't actually "changed her mind", the fact is that there is a reasonable expectation of her picking up the kitten on a certain date. If she has postponed that date for a month or more, then if for no other reason, the deposit should be kept as compensation for providing for a kitten that you would not have otherwise had to care for.

I never took deposits, didn't want to mess with the accounting, but if you are going to continue doing so, I would suggest changing your contract to say that the deposit becomes non-refundable if the kitten is not picked up within 30 days of the agreed upon date.

Originally Posted by gayef

I would suggest changing your contract to say that the deposit becomes non-refundable if the kitten is not picked up within 30 days of the agreed upon date.

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I totally agree that I need to add something of that nature in the contract. I just have never ran across a sitution like this before so I have never even though about adding something like that until now. All other buyers are anxious to get their kittens.

I've had people change their minds and I have changed MY own mind about a kitten buyer at the last minute ... but as I mentioned, I didn't want to deal with the accounting involved in taking a deposit. I had this one lady who ... oh good grief, it is a long story and I don't wanna hijack your thread, but let's just say she let a few things "slip" at the last minute before she was to pick up the kitten and raised a huge amount of red flags with me. I canceled the whole thing the night before she was to come pick up two of my kittens and from what I learned afterwards, I am so happy it turned out like it did!!

From the buying side, I was required to pay a non refundable deposit. She went over that to make sure I understood, that portion is non refundable.

Since your contract only covers change of mind I do think you should refund her, even though she's done the wrong thing.

To be on the safe side and her not bad mouthing you or anything; I'd refund the entire amount that she's paid you.

You can always get that money back from the person you sell the kitten to. Not like you are losing out on anything. Kitten finds a new home, you still get paid and the original buyer can't say that you kept her money.

Next time, I'd put something in the contract regarding a time limit in paying for a kitten/deposit, etc.

I am not a breeder but IMO if a buyer is having that much trouble finding hte money to buy the kitten, I would not sell to her. How do you know she will be able to afford to keep the kitten properly, pay vet's bills etc? I would refund and find another buyer.

I would not sell it to her either. I will be getting a Kitten this year from a Breeder.

I'm not a breeder but I would say you should be able to keep the deposit to cover the cost of the care the kitten is getting with you while you are waiting for them to pay. But I would give them 3 days to come up with the money or forfeit. And resell the kitten. If you werent holding it for them you could have had it sold by now.

If you still think she would be a suitable owner I would give her three days to pick up the kitten or tell her that the deposit is non-refundable. I don't think she is entitled to the deposit after dragging you along. Also, the price a breeder can ask for kittens goes down as they get older, correct? Who knows how long it will take for you to find another home for this kitty and by then the price may have dropped AND you've been spending more money on his care.

The only time the price goes down would be on adult cats - not on kittens. Most breeders don't release kittens till 4 months old (sometimes 3 months) so older kittens would still cost the same.

Retired breeders/show cats are the ones where you can get good cats for less then the price of kittens. I did not reduce my price for older kittens, but did for a retired cat.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

I am not a breeder but IMO if a buyer is having that much trouble finding hte money to buy the kitten, I would not sell to her. How do you know she will be able to afford to keep the kitten properly, pay vet's bills etc? I would refund and find another buyer.

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I'm not a breeder either, but that was the very first question that went through my mind. If she can't afford the cat, what quality care is it going to get should it need vet care or heaven forbid emergency care.

I also would not refund the money - that refund would, IMO, cover your additional expenses waiting around for her.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

The only time the price goes down would be on adult cats - not on kittens. Most breeders don't release kittens till 4 months old (sometimes 3 months) so older kittens would still cost the same.

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I understand all of this, what I meant was if the breeder is unable to find a suitable home in the next couple of months. The kitten is already atleast 4 months old, most kitten families want a young kitten (even if we understand that this doesn't impact how the cat wil bond to the new owner, many people still hold the notion that it will) so I would think as the kitten gets older it will make it more difficult finding a suitable home.
In my area I have seen kittens around the 8 month range being sold for between $150 & $200 less than 16 wk old kittens from the same breeders. And I am talking about good, ethical breeders not BYBs. Is this not the norm?

Not that I know of. I'll ask around, but my understanding is that if the kittens are possible show quality, the breeder may keep them for a few months and try - then sell them (at normal price).

Most have a waiting list of people and can find homes pretty easy. Rarely do you find that old of a kitten that is pet quality. Even the pet Oci's (ones that are not spotted) find homes pretty quickly. Of course the non-spotted variety is lower in price to start

I've been on the flakey buyer side of things before

I put a deposite down for a silver Mau neuter knowing I'd have to wait at least a year to get him. During that time, I lived in Japan as a student. When I returned, the breeder had some kittens on the way and I was first on the waiting list, but then the next thing I knew, I was off to Australia and had to postpone picking up a cat. In the end, after three years of postponing and waiting, I finally got my boy. To be honest, I was plesently suprised that the breeder waited around for me for so long and did not keep my deposit. But then, I turned around and granded her boy, so I'm sure she was glad to wait for me too!

I would tell the seller that you will hold her deposit so that she can have a kitten from a future litter when things are financially easier for her family. It's not fair to the kitten to make him have to wait for his new home, but give her a chance to come up with the money for a kitten in the future. If she starts to pull the same stunts the next time around, then I'd say its time to talk about keeping/returning the deposit.

I too have been on the flaky side before and that's for just giving my breeder the deposit. Unexpected bills came up (2 ratties had horrid uri cases, cat had complications from neuter, rabbit somehow managed to shred her ear in 2) all in the same month. Not saying I wouldn't be able to handle a new baby financially if I already had them but getting a large sum of money together in cash is a bit hard for me.

But in this case if they're being hard to communicate with I'd say give them 3 days to a week and if they don't have the money by then, keep the deposit and find the kitten a new home.