Are Warnings about New Sellers Fair?

I think having the warning there is a good opportunity for new sellers to build a rapport with their prospective buyers. It encourages engagement. If you have the confidence in your animals and your business you should be fine. That’s just my opinion.

The decision to take $250 off is yours to make.

Let me preface this with the fact that this post has nothing to do with my perspective as a staff member on MRC it has to do with the perspective of a breeder and a buyer.

In my opinion what you are saying is just an excuse to why you feel like you have to sell your animal half the price which you do not.

As breeders we all started somewhere with no reputations, when I started (2006) I was competing with people like NERD, Constrictor Unlimited, Ralph Davis, BHB and so forth, some of the biggest names in the industry that were already light years ahead of myself and with a long well established reputation, at the time not having a reputation what just like having a 30 days warning on your profile, actually it was worse since it lasted longer than 30 days. Those were the days when the fake het scandals started to be known so people were weary. Yet with all that I still managed to get my first sales and get my asking prices without having to cut prices in half because I was new.

Now reputation does not always comes from sales (at least not when you get started you got to work at it, in most cases it comes from your involvement in the community which will make people want to buy from you, and I am not talking about posting pictures of new hatchling comes baby season and be gone when that is over. If you are an admin of a 20000 members community you have a tremendous opportunity to build a reputation. (I know I have been a mod on a forum with 65000 members for 11 years)

The truth of the matter is that today there is no easier way to get started and get a reputation, it’s a lot easier than it was at the time I started, between facebook groups and now morphmarket that has revolutionize the way people buy snakes it’s easier than it ever was before.

When I first joined morphmarket it was like I was starting from scratch again with no reputation, because all of the sudden this new venue opened the doors for many new prospect buyers that never even thought about buying online and to them I was nobody yet again I never sold an animal for half the price (and trust I still get this type of inquiries a after 13 years and know I will no matter how long I have been doing this, that’s a different topic and the nature of some people wanting everything cheap)

Now from the prospective of a buyers way back when, I decided to give a new breeder a chance and fell victim of the fake het scandal, if I had seen such a warning I would have been more diligent as a first time buyer and dig a little more, yet even after that experience I still bought and gave chances to new breeders I was just more cautious and made inquiries which is pretty easy in this community if you remain involved, word of mouth goes a long way and if those new breeders are involved too at some levels, (shows, online etc) if often help make a decision.

So again the fact that some people see this a permanent black mark forcing them to almost giveaway animal or have their reputation ruined before it even started is just a justification for why they feel like they are failing especially since again it’s only 30 DAYS.

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New buyers may have a false sense of security thinking that everyone on MM has been verified by MM, in some way, therefore they have no reason to question anything. The warning is a helpful reminder to new buyers to ask questions and do a little research before making the purchase. Scams can and may happen. People with experience in the reptile market place already know this and they do their due-diligence before making a purchase and will purchase the reptile they want, regardless of the seller’s membership status, if the seller seems legit to them. Even if the seller is a founding member you should still ask questions and make sure you are getting the right answers and quality service.

Happy Friday!!

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This scenario is moot, because even after the warning is gone, all users (buyers and sellers) have their date joined on their profile, which is very similar. Having a type of “joined date” is very common to online platforms, and it’s good info.

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Doesn’t matter to me. This is just one of many sales platforms. $100 or whatever for a year for the basic subscription gets some extra eyes on my snakes. If nobody buys them because of the warning or being a new seller, it’s a whopping $10 a month. I can drive less for a few days and basically put that $10 back in my pocket. I’ve sold several snakes and feeder rodents to people in person in the meantime as well. Buy from me or don’t, that’s ok with me, I’ll never be in a hurry to sell these amazing creatures off :grimacing: don’t tell my family

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I don’t think you understand the definition of fairness. It would only be unfair if some had to go through this and others did not. Everyone has to go through the same process so by definition it is fair. It might be uncomfortable, but it is fair. And just because there is a warning doesn’t mean you have zero chance. I had a few people contact me about my snakes during my first 30 days. This gave them a chance to ask questions until they felt comfortable that I was legit. Breeding and selling snakes is not a fly by night deal. If you want a reputation you need to work for it. That is true anywhere, not just MM. Working to build a rep through social also lends to credibility as a trustworthy seller. And after 30 days, it’s gone. I don’t know anyone who gets into this business or even hobby breeding for 30 days or less. If you do, you are in the wrong hobby/business. Just my two cents.

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Better. My issue is with the do not buy phrasing.

One thing morphmarket can do also is no selling unless you pay to be part. And raise the price or maybe a percentage of each sale. A scammer isnt going to go through that much effort. The free listings are where they are going to go to scam.

As a buyer on this site, I greatly appreciate the warning that pops up. It won’t stop me from sending inquiries. It just makes me take a step back and look for alternative social media. If the seller has an established facebook or IG or website or SOMETHING that shows me they know what they’re doing and aren’t a bogus account, then it’s fine. If there’s nothing else I can find about the seller beyond their MM postings, I move on. Plus I prefer sellers that have FBs or websites anyways so I can get a better idea of their total operation.

I mean come on, it goes away after 30 days. And lasting impression? Seriously? Who is going to remember whether or not a MM seller account had the 30 day warning today versus yesterday?

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It’s not much effort at all though. The blessing and curse of the ease of MM is you can setup an account in minutes (aside from our required validation). Pay for a membership in one minute. The risk/reward of paying $20 for a basic membership to potentially rip off hundreds of dollars?

For that reason we don’t factor membership into the “warning” equation – although, given that we don’t, I do think membership is a small positive differentiator – given that it’s optional. If it was mandatory somehow, that differentiation would go away.

I can already hear the “sure honey, I’m trying my best to sell them” repetitively tapping decline to any and every offer “I promise.” :joy:

Just my input as a future buyer, I don’t see the harm made by having that banner. It wouldn’t discourage me from buying a snake that I reeally wanted, it would just made me question whether that snake is worth the risk.

I think it is just as fair as not recommending breeders to people. If MM was to say “we love Ryan Reynolds’ snakes, he is a great breeder, buy from him.” And then sometime in the future Ryan does something that the reptile community disagrees with, MM will be cast into a bad light for the initial recommendations.

With new people it is MMs reputation at risk more than any breeder on here. Even if 500 decent guys were on here, all it takes is 10 bad ones and people will start saying “MM is full of scams, bad breeders…ect” and eventually there will be no platform.

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Most people say you should sell to them at discounted prices because they expect something for nothing. Not going to happen. They don’t want to pay full price, then don’t, too bad for them. There’s plenty that will.

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To the people worried about reputation… take care of your customers and be a descent human being and your rep will come. Trust me it doesnt happen overnight. People will take a chance on you without rep at all and thats when its time to shine. Patience young grasshoppas. :blush:

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^ this 100% ^

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If its a new seller, its the buyers job to do a little more research on him/her. If you get duped, its all on you. But know that crying about it on forums won’t solve nothing. I leave reviews of sellers, but I never read anybody else’s. Most people just whine if one little thing goes wrong that could’ve happened to an old seller too, but this one is new, so they bad mouth him. I’m going to make my own decision, and it won’t be based on anybody’s reviews. Everybody started out new, at one time, so why is everyone suddenly jumping on the new seller warning bandwagon.

I have a question. So I do not yet have a membership. But I have sold 5 snakes on MM all last year and before the ability to rate your experience was available. So if I now go and get a membership do I still get stuck with that warning even though I have had a seller page on the site for over a year and already have sales on the site? That would deter me from getting a membership especially since it would essentially be rendering useless my previous sales on here and with not having the benefit of feedback from my buyers since that wasnt an option at the time.

I am guessing you used the free membership option and now you are considering a paid membership.

@john can correct me if I am wrong but if you were selling on MM then you already have a membership so you would not be a “new” seller

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@otorresusmc @t_h_wyman is right. Changing membership levels doesn’t affect the newness of an account at all. That’s affected by when they first started selling, so sounds like a non-issue for you.

Also, this warning we’re discussing has no relationship to ratings system. However, by the time a seller makes a sale and gets a rating, it’s likely that at least several weeks have pass if not more – and by that time, this warning almost or already gone.

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Hello I can see how that clause would be daunting, however if you have a following why not have a link on your profile/website? I am sure if people are happy with their experience with you then other people can see that feed.

That being said my wife and I are just starting out from scratch have no clientele and we have yet to produce our first clutch. That being said our way of showing we are active would be youtube videos maybe when we get to it show how we pack our animals for a safe transport, our animal husbandry, passion for the hobby, and answering any questions. Just research just like the vet tech field we came from one never just stop so learning. Do these things and I am sure people will take a chance :). I can completely understand why morph market puts that disclaimer it’s for them as well as the buyer.