Refund practices that you do?

[parrotluv]

Hi All,

I have had a few issues lately with people paying for a bird up front, prior to weaning, and then changing their minds and wanting a refund.
Now, my website states that deposits are non refundable, but now I am considering adding that if they choose to pay for the bird up front that it will not be refunded do to mind changes/life changes, ect...
I do refund if something unforeseen happens to the baby.

What are your practices on this? What have you done in the past or now?

Thanks in advance

[wildirish]

I am not a breeder, but maybe instead of not refunding the entire amount, you could have a set amount that is a deposit, then if something happens and they want a refund, you could refund all but what the stated deposit amount is.

Like a CAG, sell for 800, but normal deposit would be 200 to hold, if someone paid the entire amount up front then decided not to take the bird, a refund of 600 instead.

[parrotluv]

that is actually what I have been doing. BUT too many people are doing this, I am having people change their minds quite a bit. And I really want people to be very ready and very sure before even giving a deposit for a bird. I am coming to the conclusion that people are doing impulse buying and we need to help people not do this.
The people in question I can't really say I would want to have them have one of my birds now if they decide to in the future.

Thanks for your reply :)

[isoscelestri]

Wow, your website looks very nice and professional.
I'm not a breeder, but I've seen a couple sites where they don't give refunds for what's been paid, but they'd let you transfer the amount towards another bird (minus the deposit for the original bird(s))... kind of like store credit. As a consumer, I think that's fair. If you don't give them anything back (including store credit), they may be less likely to do business with you again or discourage other people; and when looking for a breeder reputation is very important.

[huntress]

I offer a non refundable deposit balance due at pick up. No checks. No pre pay, period. If they are serious they will wait. Also no babies go home before a cage is purchased or they show me pics of what they have. 5 days after purchase health refund only if bird has visited a vet within that five days so I tell them to make an appointment BEFORE they pick up their new baby for a well vet visit. I will refund after the five days if the bird at least went in the first five days depending on the sickness.

[parrotluv]

Huntress,
Yeah, I think I am going to start saying NO pre paying, and only accept the non refundable deposit. That will make it much easier and simple.
Thanks

[parrotluv]

isoscelestri,

Thank you on the website, wish I could take credit, but my friend does it for me:)
One of the people made it clear they didn't want a credit because their spouse wanted no more birds, but that is an option.

[birdsnreps]

i also have a non-refundable deposit policy. i rquire a 25% deposit to hold a baby so we dont sell it to anyone else, and if they change their mind, i also charge them a small fee for changing their minds. i do this to discourage people from buying a bird before they are ready. what would happen if they changed their minds after they took my baby home with them?? who knows where that baby will end up :( before i even give them my address to send me their deposit, i ask them a bunch of questions and i spend time chit-chatting back and forth with them, and if i like them, i give them our address. its not hard to figure out who is serious and who isnt, who knows their stuff, and who doesnt, and who is willing to learn, and who isnt. sometimes our customers have a little bit of "wrong" information, i will correct them and give them good information, the way they respond to being corrected really tells alot about their personality and how they will care for the birds in the future, since you never stop learning when you own birds. if they cannot handle being corrected before they even have the bird, or they refuse to do their own research and continue to learn, i dont sell to them, that just tells me that they wont keep learning and researching about the bird's behaviors, diet, and general care.

[BareFootAviary]

I have a nonrefundable deposit of 25% required to put a baby or adult on hold. I also state that anything over that is optional but is considered a "deposit" and is non-refundable as well. I have had only one person back out and they did it after they told me they sent the deposit but they actually never sent it. I spent a lot of time talking to this person about the bird and they were 100% sure they were going to get it, they even named it! Then they took forever with the deposit and just never sent it.....

Of course, the deposit for most of my babies is only $25-$30 because I only have Lovebirds at this point, but it is the principle of the thing.