Warning when selling birds on gumtree Perth

26 Aug 2013, 20:43

I've had the odd weirdo ring from Petlink adverts but on the whole they've been pretty good. I've even made a few long term friends from Petlink buyers. I've certainly sold heaps of birds thanks to Petlink so I can't complain. Although I do hate people who think I'm an Asian bazaar and try to continually haggle even after price has been negotiated. I remember one bloke had the birds in his carry cage and was virtuallly refusing to let go of the cash as he tried to squeeze a final 10 bucks off the deal.

26 Aug 2013, 20:49

Some are pretty cheeky- one wanted a pair of zebs, and wanted me to deliver them to his house (a 30 minute drive away) for the princely sum of $10!

Mind you, I have had good buyers as well, who buy 3-6 pairs at a time, and show up when they're meant to. It's just the bad ones that stick in my mind!

26 Aug 2013, 21:56

I had one guy drive from Liverpool Syd to Woonona to buy 5 zebs for $40

He then sms me later wanting more...

The odd balls I get are from Nigeria claiming to have toilet trained redbrows in WA but money needs to be sent to Cameroon.....

27 Aug 2013, 07:07

elferoz777 wrote:The odd balls I get are from Nigeria claiming to have toilet trained redbrows in WA but money needs to be sent to Cameroon.....

The aviculturists in that part of the world do seem to have incredible skills.

27 Aug 2013, 11:08

Niki_K wrote:Some are pretty cheeky- one wanted a pair of zebs, and wanted me to deliver them to his house (a 30 minute drive away) for the princely sum of $10!

Mind you, I have had good buyers as well, who buy 3-6 pairs at a time, and show up when they're meant to. It's just the bad ones that stick in my mind!

I remember selling a Lutino Cockatiel (in the good old days) to an elderly couple who didn't drive and wanted me to deliver the bird. Being a sucker I went for a Sunday drive (45 minutes later) to their house. They were a lovely old couple but it took me about 3 hours to get out of there....they weren't quick to pull the cash out of their pocket so I had about 3 cups of tea and a heap of scones....still carrying the extra kg's of those scones today....but they were a lovely old couple even if they were a bit on the nutta side.

Cheers
Paul

27 Aug 2013, 14:02

Some years ago we sold an Ecky to a young couple. They decided they wanted the chick when it was only a week or so old and they used to drop in to visit him on an almost weekly basis. Eventually he was weaned and they came to pick him up. We thought that would be the end of it but oh no. I don't mind people ringing if they're not sure of something but this couple rang every day. And ever day the bird apparently had new symptoms indicating some new disease (all thoroughly researched on the internet). Anyway they eventually took him to their local vet (not an avian vet) who did some tests and diagnosed a range of bizarre and obscure diseases. I told them to just return him to us for a full refund which they did. Anyway we took him to our local Avian vet (Sydney Uni Vet Hospital at Camden) who could find nothing wrong at all. He also contacted their local vet to get the test results - seems the local vet had completely misread the results.

27 Aug 2013, 21:00

Hi Sam

At least the phonecalls stopped!

With the quality of Eccies I've seen sold over the last few months, I'm sure yours were fantastic!

There sure are some poor quality birds about...and most buyers haven't got a clue and have paid top dollar.

No birdclubs; no mentoring; no clue = no money and crap birds and unhappy experiences all round!

28 Aug 2013, 18:14

*sigh* yet another pain in the ass- was meant to come over at 5pm to pick up birds, then shows up at 4.15pm with no notice (while I'm still at work) and berates my partner for not having birds caught and ready! I get home, and have birds ready for pickup by 4.45 as he said he'll come back at 5.30, then when i text him at 6, he says to just put them away as he doesn't want them anymore! Grrr!

28 Aug 2013, 21:23

Apart from my other troubles with petlink (!!!

), I have met some lovely people through this site. Some were beginners and were glad of some guidance and a free bird mag (always plug the club!!)
I have sold aviaries and birds with very few problems.I did get a few odd bods ringing out of the blue asking if I had any other types of finches for sale. Those people who are just fishing around can be a bit annoying.
I've also caught up with old bird club friends by pure chance!
Itis a useful resource for moving birds but caution should be exercised. I never let the strangers past the back door doing the transaction in the kitchen or out the front.