Bird sales and my observations

[wagga]

The object of a bird sale is to buy/sell/swap your birds so why do some sales work better than others. How I might see or not see things in this case will leave a good or bad impression on the bird sale experience. I must admit upfront that these birds sales are more than just a sale of birds and related products. They are or can be treated as a small holiday or a break from the daily grind of life, even if its just for a day. The positives I get from the whole bird sale experience will always out number the negatives, so I will concentrate on the the latter just to start the topic.

I have made a list of things that I have experienced:

playing dodge the bird box pushers especially during the opening 1/2 hour,
people that insist in stopping to have a chat in the smallest part of the isles,
the obnoxious load mouth person who complains about anything,
trying to see the birds for sale in dark bird boxes,
no pricing on bird boxes,
guess what type or sex of birds,
over crowding of birds in boxes,
small children and/or prams,
people who use a 'ring on string' to sex their birds,
and
WHY do the sellers have to be located in front of their sales tables as this just makes the whole event even more congested for the buyer.

Now, have I become one of those people who complains about anything or can I justified my observations as just that?

[gouldianpaul]

Well said Waga...I also cannot believe the number of sellers who poorly display their birds in dirty or over crowded cages without any indication of price. As for the comments on crowds, IMO the popularity of most sales renders the venues too small...well thats the case in Victoria. It's no coincidence that the biggest (and probably best) sale in Vic is the Mornington sale....the venue also allows for the most amount of space between seller of all the sales.

On the topic of dirty cages and overcrowding birds....I always keep away from those sellers, however with the number of buyers far outweighing the number of birds for sale, even the poorly presented birds normally get sold.

Cheers
Paul

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

crowds obviously can become a pain....but can also add to the excitement! particularly if you are a seller.
if the sale venue was as orderly and quiet as a bowlo on a monday morning rollup i wouldnt go!

my main gripe will always be.....flaming noisy hookbills!!!
doesnt matter how close or far away they are they give me a headache and a royal pain in the a - - e.

i also always give juniors a discount ....but cant stand the more "experienced" buyers trying to barter an extra $10 off....

bring on the next sale.... always more positives than negatives!!!

[Tiaris]

The thing I like most about the bird sale revolution is that it has put control of the bird market in favour of the breeder rather than the dealer. Great social days (& nights) for birdos to catch up with those who we wouldn't otherwise see very often too.
Its a bit hard for sellers to stand anywhere other than in front of their birds as in most cases if they were to one side, they would be in front of somebody else's birds.
The more young kids we have to dodge at sales gives some hope for the future of our hobby.

[bob21358]

I am always amazed at the popularity of bird sales. I have not been to a bird sale yet that was not crowded. My first sale a few years ago was so crowded I actually went outside for a breather. I sometimes think if every person bought just one bird the place would be sold out. So a lot of people must go for a sticky beak.

I like the fact that the breeders get a chance to sell their birds and you actually have a chance to talk to the breeder. You can also get an insight into bird management from the breeder (food, housing, breeding etc.).

Breeders prices always seem reasonable, and I am reluctant to haggle. I assume most breeders are amateurs and are doing it for the love of it, and not the money. So a few extra dollars in their hands doesn't go astray.

I dislike that first half hour rush. Everyones pushing and shoving and most venues the aisles are too narrow, and yes during this time people are standing in the middle of the aisles having a chat.

I know this may be a logistical nightmare for some sellers but wouldn't it be great if all the finches were in their own section.

Also I never understood the price for benching birds - why are parrots that sell for hundreds/thousands of dollars cost $1 to bench. Seems strange to me.

Why do parrot breeders take Macaws, African greys etc. that sell for $4-$5,000 to a crowded hall, which is very noisy, lots of other birds (diseases) etc. I always feel so sorry for these birds as they must get very stressed. And I might be wrong, but do they sell any of these birds?

Always amazed at how cheap carry boxes are to buy. $10 for a great little box is an amazing price (in my opinion).

I like the trade stands. Always lots of variety and things to look at.

Always a queue for the sausage sizzle. Having worked on a few in my time, they are a great fund raiser. And are always popular. And I know its hard to get people to man them, but the last 2 sales I have walked away because the queue was too long.

For some reason I am always relieved when I leave. For me its stressful being in a crowded, noisy hall. I wonder how the birds feel?

[E Orix]

Bird Sales to me is my chance to socialise,catch up with friends,sell birds and maybe buy as well.
What I do not like is the initial rush when the doors are first opened.
People carrying boxes so big you could carry a small Emu in it.
I shake my head seeing people carry all wire cocky cages or stressed birds in all wire cages.
As mentioned earlier, a good carry box for $10, I will not sell birds to anyone with an all open wire cage,
They will spend big dollars on birds but will not spend $10 to carry them home with some form of protection.
I know it is a selfish call by me but I really wish people would refrain from taking prams with them.
If possible I wish the organisers could some how have one way direction for the walk ways, wouldn't that make life easy
NSW should take notice of Victoria's process, not $1 a bird but hire the trestle(table) 1/2 @ $10 full @ $20
If you have the birds and space you generally can take more birds especially those you are not sure will sell.
An example last year when catching up to sell at Ballarat Sale my mate asked if we should take the spare 10 (yes ten)
male Jacarinis Finches. I agreed as it was not a problem bringing them home again. Not half way through the sale all were sold by my mate
much to my surprise.
The final one I can think of at the moment are those people who stop right infront of where your selling to have a good chat with someone.
It is beyond them that no one can see what you are trying to sell.
All up as a rural resident it is our main chance to mix and in general have a good time.

[Alf63]

My experience from sales is mostly positive.

There will always be problems because it involves people. The same people who are inconsiderate at a bird sale will be cutting you off at the roundabout after the sale or running you down with a pram at the shopping centre.

Fortunately you meet plenty of good ones to keep the bird game running. Logistically narrow isles and overcrowding are mainly due to finding venues large enough and cheap enough to house a sale, particularly a popular sale like Orange.

Only major complaint I have are the all wire cages which should be banned.

Alf63

PS Yes, at least one Macaw and several Black Cockatoos were sold at Orange last Saturday.

[elferoz777]

Love sales. Its an escape from work and the family fir a couple of days. Always go wuth mates and have a good dinner and beer.

I hate crowds but love them at the sale. Not a fan of shovers...love the bbqs, coffee at cessnock sake in yhat coffee van and the stuff at the trade stores.

I always feel relieved when I leave as the whole ordeal saps a lot of energy.

I only go to young, central coast, nowra, cessnock and singleton. Will go to the wollongong sale this year and the next orange sale.

You can generally tell who is a legit and decent seller and who is a durt bag pretty quickly.

My only true hatr is those low balling twits that haggle too aggressively.

[Myzomela]

It is actually against the code of practice to sell birds at bird sales or carry them in all-wire cages in Victoria and I believe that this year it will be strictly enforced at at least some of the bigger sales.

I too enjoy bird sales but do not think that they are ideal for small birds such as finches and the post-sale losses are higher than normal because of the length of the entire process ie catching up day before , strange cage overnight, ldrive to sale (often long), noisy/overcrowded and sometimes draughty conditions at the sale, then caught up, transported to a new home where they hopefully settle.

If these birds are not cared for suitably by the seller and if the buyer is naive or lazy then losses are bound to occur.

At least when you buy from a breeder directly or even a dealer the transport is one way.

Nothing is perfect and i still enjoy the sales but as I said I don't really think they are ideal for the birds.

[craigvdl]

I'm a sucker for gadgets and always manage to find a few new ones. This year it was the all-plastic carry boxes from Italy. They are excellent, and well done to the enterprising young forum member who brought these in. You deserve to do well!!

Managed to fill the rest of the car with a couple more metal seed hoppers, lots of seed and supplements, 10kg of fantastic fresh apples from the guys selling them out the front, a few kilos of just harvested almonds, not to mention a couple of apple pies and trays of figs from the roadside stalls on the way home. That kept the family happy at home. Oh, and a couple of birds as well......

Was hoping to find the guy selling really well made self-setting finch traps who was there a couple of years ago. Maybe next year's gadget....