What's your opinion on breeders websites?

[mykee]

"We're" a "we" simply because we share a lot of the duties. Just because you don't hear from my better half online, doesn't make her contributions to the family and the hobby, any less tangible. I've known first hand "couples" who have "shared" the responsibilities of keeping reptiles, and let me tell you, I love my Tania more and more every day. Her understanding, patience, support, acceptance, genuine interest and appreciation of the hobby has meant more to me than all the cleaning, watering, feeding and paperwork she could do in a lifetime. I'm blessed. That's why "we're" a "We".

[clint545]

Great Thread! First off, I'd like to one day be at the point in my hobby were I feel the need for a website. It's like you said Trevor , what's the point of having a site, where 80% of the time you won't have any animals availible? I've been to a few sites, where all their breeding stock is maybe just a couple of leos, that they picked up at the local pet store.
I understand the enthusaism(sp), but don't see the need to call themselves pro. breeders.

What irks me with the big websites, is their lack of updates. I've had the net since last May and there's still one site, still hasn't update theirs to date.

But lastly, I love checking out all the sites big or small, just to see what people have, $, and other info.

clint

[BoidKeeper]

Maybe in your case mykee you do actually receive help from your wife and therefore using we would count. But I think you'll agree that in most cases the people using we should actually be using I.
Cheers,
Trevor

[honduranfreekk]

Trevor then I must say Iam guilty of this also as I say WE all the time lol.

When I place an add I say WE are looking for or have this for sale.
The reason being is that I think of my wife as my partner because she helps with the animals also and when WE see I said it again are looking to purchase something its not just me but my wife also.
I also DO know what you are saying tho Trevor.

Just my 2cents bro lol

Kelvin@Brigitte

[BoidKeeper]

Yes animals are only available once a year mostly but the rest of the time I guess the site serves to show the dealers terms, care sheets and their breeding stock.
If I do get a site I'll be posting infor about things we learn as we go, like sticking heat pads to glass, heat rocks, handling after feeding etc.
Once last pet peeve is "I've been passionate about herps since I was just a baby...."lol You know what I mean.
This hobby is worth then the race for the moon sometimes.
Cheers,
Trevor

[spidergecko]

Does it really matter how many people are involved in a business?
Do you have more respect for a team business?
Would you be just as concerned if a team business used the term "I" instead of "we"?

[snakers55]

I agree with you Trevor.. What I think is worse though, is people making websites who havn't even bred an animal at all!! "When my baby snakes grow up in 5 years, I will have offspring available"..

[Manitoban Herps]

I don't see how this matters, it bothers you b/c people are making sites and are acting proffessinal when they aren't? It's not hurting anyone or anything is it?

[Tim_Cranwill]

We are a "We" because she's my WIFE, it's OUR money, OUR animals and OUR house. Granted I do all the work and it's my hobby but she is the one that has to hear make talk about it hours on end and she makes a lot of the decisions with me... therefore, we're a "We".

[Siretsap]

I think it is the impact of the We that makes people use it more often. Personally, when I see a webcite using I, I am less inclined to buy from that person than a webcite that has we, implying there are more than one people taking care of the reptiles. It does look less professionnal when you use I rather then We.

I always use the We cause my girlfriend is just as implicated in reptiles, as I am, we both have our reptiles and we consider all of them to be ours not just mine or hers. I will never put up a webcite with I anywhere in it.

I am not working on a webcite yet, I have other things to tend to, but when I will get the time, you can be sure I will put one up. Even if I would only sell leopard geckos, I would put a webcite up. I do not consider someone only selling cornsnakes or a clutch of regular ball pythons to be less professional than someone producing high end morphs. I have better respect for someone producing what is hard to do (not hard to get since it costs money).

Saying this, I have to give a hats up to Geckoboy. He has been breeding different species of geckos that are sometimes hard. Even if those geckos are hard to sell (cause he sure isn't doing it for the money when he does some fan toed or pictus) he will breed them, and sell them for way less than it has cost him to produce them.

Michael

[honduranfreekk]

Originally posted by Tim_Cranwill
she is the one that has to hear make talk about it hours on end and she makes a lot of the decisions with me... therefore, we're a "We".

Now Tim my man I could not have said that ANY better and I think my wife will AGREE on this one 100% lmao

Kelvin@Brigitte

[morph]

Actuall Trevor I believe the "we" is a "we" alot of times alot of breeders work with other breeders and people just don't know it, one breeder doesn't want to take all the credit so says "we" if you ask they may just tell but sometimes the other half or other parts of the group don't even want to be known.

Man that's hard to read must get sleep


Scott

[beanersmysav]

Have to say WE myself because my girlfriend cares for the leos 100% and helps clean out the more difficult cages I have to clean. Not too mention she paid for 1/2 of my tanks, and over 1/4 of my reptiles if not more. Also I have to see WE on my website because I'm working alot with another small time couple around here that own only 8 pairs of reptiles themselves and wanted to join together business wise so we weren't so small and maybe go to some shows together and set up a table.

[hhw]

All I have to say is marketing, marketing, marketing and cost benefit.

It never hurts to have some extra marketing working for you. A website gives customers something concrete to look at, and is a replacement for a physical location. How frequently updated, how well organized, and how attractive a site is is just extra information for a customer to work with. You can be a bad guy with a website or a good guy without one, but if you've taken the trouble to make a good website (or shelled out the bucks for somebody else to), it will suggest to the customer that you are willing to work hard to make the sale.

As for cost benefit, it sure as heck doesn't make sense to spend a few hundred bucks on a website if you're just gonna sell a few corn snakes for a few dollars profit each. However, I think a lot of the "hobbyists" with websites are people who have created their own. As you've suggested, making the website is part of the hobby for them, so it's well worth it for them.

I for one was a computer science major and ran the student paper of my university's website for years, so making a website is pretty trivial for me (in terms of technological capabilities, not the time involved). I have one semi-finished actually, with php + MySQL. With the php done, all I have to do to update the site is make entries in the MySQL database. By just coding some frontends to the database I'll be able to have all kinds of searches and other nifty features, showing parentage, weights, siblings, breedings, etc... Not only will it work well as a website, but it'll be great for my own record keeping as well. Now, it could be one of if not the most technologically advanced websites out there for herps once it's done (not necessarily good otherwise as I have no inclination towards designing graphics whatsoever). I might not even have produced anything yet at that point, but for me sharpening my php + MySQL is more purposeful than selling the herps themselves. And I may even release the backend part as open source or sell the it with snippets of code for the frontend as a service for people to do their record keeping or to integrate into their websites.

[BoidKeeper]

It's not hurting anyone or anything is it?

Just the person who looks foolish that owns and operates the site if it's trying to make them look like something they and it aren't.

As for the "We" thing. When the Sutherlands use it I think that counts. It's my wifes money too, it's her house too and she helps me once in a while but at the end of the day I'm the breeder, not us. Unless she owned some of the snakes and cared for them and breed them and set up the incubators herself I'll contniue to use I.
Cheers,
Trevor