Monday, January 19, 2009

Reading for Lizard Sale... the update.


Ok... we went to the show. Reading about "lessons learned" is at end of post... but please read it all if you have time.
Sold 3 babies. Still have 10 left... who's interested?? LOL.
Please reference the "Reading for Lizard Sale" blog entry before reading if you haven't...
Anyway, we did keep our standards otherwise we could have sold more.
While we were clear about communication, the fact we refused to sell to a couple people (breeder/pet shops), caused them to actually complain to the show organizer. "I didn't know you would have people here who wouldn't sell to breeders" was the complaint. And we somewhat turned down the organizer's inquiry at the beginning of the show. I don't think he realized that we were really not interested in selling an animal that would be alone, bored, bred to exhaustion (females anyway), not actually loved, etc. I sorta think he and his wife got a hair insulted; we talked with both towards the end of the show and got that impression. Not because we didn't sell to them (which we actually did offer (wouldn't pay the price however) at the end because their kids DO play with their animals actually) but because I think they didn't like being "lumped in that group". Whatever... we are not big time breeders... we likely won't let it happen again due to this very fact. They are living creatures with feelings... not a baby machine or to be kept in a tank of males that invariably fight and lose toes, tails, etc. What is came down to in a way was we held up a mirror to all these people and they didn't like what they saw about themselves, so they were po'd we pointed it out and made them face it with a real consequence. They are no different from the "puppy mill" people. Do I think we could have communicated better/differently... possibly. I think maybe we could have told the organizer this up front, but I'm sure the people we didn't sell too would have been peeved (especially one really rude guy... nasty vibes).
The teamwork, family aspects were right on. The community aspect was good... we actually met a couple very nice people and connected back up with a couple friends we hadn't seen since they moved away. The knowledge aspect was good. We really did know our stuff. One sale we were very happy to make I think was because of our knowledge. We also gained some new knowledge... learned the sexes of the babies. Also learned about roaches... yep, kinda icky, but super nutritious, actually clean, and tropical ones can't live in our climate if they escape. We sold quite a lot of the supplies we took also.
Patience was right on too. We will have to be patient to sell all these guys & gals.
So... finally to a READING... What was the lesson learned?
Giraffe is the lesson. Ok, well this card shows a mom giraffe watching over her baby. We sure did that. Also Giraffe literally means sometimes you have to stick you neck out and stand up for your beliefs. Far-sightedness is the main message I see from her. Looking at the book... also Meditation, Intuition. I think we did these things. The book says when discussing far-sightedness, "they are careful what they say and to whom". True to that. Generally I think we were... could have used some tweeking however.
Now to sell the rest of them to homes they will be loved as pets... even if bred once or twice, that's ok. We have an ad on craigslist and a couple vets are putting up posters.

6 comments:

  1. Not the best experience, was it? One thing I would say here is don't be put off yet. You said this was your first one, so I'd suggest looking at different organisers and try as many as you can. Different altogether, I know, but my sister used to sell Bio flow products and experience learned her which organisers did the best shows and which weren't worth going to.

    I wish you luck. :)

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  2. We've been to the show, lots, just not as vendors. I think really it was ok. The other show in town is "invite only". I want to see these babies before March... and that would be a show like 4.5 hours away.

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  3. Good for you for being picky as to who the babies go with

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  4. Good for you for staying true to your standards.

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  5. Cool... I learned a lot about Giraffe by reading this post... :) Best of luck with finding nice homes for your other babies. x

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  6. Lovely commentary from the giraffe. Your integrity on behalf of your animals is admirable. The comment we held up a mirror to all these people and they didn't like what they saw about themselves is very perceptive. Nothing makes people quite as knee-jerk defensive as being shown a truth they didn't want to see.

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