Question about buying from a breeder long-distance

Hi everyone! I posted earlier that I have a baby Pinapple GCC on wait for me as she is weaned. Well it's just about time she comes home to me but now the questions are suddenly coming to mind!

There are no conure breeders in my province and the only GCC here are overpriced, unsocialized birds from a pet store I've had BAD experiences with, so I had to find a breeder who is a 3 hour flight + 5 hour drive away.

So far the breeder seems trustworthy but I know there are always risks buying from a seller on the internet. Here are my concerns:

1. She requested email money transfer as payment. Is that trustworthy? I think that that, unlike paypal, with e-transfer you cannot dispute a claim if your item does not arrive. She says she wants this type of payment because paypal will charge her extra fees. I want to know what I can do if I do not get the bird or to ensure that I do?

2. On her website her price for the bird is $350 and $125 for shipping: Total $475, but she told me it would be $500, and now, a few days before sending she is telling me the cost will be $525. Does that price fluctuation sound normal?

3. She hasn't mentioned anything about bird insurance or health guarantees. Should I expect these things from her? I just sent her an e-mail about this and am waiting to hear back. If she tells me no should I still get Prim from her?

Thanks guys! I know I am probably just being paranoid but I really don't want to be defrauded! And I want to be sure to get a healthy bird!

I live in Minnesota and am getting my RFM from a breeder in Texas. I have never been comfortable with sending money via electronic ways by internet. I have used paypal with ebay bids and that is pretty much it.

With the agreement of the breeder I am making payments on the baby. I am sending her personal checks that I can watch clear though my bank. This payment plan enables me to prepaire for the baby with saving moneis for his needs and the well bird checkup he will get when I bring him home.

I am only comfortable getting my parrot long distance because this breeder is highly recommended and I am invited to travel to get the baby if I wanted. Her standards of shipping are very high and very detailed. It will cost me 100 dollars to ship (fly the bird from Texas to MSP) and 45 dollars for the crate. The bird will have to have a cert of health from a vet in order to be shipped to me. Even if I flew down there and picked him up by hand I still need that health cert. to bring him on the plane with me.

I am not sure about the breeder keep upping the shipping costs. Its pretty much a known fact here to fly a pet is 100 bucks. Even if it actually comes out a bit lower 100 bucks is the standard you pay. I would check with who the breeder uses to ship your parrot of how much they cost them to ship the bird to you.

As for health certs and guarantee I think she should provide that for you and not be implied but agreed upon. I will say I do not know how this is done in Canada but I have given you information of how my breeder is doing this type of thing here in the US.

I hope this helps. Did the breeder come highly recommended?

Noblemacaw

Everdusk,

I am getting my sun conure from a breeder in Arkansas and I am in Michigan. The breeder I am using requested that I use an electronic wire or money order as payment. I voiced my concerns with this and now we are using paypal. Your breeder may have upped the price to cover pay pal fees. I would ask if that is why the fee changed. It may be worth paying those fees for your peace of mind. I am paying $350 for my bird and $125 for the shipping fees (this includes the crate). The breeder I am using did not up the price when I said I wanted to use pay pal. So far so good, but I will update once I actually have my bird. I'm still waiting on the weaning process.

I also had a bird shipped and paid $100 for the flight, and $25 for the crate. Payed through Paypal.

So your price of $350 for the bird and $125 for shipping sounds right. I would ask why they are charging $50 more.

If you are dealing with a trusted breeder, then paying using the transfer shouldn't be a problem. How did you find the breeder?

Thanks for all the help guys! I talked to her some more and she said she forgot the price she told me originally and is going back to $500, the shipping seems correct to me, at $100 for shipping and $25 for the crate. She was very responsive our first few weeks communicating but has been away a lot the last couple weeks which had me worried...

She had really good feedback from what I have seen and has had excellent results shipping her birds to much farther destinations. I didn't get a recommendation for her though. I found her on a list of official breeders in Ontario and she was the most informative out of the ones I contacted with a long list of qualifications.

She also said she is sending a health certificate with her DNA papers and will guarantee me $375 back or a new bird if there are any health issues (which i pray will not happen!).

Sounds pretty good to me. The only worry is the money transfer now but I know her address and phone number so it's not like she could easily scam me! And I know the bird is real because I was getting weekly updates and photos. I also have her on FB and she seems like a nice person.

Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us getting birds from away!

Yes when you send money through Paypal to someone, they lose about 4% of the transaction but usually breeders will ask you to include the charge in your payment. Which in your case would be $19 (4% of 475). 475 + 19 = 494. So it's how she gets $500, she rounded it up. So if she charges you the Paypal fee then you should pay with Paypal. So I don't understand where the money transfer comes into place?

Echo, I don't totally understand either.. but I noticed on another place on her website the bird's price is $25 more so maybe that was the price she was giving me? So then that doesn't include the paypal fee. I think I could add the fee on though just to be safe. I will ask her! Thanks for doing the math for me! <3