Good breeders selling on Craigslist?

[Back to Nature]

So I was just browsing around on Craigslist, seeing what animals they have. I saw some horses and goats at breeder prices. I would obviously do a health/pedigree/etc. check before I bought an animal from anywhere, but do good breeders advertise on Craigslist, or just people with poorly-bred animals trying to make a quick buck (no pun intended)? I want to know if it's even worth looking at.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I know of several really nice goat breeders that use CL. I think you have to know what you are looking for and know what to ask. You can tell most of the time just by reading the ad what kind of people they are. So I don't think it's a waste of time but you have to be careful and know what to ask.

 

[Back to Nature]

That's what I thought... I saw a Friesian horse on there, and the breeder was going on and on about how great it was. But it was only $900. If it's that awesome, it wouldn't be $900. (I've seen them go for $35,000.) So I see what you mean by being careful.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I have no idea about the horse market on CL. Only goats. I would think that with horses they might not use CL. If they had great horses it's going to be out of many CL shopper's price.

 

[Back to Nature]

True. Most people on CL only have a couple hundred bucks at most. Do you breed goats?

 

[Royd Wood]

I deal in purebred Galloway cattle, Romney Sheep and Large Black pigs and would never advertise on there but would consider buying anything that catches my eye
You have to be one step ahead but be prepared to be caught with your pants down

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Since I don't have a website up yet and very few people buy newspapers anymore...I use CL to sell my extra chickens and goats. I have really nice breeder stock birds (from private breeders) as well as some healthy but mixed breed chicks on occasion. My goats are nice pedigreed and dual registered goats I bought from other reputable breeders and I sell for competitive prices, so folks that get animals from me are getting really good deals....so good that a lot of people are really surprised at how different my animals are from the usual CL fare. I do get tired of a lot of the CL flakes, but it is a free and easy option for extra animals and there are a lot of really nice people out there. I do see adds that are from knowledgeable and good owners, usually you can see the little extras in the add.....info on personality, or perhaps some details about the particular breed and animal. And the better owners will give you more info if you email back and forth a few times...I usually give a short answer the first time, then if the person is still interested, I will give more info or ask more questions.
Use caution and common sense...if everything doesn't look as good as it seemed when you finally arrive to get the animal, then apologize and leave. I never assume the sale is final until they see the animal and say "I'll take him" and put the money in my hand.

 

[Lamancha Acres 123]

I post mine occasionally on craigslist. Alot of people that sell are mainly boer breeders and were i live most go for chivo (Meat)

 

[redtailgal]

Since I don't have a website up yet and very few people buy newspapers anymore...I use CL to sell my extra chickens and goats. I have really nice breeder stock birds (from private breeders) as well as some healthy but mixed breed chicks on occasion. My goats are nice pedigreed and dual registered goats I bought from other reputable breeders and I sell for competitive prices, so folks that get animals from me are getting really good deals....so good that a lot of people are really surprised at how different my animals are from the usual CL fare. I do get tired of a lot of the CL flakes, but it is a free and easy option for extra animals and there are a lot of really nice people out there. I do see adds that are from knowledgeable and good owners, usually you can see the little extras in the add.....info on personality, or perhaps some details about the particular breed and animal. And the better owners will give you more info if you email back and forth a few times...I usually give a short answer the first time, then if the person is still interested, I will give more info or ask more questions.
Use caution and common sense...if everything doesn't look as good as it seemed when you finally arrive to get the animal, then apologize and leave. I never assume the sale is final until they see the animal and say "I'll take him" and put the money in my hand.

I agree.

I look at CL for several types of things, including critters. One of my "red flags" is a poorly written ad. If they cannot properly spell the breed of animal they are selling, they dont know enough about their own critters to sell to me. I've seen ad's for "bore" goats, "Dovermans", "Rockwellers" and one of my favorites was a "bore wethered buckling" when the picture CLEARLY showed a nubian(ish) doe in milk. Poor grammar is also a major turnoff for me..........I expect a well written ad, and an adequate picture or I just keep right on scrolling.

 

[Bridgemoof]

WE have bought a LOT of animals off of CL. Some good, some not so good. My other half is a CL addict. A lot of times the sheep and goats are culls, basically, but we have gotten registered Boer goats. Many times people use that avenue because it is free, and they are not a registered professional breeder with a website or clientele. It is an easy inexpensive vehicle to reach out to a lot of people. We also sell many animals and other things on CL. We do meet a lot of really, nice people. We do have some registered Boers and Finns, and Jacobs. I am sure we will be advertising this year's lambs and kids on CL when the time comes.

My other half also deals in horses. We have 25 horses. A few of them have come off of CL. Usually the horses are the ones that people don't want and can't get rid of in any other way (besides taking them to the auction themselves.) The horse market is poor, and it is not so easy to unload a horse. We have gotten a lot of horses off of CL that Tim has flipped. And many were FREE. People just don't have the means to get rid of a horse they can't keep themselves. He works with the horse, assesses it's strengths and weaknesses, and does his best to place the horse with an appropriate buyer. That being said, while the horse market in general is not good, we are in a horse-heavy area, and Tim knows a lot of people here. Tim has run an ad on CL that is titled "Looking for the Horse You Don't Want." This enraged so many people, lol, there was a thread on the Chronicle of the Horse Forum about it that went on for about 35 pages, lol.

The best advice I have is to go look at the animal of interest. You will be able to assess the situation and see if it's in good shape and been well cared for.