Looking for Bird Broker Info

[Nerien]

You keep hooking the terms broker and flipper together as if they are one and the same.

They are not. A broker is a legitimate business. A flipper is someone looking for a quick buck. That applies to all business situations, not just the sale of birds. Using a negative term IS an insult.

Asking what brokers do with their birds is like asking how stores handle their employees. There is no one answer. You have to ask about each store by name, you have to ask about each broker by name. You can't ask how stores handle the birds they sell unless you ask which stores, the answer for a Petsmart or Petco is completely different from the little mom & pop store who has a few local, trusted breeders they accept birds from.

The answer you want us to give you does not exist.

[Ginene]

There are no brokers on the forum. And although some of us have purchased from breeder/brokers, I doubt anyone knows the practice unless they visited the property and witnessed it themselves.

[birdclaws]

I'm fortunate to have an importer / wholesaler near by so I am able to watch the birds and see how they are handled.

I would recommend doing this if it is at all possible. I have had good and bad experiences with bird people whether they are breeders, brokers or flippers.

The best thing you can do is use your own judgment each bird at a time.

[TheWhiteFinchAviary]

You have to ask about each store by name, you have to ask about each broker by name.

Now that is a brilliant idea! I was hoping people here would have first-hand or even hearsay experience but that doesn't seem to be an option. I think asking each one individually would be a brilliant choice, I could even write an article with the results for my site.

You keep hooking the terms broker and flipper together as if they are one and the same.

They are not. A broker is a legitimate business. A flipper is someone looking for a quick buck. That applies to all business situations, not just the sale of birds. Using a negative term IS an insult.

Understood totally and I will be sure to make the separation in the future. Thank you for explaining it to me! The whole reason for this post is so that I can gain more knowledge about both types as they are not highly published about in the Finch world.



Someone recently brought up in private the fact that some members here are taking this post as an attack on brokers or flippers because of my previous comments on another broker with negative reviews.

This post is not an attack, not an insult, not a passive aggressive dig. I'm not the type of person to be anything less than genuine and my words should be taken as they are. My intent is solely to gain information on a topic that I have no knowledge about, and yet I get asked about it weekly. I think the idea that Nerien had to interview each current business is going to be the most fruitful for this purpose.

Thank you to everyone who has been giving me their personal experiences and recommendations!! They've been really helpful and I'll keep everyone posted as to what I find out.

[mightymarshal]

How does one even get started as a broker? Thus far, I've been to two and they both said they either buy from breeders or from wholesalers in other countries but how in the heck do you meet breeders who can supply that many birds at a low enough cost to resale them and make a profit, or find people who import birds from other countries? The internet is an awesome resource but what in the world do you even google?!

[Sally]

IMO the first prerequisite for a broker is to be very experienced with and very knowledgeable about finches. Most brokers have been in the business for years, started out breeding on their own, and eventually expanded into the broker end of the business. Some simply buy up excess stock from breeders, some deal with the importers and buy stock from the quarantine stations, and some still breed some but not all of the birds themselves. Some have contacts in other countries, but all imported birds still have to go through quarantine.

To be a broker requires a huge investment in stock. There are some brokers out there who do not maintain a large stock themselves. They take your money, and then they try to find the birds you want. The successful brokers have spent years developing a network of suppliers, it is not the type business you go into without lots of experience.

[mightymarshal]

Oh, believe me, I have zero interest in becoming a broker. That seems like more than a full time job caring for the hundreds and hundreds of birds that you do have on hand plus finding buyers and getting the birds yourself. The investment in cages alone has to be astronomical plus perches and food and then the birds themselves. Then you have to have a place to keep the birds that's at lest slightly temperature controlled and away from the elements. If you're quarantining for a month then you have at least a month before you can even offer the birds, much less turn over purchase and upkeep cost. Maybe one day, 40 years down the line when I'm considering retiring but for now that's a big commitment that I'd probably end up resenting when it was no longer an enjoyable hobby and instead was a full time job.

[TheWhiteFinchAviary]

Huge thanks to everyone who supported my large-scale breeders article & submitted their interview answers! I've got plenty of participants at this point but I'm still taking submissions from anyone who wants to participate. All great practices celebrating our diversity as a community. I'm also considering doing a regular spotlight for individual hobbyists & their setups in the future, since it's very interesting & informative to see what everyone has established! Lots of great ideas.

Along the topic of broker businesses & their behind-the-scenes, I spoke with the owner of Paradise Earth in depth and he is by far setting the standard for the rest. He's got huge planted aviaries with large baths & lots of perch space, strict quarantine procedures, even some breeding and hand raising of his own. I would definitely recommend his business & will consider trying them out in the future!