BLACK LIST
What is a black list you might be asking yourself, and simply put, it is a list of people (customers) who producers will not sell goats to. Every producer has one either written down, saved on their computer, or in their head. Producers share this information with each other so they know who the dishonest customers are that they dont want to deal with now or in the future.
Customers who generally end up on a black list are people who back out of a sale at the last minute instead of contacting the producer right away if something comes up. The producer knows when they have to contact you several times and dont hear back from you that when they do, it is going to be followed up by a horrific story as to why you are unable to get the animal that you reserved. Or, customers who reserve animals and never send the deposit on them end up on this list. Also, customers who reserve animals and dont pick them up in a timely manner. Or, customers who schedule a date and time to come and never show up or are heard from again.
How to avoid being on a producers black list:
BE HONEST! Honesty is always the best policy and Im sure this isnt the first time that you have heard that. If you are buying a goat and something happens that you are now unable to afford it or take care of it, let the producer know as soon as you know, not after they have contacted you several times and the goat is now ready to go. There are a lot of producers who are doing this for a living and a source of income, how would you like to work at your job for two months and make a product and when the product is ready to be shipped your company tells you that they are unable to pay you for the work you did for the last two months, now you will have to take your product and try to find someone else to buy it if you want to be paid for it.
BE COURTEOUS! If something would happen that you are unable to afford, pick up a goat when specified, or take care of a goat that you have reserved, be courteous and at least offer a small boarding fee. Even if it is only $10, the producer will see that as a nice gesture and most of the time they wont take your money for boarding anyway. Or, if you are unable to pick up a goat when the specified time frame is, at least make an offer to pay for boarding, this lets the producer know that you appreciate the fact that they have cared for, fed, and raised your animal until you were able to obtain it.
FOLLOW THROUGH! If you say you want to reserve an animal and are sending a deposit, send the deposit. Or, if you change your mind, let the producer know so they are not waiting for a deposit to arrive that is never going to come, meanwhile they are telling other potential customers that the animal is sold while it is being held for you when they could be selling it.
KEEP IN TOUCH! Dont schedule a date and time and not show up. If something comes up, reschedule and let the producer know so they are not waiting on you to arrive when they could be doing other things.
Customers who do the wrong thing, raise the prices for all of us both producers and other customers as well as themselves. It raises the costs to the producer by having to feed and raise a goat beyond the scheduled time that they are planning on, it also cost the producer in lost wages over time that they will never be able to regain by having a doe with kids on longer than expected and not being able to breed her again until the kids are sold. It then in turn raises the costs to other customers by a producer having to charge for boarding fees or a producer has to pass the extra costs that were incurred previously onto the sale of all the other goats by raising prices. And doing the wrong thing will add costs onto you as well, you will have extra expenses to travel further to buy goats or have to try to find a producer that doesnt know about you. If you become a goat producer, the other producers already know about you and would not buy from you or recommend you to anyone. This is basically a lesson in morals, always do the right thing and treat people the way you would like to be treated. Sometimes it can be embarrassing if you are having financial difficulties or health issues or things do happen that we dont plan for, but you dont always have to be specific, just honest and courteous.