I will apologize in advance for the fact that this reply is a bit all over the place, but I'm really kind of confused about this whole post...
To answer the original question, I would expect that there would be any number of reasons why someone might elect to drop the amount of money they are asking for a chinchilla, whether rehomed or not. If you're asking what would make ME ask someone to reduce the price of a chinchilla... I have told sellers that I am unable to pay the amount they are asking and they have asked what I would be willing to pay and we have negotiated that way. I also would completely understand if someone said to me, "I'm not willing to negotiate on the price." I respect other breeders and the decisions they make in regards to how much they charge, whether or not I would ask the same amount for the same chinchilla.
Personally, if I sold chinchillas to someone and they were returned to me, there would be some things I would consider:
1. If I did not pay anything to get the chinchillas back, I would not sell them again for the same price I had originally sold them for.
2. If I paid the price that I valued the chinchillas at at the time of getting them back, I would sell them for that same amount.
3. If I paid exactly the same price that I had sold them for, I would expect that they were still worth that same amount and treat this the same as #2.
Jo Ann: How long have the chinchillas been in the care of the person they are with now who is claiming that they have coccidia and ringworm? These are both things they could very easily have gotten at another person's home.
They wrote you a check for $500 and have put a stop payment on it? And they are also refusing to pay more of what they owed you? Am I understanding this all correctly? First of all, you could sue them for breech of contract. Once they have given you money and taken possession of your property (which is what animals are considered) they would have to return the property at the very least before they had any legal right to stop payment on a check. That being said, why oh why would you allow anyone to pay you with a check and why oh why would you let anyone take your animals when they still owed you money? Please, please tell me I'm misunderstanding.
These people do not have the authority to "dispose of" animals that they do not legally own, which they don't if they have stolen them, which is essentially what you do if you write a check and then cancel it.
IF they have a problem with the chinchillas and
IF you won't take them back (
which I know isn't the case) then they should follow the law and take you to court, bringing with them the proper documentation to prove that the chinchillas were sold maliciously and in poor health and that you refused to do anything about it.
In regards to a chinchilla who has been under severe stress not accepting a mate or being able to raise kits, this is
NEVER something that can be guaranteed, even when you buy/sell a proven breeder! My breeders are also my pets. I would not be inclined to return them for this reason. If none of my chinchillas ever bred again, then they would just be my pets and I would be perfectly happy with that.
I've read chinchillagrl06's friend's story over on C-n-Q already. Very sad. Very tragic. I'm sorry that she and her chinchillas had to go through all of that.