# Negotiating puppy price?



## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Purely out of interest ... obviously 

Would you "barter" is that the right word? Over price of a puppy? Or if breeder wanted what you considered too much just shrug and say "thanks but no thanks" 

If you are a breeder, would you ever negotiate price, or would it be "my price or no sale." Would someone who tried to negotiate put you off, even if you felt they could offer a great home?

Just curious, I don't think I could do it, but wondered how common it was and how people felt about it


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

No I couldnt. Somehow it doesnt seem right bargaining over a life If I couldnt afford it, I would probably walk away rather than imply that they werent worth the money. To me they become priceless anyhow, no matter how much they cost:lol:


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

I would never negotiate price. Money wasn't something I thought about when getting a puppy, I knew roughly the price range for a cocker spaniel (£500-£800), so was willing to pay within this price bracket. Personally, I wouldn't pay any less than around £500-£600 for a puppy anyway. If the price was hugely over what I was expecting, for example, over £1000 for a cocker spaniel, then I would decline.


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## CheekoAndCo (Jun 17, 2009)

I'd tell someone where to go if they tried to haggle on the price of a pup. And I probaly wouldn't be too nice about it either


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Nope I would never do it and would be offended if someone did it to me too!

Price is the last thing on my mind when looking for my next puppy, although having researched the breed I had an idea of the price range anyway. The other questions all came first, and I felt embarrased to even ask the price, as it was not important to me.

When I raised my Dave and his brothers and sisters, I carefully chose a price that myself and others thought was suitable and the person that emailed all interested and then a few emails later asked if I would sell for £40 less ''because thet are a cross'' did not get a puppy.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Thank you all of you 

What kind of promted this ~

I was looking (not buying!) at a puppy bitch for sale with umbilical hernia. Breeder said it was not an issue, but she should not be bred from.

So as example, would it be reasonable to ask for a reduction in price as personally I would have this repaired at time of spay? A pup with a hernia would not deter me buying it, but I would not expect to pay the usual full price.

Hope that makes sense


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I think a breeder trying to sell a pup with a hernia and not offering some sort of help is not a good breeder at all! This puppy is her responsibility and if it were me, I would be knocking off the vet fees. I know they are not usually life threatening but I think selling a pup who is not 100% healthy is wrong.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

PoisonGirl said:


> I think a breeder trying to sell a pup with a hernia and not offering some sort of help is not a good breeder at all! This puppy is her responsibility and if it were me, I would be knocking off the vet fees. I know they are not usually life threatening but I think selling a pup who is not 100% healthy is wrong.


I would agree with that. I had an older bitch develop a hernia at operation site and we had it repaired quickly, as vet said it could extend and cause a strangulation, as a nurse I agreed with him. I know an umbilical hernia is different though, but personally I'd still want it sorted 

Not sure what a repair would add on to a spaying fee?


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I'm not sure, call your vet and ask for an idea if there would be much extra fee's if they were to repair it at the same time as a spay.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

PoisonGirl said:


> I'm not sure, call your vet and ask for an idea if there would be much extra fee's if they were to repair it at the same time as a spay.


I was simply curious


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I can't imagine it would be much more expensive if any.. as its pretty much where they open to do the spay. Be interesting to know though 

What kind of puppy is it?


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

PoisonGirl said:


> I can't imagine it would be much more expensive if any.. as its pretty much where they open to do the spay. Be interesting to know though
> 
> What kind of puppy is it?


It was a Pomeranian pup ... just looking :001_wub:


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

tempted? :lol:
they are tooo cute


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

PoisonGirl said:


> tempted? :lol:
> they are tooo cute


I am always tempted, but realistically would go via Breed Club! Hopefully find a better type of breeder that way, but this made me wonder what people did 

Mind you some Poms are enormous now, what are the BYB's crossing them with? Other Spitz breeds I guess


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## Miss.PuddyCat (Jul 13, 2009)

We are currently looking at getting a chinese crested and from the prices Ive seen some are 1000$ plus. If our breeder tells us that this is what they charge we will politely decline because cant afford that.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2011)

My rule is:

If you cant afford the breed dont contact.


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## Thorne (May 11, 2009)

Never! I couldn't bring myself to do it and I can imagine it wouldn't project a "responsible caring owner" image, you'd look like someone out for a bargain 

When I had to sell a litter of kittens on behalf of a hospitalised neighbour I had people trying to haggle, very difficult to deal with.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

shetlandlover said:


> My rule is:
> 
> If you cant afford the breed dont contact.


The problem is many people don't know what is an "acceptable" amount to pay.

Prices of pups varies so much. I was once shocked when I approached a Breed Club "recommended" breeder ... they were asking almost twice what Breed Club said was acceptable for a pet quality puppy :scared:


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> The problem is many people don't know what is an "acceptable" amount to pay.
> 
> Prices of pups varies so much. I was once shocked when I approached a Breed Club "recommended" breeder ... they were asking almost twice what Breed Club said was acceptable for a pet quality puppy :scared:


I will pay whatevers asked of me. If I want the breed that much I will pay.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

shetlandlover said:


> I will pay whatevers asked of me. If I want the breed that much I will pay.


That's a bit extreme 
But I am sure breeders would rub their hands together if they saw you coming :ihih:


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## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

I have never bartered with a breeder, and I certainly wouldnt have people on my list that tried it either, usually if someone is after a pup from me, they know the ball park figure for a puppy in my breed, from doing research on somewhere like champdogs,

Mo


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

its not a puppy but someone called me about my kittens and before even asking the price she said 'will you take a offer' !! i said 'no this is the price' she then asked the price and really kept trying to get me down by £25, I said that 'if your more worried about saving £25 than a extremly well bred and reared kitten, then go elsewhere' she then asked me lots of questions which came back around to the price!!

I told her to go to a back yard breeders home then see the difference and it would cost her longer in the long run. she didnt listen and emailed me later asking for help as her '£125 bengal has white paws and is pooing everywhere'  some people just dont listen.


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

Amethyst said:


> Purely out of interest ... obviously
> 
> Would you "barter" is that the right word? Over price of a puppy? Or if breeder wanted what you considered too much just shrug and say "thanks but no thanks"
> 
> ...


pay my price or look elsewhere is my motto. barter all you like , it'll get you nowhere !


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

Amethyst said:


> Thank you all of you
> 
> What kind of promted this ~
> 
> ...


wouldn't a breeder reduce price of pup to cover cost of op to have it corrected............?


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

dexter said:


> pay my price or look elsewhere is my motto. barter all you like , it'll get you nowhere !


No thank's have no intention of bartering with anyone


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## canuckjill (Jun 25, 2008)

After I ask all other questions and the breeder has me her/his questions then I find out the price, I like to pay in cash although a few people have taken cheques. It's easy to find out the ball park price of a breed before you go looking so I don't see any need to barter. When I got Neva the Collie prices ranged from 400 to 800 I happened to find one in the middle. My vet told me the price for umbilical hernia repair at the time of spay was 25 to 50 $ extra so not much really....Jill


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

dexter said:


> wouldn't a breeder reduce price of pup to cover cost of op to have it corrected............?


You would imagine a good one would take this into account wouldn't you? Pup, was actually a tad more than I would have expected to pay for that breed ... if seriously looking 

Not a great breeder I guess :arf:


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Amethyst said:


> Thank you all of you
> 
> What kind of promted this ~
> 
> ...


Ferdie suffered a hernia before he was sold, which is why he was kept back. He was about three months when I bought him. Breeder had waited to have his vaccination completed and had his hernia repaired before selling him. There were three people wanting him, and one of them asked for a discount because of this. They discounted him straight away. I did not ask for a discount, and they gave me one.

The deal was that he could not be bred from but that was fine as I had no intention of breeding anyway.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

newfiesmum said:


> Ferdie suffered a hernia before he was sold, which is why he was kept back. He was about three months when I bought him. Breeder had waited to have his vaccination completed and had his hernia repaired before selling him. There were three people wanting him, and one of them asked for a discount because of this. They discounted him straight away. I did not ask for a discount, and they gave me one.
> 
> The deal was that he could not be bred from but that was fine as I had no intention of breeding anyway.


I think it's perfectly fair to ask for a discount if pup was being sold at "full price" with hernia. I wouldn't pay "going rate" for a puppy that would later need surgery.

Your post is a bit confusing though, did people ask for discount after surgery? Or before, sorry you have lost me there


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

I don't understand why people do this, they must know the price before going to see a puppy, if they don't want to pay the price, why go see the puppy :confused1:

If there is something like a hernia that needs correcting then that's a bit different but depending on the persons circumstances, they may be able to get it fixed for free due to being on certain benefits so to ask for the price of the surgery to be taken off the price of the pup well it's a bit cheeky don't you think ? Maybe an arrangement could be made where the breeder pays towards the corrective surgery once it's been done and proof of payment to the vet has been seen... although should point out that if it's done at the same time of a speying then it will be a whole lot cheaper as it's usually the anastetic (sp) that costs the most.

Obviously something like this is different to just trying to haggle the price down


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## Miss.PuddyCat (Jul 13, 2009)

Heres a question do breeders put their prices up the websites?

Ive looked at both dog and cat breeders websites and non have had a price up so ive had to guess from what Ive seen on other ads or what people say.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> That's a bit extreme
> But I am sure breeders would rub their hands together if they saw you coming :ihih:


Haha, no I am smart enough to look at the usual sale price of a pup in that breed.

For example before we got Alaska I spent 3 months looking at adverts for shelties and speaking to judges of the breed to find out the average price.

Then I saved up....and bobs your uncle got Alaska.:thumbsup:


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

shazalhasa said:


> I don't understand why people do this, they must know the price before going to see a puppy, if they don't want to pay the price, why go see the puppy :confused1:


Usually I guess but not all breeders are completely honest.

I spoke to a couple who travelled about 8 hours to see a puppy, they new price (high) but breeder was well known in show world, some well known dogs etc etc and the pup looked great in pics ... pet quality, they simply wanted a pet.

Got to breeder house and horrified to see how over/undershot sorry can't remember which puppy was :scared:

Pup friendly and happy but they were not prepared to pay such a high price, breeder was "awful" and said take him or leave him, or words to that effect ... they left him


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Amethyst said:


> I think it's perfectly fair to ask for a discount if pup was being sold at "full price" with hernia. I wouldn't pay "going rate" for a puppy that would later need surgery.
> 
> Your post is a bit confusing though, did people ask for discount after surgery? Or before, sorry you have lost me there


He had already had the operation and all his vaccinations before they offered him for sale. All the other pups had been sold at 8 weeks. So, the man was asking for a discount after the hernia had been repaired. They had borne the cost of the operation and the vaccs themselves and made sure he was fully recovered before putting him on their website.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

newfiesmum said:


> He had already had the operation and all his vaccinations before they offered him for sale. All the other pups had been sold at 8 weeks. So, the man was asking for a discount after the hernia had been repaired. They had borne the cost of the operation and the vaccs themselves and made sure he was fully recovered before putting him on their website.


That's wrong to ask for a reduction in price and quite different from offering a puppy for sale with existing hernia.


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Amethyst said:


> That's wrong to ask for a reduction in price and quite different from offering a puppy for sale with existing hernia.


I think that is what the breeder thought so they didn't let him have the puppy. I would have paid more if they had asked, because I had already fallen in love with him, but instead they gave me £200 off because I didn't ask.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

newfiesmum said:


> I think that is what the breeder thought so they didn't let him have the puppy. I would have paid more if they had asked, because I had already fallen in love with him, but instead they gave me £200 off because I didn't ask.


That's very fair and quite generous :thumbsup:

Sound good people


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

Miss.PuddyCat said:


> Heres a question do breeders put their prices up the websites?


i've never seen any that do tbo


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2011)

I once saw an advert in local paper saying well bred jack russell puppy £300 ONO 

I would never barter and have no time for breeders who offer a 'seen in this paper discount' or ONO


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## Road_Hog (Dec 8, 2008)

CheekoAndCo said:


> I'd tell someone where to go if they tried to haggle on the price of a pup. And I probaly wouldn't be too nice about it either


Nothing wrong with discussing price, breeders on here tend to come across as quite snobbish.

BTW, "And I probaly wouldn't be too nice about it either", let's hope we never speak, because you'd get an earful back, which you might not appreciate. 

Good manners cost nothing.


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## The3DChis (Jan 17, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> The problem is many people don't know what is an "acceptable" amount to pay.
> 
> Prices of pups varies so much. I was once shocked when I approached a Breed Club "recommended" breeder ... they were asking almost twice what Breed Club said was acceptable for a pet quality puppy :scared:


Exactly, some do charge way over IMO.
Those are the ones i avoid.
I wouldnt try to haggle i would just pay the going rate.
I asked the breed club when looking for my chihuahuas, and i actually did pay that amount, so i feel i was lucky to find a breeder not just in it for the cash, but they were not cheap either.
Too cheap and i would think there was something up, so it's finding that middle ground.


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## raindog (Jul 1, 2008)

Some people try to haggle about anything. As some might recall, we had a very ill, pregnant bitch handed in to us in November. She eventually had six healthy pups, but only after a huge vet bill for her treatment (and another since for spaying, removal of dew claws and treatment during the whelping process). The recommended donation we ask for puppies is clearly stated on our website and in this case, the sum of the adoption donations for all six pups together didn't come close to covering the mum's vet bills - and that is before we paid for the 8 week vet check, first vaccination and microchipping on each of the pups.
One couple, who passed their homecheck and seemed very suitable, suddenly demurred at the very last minute and said the pup was too expensive and they would only offer us 25% of the adoption fee. They seemed to think they were doing us a favour by even offering that much. Needless to say, we withdrew our offer of the pup and took them off our list of suitable homes.

Mick


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## cheekyscrip (Feb 8, 2010)

I know great people who have chis here and often ifit is someone local, known to them they will offer lower pirce , so the puppy is in good hands and they can keep an eye on it..to friends they may even go free or just the expenses....
..personally if i had certain amount of money which i would think suffice..might the ask a breeder if may consider that price...but as i am mostly into rescue dogs..and cannnot have more at the moment..that is pure theory...
in real life...if I can willtake rescue bodeguero or perro del aqua..lots of young animals abandoned in nearby Spain..

maybe this is an answer ..if cannot buy a puppy..seein the rescues for your fav breed?...and consider carefully all possible issues...


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

I'd never 'barter' The price is what it is and having seen what a trauma the whole process is trying to rear a huge litter properly, I'd pay what is being asked or go elsewhere. Simple.


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## Sparkle (Jan 28, 2010)

I wouldn't barter nor would I accept an offer!

However if the puppy had a hernia I would expect the breeder to pay for the correction. One of my friends got a chi from a very well known breeder, he had a hernia and the breeder paid for the operation! I suppose as a reputable breeder you'd mention it and either take the money off the price or pay for the operation. 

I love poms.. Lotus' breeder breeds and judges poms too and they were such funny little dogs when I saw them so sweet!!


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## Horse and Hound (May 12, 2010)

Think the OP has mixed up bartering with being perfectly reasonable and asking for either the payment of vets bills to correct the issue, or a reduction in the price to cover said treatment.

I don't think I'd barter as in "nah, offer you that much!" but if a pup did have an issue, as above, I'd expect something knocked off price or them to pay for the bills.

If not I'm not sure I would take the pup, any reasonable breeder would surely pay for it?


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## Rolosmum (Oct 29, 2010)

I personally would like to know the price of the pups before going to see them and I would not haggle, if i wanted a pup I would pay the price and if i didnt think they looked worth it then i would go elsewhere.

I think if the pup needed corrective surgery then I would want that done first and then decide on an acceptable price, otherwise I probably would just look out elsewhere for a pup without complications.


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