A broker is simply someone who helps a breeder sell their pups, a third party. Sometimes they purchase the puppies directly from the breeder and some times they just take a "commission" if they sell the puppy. There are many breeders who are friends and join together to help each other out as well as to help the consumer find the exact puppy they are looking for. Some breeders with websites will help out a fellow breeder by placing her puppies on the website. There are reputable breeders on this forum who do this and I find nothing wrong with it.
I have come across several excellent brokers in my search for yorkie puppies. As it turns out, every broker I have met was also a breeder in their own right but maybe just didn't have the puppy I was loking for at the time, but referred me to a breeder who did.
The word broker gets a bad rap because some people think it means they "are in it just for the money", and they only think of the "puppymill brokers" who sell to pet stores, or the questionable internet sites like DivaPup and Wizard of Claws, but all those that I have met personally have been very reputable and cared about making a good match between puppy and owner for everyone's sake, especially the puppy.
I have told many stories on here about the wonderful broker I got Buddha and Hefner from. She is, to this day, one of my number one resources for yorkie questions and she trained me and taught me a lot. She sells for her grandmother who is deaf as well s several other breeders and she knows more than anyone I have ever met about yorkie health care, including the vets and other breeders. She has been breeding for over 30 years with her grandmother and she has saved many puppies that the vets had "written off" because she took the time to do the hard wotk and she knew the medications which work best, etc.
Just as there are good breeders and bad breeders, there are also good brokers and bad brokers. Admin's rules state that in order to advertise a puppy for sale, you have to be selling it yourself. That allows for brokers to advertise here and I think he is correct in stating the rules this way. JMHO |