Call me crazy as a loon!!! That would be me. Pretty unorthidox I guess.
I take deposits and while they used to be nonrefundable they are completely refundable now. For any reason.
I take deposits for assurance someone is truly interested and I will hold the puppy. But they can change their mind at anytime, even if they simply find a puppy less expensive. Why do I do this? Because I feel if they are still looking then they truly dont want this puppy and they arent special to them, so I give the deposit back. It hasnt happened yet but it probably will.
I know alot of you feel a puppy should be checked several times before they leave at the vet. ALot of my puppies leave with one check up only. I talk with potential owners and they are aware of this. They only get bloodwork if a problem is suspected. So after putting a deposit down they find someone with a policy they like better, then they can go with them, no hard feelings. Ill just give the deposit back.
Some people want to put a deposit down at a very early age. I just tell them if the puppy doesnt mature to your liking then you can have your deposit back. I just want people to be happy with the puppy they are getting.
I guess if it was routinely happening that people wanted their deposit back, I would keep a small percentage of it to help with advertising. But Im not doing that now.
The drawback to early deposits is the risk of heart break talked about by bugaboosmom. I did have puppy die that had a deposit on him, he did have a blood panel but died before a bile acid test. His tissue from his heart and liver are being sent to Purdue university for further studies. Of course I gave the deposit back to the future owners, but telling them was horrible. They had waited weeks.
Right now I like this policy, people seem comfortable with it. Of course if they change their mind I dont gain a thing, actually losing out on potential homes. But it seems to give people peace of mind. When my puppies leave that have had a refundable deposit at anytime on them, I feel they are truly wanted. I dont feel the owners feel obligated to buy THIS PUPPY because if I dont Ill lose my deposit.
So those of you who thought I was crazy, know for sure now
