The important thing is, do your homework, take your time and find a good breeder you get along with. Prices will vary, but if you want a purebred, be
prepared to spend a little money (not that you'll necessarily need to). I also noticed prices differ in several areas of the country, but I'm not sure why-
I ran into this same thing when adopting my purebred Larador Retriever 4 years ago. There were puppies that ranged from hundreds, to thousands of dollars. It seemed so daunting at first. So I took my time and found a very good home breeder who just loved their dogs, loved the breed, and were more interested in producing good representations of the breed, rather than making a ton of money. They were there to answer my questions, help me out, gave my puppy a health guarantee, all of his shots, AKC registration, full money back guarantee if there was ever a diagnosis of hip displasia , and so on. Plus, our puppy came from a line of champions and all this for the grand price of $600. My lab is so beautiful and so well behaved, I would have paid much more, but I took a lot of time to find them- these breeders were a hidden gem.
When I started researching Yorkies, I quickly found that not only was the average price generally higher, but the RANGE in price was huge. So I did the same thing- did my homework, and found a good breeder, much like the one I found for my Lab, etc. and now little Sadie is coming home soon. Plus, having a good relationship with the breeder is a must. You have to get along, because you'll need them!. I was wanting a Yorkie for about 4 or 5 years- I researched a ton of breeders, but the stars just seemed to line up with Christy and Sadie. The whole situation just seemed to fall in place so I consider myself lucky.
I also have a father in law who breeds German Shepherds, and he charges thousands but if you knew what he went through for these dogs, you'd not be offended by the price. He travels all over the place for them, puts all these dogs through general training in Germany, Shutzund training, he has trials and shows at his house (lives on a farm), shows them, is so selective of which pairs to breed, etc. and I don't think the man has had a full night of sleep in years, but the dogs he produces are just beautiful and the majority of them have gone on to do service work. If you ask me, paying for one of his fully trained, socialized puppies is a steal- I've seen people charge $20-30,000for puppies with champion lineage- it can get pretty crazy.
So be patient, and do your homework!!
