Atten: BREEDERS, refund on a deposit for a puppy

[YorkieRose]

Asking for a deposit and then refunding makes no sense to some..and I certainly see why breeders do not refund..it just does not work for me. I started taking deposits because buyers insisted...no deposit and they felt they had no agreement with me...and I never sell the first time the buyer visits, they wanted to make sure the pup was theirs, deposits make buyers feel better I guess...

..people I deal with have been very upfront, saying they never expected the money back and were surprised I gave it to them...a few that asked for it back really could not follow through with vet care if they had a loss of a job or a serious illness that would take time away from raising the puppy...and if you have people waiting for puppies and most breeders I know do, why not go to the next and be done with it...but that is why we all have different ideas..none work 100% for all...

[PrestigeousYT]

Compulsive people who send deposits on a lot of different dogs. Then never actually following thru with any of them. Breeders deal with a lot of things this is only one.
Basicly it is to stop alot of aggrivation. If they know you are not going to refund the deposit these buyers will not be bothering you.
Many people never contact you back once you send a contract, its amazing but it sure weeds out a lot of potential problems. So contracts help in many ways.
Paypal buttons on breeders sites actually are asking for this type of buyer.
JMHO

Deana
Prestigeous

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by PrestigeousYT

Compulsive people who send deposits on a lot of different dogs. Then never actually following thru with any of them. Breeders deal with a lot of things this is only one.
Basicly it is to stop alot of aggrivation. If they know you are not going to refund the deposit these buyers will not be bothering you.
Many people never contact you back once you send a contract, its amazing but it sure weeds out a lot of potential problems. So contracts help in many ways.
Paypal buttons on breeders sites actually are asking for this type of buyer.
JMHO

Deana
Prestigeous

I can totally understand that. And we both agree, a contract would have alleviated a lot of grief. But, as I asked, if the money were higher, say $3000 at a car dealership w/o a contract, would you (or anyone else )ask for it back?

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

Asking for a deposit and then refunding makes no sense to some..and I certainly see why breeders do not refund..it just does not work for me. I started taking deposits because buyers insisted...no deposit and they felt they had no agreement with me...and I never sell the first time the buyer visits, they wanted to make sure the pup was theirs, deposits make buyers feel better I guess...

..people I deal with have been very upfront, saying they never expected the money back and were surprised I gave it to them...a few that asked for it back really could not follow through with vet care if they had a loss of a job or a serious illness that would take time away from raising the puppy...and if you have people waiting for puppies and most breeders I know do, why not go to the next and be done with it...but that is why we all have different ideas..none work 100% for all...

Thank you for that explanation, Pat. I think I'm being misunderstood some. I never said non-refundable deposits were wrong for all. Lord knows I've lost non-refundable deposits in my time...BUT...there was a contract that stated so. If there's no contract (written or verbal), (like the time I put $1000 on a car at a dealership then changed my mind b/c I realized it wasn't a bargain), then I feel the buyer has a right to fight for the money back. JMHO. In which I did, and won.

So my question still hasn't been answered...is it "okay" to get money back from a big company w/o a contract as opposed to smaller breeders? When is it right and wrong to get back a deposit (with no contract)? If you put tons of money on something, and realized it wasn't for you (no contract signed), would you ask for or expect the money back?

[jennylee333]

For the record, I understand both sides of the arguement...But this is not a car...and posting ads is time consuming....Taking care of pups is time consuming....and dealing with the public is time comsuming.....

The OP is ONLY concerned about time not money....

I understand that MOST deposits are NON-refundable....and MOST of the public understand this too....I do think that under certain circumstances a refund would be the most humane thing to do.....but some people do not refund deposits.

And it is that simple....most breeders do not refund deposits...and most buyers do not expect their deposit to be refunded.

Sorry about your job situation.....

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by jennylee333

For the record, I understand both sides of the arguement...But this is not a car...and posting ads is time consuming....Taking care of pups is time consuming....and dealing with the public is time comsuming.....

The OP is ONLY concerned about time not money....

I understand that MOST deposits are NON-refundable....and MOST of the public understand this too....I do think that under certain circumstances a refund would be the most humane thing to do.....but some people do not refund deposits.

And it is that simple....most breeders do not refund deposits...and most buyers do not expect their deposit to be refunded.

Sorry about your job situation.....

I'm glad you can see both sides. And believe it or not, so can I. But not without a contract. I understand this is not a car, but what's the difference? It still costs money to host ads, time to respond to emails, time to meet people, and the possibility of missing out on customers. Anyway, I'm done "arguing".

To the OP...whatever you decided to do, I hope you are satisfied with your decision. Good luck, hon!

[YorkieRose]

I agree about the contract issue...
I think without a contract stating the terms of the sale it is hard to prove who said what and what agreements were made...can the breeder make a rule without a contract and expect the buyer to adher to it? Or does it goes without saying, deposits are never returned..I don't know the law.

Easy to see both sides on this issue.

PS..we put down $1000 on a house once and had no contract..we had a receipt for the money..we changed our minds in a week and the seller gave us our money back...I guess that was stupid of us and lucky we got the money.

[mypreciouspups]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

I have always, 100% for any reason, good or bad returned the deposit..why force someone to take your puppy or lose their money.....Yorkies are extremely popular and not hard to place..if the breeder had an ad in the newspaper and wanted to deduct the cost for a new ad, I see that fair, otherwise what expenses would rack up?? The pup needs shots, vet care, food etc, as long as it is in the breeders hands anyway...

Some years ago a breeder/friend took a $500 deposit on a bitch we co-owned...she refused to return it when the buyers husband had a stroke. I returned the money myself, told the buyer I would deal with the co-owner..and it bought me such good will..my grooming/boarding business went through the roof...and so did the requests for my puppies. You can not buy a good reputation...well, I guess that is not true..it cost me $500..LOL

The breeder/friend and I parted ways..I asked her to simply treat this woman the way she would want to be in the situation..she refused to return a dollar.

Again Pat another good post that you have done here.. and you are oh so right.. why would any breeder want there puppy in a home when things got bad financially for the buyer.. just does not make sense.. I would never be that desperate to sell a puppy that I would be that way.. thanks Pat..anne

[JaLaYorkieGirl]

Thanks Pat. We have never come to the point where a deposit refund was needed and of course I would look at the reasons why before making my decision. Lord knows I do not do this for the money, so keeping someone's deposit in addition to selling the puppy would probably seem excessive to me. But we do not have trouble finding wonderful homes for our puppies so I would probably end up not caring and send the deposit back.

I can also see where the breeder would be upset and say they are keeping the deposit and I personally would not fault the breeder at that point.

To the OP...have you asked for a full refund yet?

I guess if it were me and I wanted the deposit back I would nicely ask her if she would refund my deposit once the puppy sells. I think that is a good compromise for you both. I think threatening her will only make her more upset with you and an easy refund much less likely.

[scrapindee]

I agree that as part of the deposit a contract should be signed. In this case there was no contract and only 4 days had elapsed. The seller will have more opportunities to sell the puppy. I would refund the the money.

I had a different situation where someone had put a deposit on a puppy and then four weeks later she disappeared. Even though a contract had been signed and it was a non-refundable deposit, I felt I needed to return the deposit. She moved and did not cash my check. Eventually she called me to tell me what had happened but she would not take back her deposit money--

[Olivier]

If I was the breeder , I would give her back the deposit and wish her very good luck for another one .

[jennylee333]

Originally Posted by Olivier

If I was the breeder , I would give her back the deposit and wish her very good luck for another one .

I would to under this circumstance.....but many wouldn't and that is their deal...I do not believe in judging some one on their actions. Each to his own.

I do think that deposits are to be a good faith commitment on both parts.

[evenstar]

Personally, I do not take deposits on puppies. However, IMO if a deposit is given then the breeder is holding that puppy for you (whether there are potential buyers or not is not an issue). Let's say that you didn't change your mind and the breeder was offered more money for the puppy, what would you say if they sold it to the other individual and returned your money? Wouldn't that be wrong? I think that it is. So conversely - if you change your mind and no longer want the puppy then the deposit is the breeders. That is the reason that some breeders ask for a deposit in the first place - to weed out the people that are not sure they want and can afford a puppy. That the breeder is offering to return even part of your money after placing the puppy is more than fair.

Charlie

[jennylee333]

Originally Posted by evenstar

Personally, I do not take deposits on puppies. However, IMO if a deposit is given then the breeder is holding that puppy for you (whether there are potential buyers or not is not an issue). Let's say that you didn't change your mind and the breeder was offered more money for the puppy, what would you say if they sold it to the other individual and returned your money? Wouldn't that be wrong? I think that it is. So conversely - if you change your mind and no longer want the puppy then the deposit is the breeders. That is the reason that some breeders ask for a deposit in the first place - to weed out the people that are not sure they want and can afford a puppy. That the breeder is offering to return even part of your money after placing the puppy is more than fair.

Charlie

[silkysilke]

A deposit is normally paid to be sure that you are a serious buyer. And that is also one of the reasons why it is non-refundable.

I really think that you should be happy that she will give any of the deposit back, that is a nice gesture!