What is the average price?
 

I was just wondering what the average price for a yorkie is? I knew they can rate differently dpeending on size, coloring etc....., can anyone elaborate a little more? Is there a difference between a show dog and not a show dog? or if females differ from males in price?

Welcome to Yorkie Talk

I'd say generally Yorkies can range between 800-1400 dollar (MOST...if you are going to breed or are purchasing for show quality, they will be more)

Females are usually more expensive than males. If a yorkie is goign to be over standard in weight (over 7 lbs) they are usually cheaper and if they are going to be very small they are usually more expensive. This is fine as long as the breeder is not advertising their small yorkie as a teacup. A breeder who is going to sell you a smaller yorkie and charge a higher price should tell you are they are doing this because there is a higher chance this small dog will need future medical care than a dog that is 5-7 lbs and I think (i'm not a breeder) that they are charging more to ensure the small dog is goign to a house that can care for the dog financially.

Dogs also range in price depending on what state you are in or if there are a lot of breeders around you.

I live in Ky, my lil girl was 600, she weighs about 9lbs right now but she is pregnant, I know a woman who breeds here and gets 800 for females and 600 for males. I don't know much about coloring making a difference in price, interesting, I thought breed standard is born black and tan.
Paula:cool: Halle:aimeeyork Brutis:aimeeyork

I do know that as a yorkie breeder that there are many different ranges for all sizes of the dogs. I bought my female for $700 (she's 5 lbs) including shipping, and my male for $1200 (he's 3.5 lbs) (I got a really good deal!, he should have been sold for $1800 like his brothers) including shipping. It depends on the breeder and what they charge really. Usually the bigger the dog 6-7 pounds the cheapers they are and the smaller they are 2-5 pounds the more they cost. The average that I have run across is about $1500 for males, and $2000 for females AKC registered (mostly). It also depends on if they are being sold as pets (limited registration) or have breeding/showing rights (full registration). Like I said above it all depends on the breeder, I sell my dogs for $1800 for males (includes all shipping costs) and females for $2300 (including all shipping costs) if sold with full registration ($1500 male, $2000 female without shipping). My pups will usually weight 3-5.5 lbs. Visit my website for more information. Home

My female was $1200. Mom is 5 pounds Dad is 2 1/2 pounds. She is reg. and I can breed her if I wanted but will not.

Prices depend on so many thing. Price is different depending on the state you live in also females are more than males also (and most people don't like this) depending on the size of the pups, which sometimes makes sense...if you have a bigger mom you will get more puppies most of the time...the smaller the mom you might only get 2 pups. There are so many variables...I think you just need to fine a pup you like and a breeder you like and trust. Good luck on getting your baby.

With the people I know - price is Not determined by the state you are in, but actually the quality of your parents, lineage. and quality of the pups. If of course you are dealing with parents and lines that are not championed - they are cheaper. The closer they are to the pups being championed sired/dam and good quality to standard - the higher the price. Also which champions they are matters too. I have paid an average of 3200. and higher for each of my dogs, but they are championed sired or both championed sired and dam. There was no guarantee they (the pup) would themselves become championed. When I have bred using someone elses stud - I have paid upward above 500. and way higher than that (I mean double that) just for the breeding alone. This price seems to be normal no matter which state you are in. I prefer to have champions as close as possible to my pups as well as top quality parents that are compatible to one another - hoping they will produce the best pups possible. It is all about the standard and how close they are to it. This also includes health, temperment, etc...

I do not believe that a breeder should charge more for breeding rights. Either the dog is worthy to be bred or not. And how would someone really know for sure at the age of 12 weeks old? A show prospect pup is usually older when purchased to see how they are developing and whether or not they have promise. Still no guarantees if they will finish or not. There is so many things that can effect how they show - from what is their competition to personality, quality, movement, training, the judge, etc...

Pet quality - can be one that has a fault/s (wrong bite, not show personality, etc..) to a breeder that sells a good quality dog to a pet home this is with Limited Registration. I sold a show prospect to a pet home only because I thought this was the best home for him. He is a beauty and probably could have finished. They are very lucky.

:good job: :goodpost:

i have seen yorkies listed in my local ohio newspaper for 300... but i havent seen them. i believe 600-800 is a good starting price for a yorkie pet. the value is closer to 1200 to start out...a good breeder with nice dogs will be selling yorkies for at least 1200.. up to 2500.. i think its ok to charge more for breeding rights, as most new breeders need to be able to put out lots of cash to get started.. breeding dogs is not a money maker if done right.
be prepared to lose money as a new breeder.. if you are making money, then something is not right..a show breeder should be able to get 3-4 thousand in my opinion.. but in todays economy, people are definitely lowering prices.:aimeeyork

I bought one of my girls for 1500$ and one for 1200$. The male I bought was $1000. Depends on if they are CKC and AKC. Mine were AKC. I guess price is all dependent upon what someone thinks they are worth:) Matter of everyone's own opinion I guess:D

Maybe this is a bit off topic but I recently heard someone paid $3200 for a "teacup" pet quality yorkie. What the value of a pet quality yorkie is I really don't know as it really depends on what the breeder wants to charge for their babies. However, I do think quality counts. If a dog is going to be a pet (and that means a spayed pet) I do hope prices would be lowered for pet pups. A show dog has a lot more time, effort, and heart invested in them to be able to earn championships so I understand higher prices for them.
That being said, I do think it is in poor taste to charge outrageous prices for something labeled "teacup." I feel bad for all those suckered into paying high prices for something that doesn't exist.
Everything I posted is just my opinion and is solely based on what I've learned here. I'm not a breeder and have never had a dog (yes I know, I have a sad existence :p) and I'm sure some of our more experienced breeders know more on this topic than I do.

I have to say I think price varies considerably from region to region. In my particular region, yorkie prices have hit rock bottom. You can buy a puppy all day long from the newspaper for $350.. granted these are six week old puppies with a plethera of health issues, parasites and God only knows what else. Every tom dick and harry seem to be smacking two dogs together and popping out puppies. I have found that VERY few of my pet puppy inquries (notice I say inquiries, not buyers..I would never sell to idiots like this) give two hoots about the fact that my puppies are champion sired from tested dogs, and well known bloodlines..they don't care that my puppies are already altered, fully vaccionated, and blood tested, health warrantied..they care about PRICE, size and sex. I am inundated with people like this on a daily basis. I actually had one woman tell me that I was insane for asking SIX HUNDRED dollars for a small neutered male puppy because who would pay that much for a dog they couldn't even breed anyways. It probably would have been a good oportunity to educate the woman, but I was actually left speechless. (rare for me! lol) I have six hundred bucks in the dogs vetting for God's sake.. it's basicly a free dog! How much cheaper can you get than free? Yet the BYB down the road who breeds tiny little soft coated dogs can get $1500 no warranty, no problem... all day long. I find something a little wrong with this scenerio.. lol I don't breed so I have pet puppies to sell..I breed for myself..but it would be nice to at least come close to breaking even when I do have a pet puppy to sell..lol

I have found the majority of pet puppy buyers want a small "babydoll faced" (their term, not mine) short legged FEMALE puppy that won't exceed 4 lbs.. and they want this for $800 or less.

You ALTER your dogs before they go home? My gosh, I wished more breeders did this. I didn't know they could be spayed and neutered so young though. I guess as long as it was safe to do so, I know I would rather have an already altered puppy instead of having to go through the anxious process later.

As for average price, good luck on that one. You can find yorkies at many different prices. I've seen some for $6k (which I find to be way too high, even if they are cute) and some for a few hundred. Quality does not necessarily go up with price (or necessarily go down with price), but it seems like most reputable breeders advertise between 6-900 for male and 8-1200 for female with some higher and some lower. I got Breyli for an extremely reasonable price and couldn't be happier. I do think that the "average" price will likely drop in the near future since many people just cannot afford that anymore on top of caring for a dog (see the reduction of sale of pet shop puppies with the down turn of the economy and the rise of owners turning dogs into shelters since they can't afford the care the dog needs).

Becki - good post!

I think we have a big gap with different types of breeders. We have the show exhibitor breeder that breed only for themself, do all the testing, know pedigrees/lines, and try to protect the breed.

Then we have an average pet person breeding. There is going to be a big diference, in my opinion. Many pet breeders I have run into that breed (not all but most) do not do testing before breeding and I am not just talking about the Burcelious test, but the full gambet. Nor do they know about lines. I have asked before about pedigree of their dog and they had no clue what I was talking about. I asked about their dogs flaws compared to the standard and they thought I was talking about the size, like toy, standard, etc..- like poodles have. LOL So if they have no clue and still breeding - what do you think your chances are of getting a nice yorkie that is healthy. Just because the parents seem healthy, does not mean there is not an underlinning problem that will show up later. Or could not be past on to theri pups and show up there.

Then there is the pet breeder that does know about lines and says they are thinking about showing to get a nice show prospect puppy and then decides not to show and is just breeding it to get as many pups out of them as possible.

Then you have your person that is trying to learn, knows about pedigrees, but does not want to spend more money to get a nice dog. So instead they breed what they got to begin with even though it is way below standard.

I have seen a lot of web sites out there too - with photos of their sires and dams that they are breeding and they are really ugly yorkies.

I won't even go into puppymill breeders.

I say buyer beware - if you are trying to buy the cheapest yorkie you can. It may cost you more than you expected in the long run with vet bills or one that turns out not to look like a yorkie or a really bad representation of one.

JMO - but I feel that one has a better chance of getting a healthier, prettier yorkie from someone that has a good strong line behind the pup with testing being done and good qulaity champions behind them close by - at least in the 2nd generation. And you can still find good prices from breeders like this that can't keep all the pups for themself - they are usually just looking for one good one.

Unfortunately there are a lot of uneducated buyers that have no clue and just want a yorkie for the cheapest they can get it for. They think if the puppy is cute - it will turn out cute too. Wrong. Our breed is one that goes through many changes and you have to know what to look for. Reason why you have to research and learn all you can about the breed before buying. Cheapest does not mean best buy!
T.

I haven't altered all of my pet puppies, just the ones who are old enough. I wont put a 12 week old puppy through that.. maybe a larger male, not a female. But the difference is, I don't sell most of my puppies at 12 weeks.. Since I am breeding for myself, I want to hold on to them until I am sure they are not going to be what I want for show before I let them go.. this may mean six months, this may mean a year. At six months plus .. Yes, they're "fixed" before leaving me... my hard work and the hard work of those who came before me that make up my lines deserves to be protected. There are sooooooooo many "CKC" registered puppies who have been bred from AKC limited reg. parents.. I'm not taking chances. The rest are on spay/neuter contracts.. papers with-held until proof of spay/neuter.

What you quoted as average prices are my average prices as well.. typically I start males at $600-$1000 and females $800-$1200+. I have more larger males than anything it seems.. lol I can count the female puppies I've placed in pet homes on one hand. I have let older (6 mos plus) larger males go for much less than $600 for the right home.. it's not about the money to me.. yes I'd like to break even (ha!) but for me, it's about finding the right match in the perfect pet home.

Unfortunately in my area, my prices are considered "steep".. but what you GET in return far outweighs the $350 newspaper special... unfortunately a lot of people who inquire with me aren't intelligent enough to realize that. That's okay, gives me lots of opportunities to edcuate..that is when I'm not left completely speechless.. LOL

I think my favorite was when I was trying to explain that there was no such thing as a Teacup.. the girl said "Oh yes there Is, I have proof there is.. I own one!".. yeah, that was another speechless moment for me.. I think I finally replied with 'well allrighty then!".. lol

Becki

The higher price for the small ones is simply because "they can". there is a higher demand for hem and people are willing to pay outrages prices for them.

Many unscrupulous breeders will even sell a 6 wweek old puppy, telling the uninformed buyer, that the puppy is 12 weeks old, to make them think it is going to be small, just so they can get more money for them.

Oh yes I have heard that one myself.
No arguing with that kind of logic.

becki, I sooo agree with your posts. it is hard to compete in my area when the paper is full of $250. yorkies. yes, that's right!!!! $250. People are looking into cheap and not remotely interested in our pedigrees and etc. i recently sold a year old male for $400. I had advertised him as Judabob on both sides. People wanted to know what Judabob meant. I took less than half what I had originally asked for him because I know he went to a good home. other times, I myself have called to inquire about dogs and asked about the bloodline or pedigree and have had the people come back withm "what's that". You know someday I am going to look at one of these 250., no health guarantee or anything yorkies and see what they are putting out for that price.:)

I don't entirely agree with your post... what I do agree with is that yes, there is a higher demand for smaller yorkies, and yes, from an economical stand point it would make more sense to be able to recoup more of your expenses from a more "sought after" dog.. HOWEVER I don't think anyone reputable is doing it because "they can".. sooooooo much more care goes into the smaller ones....and very often they must stay with the breeder until much older than the typical puppy because they are not physically or emotionally ready for a new home.. that is worth SOMETHING, don't you think? I had a puppy a couple of years ago who was born with a cleft lip. Everyone told me to put her to sleep, but I couldn't do it. She couldn't nurse.. I had to tube feed her...every 2 hours around the clock for FIVE WEEKS. AT this time I also had a 4 month old human baby, so sleep was something that had become completely foreign to me. At around 10 days old the puppy got constipated, and dehydrated, and I thought for sure I was going to lose her.. I did sub Q fluids, kept her warm and prayed a lot. I promised God that if she lived, I would find some way special for her to give back. Miraculously she made it through the constipation, and was able to be weaned at 5 weeks old to lapping formula from a bowl. I can't even explain in words how much I loved (and still love!) this little girl... when she was old enough I GAVE her to a family (gave, not sold) who is doing pet therapy with her, as I promised God I would do, so she could give back in thanks for her life. This little girl matured to be 3 lbs, and is the CUTEST little stinker you could ever imagine, even with her little cleft lip she is still just absolutely a gorgeous little Diva. I poured my heart and soul into that puppy.. to me that is priceless, so there was not a price that could have ever been paid for her that would have ever been enough. Knowing that she's helping children & other people with disabilities and issues is all the payment I ever needed.

SO...not everyone charges a "ton" for the small ones just "because they can".. lol sometimes they can, and just don't.

Becki

Dee, I am so tempted to go see some of these places and dogs that are being sold like that, and see just what these $350 puppies and their breeders are all about.. but honestly, I'm afraid to track back parvo, fleas, coccidia, etc. etc. into my own crew. I really am curious, however.. just WHAT do you get for $350..?

I talked to a girl the other day who bought a puppy at six weeks from a broker, took the pup to the vet, vet said it was more like 4 weeks.. it had no teeth...it was covered in fleas, had roundworms, coccidia and tape worms, this girl nursed the baby back to health as much as she could, and kept the puppy alive for 8 weeks amazingly.. and she ended up finding her dead at 12 weeks of age in her sleep. The broker says no refund because it had to have been her (the buyer's) fault. I wish she'd gotten a necropsy.. what do you bet it was a liver shunt? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... this poor girl paid $800 for that puppy. That is just pitiful.

Becki

Wow, that was a really touching story - thanks for sharing that :).

My Marcel was small, and he stayed with his breeder until he was 4mths old - at that point, I picked him up and he was about 1 pound 4 ounces. She was comfortable letting him come to me bc 1) I already had a yorkie and knew what I was getting into, 2) I'm a nurse and 3) I asked a TON of questions until I felt uncomfortable. Even so, I cannot express how truly vulnerable a 1.4 lb. puppy is - and you can be darn sure that I'm more than willing to pay a breeder more for having the foresight and integrity to keep a vulnerable pup as long as is necessary for the pup's safety.

I can't imagine anyone SELLING a cleft pallet puppy.* The main concern for any puppy is a good home, but moreso with special needs puppies.* To find someone that is willing to take them and able to care for them is priceless.If anyone is claiming that they charge more for their small ones because they want to make sure the people can afford the vet care,* I find that amusing.* Is that why they charge $10000 for the "micro minis"?I agree that some people CAN but choose not to.* However, those that do, do it because they can.

I agree. :)

I think my point was left out while I was so wrapped up in telling the story.. lol The point is, even if she hadn't had a cleft and went through that same experience.. I made a promise to the big guy upstairs that if she lived, she was going to go on to give back in thanks.. and she would have been "priceless" and no charge to her new family regardless.

the cleft was actually a pretty mild hairlip and could have easily been repaired, but that's beside the point. lol

I bet those people she provides therapy for treasure her far beyond any dollar amount. I think this was an inspiring story and thank you for sharing it.

I had a former coworker that bought a 6 week old puppy for a couple hundred dollars, it was actually cheaper because she was willing to wait a couple weeks! Of course there was no health guarantee, no vet care....nothing! But hey, she got a great deal, right? I didn't point out all the additional costs she would incure since the puppy hadn't been to a vet yet or what could happen if she gets sick. I figured she'd discover that on her own.

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