Brokers vs. Breeders
 

What's the difference? Is there a such thing of an Excellent, Reputable Broker?

I also would like to ask, Isn't a breeder someone who buy's a dog, than resell the dog for a higher price than what was initially paid? :confused:

:thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown :mad:

Was there something wrong with my questions?

I really do not want to argue about this.... but my dog is from a wonderful breeder in Missouri. She is healthy,sweet,extremely well socialized,AKC, and I got her through Divapup....a broker. Elizabeth who runs Divapup is a breeder of Maltese dogs and Chinese Crested dogs. She has them in her home with her family...they are extremely well loved and cared for by the greatest vet in the world who also happens to be my vet. She demands the same from the breeders that she represents. I know her personally and she is the warmest and most knowledgeble animal lover I have ever met...I have never heard anything from the breeders on YT that she doesn't do as well.I was given a great health guarentee and when I did visit the vet for a runny nose which turned out to be nothing...she paid for it. I was able to see Vivi's parents and given all the info on the breeder. I know this thread is going to turn into a broker bashing thread but there are those out here that had great experiences and I think it is important that you hear something positive from someone who has actually had the experience. And in no way does Divapup support puppymills...Elizabeth is an activist against them. :)

I think brokers are awful. I don't think there's such a thing as a reputable broker. What reason does a broker have for doing what they do?


bro·ker Pronunciation Key (brkr)
n.

1. One that acts as an agent for others, as in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales in return for a fee or commission.
2. A stockbroker.
3. A power broker.

I don't think that fees, commissions and the same principle as "stocks" should have anything to do w/ animals who are living breathing souls.

Kathryn, I am really trying to see your side of it, but I can honestly state that when I first saw DivaPup's site, I cried. I can't believe how many people are breeding animals are brokering them out for profit. That site just seemed like it screamed out that people are breeding dogs for the hell of it. I mean no offense because I made my own critical evaluation of the site before you said you got your dog there.

No..nothing wrong with your question. I have very STRONG opinions on Brokers..I decided it was best to use this :thumbdown to show how I feel about Brokers..

Kristy,you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I know that I am in the minority here and I am not going to change anyones mind on this issue...I just wanted to point out that I have a great dog from a broker...it does happen...and out her in cyberland there is a cute rolypoly dog named Vivi. :)

I totally agree with you. I have never dealt directly with a broker but I believe there are some good ones out there and Diva Pup sounds like one.

I think that the brokers who mislead you( sometimes the original breeder to the fact that they are just buying to resell the puppy for a larger price than they obtained the puppy) and let you think they bred the dogs they are pushing, are no better that baby brokers who stole babies away from their mom and resold them.

divapups
 

I got Holly through Divapups also and I couldnt agree more with LaviniaHyacynth. Elizabeth and the whole staff were so helpful and carring about my decision. I received so much information about Holly and her breeder before I purchased her then I forward it to my current vet who check it out. I know I am with you on being a minority here but there are some good brokers out there. Elizabeth I agree is one of them. Where I live in S.jersey, my vet informed me about the puppymills in the area and to be leary on purchasing a yorkie/maltese bc of that. I went by the guidance of my vet and he told me to go with someone who offers more then 1 year guart. Elizabeth offers that. SHe dosent support puppy mills and she will answer your questions any day or night if you have them. I am extremely happy with Holly who I received from her(she came from Missouri also!). My vet checked everything for me when we brought her home and checked out the vet who looked after Holly and said everything was good. I know everyone has their own opinion about brokers, breeders etc. But in my decision I went by my family vet(who has been our vet since 1989) and we recieved a wonderful addition to our family.

I dont care for Brokers. :thumbdown But I can say they can get a good healthy puppy in their hands . I know this becuse a broker bought a small female puppy from the same breeder I got Mickey from..............and she was very healthy. The lady broker did state that she usually dont get very many healthy ones like the little girl and she would buy every puppy from her from now and on. :eek: .........That was untill I told My breeder about Brokers and Puppy mills :mad: and now she wont be getting another puppy from her. :thumbup:and I know my breeder regrets that she let her go bacuse she likes to keep in contact with the puppies and their owners, and well she wont be able to with this little one. :(

debate
 

We can not put a breeder and a broker in the same sentence, let alone catogory. Brokers are in the business of accqiring pups for resale..they do not breed these pups, but merely "collect" and "deliver". Yorkie Club code of ethic's addresses dealing with brokers..if you do, you can not be or remain a member.

This says ALOT about brokers right here in YorkieRose's post.

From what I've read...(while I'm sure they're all not 'bad' people) - I personally would never deal with one.....

Good! I don't like brokers, either. They are solely in it for the money. They buy these pups cheap and then turn around and charge 100-200% more for them.
I like to know the home that my pups come from and the home that my pups go to. I like to keep in touch with my past buyers and have done this. Brokers do not care. Once they have your cash, they forget you even exist!

Brokers
 

I do not believe Brokers are bad people either..they are people like all of us..some good, some bad. I fault the breeder in this area..not a broker.

My question is this..why would a breeder NEED a broker? There can only few reasons..they breed in such volume as their income, therefore they must have a 100% cash in hand way to move the pups from the kennel on a regular basis etc.

If a breeder has 30 pups, they must find 30 homes, that is very time consuming and each week they keep the pups there is less profit. They can not breed more pups until those 30 are gone or lose profits..since it is an income that is not an option. The broker is the solution.
What reasons would a small hobby breeder like myself have to deal with a broker?
The reasons I have been told are..

I do not like dealing with all the "nuts" looking for pups...me either!
I do not want the stress of finding new homes..me either!
I do not have time to devote to selling pups..me either!
I do not want strangers in my home..me either!
I love breeding, hate selling..me too!
They live in a remote area and there are no buyers.
Unless you live in the Outback, there is usually a large city to avertize in the newspaper..and people will come to a reputable breeder..I have gone to some very remote places myself..but this does not work for a volume breeder who must move the pups out with no hazzles. JMO

IMO..This is not just a black and white area...
Brokers can be good or bad..There can be gray area as well.
One that acts as an agent for others, as in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales in return for a fee or commission.

I have seen websites that are selling friends pups.
Are these people brokers?

If you help a friend sell pups .. and your friend take you out to lunch, buy you something or sell you a pup for a reduced price in return for the help.
Would you call yourself a brokers?

A broker can be someone who know several breeders and does the leg work of screening, running ads, weeding out the nuts, keeping people away from breeders home who are afraid someone will steal their dogs.

Yes, I think there are good and bad brokers ..just like good and bad breeders.
You just have to know the difference.

I avoid brokers.. I mean.. who knows.. they might be really passionate about dogs.. and there might be some nice people.. But .. I don't feel good about getting a pup from a broker... I would like to get a yorkie from someone who specialize yorkies intead of someone who has different breeds... So I feel more comfortable asking questions....

I have contacted brokers when i was still new on YT.. but.. I feel clearly.. that :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown about broker..!!

I've read that most of the reputable breeders who do sell for friends ...usually do it to help each other out. Maybe.. they work out something between themselves but ....A broker actually BUYS the puppies.... then resells at a higher price.

This is actually a good thread for anyone new to buying puppies....Before I started posting on yorkie sites - I didn't even know there were puppy Brokers out there. There's so much to learn when you get involved with buying or wanting a purebreed dog it blows my mind...especially with the Internet...there are so many sites claiming to be breeding & selling puppies that are actually brokers....it's a shame - Too many people don't see beyond the "Nice" site and end up dealing with a broker because they didn't know any better.

Doing research and reading boards like this can be a huge help to a new person looking for a puppy.

Gray areas..so true.
I do not believe I have ever met a breeder who has not referred a client to friends with puppies. People have been generous and bought me a gift, sent a nice card, nice dinner etc...but in the eyes of the AKC and Yorkie club this does not fit the Broker profile. A broker buys the pups and resells to pet shops, dealers etc.
A person who has a business as a "Referring broker"..a term I just made up. To me it would be a person who get paid to refer buyers to the breeder..but the buyer actually deals with the breeder, sees the parents, kennel, home, talks with the breeders vets on and on..this is what the "puppy Referral" person in any breed club does..but they do not receive an income from this...are they are a broker, perhaps according to technical terms, but not by the rules of AKC and breed club, therefore acceptable in practice.
Does this make any sense..?

There are good brokers and agents. Do you think Bill Cosby or Amy Tan shopped for their show dogs on the internet? No, they know someone in the dog world who knows who's breeding what and they get a fee for finding a puppy that will take them to the top.

I'm sorry, but the labels and blanket condemnation I see here are SO frustrating.

And people with blinders on are equally frustrating. I am pretty sure Bill Cosby didn't get his last Westminster dog from a mill in Missouri. COME ON....

I knew this would turn ugly....I find it interesting that apparently many of you did not read the posts from the people on here that actually bought their dog through a broker.....if they did they would have at least learned that all brokers are not bad...the one I dealt with breeds fabulous dogs in her home and once again does everything that the breeders on here do....she believes in the breeders network that she developed and holds them to a very high standard....THESE breeders are breeders who have their puppies in their homes and follow all the same rules set forth by the breeders on YT...WHy do they do it?... why don't you call one and ask them that question before you try,convict and execute them in a public forum....I thought we learned this lesson before now.

For me it's nothing personal against the broker or the breeder. I don't know them. I have yet to hear of brokers provide the following:

*Name of the breeder and contact info
*History of health problems in the line
*Guarantee pup for health
*Show parents in person
*provide lifetime support

Though these may be nice caring people. I think they way the place puppies is completely wrong. First, these young puppies are stressed uneccessarily moving from the breeders home to the broker, then from the broker to the new owner. That is extremely tramatic for a puppy.

Biewers are being brokered in the US like you wouldn't believe. Most of them are being sold for breeding by brokers. Brokers arent' telling these breeders how to register litters, they don't know the lines, they don't offer guarantees, they do not really know the history, they lie and say people can only buy puppies from them, and they are selling Biewers that are not within the standard for breeding...Biewers with mostly white are not good candidates for breeding. I've heard brokers say teh opposite. You want more white. They may be nice people who love dogs but that's just wrong. Don't forget these little pups are being shipped from Germany and kept at the broker until they are sold, then again shipped to the new owners house. That is cruel!..All for what..the mighty buck!!

I would like to add some breeders are just as crappy and shady.

I don't want to make anyone feel bad if they have bought through a broker. I hope you have had a good experience, hopefully those that are looking for a puppy will just be careful.

Irene, I appreciate your thoughtful response...it is an informed and non hostile opinion based on your knowledge. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:Please let me add that my broker did give me all of the info you listed...I have been in contact with the breeder and had all the records from the attending vet to give to my vet.

I'm glad you didn't take what I said personal. I do not know or have heard anything about Divapup specifically. So I can't make a comment on her. Glad to hear she provided all that stuff.

Kathryn, let me first say that I'm glad you had such a good experience. I've never dealt with Divapup, but I have had personal experience with a local broker here in Jersey and it was a horrible experience.

Since she's posted about it before, I don't think Teri88 and her daughter MeganS would mind my saying that they also had a terrible experience with the same broker. We almost lost our Eskie from kennel cough and trying to get the broker to follow up on the health care promise was a nightmare.

We were lucky. Teri and Megan lost their little Bandit to liver shunt. :( Dealing with the broker was even worse for them. If anyone is interested, I think they would share your story if you asked.

I'm not sure what they're called this month (the name constantly changes because they have so many problems) but they have done business in the past as American Breeders and Breeder's Puppies. Just about every weekend there are people picketing in front of the business and it breaks my heart because I know another family has gone through the heartache that Teri's family and mine went through.

They also told us all the right things before we bought Fiona and talked about the breeder like they were personal friends. They told us that all of their pups were born in the homes of small-time breeders that just didn't like to get involved in the sales process. Months later when we finally got some paperwork out of them it showed completely different information from what we were told. What can I say. I was gullible and clueless.

So I can only say that the broker experience I had was one of the worst experiences of my life.

I only wish that I had access to the information that is so readily available on this forum back then. If anyone decides to shop through a broker, at least they can learn here and know what they are getting into and not be such a dolt as I was.

I got off on my broker tangent and forgot about breeders....

While I know there are bad breeders out there, all of my experiences with breeders (both before and after dealing with the broker) have been good. We've found breeders from Internet searches, referals and through YT.

It also might be worth mentioning that I don't care to breed or show, I just wanted healthy happy pets.

Kathryn
 

Kathryn..I am missing something. You say they breed their own pups, how does this make them a broker..? Do they buy other pups from people and resell them? I do not fault the broker for buying and selling, it is their business, this is America and they may do what is legal.
I fault the breeder for using a broker and having no clue what happens to their pups, no say in who buys them, no continuing relationship with the puppy owner..that is so needed.

If you ever breed a litter, I promise you it takes a hard hearted person to hand that litter over to a broker, walk away and have no idea where the pup is going...or worse yet knowing it is going to a dealer or pet shop.