How do breeders set their prices??

[mstplumeria]

I have been searching for my "perfect" Yorkie baby for several months, have visited several breeders and their dogs, and have one very big question. How do breeders set their prices?? I have seen pet quality puppies being sold for $400 up to $1500. None of these breeders do any health testing, or offer a health guarantee. I have seen other breeders offer a short health guarantee and charge $800-$2200 and these have no health testing on the parents. Most say that they are doing it not to make a profit, but for the future of the breed. How is a litter of 5 at $1200 each NOT making a profit??? Maybe if they were doing all of the available health testing and donating to rescues, but that is not the case either. Also, some breeders charge more for females, but do they cost more to take care of and whelp? I just do not understand! I hope that someone can ~politely~ clear this up for me. I am not looking for a cheap pup, but would like to know why the prices are so different. How do I tell who is really in it for the love of the breed and not the love of the money?

Thanks in advance!
Missy

[MissiesMommy]

Can't help you with how breeders set prices but wanted to say THANK YOU for not supporting breeders who claim to love the breed and have nothing to back up their claims with!!

Breeders who do it for the dogs show their dogs, and do all the appropriate health testing. They aren't hobby breeders and they don't have a bunch of litters a year. They show their female to ensure she's quality, health test her to ensure she's quality, and then match her with a titled, health-tested male to produce healthy, well-tempered, awesome representatives of the breed. I posted an article in the breeding forum on finding a reputable breeder, so you might check that out, too. Good luck finding your perfect Yorkie, and again, kudos for being smarter than the money grubbing "greeders" who "love" the breed.

[MissiesMommy]

Here's the link: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66193

[Bizzymammabee]

First off good luck finding the right healthy baby at a price your budget can handle. If you know you are not going to show then I would get a pet quality pup that is as close to standard as possible.

Honestly I am not sure as to what the rhyme or reasoning is for the pricing. Obvioulsy a dog that is champion sired and show quality can run you big bucks. As for a pet quality dog I find that estimated size of the pup seems to play a big part in the pricing. Females that are show quality can definitely run big bucks because you have the possibility of showing and if she gets finished and you do breed her the pup can be sold at a high price. Female dog pricing can run you more if you buy her on a full registration with breeding rights. For a female that has limited registration you tend to have a spay neuter contract. It's a rocky road to travel. Males tend to run less overall. Either way a healthy dog will run you a few dollars unless you get to be friends with a good breeder and they are kind enough to go easy on you like my new pups breeder did.

My dad used to breed dogs and I can say with the way that he cared for his dam and the pups he really didn't make any money at it. He pretty much broke even.

Again good luck. I hope the bit of information I shared with you helps to clear up a bit of the confusion. There are a lot of breeders on here and if you ask around someone can point you in the direction of a breeder that might be near you that they purchased their baby from. Just beware of the back yard breeders and the money breeders. There are tons out there.

[Annuta]

I don't breed. In fact, I am very new to Yorkies. But, looking at pricing from a strictly financial point of view, I think that most of the prices I've seen are fair. It all depends on what you are getting. If you are getting a dog that is within standard, but isn't show quality, it should run less than a champion-sired puppy (like someone has already pointed out).

Breeding is not cheap. It's not just throwing two dogs together and a few months later - boom, puppies for sale! From my limited research, breeding a toy breed like Yorkies, is not cheap. There are often complications during delivery. Puppies need to be vaccinated. The mother needs special care during and after pregnancy. The breeder must have special facilities to house the litter. And, above all, so much time is invested into raising a healthy, well-socialized puppy. If the breeder shows her dogs, well, then there's the added expense of going to the show, extensive grooming, etc.

Then, of course, there's the supply-demand issue. Prices will always be higher for things that are in demand. Yokries are extremely popular and many people are willing to spend significantly more on them than on some other breeds. Just the nature of capitalism. Just my .02c

[CO_yorkie_momma]

I am a breeder that does not show my dogs but it is certainly something I am interested in for the near future. Like you pointed out, yorkies are priced rather high and a breeder that has several dog has obviously put a huge amount of money into buying thier breeding stock. My dogs cost me anywhere from $1500.00 to well over 3000.00 to buy. My cages alone cost nearly 200.00 a piece and while I dont cage them except to sleep at night, I still need to have them to be able to seperate dogs when the females come in to heat. The vet bills are very expensive and I have been lucky and havent had health issues or needed C sections but just the shots and wormings and xray and yearly checkups are quite pricey where I live. I feed my dogs only the highest quality food and supplements and spend a small fortune on treats, supplies, grooming products, whelping supplies, and so on and so on and it adds up. I wont lie to you and say I am not in this to make money. It will be a few years before I ever see a profit but I do hope it will happen one day. I have invested way too much money, time and effort into doint this to not want to profit from it. Not every breeder cant start off with show quality dogs and as the previous poster stated, we arent all greeders. I am not sure what the feelings are behind that remark but many of us have bought the best dogs we could get to start our breeding programs and once we get our feet in the door and establish ourselves then maybe we will be lucky enough to get even better dogs as we go on. To put all of us in the "greeder" category is very offensive and I dont appreciate it at all. Their are many moe expenses that are invloved and I am sure there are breeders here that have alot more experinece than I do and can add to the list but I hope this helps you understand some of the reasons it cost so much to breed yorkies. Also I guess I would add that why would we sell a dog for 500.00 when we paid so much for ours and the going rate for a well bred yorkie is so much higher. You dont build Land Rovers and sell them for Kia prices.

[Miley's mom]

I'm with you co yorkie mama .

[Lopsi]

My own two cents on this one...
I'm in the market for a new yorkie also... here's what gets me:
"Very small yorkies, no more than 3 lbs grown: $2000. Also standard yorkie about 6 lbs grown $500."

Those type adds make me want to go smack the breeders around. I'm not really a breeder at this point - though I'm open to the possibility in the future and am looking for a decent breeder in my new pup if we choose to take that route. But in looking for my new pup, I'm wondering why I'd pay four times the price for a dog that's way off the standards, very small, and is more prone to health problems?
I guess I could win in this situation since I'm looking for a "real" yorkie, not a "small yorkie" and those aren't priced quite as high. But still, it makes me think those people have no idea about yorkies and are actually going to give yorkies a bad name when people spend 1500 on the littlest pup only to have thousands of dollars in vet bills and eventually a dead dog What are they going to remember? Yorkie's are too expensive, too much trouble, and too sick.

I'm staying away from those. Far away.

[Lopsi]

And an additional note here - I'm not objected to the price of yorkies. $2000 is steep, but if it's a good buy, take it. I know I paid a little over that for my Pixie Dust....

[mstplumeria]

I talked to one lady who told me the parents were 9 lbs and 12 lbs. I told her thanks anyways, I was interested in finding one within the AKC Standard, and she told me her dogs were AKC Registered and thererfore WERE within the standard. I wonder how many people would fall for that?



Thanks to everyone who has replied! I enjoy reading everyone's opinions!
Missy

[kelkiss5]

I just wanna say that u guys in america can pay an absoulute fortune for your yorkies. Here in Ireland the average price is ?300 to ?400 pounds. It may be a bit more for one with champion lines but im not realy sure. Just thought id share this wuth you'es.

[kelkiss5]

What happened to me pound signs. When i hit them a question mark comes up. Weird. lol

[topknot]

I talked to one lady who told me the parents were 9 lbs and 12 lbs. I told her thanks anyways, I was interested in finding one within the AKC Standard, and she told me her dogs were AKC Registered and thererfore WERE within the standard. I wonder how many people would fall for that?
Missy

All that told you is that she does not know what she is doing!!! If a buyer really does her homework and knows about yorkies - then when you talk to the breeders you will know if the breeder knows his/her stuff! I would never buy from someone that did not know all they should know about yorkies.
T.

[chachi]

Location is also a factor in the pricing

[scrapindee]

Someone earlier said location, which made me think "demand". I know a few show breeders who have expensive yorkies but if a puppy or two in the litter don't meet her showing or breeding requirements, she sells on a spay/neuter contract at a reasonable price for a pet.

The purse puppy is in "demand"; hence the price is higher for the littler pups.