A Question For Breeders...
 

Do you have a set price for your females and a set price for your males? This is saying based on all of one litter...coming from the same parents. If not, what are your determining factors for the price difference. We all know that size plays a big factor to some, or pedigrees...but pups from the same litter is what I'm talking about. Do features also play a factor?

I've heard breeders say that it all depends on how cute the puppy is or the size...so what constitues cuteness? A small face? Small ears?

This is completely anonymous and you don't have to respond...I just wanted to know.

I'm curious about this, too. I would imagine that most breeders price as they go along though.

Exactly... I don't know how many ads or even breeders that I've talked to say, "PRICES START AT....". If they all came from the same litter then why the price differences?

I hope you don't mind my posting in response to this since I am not a breeder... but as a consumer I know that all the puppies in a litter are completely different so they should be priced differently in my opinion. You can have a large puppy who will be a large adult, a small petite pup who will remain small, etc. Some may take after the mother, some after the father or the mixture of the two may be all the owrst features of each or all the best.

They all have different faults and health issues as well and should be priced accordingly. If you have a puppy who is a perfect speciman of the breed standard except his coat is cottony instead of silky, he should be priced higher than his brother who has a long snout, big ears and long legs for example.

If a puppy was born with a hernia that was surgical fixed or has had several hypoglycemic episodes, it should be priced slightly lower in my opinion.

Ava came form a litter of two and her sister was very large and did not have the gorgeous coat or Ava's pretty features. The breeder decided to keep her to breed her however since she had a male that complemented her faults and she would be big enough to breed.

I have seen websites of breeders who show pics of the puppies starting at 6 weeks and some in a litter were priced at $750 while the same litter had a couple priced at $3000 because they had all the desirable features. There is nothing wrong with this...in fact, I think it is more honest to command the price allowed by the marketplace on the more "valuable or desirable" puppies and sell the less sought after ones for the cheaper price they can command from a loving home. Then the breeder recoups thier expenses and hasn't charged too much for any one puppy.

I hope that made sense?????

Ah! I am interested in this thread, too - I've been curious about this!

Happy about everyone's interest! Now, hopefully it'll get more poll responses tomorrow...it's pretty late here! :D

My prices are not set in stone and I will work with people. I have many reasons behind my prices on individual puppies and I believe each breeder has his or her own personal reasons for pricing a paticular baby. All of the breeders out there should understand exactly what I mean. I am not going to name all of them except the "tiny" issue as I see it: If I have a very small puppy in a paticular litter then I am going to have to make sure it is going to someone who understands that I spent alot more of my money on that baby to have it tested extensively. I also spent all of my time with the puppy as I'm sure anyone who has had a tiny baby to raise will understand. For me personally, it is not based on the puppy's size, it is based on what goes into the rearing of that tiny baby.

When you purchase a puppy from a responsible breeder you are not just paying the fee of a puppy; you are also paying that PERSON for their TIME, love, care, WORK, patience, ability, and devotion to place a healthy, socialized, LOVED yorkie puppy in your arms.

I have spent a small fortune on my yorkies in the past to just aquire them. And the reason I did is because I KNEW in my heart that the person I purchased from was WELL DESERVING of the price asked due to their love and devotion put into their program along with the respect they showed towards me and what I wanted to acomplish in the future myself. I would never give someone a mear few hundred dollars for a puppy that the parents were in a kennel environment, because even though alot of folks may think..."wow, what a bargain"...in my opinion you are not really getting a bargain at all from someone like that. I would pay a good price to a breeder who showed me respect and proved to me that they truly loved each and every dog in their breeding program and did not turn their nose up to me. I have learned to "read" different breeders I have encounterd like a book. I have learned that too many are quick to judge others.

On the other hand...I personally do not feel that SOME breeders who DO put love and care into their program are ALL deserving of high prices either. My reasons for this are that if I am going to purchase a puppy at a fairly high price, I EXPECT the breeder to keep me updated, talk to me, and treat me as they would want to be treated. I also understand that they will have expectations from me as well. I just ran across a breeder on breeders.net right in my area that has puppies now for 650. In the paragraph on their website describing what to do to get a puppy from them, it stated..."we do not require you to fill out an exstensive questionare to obtain one of our puppys". I wouldn't pay a penny for a puppy to someone like that either. Breeders must interview and get a feeling for the person they are going to place a baby with that they have loved, cared for and became attached to themselves. What is a fair price for a puppy? That's anyone's opinion, but mine DEFINITELY depends on the breeder as a person, along with their practices, and their ATTITUDE. I would pay "Jane Doe" 1000's for a healthy, well cared for, loved puppy with no spectacular pedigree who treated me with kindness and respect, before I would pay "John Doe" the same amount for a Champion sire and dam puppy who didn't treat me with respect, who looked down on my quality compared to his, and made me feel that I wasn't on their level with assumptions.

I'm not trying to sound like Mother Teresa here. I am merely stating that I have met MANY breeders in my time before I ever joined this forum and some of them just aren't what they appear to be. I've never met a really good breeder who had "set" prices although I'm sure there are some.

Pricing
 

I do have a base rate per say, but I can you I do ask different prices for my yorkies and Biewers.

1. I don't own my stud for my yorkie females and I look for the right canidates for matching my females-- so I have to include the stud fee for that litter. Various studs will cost more or less. Then traveling expenses as I do and have traveled out of state to breed my females.
2. Pet or Breeding contracts... Once and a while I do find responsible breeders that I will give breeding rights to, so that is more expensive.
3. Quality of the pup. Confirmation.
4. Sex & Size

I do have a set price on my yorkies but if we have something really exceptional out of a litter then I price this yorkie accordingly. I try to match my females very carefully to the right male so we can acheive the prettiest little yorkies.

For the Biewers I do have 2 males at this time with the opportunity of 4 other males to use to do the samething with my Biewer females and that is to get the right matches... I will tell you I will miss a breeding if I don't have the right match, better than to throw pups I would not be proud of...

My pups are priced all the same. Males, Females, 4 pounds or 7 pounds they cost me the same and get the same attention.

There are only a couple exceptions. I have lowered the price on a Yorkie that is more than standard size and have charged more for a tiny I kept for 7 months and vetted and tested more than normal.

I price mine as pets and one is not a better pet because its cuter or a bit smaller, than its litter mate, or because its female.

Show quality wouldn't be known for 6 months or more, so all pups go out as pets and if the pet is deemed show/breedable later then things can be further discussed.

I try to keep mine the same. But they do fluctuate depending on the cost to bring the litter into this world. If I can't take off work then mom-to-be stays with my clinic's 'mid-wife' for 1-3 days, if the mom has a c-section, and emergency delivery. I do charge more for litters that had additional expenses.

I do charge more for my female pups than my males because the cost to spay is higher than to neuter; my pups come already altered.

Robbie's post
 

What Robbie said exactly...thanks for saving me all that writing!!

*bump*

my pricing is not set, like many have posted there are various factors taken into consideration.

Outside stud service
Pet pedigree
Champion pedigree
Champion Sire/Dam pedigree
Sex
Conformation/overall quality (pet/breeding/show quality)
Registration - limited/full AKC
Size - is not a pricing issue, but if additional cost incurred rearing that pup it would be factored in.

Very interesting reading!!

Loved your post Robbie....I would look for a breeder like you and YorkieRose.

CC and Snow Yorkies~ I respect your programs as well and your pricing sounds fair and well reasoned.

Rini~You know I have high regard for your program and I love that even though you have an outside job you make sure the mom and babies are well cared for!! That is so important imo.

Kimberly, after seeing your website and talking to you on the phone, I would and have recommended many people to you. You know what you are doing, how to care for the animals and are definitely on my important/good breeder list.