Just a rant!.....  I wasted 2 hours of my life I'll never get back this morning! An initial visit by potential puppy buyers was brought to an abrupt end when, after chatting and them seeming like a great potential home (already spoken on phone a lot and everything including price of pup discussed), the gentleman in his wisdom tried to haggle the price down.  I was gutted actually as well as cross, just that after a long time of talking they had the cheek to ask for a discount. 

As soon as he did that, I decided that they weren't having one but I still explained how much had been put into them into terms of time, effort, care and money etc and that the cost hadn't changed from what I had told him on the phone originally.  I also said that I would concerned now that they weren't serious (willing to pay vet bills in future etc) and can't really want the pup that much.  What really got me was that they had turned up in a 2012 plate Audi and wanted £50 off (drop in the ocean for them) and when I said "no, the price is not negotiatable" he said "ok well it's a no then" before I even had chance to say "no chance b****r off!"... argghh people!!

ugh to them

and if they want to haggle then the right answer is definitely go away

We had a brand new car once, but only because it was a company car - we could never have afforded one ourselves.

But I agree that people who try to negotiate the price aren't getting a puppy. I had a puppy 'left over' from my last litter, and had advertisements up at the local vet practices (on the theory that people who go to the vet are a reasonable prospect) and had one caller asking how old the pup was. When told 11 weeks he asked how much the price had gone down!!! This was a pup who was now fully vaccinated, pretty well housetrained and lead trained! We ended up keeping that pup, and he'll be 13 at the end of this month.

You have had a narrow escape, they could have arrived to pick up the pup and then started to question the price and you may have already turned away prospective buyers.

I would never haggle over the price of a pup, even before becoming a breeder myself I realised how much time and effort had gone into producing healthy pups.

When I was first going through the list of breeders I had got from breed clubs back in 2001 I never mentioned money,occasionally the breeder would bring up the price[£550-750]after we had been chatting for a while, one breeder brought up the cost very early in our chat, £2,000 for a male and £2,500 for a female, I did make it clear to him I only wanted one pup not the whole litter, I have since asked each new dachsie breeder I have met had they heard of him, no one ever has, his website is password protected which makes me wonder what is he hiding.

Many messages I get via my website ask what the price is first or quote that they have seen them much cheaper, needless to say they do not go on my waiting list.

I remember years ago I had one puppy buyer who after a few visits (they kept asking to come and see the puppies which I didnt mind at all) I noticed he was contradicting himself and his wife too ..things eg:he would say  'while I was at work today'.. they told me he had taken early retirement and she worked part time that kind of thing ..it didnt add up so I invited them around and after a chat and me getting straight to the point ;)...they became quite panicky.. I told them they were not having the puppy as I wasnt happy , I gave them all my reasons why then told them we would worry forever about him , this was while they were sitting with us in the whelping room.. they then offered to pay me more than the asking price ''now..cash'' ''I will go to the bank' even though the pup was only 5 or 6 wks old, I then saw red and asked them to leave..

what it is some people think you do it for the money thinking that if you want to sell you will take what they offer ... even though he said it first which is grating .. you still have your puppy and he walked away with nothing!!

personally I would contact the breed club list holder and pass his name over ;)

With puppies I have always said the price is the price.

Poor you!  This happened to me too.  Not actual serious buyers but people phoning and asking the price then saying "Could you keep my details and when you have any left at 8 weeks, I could get one at a reduced price"?  I said "Certainly"!  LOL!  Funnily enough, I've never had any left so I've never had to call them back and haggle the price! AS IF.
You did the right thing by your puppy and as a good breeder, that's all that's asked of you.

Molezak, I know just how you feel.
I've seriously inconvenienced myself for a few people lately and really gone out of my way to pander to potential puppy buyers needs but after the series of annoyances i've had to deal with from idiots and time wasters i'm going to be a lot more picky about who i allow visits to in the future.
All contact is going to be done by email and phone from now on and i'll never allow random visits here again. Some people can be so insulting and irritating at times that it's just not worth the time and hassle even bothering with them.

Grrrrrr!!!!!

We had a similar thing a couple of years ago. Couple visited before pups even born, seemed nice and suitable. They asked to reserve a puppy, we told them to think about it and come back to us (also to give us time to discuss them).

They came back with an e mail asking for a discount in price, a free club T shirt and free gundog lessons.

Needless to say they didn't get a reply!

I have no time for hagglers - they are just wanting a bargain - in that respect there are plenty of "bargains" in the rescue centre ;)  And the vets don't haggle so I would worry too about whether they would pay for vet treatment or leave animal to suffer/dump it.

When I bred cats, I had one person, seemingly ideal, who turned up on the day to collect the kitten and asked if it was OK if he paid "half now and half next month"  !!!  After 14 weeks of being in touch !

My answer?  "Ok, well which half of the kitten do you want - front or back?" 

Needless to say he didn't get the kitten ;)

I can't say that I've had anyone haggling, although one prospective owner said "nobody is going to pay that price" when I told her how much the puppies were. She also had her name on another list, and when the litter was born, thought she would wait until they were 6 weeks before deciding which litter to choose from. I had to insist she made her choice, she chose ours, AND paid the full price! Of course I could have told her to take a hike, but we actually got quite friendly come the end, and I never had a single doubt that she and her partner were first class owners.

As I hadn't put the price on the advert on Champdogs, it was amazing how often it failed to come up in conversation. The people would visit us, decide they wanted a pup from my bitch (before pups born), it was usually after this that the price was discussed, most cases brought up by me! I think some people are reluctant to even mention money for the reasons stated above, and it is up to the breeder to let them know how much the pups are being sold for especially if the price isn't advertised.

With our current dogs, two were purchased from the same breeder. She would take a deposit, and on a subsequent visit, a part payment. On pick up day she would then be paid the remaining monies owed. I think this is perfectly reasonable, especially as most pups are a few hundred pounds and as we were a family with children, cash flow was always tight. We've always however been able to feed good food, get vet treatment when needed and all our dogs are insured. If someone wanted to pay in chunks I would welcome it tbh, just as long as the final payment is made on collection day. It does not mean they can't afford to care properly for one of my puppies.

As for someone haggling, I think I'd be tempted to burst out laughing!!

At times like that...keep your dignity and calmly say " Oh I AM  sorry you've come all this way for nothing, nice to meet you...bye".
Big smile, walk calmly to the door...no further conversation, close door behind them.

My oldest dog's breeder told me she had a telephone enquiry which ended abruptly with the question "How much for people on benefits?"

You do make me laugh Toolz!

I have had one family tell me that £800 was too much, and that they could find it cheaper elsewhere. Needless to say, they weren't given a choice in the matter, and once they had told me they wanted a lower price they were told they would have to find it cheaper elsewhere. In my opinion you get what you pay for; sadly I'm seeing more and more people buy cheap, buy twice. :(

:-) Thank you for all your replies, made me feel better! Sooo glad I didn't even consider his so called offer, just know I'd have regretted it! I would like him to ring up though with a change of heart just so I got my opportunity to give him a peace of my mind!

And it was definitely their car, number plate was his name and they were covered in designer labels, plus they had no hesitation in telling me all about their very expensive hobbies and how well their business was doing!

Ha ha, yes lucky escape, just wish I hadn't wasted my life on them! Oh the joys of dog breeding :-)

BTW The pup is very much still here for the time being and a super pup she is too

My granny used to say ' If you buy cheap, you buy dear ' !

She also used to say ' you know a lady by her shoes '-huh, she'll be turning in her grave at the sight of mine !

And it was definitely their car, number plate was his name and they were covered in designer labels, plus they had no hesitation in telling me all about their very expensive hobbies and how well their business was doing!

One person who DID actually try it on with me (many years ago..I have a reputation now ;-) ) arrived in a supercar and informed me she was the editor of a glossy magazine... " If I have two, how much discount can I have?"

haggling is something i cannot stand, a lady had been on my waiting list for a long term, absolutely perfect family, then when she arrived to collect him she asked could i knock 300 off the price because he wasn't going to bred from (his pedigree was endorsed anyway!!)!! needless to say she didnt get the puppy. why people think they should get a 'pet' cheaper than a breeding animal is unbeknown to me. as if i should have compensated for her loss of not breeding him when she agreed to it in the first place. people drive me insane!