Having just had a quick search through one of the better known puppy selling sites (as you do), I spotted two litters (my breed) for sale D** registered. One litter was £700 and another was £750!!! No health testing of course... one litter contained 8 puppies, ok not impossible, but definitely a big litter for this breed...
Some people must be stupid enough to pay such silly prices and clearly care very little about KC reg, OR health testing! Or else these puppy churners wouldn't be able to ask such high prices.
Anyway, these are certainly the sort of people that the general public needs to know to avoid.

I honestly think people are equating quality with cost.  And so they see an expensive puppy and think it is as good as any other pup of the same cost.  For example;  my breed costs around £800-£850.  You pay the same from a quality breeder (who has done all the health tests and bent over backwards to choose a sire, socialise the puppies and give them a great start in life) as you do from an BYB.  The only clues are the latter are less selective in what home the pup goes to, and tend to advertise the pups as 'chunky'.  Often they say they have bred from a lovely family pet with a fabulous temperament & there are often children in the picture with the pups. 

I think also a quality breeder can sometimes come across as less friendly and a bit stand-offish as they want to make really sure that you are right for the puppy - sometimes they ask awkward questions too!  But the BYB doesn't do this - he/she welcomes you with open arms.

I find it difficult to advise people who say they want to get a puppy as there is so much information to convey - so I generally either refer them to this forum or to the breed club.

 

"I honestly think people are equating quality with cost."

Indeed. But you can clearly see from what is written in the Ad that this is not the case. I suppose you are right though, words like "chunky" could imply "healthy" etc.

I had a text (yes a text) enquiry from someone yesterday.. it literally stated "please email me about a pup" with their email address after it, then "Many thanks". No name or anything. I was just going to ignore it (which is what I do with one lined emails) but decided to reply "If you are genuinely interested in my up and coming litter, please email me detailing what type of home you could offer one of my puppies, Many thanks".
Needless to say, I didn't get an email LOL.
My point is; perhaps that type of ignorant person is the sort of person who ends up buying a puppy from the likes of those who I refer to in my OP.

It's not even necessarily that they are ignorant. After all, if the breeder isn't showing and isn't KC registering, then after PDE the general public thinks that is the best possible breeder to go to for healthy dogs!

Tbh they wouldn't be silly prices for KC registered tested puppies, several people I was searching for puppies from would have charged me a fair bit more than that, and the girl I ended up with was around that area. But yes, I wish there was a way of educating the GP to ask about health testing. :-(

I think there are a lot of reasons, but in my experience, it is a combination of ignorance (and I am constantly shocked by how many otherwise intelligent people show complete ignorance when buying puppies) and not caring.  It's as if a cute puppy and a breeder who is 'nice' blinds them to any common sense and reason.   ****sigh****

Sadly some people think that D*R is still a Kc registered dog and after spending hundreds of pounds are shocked to find out they cannot show them etc

Cavlover I have found the opposite. i always reply to such emails and the majority apologise and say they  just didnt know what to say and didnt knon whether they shd. ask to much on a first email.

> Sadly some people think that D** is still a Kc registered dog and after spending hundreds of pounds are shocked to find out they cannot show them etc

I expect a lot are disappointed but many more will not care.  It may not be the Kennel Club registry and we may have our own opinions on it but it is still a registry and they can show their dog, just not at Kennel Club events.
I think we should always remember this as times change.  The level of support for the Kennel Club could become a real issue in determining which way these changes are managed and by who.

having not been in this breed dont know what D** means could someone please elaborate

It is an alternative dog registry.  I could be wrong (legal disclaimer? :)) but they do not appear to have any data base cross referencing to verify the declared pedigree on any puppy registered ie you can just record any parent you wish. 
Also, as far as I can see they are not a non profit organisation that plows money into research and education to benefit dogs and dog welfare as the KC does, so you can take your choice on what you want to support.  A commercial enterprise or an organisation dedicated to the health and wellbeing of dogs.

LucyDogs, I would have no problem with the prices if the pups were from recognised, reputable lines, had health tested parents, they were KC registered and from a very knowledgeable breeder who was clearly breeding for all the right reasons ;-)

"Cavlover I have found the opposite. i always reply to such emails and the majority apologise and say they  just didnt know what to say and didnt knon whether they shd. ask to much on a first email."

Maybe so, but to text and not give your name, not even a "Hi", the text was literally as I described it in my OP. I am sorry, but such downright rude people have no chance of getting a puppy from me. Fancy texting a breeder, simply telling them to "email me about a pup"!

Being a bit of a pessimist, I've always thought 'Educating & Public' to be an oxymoron.

Stooge, is the D** really non profit making? I had always assumed it was nothing more than a commercial enterprise....

Cavlover, you've misread Stooge's post; she said "as far as I can see they are not a non profit organisation that plows money into research and education to benefit dogs and dog welfare as the KC does ....

So, I have! Sorry... I have been trying to get my head round the idea of it ploughing money into research etc!  It is just as I had originally thought though....

ive been looking into a small breed looking at shown parents and still finding it hard to find the right pup thats been health tested as not much is needed but some are starting to do different tests .....and my god the ones ive found havnt tested and are asking 1200 surely this cant be right :O