I bought a puppy that I wanted.  I paid the asking price.  4 days later the price has been reduced.  Did I pay more than the other buyers?  Will never know.  The one's that are left I would not want.  So if I was replying to this topic I would say you had to pay the asking price to get exactly what you wanted.  There, got it off my chest.

Puppies, of the great majority of breeds (but there are exceptions, notably in toybreeds), lose value the older they get, so if a breeder has just one puppy left, and it is ready to go or past that age, chances are they may reduce the price in an attempt to find it a good home before it becomes old enough to never be able to sold.  Some breeds would be worth pretty much nothing by the age of 6 months and some buyers would not consider a puppy older than 10 weeks.

I'm assuming, since you you were able to see a revised price a few days later, that you responded to an online advert of some sort? 

The most important thing is that you pay a price you are comfortable with.  I think that market forces do determine the price of most breeds and that, in most cases, this doesn't reflect the true cost of raising them.  My breed tends to be between £750 & £900.  For many buyers the difference in construction and appearance of the pups, and adults, might not be so obvious but the difference in 'quality' between breeders is plain to see.  Given that many of us choose our breeders long before the pups are on the ground then it's their expertise and experience we are paying for...  with that in mind I wouldn't expect to see a 'reduced price'.  In fact most would have full waiting lists before the pups are even born

There are always exceptions of course and even the best laid plans can go awry leaving breeder with unsold pups.  However lowering prices for a quick sale smacks of commercial breeding and I'd wonder what else they are willing to drop - their standards perhaps? 

Well, it is unusual for a breeder of quality pups to reduce the price because they will be charging what they have to to cover their costs - they will also not have bred a litter unless they had a substantial list of persons wanting one of the pup. That said it does not always work out and perhaps as the pups get older and reach the stage when they will have to be exercised and socialised as individuals then it may be thought best to try to shift them than find all the time required to say nothing of the increasing appetites.

So if the pup you bought was about 12 to 14 weeks then I could understand that perhaps the breeder thought that as you were the last on the list they had better make an effort to sell the rest before the cost of the litter started to eat even further into their savings.

I wanted a puppy.  I looked first of all at alsatians, then fox terriers, then schnauzers.  Open minded.   Locally, I wasn't happy with the breeders of alsatians.   Fox terriers flew off the shelf.  Same with the schnauzers.   Then something drew me to this breeder of another pedigree.  I've got to explain my dog died and then so did my brother.  They visited me one night and advised me not to buy the alsatians.   I know I'm a nutcase.   So when this advert jumped out at me I knew I had been guided .  The breeder is absolutley fantastic.  I couldn't praise them enough.  The pup is wonderful, couldn't ask for better.  I just thought it a bit quick to reduce the price because anyone reading the advertisement would think something was wrong with them and knock them down even further or did I pay over the odds in the first place.  Should I have negotiated?

It's generally seen as poor etiquette to negotiate the price of puppies with breeders as a good breeder puts a lot of time and money into the litter. Is it possible that it was a type-o in the advertisement? As others have mentioned, there are a variety of reasons for breeders to reduce the price of the puppies.

Bunnyfluff, did you not start a thread not so long ago asking about whether you should try to haggle prices?????  If not, if you do a search you will find a recent thread which went into the topic in detail.

So when this advert jumped out at me

So you were not on the waiting list with this breeder for a puppy it was just a chance buy, in which case it would seem the breeder is breeding for money and will get what they think they can. Most breeders will have all the pups sold before the litter is born so this does not arise you have agreed the price and been put on the list and then wait and hope that the sex and quality of the pups when born are what you want.

>Should I have negotiated?

Bunnyfluff, you asked the question "When buying a puppy are you expected to pay the asking price?  Do you negotiate?" on May 18th and got lots of replies.

Should I have negotiated?

As has been said you have already asked that and you already have the puppy that you say you are pleased with.

Just get on with brining up and enjoying the pup you already have, what is the point, its yours now for many years to come and you should not still be wondering if you should have bought it - that you do before not after you have taken the puppy home. Look for a training class and take the pup to your vet and forget the searching and buying process.