Asking for a lower price etiquette

Recently we both had an offer for $500. for one of our puppies, I thought I would address this publicly. 

When a price is set by the breeder, we really do want the price that we offered the puppy to you.  However, we realize that not every unique home such as yours can afford the pup. In that case, we do sometimes make a rare exception and accept a lower rate, or maybe a lower rate with an exchange of service from you. doing so does not mean that our puppies are not worth the price that we are asking for, we are just recognizing that you are the best thing for our puppy and we want you to have the love that you deserve.  

With that being said...

Rules for asking for a lower rate on a purebred puppy

1. Do not insult us with a rate of half of the asking price unless you have an amazing offer to spice up the deal.
2. Do not ask us to drive 8 hours to drop off the puppy at our cost when you are already asking us to lower our price. You really should expect to drive to us if you are asking for a lower price.
3. Do not ask us for breeding rights in addition to a lower rate puppy. We typically ask for $500. more for breeding rights in addition to the full price.
4. Do not insist that our puppies are worth less than the puppy mill down the road. 
   
   
   

Why do we ask the price we do when selling our puppies?

1. Vet prices have gone from $100. a visit to $400. We are not going to ask our veterinarians to lower their prices because their service is valued by us. Healthy puppies are an essential aspect of our breeding program, it isn't something we would ever consider skimping on. 
2. Dog food prices have gone up considerably. Have you looked at the cost lately? A once $14. bag of food is now $32. Do you have any idea how much food a puppy can eat? Just because puppies are small does not mean they can't put away a considerable amount of food until they go to their forever homes.
3. Speaking of food prices, you do realize that whatever goes into puppies comes out? Puppy pads are a necessity. They cost about $30. per 100 pads. It's not unusual to go through that entire box of 100 in a week. 
4. Our biggest expense is "us"... we spend a considerable amount of time every single day cleaning (often 2-3 hours a day), cuddling, playing, etc. with your puppy.  Our care of your puppies doesn't come close to the value we are receiving, we do that out of love for what we do, but on the same token, we do deserve at least a little bit for the care we give. 
5. Licenses, depending on what type of license we order for the puppies (AKC is the highest cost), it isn't free. We have to pay for it when we register a litter.
6. Leashes, tools, toys, puppy bags to go home with the pups, shampoo (they get dirty a lot!), etc. all add up.
7. Do you realize that when our puppies are born they aren't always born on the weekends? We often have to take time off of work to birth them and take them to the veterinarian for care. That means lost wages. How often can you take time off of work with no pay? 

So please keep this in mind when you offer a lower price. Be kind and at least offer a service or be creative if you ask. 

Thank you!