Sale contract best practice for overseas buyers - Page 1

Hi all,

As there appears to be some very experienced breeders and buyers/sellers on this forum I'm hoping I can pick your brains for some info.

I am about to make my first overseas purchase of a White Swiss Shepherd and I'm curious as to what I should be confirming with the breeder before buying as there was no mention of a contract even though I did mention it at an earlier stage during email exchanges.

I am quite sure the breeder is legitimate from what I can tell from communicating with them and looking through their website but as this would be my first time making such an overseas purchase without seeing the pup in the flesh I'm not very familiar with the procedure, I know the pup will need to be vaccinated, including for rabies, it will need a passport and microchip but I'm unsure of a few things like

Should the breeder send me registration papers or anything else such as health screening once I pay the deposit or when?

Should the entire balance be paid before I receive the pup?

Should I insist on a specific contract?

Thanks for taking the time to read.

The dog will have a "Pet PassPort"...which will accompany the dog...It has the dog's medical information in it...
As for everything else it's up to you and the breeder/broker to discuss...
Most of the time if the Pedigree/Registration is already with the owner then they will send it with the dog...but sometimes the Pedigree/Registration is in transit between the Registering Organization and the owner...So I'd ask how the paperwork will come...And how long before you should expect it...
As for a "contract"...Most Europeans don't use "contracts"...but maybe others will chime in and give their experiences...
Do you know what organization your dog will be registered with...and if it is acceptable with AKC or whatever organization you want to use in your country...
I would find out thru AKC (?) what's required to register your new dog with...Is there other paperwork that's needed or what...

This is just me but I don't trust "Web-Sites" to give me the answers I want or to give me the trust that who I'm dealing with is honest and upfront...I like to talk to the breeders/brokers in person or at least on the phone where you can ask whatever questions you have then go with your feelings...Remember it's your money...

~Bob~

Cheers Bob,

Some good points made there.

To the best of my knowledge the breeder is legitimate. They have a fair few dogs registered on this site and they appear/claim to be registered with the organisations in their country.

It's not practical for me to visit them in person due to us being at opposite ends of the European continent but I've had several email exchanges and googled them a lot and haven't found anything bad. I have checked and as far as I can see the registration organisation in my country just need an application form signed by myself and the breeder to verify the pedigree.

But I'm new to this so could be missing a lot. Thanks for the advice, it has made things a bit clearer to me.