A question for breeders and buyers - Page 1

Have you ever been in a situation where there were more reservations/deposits then there were puppies?

How was the situation handled and what was the out come?

By looking at all the classified adds it does not apear that many people have had to deal with this but I was thinking about it the other day and became curious.

Thanks

No, I don't take a penny until pups are born. I keep a waiting list, which I honor, people just have to trust me on that. In the event that there was a not a suitable puppy for a buyer's needs, I would probably just give it back, even though my deposit receipt states it is non-refundable. I don't breed enough to simply transfer the money to another litter.

I have put a deposit on puppy where there ended up being no puppies, I simply waitied for another litter. It was a long wait, but I was ok with it.

I usually take deposits for 2M and 2F before the litter is born, then build a waiting list from there.  After they are born I finish taking deposits for the remainder of the pups. 

If for some reason I don't have a pup available, ie I take 2M/2F deposits and only have females, or I take the remainder of the deposits then a pup dies, or I just don't think the pup is suitable for what the purchaser wanted then they have their choice of a refund on the deposit or applying it to a future litter.

If they back out, then any refund is completely at my discretion.  

I start out with a waiting list on each litter divided by sex, then when pregnancy is confirmed by ultrasound I contact the wait list and tell them if they want to stay in their slot they can place a deposit, otherwise they move underneath those that do, most people place their deposit unless they are still unsure because of some extenuating circumstances, home purchase etc. Depending on what the ultrasound showed, no they are not accurate as far as counts go but my vet is usually pretty dang close. If they say 6 to 8 puppies I'm not going to take 6 deposits, maybe four and the other people can decide if they want to place one knowing they may have to wait. I do tell my people that if there are not enough puppies of each sex to fulfill the deposits that it is refundable to them or transferable. In order to do that though you need to be diligent about not spending any deposit money because they should not have to wait for it's return, you should send it right away if they want it back. I have no desire to tie up anyone else's money for any extended length of time. My deposits are $250 no matter the price of the puppy.

First come, first serve.

Best bet, return the deposit because it is not the customer's fault.

Option of putting the deposit toward another pup.

Because the customer might not be getting a pup from the breeding they want, I would return their money OR give them a small discount on a purchase of a pup from another litter if they care to transfer the deposit.

I do not take any nickle from buyers until the puppies are at least 4 weeks old.  That way I am pretty sure they are going to survive and what sexes I have available.  I will take a potential buyers list and contact them after the puppies are born.  No one sees my puppies until they have received their frist shots.

VonHossGSD.............I have a list of potential buyers. When puppies have their first vaccinations I than call people on the list.....At that point in time after they have viewed the puppies, I will than accept deposits for what ever sex they want....However, since puppies do change alot, especially sables, I do not let them pick their puppy until puppies are actually ready to go and have been evaluated.....This has always worked for us in the past.....Never had any problems or disgruntled buyers...

Thank you for all the replies

Agree with the suggestions above. I would also like to mention that if you have puppy people dying to see puppies (we all know not a good idea until first shots) you can take loads of video and post to youtube for your puppy people. That way they can see them without "seeing" them :) Also, if you have working homes linesd up, it lets them start to form opinions on which they would like to take a closer look at.

Melissa

 Yes.  

I placed a deposit with a well-respected breeder for a litter that had been conceived but not whelped.  The mother ended up losing the pups and my deposit was bumped to a 2nd litter, which didn't take, and then to a 3rd.  I specifically had placed a deposit for a male pup and the 3rd litter only had one male.  I was told that there were other people in line ahead of me so my deposit was being bumped to a 4th litter that had not yet been conceived.  I asked for my deposit back and was denied.  I asked again and was told that I could wait around for the next litter or I could have half of my initial deposit back.  I took the money and left.  IMHO, this is not the best way to handle deposits.  In the future I will only place a deposit on a dog that is on the ground and healthy.