Paying for Puppies - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

Katilea · 10-08-2012, 08:50 AM

Is it standard practice amongst breeders to only accept cash when people pay for your puppies?

The person bringing their dogs to see me wednesday says she can only accept cahs and not a cheque, (£650 for apricot boy mini poodle - does this sound about right) though I'm housebound so have no way to get that much cash before Wednesday night.

Before I ask family member if they can get time off work to take me to the bank this week (after I have seen if they are suitable) I thought I'd ask if this is standard practice or whether I should be suspicious?

They have a website showing generations of pedigrees so look like a legit breeder and are first to agree to to house call as my electric wheelchair will not get in most people's houses. I've been looking for a dog for 6 months.

LEUllman · 10-08-2012, 08:57 AM

I'm no breeder, but requiring cash payment is a red flag as far as I'm concerned.

Caveat emptor.

Katilea · 10-08-2012, 09:07 AM

I have explained that I would have to wait until a family member could get time off to take me to the bank and the cheque would have probably cleared in that time!

I will not get money before wednesday night but will see if she will still turn up or change her mind about the cheque.

Ironically Dogs Trust finally got back to me today, asking to do an home assessment next Wednesday, though they don't have any current suitable dogs in and have no idea how long it would be before they did but would keep an eye out for me.

I said yes to the assessment as a back up plan just in case these puppies weren't suitable or I could tell Inca wasn't gonna get on with them!

ArreauStandardPoodle · 10-08-2012, 10:12 AM

Cash, cashier's cheque, money order, paypal or email money transfer are the norm. A cheque can take 5 to 15 business days to clear. In the event the cheque does not clear, where does that leave a breeder? They'd have a pup in a home not paid for which could be a very bad scenario.

CT Girl · 10-08-2012, 10:23 AM

My breeder would have accepted a check but I paid in cash for all those reasons Arreau mentions.

Carley's Mom · 10-08-2012, 10:29 AM

Carley's breeder wanted cash. I understand why...

Katilea · 10-08-2012, 10:37 AM

I explained I was unable to get that money. Only cash machine I can access is the Asda at end of village and the max it will give is £300 a day so I'd still be £50 short.

I did offer I could pay by paypal if she had an account and that was fairly instant. I was told cheque takes 5 business days to clear and why wouldn't it clear if the money was in my account?

MaryLynn · 10-08-2012, 11:26 AM

Personally, I find checks to be a very rare occurrence-and I certainly would never accept one.

You should do an EMT (email money transfer)! They're very easy, and popular, all it requires is you to have the breeders email (and both of you to have web banking set up-you can do this over the phone or from your computer in many circumstances).

The EMT takes about 20 minutes to process, then you give her a password to accept the money when you want her to have it.

Katilea · 10-08-2012, 11:32 AM

what's the difference between a cashiers cheque and me writing a cheque? I can write the cheque there and then and its same money from same account!!

To get cashiers cheque I have to wait for someone to help me get to the bank which is more work for me as makes me travel sick getting there.

I offered paypal which is same you tell it whose email address you want to send the money to but they have to have an account too.

MaryLynn · 10-08-2012, 11:42 AM

Paypal is not the same, paypal takes a large fee from the seller. I am not sure what the percent is, but I think it's around 3%.

A cashiers check is certified, that means that it's as good as cash (you bought the check basically-correct me if I am wrong), you'd never want to "misplace" one because the money is gone once it's gone.

Basically the breeder does not want your check because it will take her days to receive your money, and while you do have the money in your account you're asking her to put more trust in you that your check will clear. She has no way of being sure that you wont bounce the check and take off with the pup. It's not an accusation, but these days, you never know.

You shouldn't expect her to want to put herself in that situation based off of your good word.

This is very standard practice, the breeders for my dogs would have only taken checks for deposits. Perhaps she will accept your check as a deposit, and when it clears she can deliver your puppy?