Hello Therese,
I dont think we see it all that different. I concur with everything that you said. I was just trying to point out that there is often a disconnect between buyer and seller which is sometimes interpreted as somehow caring less for the pup.
You said that you prefer owners who want to know what they are getting for their money. In a perfect world I would have to agree, but then again…the world is far from perfect. Most people incorrectly assume that Basenji owners breed basenjis for profit.(Why else would they do it?) Accordingly they feel justified in questioning the price.
I can tell you that my experience with our breeder has me feeling this way. But I also see the many terrific breeders on this forum that can never "break even" considering the time, costs, and emotional attachment they share with their pups. Many buyers dont see this (in my experience) or dont know this.
Given the time, love, caring, effort, and hard costs of breeding basenjis you would probably be justified in asking $5000 per pup, would you expect people to just pay it after you explained what they are getting?
People ask questions. And when it comes to money they ask lots of questions. And they will try to pay as little as possible.
I see how much it costs to breed a basenji the right way.
Here is another way to look at it. Should two different breeders be paid the same amount when one of them clearly puts so much more into it (time, money, and love)? I would have liked to pay our breeder less than what we did because as I see some of the breeders websites on this form I know there is a difference.
$1200 may sound like a lot to some people, but after its explained to them why its more than reasonable you basically have two types of people, reasonable and all the people who are not.
"So when I look at someone wanting to pay less I think they may not realize how much work goes into raising a pup, like Kipawa (Fran) says this maybe a person that needs to reconsider getting a pup."
So if you asked $5000 and they wanted to pay less you could form an opinion as to what type of owner they would be?
If after they are educated and they still want to haggle about price I would then agree.
Finally, responsible breeders should be rewarded with knowing that their pups are placed in loving homes that will be able to care for their basenjis. They should also be compensated fairly for their costs, but they will never break even on the true cost of breeding basenjis. I believe we draw the same conclusions but prehaps we took two different paths to arrive there!