With the number of different breeds of dogs available, you have a specific one in mind to join your family.
You may feel that you’re out of luck, but the good news is that many online brokers can help you get in touch with breeders in other states.
PuppySpot is one of those brokers.
Puppies tend to cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000.
Buying a puppy suddenly becomes a big, financial, decision.
Here are 10 reasons PuppySpot is expensive.
Why Is PuppySpot So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. AKC Packages
One of the ways PuppySpot tries to bring some legitimacy to its business is by partnering with the American Kennel Club.
The AKC is an organization dedicated to the health and knowledge of purebred dogs.
They organize dog shows, competitions, and other events aimed at showing off the very best of each dog breed.
They also take a stern stance against puppy mills and the exploitation of dogs.
By having a connection with AKC, PuppySpot reassures its buyers that all the puppies they sell meet with the approval of the AKC.
On the PuppySpot website, they state that they received authorization by the AKC to give new puppy parents an AKC registration package.
The package comes with many benefits.
The first is that, when you register your dog through the AKC, it becomes part of the AKC Reunite service.
This service aims to help find lost dogs and reunite them with their owners.
Should your dog ever run off or go missing, then AKC can help you find it.
You also get access to the shows and live events that the AKC hosts in your area.
Finally, you’re able to subscribe to AKC’s newsletters, videos, and blogs about all things dog-related.
The best part is that this registration comes free.
PuppySpot pays for the registration for you.
You’ll receive the package either with your dog or through a separate mailing system.
This is a bonus service that PuppySpot provides out of its own pocket.
Because of that, their prices tend to be a little higher.
They aim to make your lives a little easier by taking away some of the initial costs of owning a dog.
PuppySpot is expensive because they offer a free AKC registration package.
2. Screening Process For Breeders
One part of the PuppySpot experience is the careful screening of potential breeders to join their network.
The broker contacts breeders all across the country to look for those who meet their standards.
They have an extensive screening process to ensure that their breeders are reputable and take care of their animals.
The screening process costs the company money since they need to pay an employee to investigate the breeder in question.
This occurs with every breeder that they connect to their network.
As such, it’s a process that continues to cost them money.
Screening is important for puppy buyers because it helps ensure that the people they’re sending money to are reputable.
The last thing anyone should want to do is send their money to a puppy mill where puppies are essentially abandoned if they’re not sold.
It also helps ensure that buyers receive a healthy puppy since the breeders take the time to nourish them.
Since the screening process can take some time, it also means that PuppySpot isn’t earning money through that broker until they’re done.
As such, each screening costs them money with no guarantee that they’re going to earn money from the breeder.
After all, the breeder might fail the screening and not be able to join the network.
In that case, PuppySpot’s investment isn’t successful.
Because of the risk and cost of screening, PuppySpot has to ensure that it generates enough profit to cover those costs and risks.
As such, the puppy prices on their website are high.
PuppySpot is expensive because of their extensive screening process.
3. Continuous Health Evaluations
PuppySpot doesn’t simply spend money on screenings and call it done.
They regularly check in with their breeders to receive health evaluations.
This also costs the company money since they need to pay their employees to check on breeders.
This might end up taking a long time if they’re unable to get ahold of the breeder in a timely fashion.
The breeder might also take time since they have a lot of dogs that need to visit the vet for a health check-up.
While PuppySpot doesn’t have to pay the vet’s bills, you can be sure that the breeder keeps those costs in mind when they list the price of their dogs on the website.
PuppySpot likely encourages a certain amount of money for each puppy that a breeder lists.
However, it’s ultimately up to the breeder to determine the price that they want to sell their puppies for.
If they need to pay for regular vet checks, which are expensive, you can be sure that those costs factor into their puppy prices.
They need to put a high enough price on the puppy to generate a profit that lets them live and helps them pay for vet costs.
Since PuppySpot requires frequent health checks, the breeders going to have a lot of vet expenses.
That impacts the price of their puppies.
PuppySpot is expensive because they require that their breeders perform regular vet checks to ensure their puppies stay healthy.
4. Mandatory Veterinary Health Report
Before a dog goes to a new family, PuppySpot requires its breeders to perform a mandatory veterinary health report.
This means that they take the puppy to a licensed vet.
The vet does a nose-to-tail check to determine the health of the puppy.
If it has worms, then it’s reported.
If it seems to have other health problems, then it’s reported.
The new owner then receives that report to know the health of the puppy before it arrives.
This ensures that if the puppy is unhealthy, then the owner knows and can cancel the purchase.
This makes PuppySpot more expensive because it’s a cost that the breeders have to take on.
They can always expect to pay a large expense on every puppy purchase.
They know that they’re going to need to take the dog to the vet for a final check-up.
Since the check-up is extensive, it’s going to be on the more expensive side of things.
This is an expense that they’ll have to pay every time.
Breeders who want to make the most money on a sale will charge a high price for their puppies.
The high price helps cover the cost of that vet visit while still giving the breeder a profit.
While the buyer doesn’t technically pay for the vet visit themselves, in a way, they do.
The high cost of the puppy basically has the vet bill built into it on top of other costs.
PuppySpot is expensive because they require a mandatory vet health report on every final purchase of a puppy.
5. PuppySpot Health Commitment
Because there are a lot of puppy mills out there, PuppySpot tries to further ensure the health of a dog and protect their buyers by offering their PuppySpot Health Commitment.
The PuppySpot Health Commitment basically insures the dog for the first 10 years of its life.
The Commitment has three different phases in which you receive a certain amount of money if your dog becomes ill.
For the first two weeks of owning the dog, if it becomes ill, then PuppySpot will give you a certain amount of money as a reimbursement.
This is because the puppy likely became ill on the way to your home.
Since PuppySpot guarantees that you receive a healthy dog, they’re willing to pay you some money since they were unable to make good on their promise.
For the first year, they’ll also pay for a certain amount of vet bills that you receive if your dog ends up having hereditary health problems.
You need to receive a diagnosis from two certified vets to qualify for this reimbursement.
They only reimburse up to the amount that you initially paid for your puppy.
For the next 10 years of its life, if your dog ends up having hereditary problems later in its life, then PuppySpot will reimburse your vet bills up to 50% of the purchase price of your dog.
Depending on how expensive your vet bills became, this might not do a lot.
However, because PuppySpot sends out money to those who receive ill dogs, it means they take on a lot of risk in their business ventures.
As such, they need to generate a lot of profit to protect themselves.
They get that profit by having their breeders sell their puppies at a high price.
This ensures that they have enough money to cover any reimbursements that they need to make.
Because they’re a broker, they handle tons of different dogs and transactions.
There’s likely always going to be some that become ill that they’ll need to reimburse.
PuppySpot is expensive because of their PuppySpot Health Commitment costs.
PuppySpot has its own team of dog health experts that it relies on for advice.
These experts advise the company on whether certain breeders fit their standards or not.
They’ll screen dogs or review vet reports to ensure they’re authentic and accurate.
They’ll also examine images of the dogs to look for any noticeable problems.
If something seems out of place, then they’ll make their recommendations and the company will take the appropriate action.
These experts don’t come cheap.
They’re trained in canine health and qualified to make suggestions.
Because of that, they likely studied veterinary medicine in some capacity.
Since they’re experts, their wages are higher than others.
To keep them associated with their company rather than another, PuppySpot has to keep wages competitive.
Otherwise, they could leave for a better-paying company and leave PuppySpot scrambling to fill their positions.
These experts add to the cost of operations for the company.
They’re a vital part of its success but also an expensive one.
As such, they have to generate enough profit to cover the costs of employing the experts.
The high prices on the puppies allow them to generate that profit.
PuppySpot is expensive because they employ health experts who are essential to their business structure.
7. USDA License
In an effort to separate itself from puppy mills, PuppySpot received a license from USDA.
This license requires that every breeder that they accept to their network also needs a license from the USDA.
The USDA has several standards that breeders and brokers have to meet.
By meeting those standards, they create a healthier and safer place for animals.
However, meeting those standards often means that the breeder and broker takes on additional costs.
It would be cheaper not to have a license from the USDA.
However, it also means that you’re likely not providing the best environment for puppies and their health.
PuppySpot has to continuously invest in itself to ensure it meets with the standards of the USDA.
If they don’t, then they can lose their license.
This means they’ll likely also lose a lot of their business.
Breeders also have to continue to follow the standards to keep their licenses.
If a breeder loses their license, then they won’t be able to sell on PuppySpot anymore and might even lose their local business as well.
Both take on more costs to stay at the standards that the USDA expects of them.
This results in higher prices since both need more revenue to cover their costs of operation.
PuppySpot is expensive because they hold themselves to the standards of the USDA.
8. Government Activists
PuppySpot wants to do its part to put an end to puppy mills.
They do this by lobbying and contacting congressmen on the local and federal levels.
Whenever they discover a scammer, they report them to the appropriate authorities.
They also lobby for more action against puppy mills and improving the standards for puppies.
These actions cost money.
They use some of their profit to help better the world of dog breeding.
It also helps their reputation as a broker since some might see them as supportive of puppy mills.
PuppySpot is expensive because it uses some of the money it receives to encourage lawmakers to penalize puppy mills and better the standards in dog breeding.
9. Brokerage Site
To understand why PuppySpot is expensive, it’s important to understand how the company operates.
PuppySpot doesn’t sell puppies themselves.
They don’t breed the dogs and sell them.
Instead, they look for breeders across the country who sell puppies.
They screen those who have an interest in selling their puppies on their website.
Breeders who receive approval can then list the puppies they have for sale on the website.
The puppies are with the breeder.
They’re not at PuppySpot’s headquarters.
As such, PuppySpot acts as the middleman during a transaction.
They help breeders extend their business beyond their local populaton.
They help buyers find puppies that may not be available in their areas.
Since they’re not selling puppies themselves, PuppySpot only takes a cut of the final purchase price.
While there isn’t a listed price as to how much they take, you can expect it to be a percentage of some kind.
Breeders who rely on the broker to find most of their clients know that they’re only going to receive a cut of the price, too.
They join PuppySpot with the understanding that because PuppySpot is handling a lot of the hard work for them, they can get a cut of their profit.
Breeders still want their money’s worth, however.
To cover the loss they receive by sharing the profit, breeders will list a high price.
The higher price ensures that they get the amount of money that they want while still giving PuppySpot their share.
PuppySpot is expensive because they only take a cut of money from each sale rather than the whole thing.
Higher prices means they can take a bigger cut.
10. Breeder Costs
The ones who ultimately decide how much to sell their puppies for are the breeders.
That’s why you’ll find tons of different prices for each breed of puppy.
Breeders have their own share of costs that they take on as part of their business.
They need to pay for a lot of dog food, vet expenses, and utilities to keep their dogs healthy.
Some may rent a large building or yard that allows their dogs to run around and get exercise.
Others may spend a lot of money on sanitary procedures to keep everyone healthy.
Because they take on a lot of costs, they need to generate a high enough profit to make ends meet.
This is a business to them, after all, and they need it to make a living.
Breeders who sell on PuppySpot also know that they’re not going to receive the full amount of the listing price.
PuppySpot also gets its cut.
As such, they have to calculate the costs of their business and the cut from PuppySpot.
To ensure they make enough to keep running their business, they usually end up having to sell their puppies high.
Certain breeders who sell rare puppies also know that they’re selling a limited supply of dogs to a public with high demand.
That also allows them to sell for high prices.
PuppySpot is expensive because the prices are set by the breeders who need to account for business costs and the loss of revenue via PuppySpot’s cut.
Conclusion
PuppySpot takes on quite a few expenses to assure buyers that they’re buying healthy puppies.
They also spend a lot of money on separating themselves from puppy mills.
Breeders also list high prices to ensure they can generate a profit after they take out all their costs.
These main factors make PuppySpot an expensive place to buy puppies.
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