Procedures for Out of Town Puppy Buyers

Cunningham GSDs · 11-13-2012, 01:50 PM

Hello All,
I am in process of advertising/selling my current litter and I have created a website for myself recently, so selling to out of town or state buyers is pretty new to me. I have sold out of state but dealt with people I knew or who came to me, or who had a friend who was local come by and take care of the details, etc etc.
I was wondering how you all deal with out of towners. I received an email the other day from someone out of state wanting to buy a pup but the email seemed a tiny bit suspicious to me and it made me nervous that maybe it is a scammer of some kind. How do you tell if the person is legitimate? What information is safe to give out? How best to deal with payment?

Any advice from all of you "seasoned" breeders out there would be greatly appreciated. I have a call into my mentor, but I think he may be out of town because I hadn't heard back yet.
Thanks for sharing your expertise, experience, etc.

**JakodaCD OA** · 11-13-2012, 02:57 PM

I'm not a breeder but do want to say, definitely watch out for scams, there tends to be alot of email "I wanna buy a puppy" scams,

You can always require a 'deposit', some type of contract, regarding return or non return of deposit.

Frankly, I think selling puppies especially since your new to this, to people who can't come meet you/dogs in person, unless you know them, get references, (espec VET references), etc, it can be a crapshoot. People lie, people will say anything sometimes to get a puppy

I'd try to advertise locally, get references, ESPEC vet, and call them !! ask what happened to their past pets, just letting people "ramble" you can sometimes get a feel for them

**Chris Wild** · 11-13-2012, 03:38 PM

We have an extensive questionnaire that potential buyers fill out, which we then follow up with a pretty lengthy interview on the phone. We then ask for dog related references (trainers, vets, etc...) and check those. It's not 100% foolproof as sometimes people do lie or misrepresent themselves, but it's been very successful overall and certainly there is now way a scammer would get through all of that.

Cunningham GSDs · 11-14-2012, 01:56 PM

Thank you for the input. I really appreciate it.

FlyAway · 11-14-2012, 04:38 PM

Check out the application for becoming a foster at Mal rescue.

ABMC Malinois Rescue Foster Application

Cunningham GSDs · 11-15-2012, 02:04 PM

Wow, that is extensive! I will need to develop a written questionaire. Up to this point, I have just asked questions over the phone. The thing that is happening is I am getting emails with inquiries about pups and then all of the sudden, two or three emails into it, I'm getting these requests for my "banking information so I can deposit the payment", and the like. As if I am going to give my banking info to some person on the internet! Not born on a turnip truck!

But, sometimes they seem legitimate at first and it has me nervous. WHat I have done today is ask these folks to call me to discuss. We will see if any of the suspicious ones will actually call.....I kind of doubt it. Wondering if anybody else has had this experience.

Kyleigh · 11-15-2012, 02:09 PM

LOL not born on a turnip truck!!! I like that and glad to hear it!

What you might want to do (if you haven't already) is set up an email account ONLY for the website and don't have your name in it. And set up a paypal account ONLY for the website, and get insurance through paypal just in case - you're dealing with more than $20 or $30 ... you need to protect yourself!

My family emails money to each other all the time (send money via online banking) ... and my sister (a lawyer) has two email accounts - one for work related, and one for family stuff. Does this make sense?

Cunningham GSDs · 12-28-2012, 01:09 PM

Kyliegh,
THanks for your response....I have been so busy with puppy sales and the holidays that I hadn't gotten on the forum in a few weeks.
I appreciate the advice and am following it.

I sold the last pup last night. Some went to out of state folks but they all drove in to pick them up so I didn't have to do any shipping which was great!

I am revising everything on my next litter! lol. Learning as I go.

Thanks for all the input everyone!

UnlimitedGSD · 12-28-2012, 01:27 PM

just quickly looked at the website and you are missing pedigrees and health clearance information on your breeding dogs... That information is a must IMO

sit,stay · 12-28-2012, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cunningham GSDs

The thing that is happening is I am getting emails with inquiries about pups and then all of the sudden, two or three emails into it, I'm getting these requests for my "banking information so I can deposit the payment", and the like. As if I am going to give my banking info to some person on the internet!

Wondering if anybody else has had this experience.

I checked out your website, through Google, and noticed that you have placed a lot of ads on free sites such as Kiji, eBay classifieds and Hoobly. The scam e-mails you're receiving are automatically generated in response to those ads you have up on those sites. The scammers have programs that do nothing but send out these e-mails.

I had a saddle for sale on Ebay and got tons of scam e-mails in response. You know, "Nice lady, please send me your account information so I can direct deposit the amount of item".

My advice would be to be more selective about how you advertise your puppies. Or be patient about swimming through the responses from the sites you used.
Sheilah

11-13-2012, 01:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cunningham GSDs Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 133	Procedures for Out of Town Puppy Buyers Hello All, I am in process of advertising/selling my current litter and I have created a website for myself recently, so selling to out of town or state buyers is pretty new to me. I have sold out of state but dealt with people I knew or who came to me, or who had a friend who was local come by and take care of the details, etc etc. I was wondering how you all deal with out of towners. I received an email the other day from someone out of state wanting to buy a pup but the email seemed a tiny bit suspicious to me and it made me nervous that maybe it is a scammer of some kind. How do you tell if the person is legitimate? What information is safe to give out? How best to deal with payment? Any advice from all of you "seasoned" breeders out there would be greatly appreciated. I have a call into my mentor, but I think he may be out of town because I hadn't heard back yet. Thanks for sharing your expertise, experience, etc. __________________ cunninghamgermanshepherds.com My Pack: Zwillingen's River of Rin Tin Tin, Major Amadeus Von Cunningham, Lady Isabeau Von Cunningham, & Von Cunningham's Sparrow in the Wind

11-13-2012, 02:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
JakodaCD OA Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Location: Old Lyme, CT USA Posts: 17,548	I'm not a breeder but do want to say, definitely watch out for scams, there tends to be alot of email "I wanna buy a puppy" scams, You can always require a 'deposit', some type of contract, regarding return or non return of deposit. Frankly, I think selling puppies especially since your new to this, to people who can't come meet you/dogs in person, unless you know them, get references, (espec VET references), etc, it can be a crapshoot. People lie, people will say anything sometimes to get a puppy I'd try to advertise locally, get references, ESPEC vet, and call them !! ask what happened to their past pets, just letting people "ramble" you can sometimes get a feel for them __________________ Diane Danger Danger vom Kleinen Hain aka Masi "Angel" Jakoda's Bewitchen Sami CD OA OAJ OAC NGC OJC RS-O GS-N JS-O TT HIC CGC "Angel" Steinwald's Four x Four CGC HIC TT Harmonyhill's Hy Jynx NA NAJ NAC NJC RS-N JS-N HIC Jakoda's Jagged Edge

11-13-2012, 03:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chris Wild Administrator & Alpha Bitch of the Wild Bunch Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 13,033	We have an extensive questionnaire that potential buyers fill out, which we then follow up with a pretty lengthy interview on the phone. We then ask for dog related references (trainers, vets, etc...) and check those. It's not 100% foolproof as sometimes people do lie or misrepresent themselves, but it's been very successful overall and certainly there is now way a scammer would get through all of that. __________________ *Wildhaus Kennels*

11-14-2012, 01:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cunningham GSDs Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 133	Thank you for the input. I really appreciate it. __________________ cunninghamgermanshepherds.com My Pack: Zwillingen's River of Rin Tin Tin, Major Amadeus Von Cunningham, Lady Isabeau Von Cunningham, & Von Cunningham's Sparrow in the Wind

11-14-2012, 04:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
FlyAway Master Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: The Cold Midwest Posts: 564	Check out the application for becoming a foster at Mal rescue. ABMC Malinois Rescue Foster Application __________________ "And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

11-15-2012, 02:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
Cunningham GSDs Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 133	Wow, that is extensive! I will need to develop a written questionaire. Up to this point, I have just asked questions over the phone. The thing that is happening is I am getting emails with inquiries about pups and then all of the sudden, two or three emails into it, I'm getting these requests for my "banking information so I can deposit the payment", and the like. As if I am going to give my banking info to some person on the internet! Not born on a turnip truck! But, sometimes they seem legitimate at first and it has me nervous. WHat I have done today is ask these folks to call me to discuss. We will see if any of the suspicious ones will actually call.....I kind of doubt it. Wondering if anybody else has had this experience. __________________ cunninghamgermanshepherds.com My Pack: Zwillingen's River of Rin Tin Tin, Major Amadeus Von Cunningham, Lady Isabeau Von Cunningham, & Von Cunningham's Sparrow in the Wind

11-15-2012, 02:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
Kyleigh Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Ontario Posts: 1,315	LOL not born on a turnip truck!!! I like that and glad to hear it! What you might want to do (if you haven't already) is set up an email account ONLY for the website and don't have your name in it. And set up a paypal account ONLY for the website, and get insurance through paypal just in case - you're dealing with more than $20 or $30 ... you need to protect yourself! My family emails money to each other all the time (send money via online banking) ... and my sister (a lawyer) has two email accounts - one for work related, and one for family stuff. Does this make sense? __________________ Marion’s Zoo-Kyleigh, London-cat, Echo-TAG, Ellie-Quaker; www.marionsquilts.com

12-28-2012, 01:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
Cunningham GSDs Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 133	Kyliegh, THanks for your response....I have been so busy with puppy sales and the holidays that I hadn't gotten on the forum in a few weeks. I appreciate the advice and am following it. I sold the last pup last night. Some went to out of state folks but they all drove in to pick them up so I didn't have to do any shipping which was great! I am revising everything on my next litter! lol. Learning as I go. Thanks for all the input everyone! __________________ cunninghamgermanshepherds.com My Pack: Zwillingen's River of Rin Tin Tin, Major Amadeus Von Cunningham, Lady Isabeau Von Cunningham, & Von Cunningham's Sparrow in the Wind

12-28-2012, 01:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
UnlimitedGSD Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Oxford Mills, Ontario Posts: 35	just quickly looked at the website and you are missing pedigrees and health clearance information on your breeding dogs... That information is a must IMO __________________ Lee Hanrahan unlimitedGSD

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