Dog Breeder Tools

One of the most common questions from our dog breeder clients upon inquiring about a website is  "How can I take deposits for dogs on my website?"

We use PayPal with our system and tie that into your website. You simply need an account with PayPal using an email that matches the one you use in our Portal with your user information, and we can handle the rest. However, there are some restrictions.

First, PayPal only allows one "id" or “product” to be processed with a deposit so buyers can put money down. In this case, that means either a litter, a puppy, or nothing specific at all. Here are the three options available, and why we prefer the Puppy Deposit method.

1. General Deposit Page

This is just a single field form with a dollar amount, and any user can simply put whatever amount they want, and make a deposit. It’s up to you to recommend a certain amount, or what that deposit entails based on what’s available, etc. Though this is the simplest method, it also leaves a lot to manage on your end.

2. Deposit for a Litter

Although this is possible, it does leave you open to some legal issues, not to mention it’s more work on your end to manage the inventory and availability of your dogs. Here’s what you need to know.

• We don't have a way to track a "waiting list" in the system, so you would need to manually do that on your end, as putting a deposit on a litter doesn’t guarantee a puppy when you don’t know how many are in the litter. If you list the litter as “available” AFTER the puppies are born, you will need to manually manage how many dogs are sold, and which deposit gets which puppy.
• PayPal does not protect you if someone puts a deposit down on a litter when all the puppies are spoken for, or the litter produces less than expected. If you allow 12 people to put a deposit down on a litter, and only 6 puppies are born, the other six people can legally get their money back.
• Since deposits on litters have no correlation with the amount of puppies actually born, you will need to manually update the inventory in the system to show when a litter is sold out, or when a puppy is sold out.
• We've found most clients for our breeders prefer to see the puppies and their pictures before purchasing them or even putting down a deposit. In essence, they want to see what they're going to get.

3. Deposit for a Puppy (Preferred)

This is our preferred method, and one that works out very well for many of our clients.

• Once a puppy is listed as "available" under a litter, a user can place a deposit on that specific puppy.
• Once a deposit is made through PayPal, the system will automatically mark that puppy as "sold" on your website, and the deposit button will disappear. You won't need to manually update any inventory as the system takes care of it for you. At any point, you can make that puppy available again if the deposit falls through.
• Since only puppies listed as available on the site allow for deposits, you will never need to worry about too many people putting deposits on one litter. By only listing puppies that are born, you protect yourself from accepting too many deposits on a litter that doesn’t produce.
• With this method, a waiting list isn’t necessary. However, the litter page will still have a contact button so users can inquire about the litter and what they can do once puppies are born.

Ultimately the choice is yours. There is a fee to change your preferred method if you change your mind post-launch, so please consider your options carefully.

Some clients can get into legal trouble taking deposits on litters because every single person who puts a deposit on a litter thinks they are getting a puppy from that specific litter, despite what the website says about waiting lists and guarantees. Unfortunately, PayPal sides with the buyer on this and they must refund any deposits for litters that didn't deliver. Although it's nice to have a lot of deposit money rolling in, there are problems when there are a lot more deposits than puppies available.

As always, please contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your Dog Breeder website!