What: PuppySpot maintains that the site is a vetted, no-cost service advertising service for breeders but it has generated a pile of complaints
Expected pay: NA
Husl$core: $$
Commissions & fees: none (for breeders)
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: Animals to sell
Review:
Dwayne from PuppySpot maintains that the site is a vetted, no-cost service for breeders. Only families buying puppies pay the site. He added that 1.5 million families regularly use the site, which brags about 250 page views per puppy.
That said, PuppySpot clearly marks up the dogs it sells, sometimes by a wide margin. The company (previously known as Purebred Breeders) also had so many complaints from buyers on sites ranging from the Better Business Bureau to Yelp that I’d advise sellers to stay away.
Although the site’s terms and conditions demand that you sell healthy animals and take them back when they have a medical problem, this was the most common complaint from buyers. If you actually do sell healthy animals, this appears to be the wrong place to market them. The site’s reputation becomes your reputation.
There are plenty of better places to sell, including Craig’s List (free), Puplookup.com (free) and PuppyFind ($30 per month) and, of course, AKC Marketplace for purebreds.
What their users say:
From MeasuredUp:
“I started the process of buying a Yorkie puppy through purebred breeders and although I was told I had to pay an additional $400 for shipping dog from out of state on top of $3600 for the dog itself, I later found some pictures online of puppies from the same breeder on the exact same couch with other puppies born on the same day. Turned out it was the same breeder, and the puppies were only $550, and about 50-miles from me in the same state I live in. I drove to the breeders house and saw the mom and pictures of dad, and they weren’t even CLOSE to the pictures I received from pure bred breeders. They couldn’t sell me the puppy that was actually listed with purebred breeders due to agreements, but he was there with the brother that I did buy. Nothing that pure bred breeders said was true, and they added a lot of flight fees and 5X the cost while the actual breeder still only gets their asking price plus (IF they really shipped puppy), the actual expenses for flights etc. They do NOT give the breeders the money when they lie about shipping etc., it’s just extra in their pocket. When I asked the breeder if pure bred contacted them about reducing the price to compensate a little for the FICTITIOUS FLIGHT, they said “no”, and that they only contact them to do all the running around, numerous vet checks, scheduling of travel, and TONS of paperwork.
“First off they’ll lie to sell the puppies and they also charge double what the breeder does. They change their name, is that normal? They are the biggest puppymill supporter in America.”
From Yelp
“Puppy Spot was Purebred Breeders. My puppy had to have a surgery for a congenital hip problem when he was less than 1 year old. This company did NOT want to honor the contract and provide a refund. I paid $2,300 total which included flying him to WA State. The surgery was $1,300. They told me to send him back before they would give me a refund! Right! Who would send back their puppy?? Then they only wanted to pay me $900. They finally paid $1,200 but refused to refund the total.
“I bought a puppy here for six hundred. Took dot (my puppy) to their recommended vet and warranted her. I bought her six weeks ago. She has worms and they won’t go away she had them at her initial check up but who wants to go get their money back when they’re already in love with their new best friend. These people are definitely the puppymill type. I beg u not to buy a puppy here. If u love animals, dont buy one here. It’s heartbreaking.”
“Please read this before buying a puppy on Puppy Spot formally Purebred Breeders.I purchased a Shih-Tzu puppy on this site. I was told Toby was 12 weeks old but my vet said he was actually 8-9 weeks old. He arrived in a crate from the breeders state of Texas to California. He was covered in vomit, urine and feces. He was shaking and ill. He had gardia, kennel cough and perhaps parvo. I had my vet look at him immediately and she said the dog was quite ill. He was also too young to fly. Toby developed severe separation anxiety. I tried everything short of a dog shrink. Sadly Toby kept getting worse. Please do not buy from Puppy spot. They are just an internet puppy mill. I asked for a full refund which will never happen. Please avoid this place . They are just a fancy Internet Puppy MILL.”
From Trust Pilot
“I bought 2 dogs from them a year apart – both are great dogs BUT – the second one had Giardiasis upon its vet check when I got her – so that meant both dogs had to have meds for this – and the vet required a second physical on the new pup once she was through the med cycle. Puppyspot would only pay for the new pup’s meds – not for the older dog’s or for the followup visit. FYI – if you can figure out who the breeder is that your pup will come from – you can get it for about 50% of what they charge.”
“My husband bought a golden retriever puppy from purebredbreeders.com for our family shortly after we lost our 12 year old golden retriever to cancer. We took her to the vet the next day after she arrived and found out she had Giardia and worms. All the company had to say was that they could not guarantee the puppy’s health-she would have to die before they agreed to do anything. Disgusting. So not only was I still grieving for my golden that had passed, I now had a sick puppy to take care of. After six months of the puppy constantly vomiting, having extreme diarrhea and giving her constant medication, she is now fairly healthy but still undersized for 10 months old. Not only that, the puppy can’t be registered with any nationally accredited registration such as AKC, etc. I should have disputed the credit card charge but there is no way that I would send the puppy back (probably to be a lab test animal) if they demanded the return of the “property” so I did not. Stay far, far away from this company and do not believe the doctored photos and false promises.”
I purchased what I was guaranteed to be a teacup Pomeranian. While they now state they make no guarantees to the size of the dog, they did listen to recordings and the agent did indeed guarantee this pup would be 5 lbs or under. At the “ripe old age” of 8 months, this pup is already 12 lbs. I called and spoke to the office numerous time, each time they assured me that they would get back to me. They blow me off, don’t get back to me and have not kept their word on any type of refund. Once the pup leaves them, there is no such thing as Customer Service. I paid $3,749 for a puppy that I could have rescued at the humane society for. Completely disappointed and let down by this organization and will NEVER recommend them to anyone I know.