HOW TO SELL DOGS— 8 



dogs for sale, with stated prices, 

 often expedites a sale and assures 

 the prospect that the prices asked 

 are not set according to "what the 

 traffic will bear." 



Dearth of Information 



"If only the prospect would say 

 exactly what kind of dog he wants," 

 is the chief complaint of the breed- 

 er. And his complaint often is jus- 

 tified. The average prospect may 

 not know clearly just what he does 

 want; in fact he may be inquiring 

 about a great dane when in his own 

 mind, he is not certain whether the 

 great dane is a medium-sized or 

 large-sized dog. 



The following are important 

 parts of sales negotiations and con- 

 sequently must not only be known 

 in advance but should be clearly 

 stated in the correspondence so that 

 there will not be a misunderstanding 

 later: 



Age of dog desired, sex, mark- 

 ings, for what purpose desired — 

 home, children's companion, watch- 

 dog, hunting, breeding, showing, or 

 other use. 



If the prospect states whether he 

 lives in a house, an apartment or on 

 a farm, the seller also' is better able 

 to make a suitable offer. 



Letters Not Too General 



Usually the seller should furnish 

 all information in the first letter. If 

 he writes for information from the 

 prospect, the latter may lose inter- 

 est, not even answer the letter, or 

 in the meantime, buy elsewhere. 



Consequently, the seller should 

 answer promptly and somewhat 

 fully; not offer too many dogs in 

 the letter, state whether shipment 

 can be made at once, and above all, 

 state the color, markings, sex and 

 ages of the dogs offered. 



Picturing the Perfect Dog 



Here we come to an important 

 consideration. Sometimes a breed- 

 er paints a word picture which de- 

 scribes the perfect dog, a coming 

 champion worth hundreds of dol- 

 lars, but will be sold out of the 

 breeder's good heart, for forty dol- 

 lars or even less. In fact, some 

 breeders copy parts of the standard 



as description of the dog or dogs 

 for sale. 



If one is seeking to sell a dog to 

 a breeder or exhibitor, these descrip- 

 tions are of material importance for 

 it is understood that a breeder or 

 exhibitor is buying a dog of the best 

 type according to the official stand- 

 ard. 



The glowing descriptions are not 

 particularly vital if the prospect de- 

 sires a pet only. In these cases, the 

 soundness of the dog and its good 

 health, color, size and disposition 

 are more important. 



What Services and Guarantees 



Do not sell perfect dogs. Do not 

 guarantee too much. 



State whether your dogs are inoc- 

 ulated, whether or not you furnish a 

 veterinarian's certificate, whether or 

 not your dogs are shipped on ap- 

 proval, and whether you guarantee 

 their health for a certain period of 

 time after receipt. As a matter of 

 wise practice, the period of health 

 guarantee should not exceed ten 

 days after the dog is received. 



State that your offerings are for 

 prompt acceptance because you can- 

 not afford to lose sales to other 

 prospects. 



Why Prospects do Not Reply 



Failure to reply does not mean 

 that the prospect is not a worth- 

 while prospect or that the letter was 

 not properly written. He may be in 

 touch with three, four or five ken- 

 nels at the same time. He may 

 suddenly lose his desire to own a 

 dog. His funds may have been 

 spent elsewhere. He has not yet 

 made up his mind definitely or has 

 not yet arranged for proper quar- 

 ters for the dog. He has not yet 

 persuaded the wife that she should 

 permit him to have a dog in the 

 house. 



Details before Shipment 



The sale has now been made thru 

 correspondence. Notify the pur- 

 chaser just when you will ship the 

 dog. Send all papers by registered 

 mail. 



If you receive a check, you can 

 withhold shipment for a few days 

 while you are worming the dog or 



