Professionals don't discount !

Doctors, lawyers, even the grocery stores, don't discount their products or services and as cat breeders we shouldn't be either. The best way to reduce the perceived *value* of your product (in this case kittens) is to reduce the price in order to make a sale. I know that as cat breeders, the idea of our precious kittens being a "product" is extremely undesirable, but to our customers, they are firstly making a purchase; the kitten becomes there *pet* and family member once they have it.

I suggest that all cat breeders take a marketing course, even if it is just a good book on the subject. Placing yourself in the market, perceived value, advertising and how and where to market your kittens is invaluable information. It can make the difference between having a waiting list for kittens or having a house full of kittens you are having difficulty finding homes for. Most cat breeders would laugh at the notion of *making* money selling cats, but it is nice if they at least pay for themselves rather than producing anxiety and stress. "Kennel Stress" is a very real phenomenon and there are books on the subject with some good ideas.

I breed cats for my own enjoyment, to show and improve my respective breeds. The offshoot of that is that I have excess kittens, those that don't meet the standards I want in my program, and these must be sold to good homes. Good homes to me are not only "nice" people with caring hearts who have some common sense when it comes to animals, they are also people who can afford to provide for them. Anyone who breeds cats knows what it costs to provide super premium food and litter and the vet bills are off the scale. A nice family, may want and provide attention to a kitten, but they must also be able to provide it with the expensive food and veterinary care. How do we find these people? We set our prices to appeal to *these* people. You don't find Mercedes dealerships offering sales and discounts, at least not publicly. Yet they still don't have a problem selling cars. Why would anyone pay that kind of money for a car when one a quarter of the cost will get you around? Status, quality, wanting to be unique perhaps. Why do we want to find these people? Because they don't have a problem providing the kitten with the expensive food, proper veterinary care, etc., which means less hassle for us in the long run. The people you feel sorry for who plead financial woes, are exactly the people who will haunt you when they have a problem. If they can't afford the super premium foods and veterinary care, they will be the ones who will have the problems. The discount will be forgotten when they call.

The best way to increase your calls and sales is to increase your prices! This may sound ludicrous, but it works. You place yourself in the market. That means you tell people the quality of your animals based on how you compare to others. There seems to be a unwritten rule among cat breeders that everyone within a breed should be selling their kittens for around the same price, and to do otherwise is somehow an insult to the other breeders. While the other breeders won't like you to under price them, it is not likely they will mind you having hirer prices and it may even provide incentive for them to also increase prices. This price increase is not based on greed. We just don't make money breeding cats, so any reduction in our overall loss would be nice or enable us to have available funds to attend cat shows, have better advertising, or even purchasing that new expensive bloodline.

If you feel guilty raising your prices, then consider value-added services or products that go with the kitten. Some people offer pet health insurance, books, food, toys, etc. Ad a year or two to your guarantee or consider early spay/neuter if available in your area. A friend of mine did an experiment with dogs. They were having a hard time selling puppies of this particular breed for $250. Raising the price to $450 created a greater demand for what was perceived as a better quality dog and the sales improved. This kind of money is still peanuts for either a purebred dog or cat. Think about it, people will pay $500 - $750 for a cockapoo in a pet store. The most sought after breeds are those with high price tags, not those that go for peanuts. The purchase price of your breeding stock will certainly affect the eventual price of your kittens, and some breeds cost a lot more than others to purchase top quality cats. While this will certainly affect the price, so too should the accomplishments of a cattery or the breeding cats. Are the parents Champions, Grand Champions, National or Regional Winners? Do you belong to breed clubs that help you to gain knowledge in your breed? Where do your cats rank in quality compared to those at the shows? If you are producing top quality cats and selling kittens as pets that would not be ashamed in a show ring? Then your prices should be higher than those that don't have the same quality of cats. While a Championship is pretty easy to achieve, it not only speaks of the looks of the cat, but also reflects the cats personality.

People shouldn't have to be rich to afford to purchase a purebred cat. Purchasing a purebred cat is a better bet for getting a cat with the coat, exercise requirements and personality we know will match our families needs. Offering a range of prices for kittens, based on how they meet the standard for the breed (how close they are to "show" quality), gives a range of prices with kittens that are truly pet quality being at the lower end, those that are breeder quality (a couple of small faults, but certainly one you would still include in a breeding program) in the middle range (being sold as a pet), and those that are show quality and top show quality (being sold as a pet). I differentiate because my price for a show quality kitten being sold as a pet would be a lot less than one that is going to be shown and used in a breeding program. This price difference reflects the different guarantee and my time investment into that kitten, but that is another topic. I also sell my retiring breeding cats for the price of their spay/neuter and vaccination updates, a price that anyone should be able to afford if they want a purebred cat.

So, my kittens range in price based on their quality as compared to the standard. Guess which ones always sell first? The highest priced ones. It is the lower priced kittens that are harder to sell. Always.

Even if you feel uncomfortable with it, try it as an experiment. If you usually sell kittens for one price, try setting different prices. When people ask why the difference, explain to them the special features of that kitten, or its' notable bloodlines, etc. Be ready with an answer, because the question will come. Or try it with one exceptional kitten, one you know will be of higher quality than its' siblings. Try to be confident as you talk to prospective customers and share the enthusiasm you feel for your breed. If someone asks you for a discount, just tell them, "No, I'm sorry, I don't discount kittens but if you'd like to wait for another litter (an adult retiree), I'm sure we can have something in your price range". You may want to have a set discount for the purchase of two kittens, but this is entirely different. Two kittens going to one home is less work for you in the long run. Less paperwork, less people to deal with later, etc. I give $100 discount on two kittens and even offer the discount to people on their second purchase if made at a later time. Some people just have to try to make a deal, but they don't walk away because you won't reduce your price. If they do, you do not want them as customers anyway because they are the ones who will cut costs elsewhere, such as food and veterinary care. So remember, professionals don't discount, and neither do we!

Tracey