I would say it is Basic Economics 101. Although the seller can set the selling price only the buyer can dictate the value/worth (dollar amount) of the object being sold. He simply does that making the purchase.

Value is a lot like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. It only takes one buyer to 'justify' the seller's price, regardless if the masses think the opposite. The buyer has the option to meet the seller's asking price, negotiate or walk away. That process determines the dollar value of any object being sold.

In the dogs the higher the percentage of successes within a family/line/strain/breeder usually up that dollar amount. That dollar amount is always kept in check by the buyer.

If there were a standard, a hard line or solid measuring stick that was not relative or subjective it would be easier to say "X" amount of money should get "X" amount of dog. Unfortunately it is not that simple. Again the buyer is the 'check' in the process.

A slightly better topic would be to offer up some of the standards or measuring sticks people use to justify why they ask a certain amount and then couple that with those same standards as why someone would be willing to pay. Just an example (and sorry Jack, its your board, so you get the guinea pig role)

If I were looking for a Poncho dog I would be willing to go to the source for said Poncho dog and that would be Vise-Grip. Factoring in the family, the ancestry, the successes over time, the personal commitment and the percentages I would pay more for that Poncho dog. On the flip side, this Poncho dog's parent's siblings were sold as puppies and later bred. I would not pay the same for that puppy, although the breedings were the same/similar. Why? Maybe Vise Grip would have bred them a different way, maybe not even at all, but that is where I see value. The source.

So, for me, going to the source would be a factor in paying more, or justifying the seller's price by making the purchase. EWO