Our first came from a reputable breeder many states away from us. Worth every penny. He's a great dog and we love the breed so much, we put in an application to adopt the same breed from a reputable adoption group in our state.

We were told that due to the rarity of the breed in our state, we may wait up to 3 years before one even comes up for adoption.

We only waited 3 months before we were contacted. The original owner had the dog for 2 years before a job transfer made it impossible to keep him. He seemed genuinely bummed - which was a good sign to us. We can tell the dog was truly loved and cared for (a bit spoiled even).

Here's the catch: While we love both dogs a ton, we can tell the adopted one was bred at a puppy mill. The adoption group informed us of this, so there weren't any surprises, and we accepted that he might have some issues. And he does. Nothing that we can't overlook since we don't show our dogs or race them - they're just great house pets. But there really is a difference. 

So to OP's point, there's a place for both breeders and adoption. Owners just need to decide what they truly want and choose wisely.