I hope this is allowed. When sales ads say inquire for price, does that mean the horse is way expensive, only certain trainers/buyers would be considered, or PPE is probably iffy?
It usually means that I cannot afford it!
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I’ve historically associated inquire for price to mean if you have to ask, you can’t afford. More and more I think it’s because the seller does not want to openly advertise a dollar amount for the horse to give them more control over the selling price. Once you put a number out there you cannot divest yourself of it.
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I found it can mean a couple of things. Usually a higher dollar figure (mid-5’s and up), intended in part to limit inquiries to more serious ones (although I’m not sure I believe it actually has that effect, and in fact it can deter serious shoppers who don’t want to waste time figuring out if it is or isn’t in budget range), and leaves the seller flexibility if the price may change for various reasons. I think the flexibility point is probably a big factor, with some valid reasons (show results, for example) and some shady ones. Having shopped not that long ago, it drove me nuts when people wouldn’t at least put a price range in the ad (low 5’s, mid 5’s, high 5’s, etc . . . .).
Either means:
- Sotheby’s should be selling this horse
- If you have to ask, you can’t afford it
- The seller is playing coy and may actually be insane and thinking their 8yo unbroke nightmare of an animal should command 6-figure “prospect” prices.
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I think you need to ask to know. Sometimes breeders especially need to offload young horses for financial reasons but don’t want to devalue their brand by having a visible fire sale.
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Agree with all of the above but especially the comment by @Madison that it “can deter serious shoppers who don’t want to waste time figuring out if it is or isn’t in budget range”. A range is a perfectly acceptable way to get your point across without marrying yourself to a specific number if you need flexibility due to additional training or show record as time goes on. Not too many will jump from the “low five figure range” to the “upper five figure range” that quickly and legitimately, in my opinion, so why not just state a range and weed out unnecessary inquiries or invite potential real buyers who have the money to spend but would otherwise be deterred from inquiring? It’s perplexing.
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The only time I have used it in an ad has been for a horse I was helping to sell for a friend whose price was EXCEPTIONALLY negotiable and would have been given away to someone who was the right fit (which is eventually what we did). In my area, at least, ads for super low-cost or free horses tend to bring out a TON of tire-kickers and/or folks with little to no experience, which would not have been a good option for this guy.
When shopping, if I see a horse listed with an “inquire” price that I am interested in, I’ve generally had straightforward answers from people - just a dollar amount. In the few cases that I haven’t - most have been either something like my situation above, more concerned about the right home due to some quirk or issue. A very few have been less forthcoming seemingly in the interest of getting the most $$ out of a sale, which sort of turns off my interest. To me that only leads to a weird dynamic in most conversations.
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Can’t edit for some reason, so just adding: to me, a range in an ad seems weird. If someone lists “10k-12k”… why on earth would anyone ever offer the 12? it’s so weird. I mean I guess unless you somehow get into a bidding war. As a buyer, if the seller is going to list a price at all, I’d much rather it just be a straightforward number. I think it’s pretty much a given that it’s up for negotiation.
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Agreed with @kashmere , I’ve known many people who state “Please inquire” because they are very, very, very flexible. As in, they’re “asking” $45k because that’s technically what the horse is worth when compared to other similar horses for sale, but if someone with a lower budget expressed interest and were a good fit, they’d be willing to take, say, $20k.
I will use inquire for when I have a horse in training…if it sells before much training is put in it, it will be priced cheaper, but the longer I have it and the more training I put in it, the more its price will have to be. If I publish a price, it may not reflect accurately the horse at its particular point in training.
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Quote function won’t work for me, but @kashmere - agreed a numerical range would be odd, but the ballpark ranges I mentioned in my post I still think are helpful so that no one’s time is wasted if someone’s got a low/mid 5 figure budget but the horse is a high 5’s/low 6’s kind of sale price! But I can see the point of “please inquire” if the price is very flexible, although “negotiable to right home” or something like that might also get the job done. Interestingly, when I did an ISO post when I was shopping, and I posted a ballpark budget range, I was amazed at just how flexible some people’s prices were. Sometimes they offered to come down by as much as 1/3 right off the bat!
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As @x mentioned, a horse that is in training and moving up the levels may become more valuable with time. Many trainers that are selling horses, don’t have time to go back to each ad and adjust prices as the horse’s value changes. It is just more practical to state “inquire for pricing”.
Another reason the price could be left off is to leave room for a commission. I don’t condone the practice, but some agents will approach a seller, tell them they have a potential client for the horse, but insist that the seller pay the agent a commission if a sale takes place. For that reason, the seller may have one price for buyers who involve an agent and a lower price for buyers who don’t use agents. For the purposes of this example, an agent is separate from the buyer’s trainer.
I inquired on a horse once (even went to try it, as it was nearby). When I asked about price, she told me she hadn’t thought about it yet. Granted, it was a very inexpensive project type, but still!
Could be lots of things. Horse in training could have price changes due to training level. Show horse could suddenly be worth much more after winning a big class. Could be more nefarious like agent not wanting seller to know how much they are asking so price could be padded between pros.
Sometimes the horse is underpriced for some reason but the seller doesn’t want to be overwhelmed by responses and don’t want it to appear that they are offering fire sale prices. A friend once randomly called about a nice older show horse she thought she could never afford. Turned out they really were looking to find the ideal “step down” position for him but didn’t want to publicly announce that they were practically giving him away and would be happy to take him back etc.
In this day of Internet selling, it is also a way for sellers, especially professionals to weed out the responses from star struck teenagers, tire kickers and unsuitable buyers. When you call for price/details, the seller can get a feel for your status, ability and plans for the horse. It gives them a chance to pre-evaluate to save some time.
Some sites allow a range meaning " between 20-30k " or seller will say “mid 5 figures.”
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Another reasons is if it is advertised on Facebook (the OP did not say where they saw the ad) that the seller is trying to not make it obvious it is a sales ad.
@Madison I agree - the “xx figures” way of putting it is at least helpful in setting expectations.
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