Horse selling etiquette - thoughts?

[HunterEqGirl]

Here is the situation, what are your thoughts?

Seller has horse advertised, buyer inquires and seller says person looked at the horse that day and told seller they would let them know in the next day or two whether they would take it. Seller notifies buyer 2 days later the person deciided against the horse. So buyer sets up appointment to view 6 days later. Coach is unavailable until following week, which is why viewing is not scheduled sooner. Horse is located approx. 1.5 hrs (one way) from buyer. Horse is very green (walk trot only), with a couple of videos available of horse being free-lunged and put through a jump chute.

Buyer receives email evening before viewing notifying the horse is no longer available b/c another buyer has placed a deposit.

As the buyer with an appointment, wouldn’t you assume the seller would notify you if other buyers were interested, in case you wanted to view it earlier than your scheduled appointment? I would have assumed the seller was not showing the horse to other buyers until you had your appointment if it was not mentioned to the buyer that others will be viewing it before then.

I know money speaks, but the buyer with the appointment could have easily placed a deposit as well, and isn’t it common courtesy to let the buyer know other buyers will have an opportunity to purchase the horse if they don’t move faster? As well, if a deposit was required to ‘hold’ the horse, shouldn’t the buyer have had the right to come view the horse within the first couple of days when the previous buyer was still trying to decide if they wanted it, considering they did not put a deposit down?

[Highflyer]

No, the buyer needs to offer to make a deposit if they want the horse held. Otherwise they should assume the horse could be sold at any point.

[jessiesgrrl]

Ummm around here its a first come first serve.

If the Seller listed it and you can’t make it out until a week later, heck even 48hrs later, it’s common knowledge that there is a potential for others to buy the horse first.

That would, to me anyways, be like asking a car sales person to not show a car to anyone else until I could get around to seeing it a week later…unheard of and pretty presumptuous of the Buyer.

Not snarking or anything, just stating how it sounds like.

If the Buyer had stated to the Seller when making an appointment 6 days later “Please don’t show the horse to anyone else until I can take a look” and the Seller agreed, THEN and only then could the Buyer be upset when they called to cancel the viewing.

And the fact that the seller called and let buyer know, and didn’t have buyer drive 1.5hrs away is a very nice and kind gesture from the seller, saved the buyer time and money in the long run.

Sorry thats my take on the situation

[OveroHunter]

Perhaps the deposit was put down before the prospective buyer even saw the horse just to ward off things like this.

[amb]

Oh heck no, especially not for six days with no deposit. (There was a recent thread with a bunch of viewpoints on this, but I’m not finding it right now.)

[red_mares]

There’s no reason to assume a seller wouldn’t show a horse for 6 days without a deposit.

As you said, the buyer with the appointment could have easily put down a deposit.

[Halt_Near_X]

@rjanyk;8036020

Seller has horse advertised, buyer inquires and sets up appointment to view 6 days later. Coach is unavailable until following week, which is why viewing is not scheduled sooner.
Horse is located approx. 1.5 hrs (one way) from buyer.

This is not the seller’s problem to fix, and 1.5 hours is not that big a distance in horse shopping where it might justify special considerations.

As the buyer, wouldn’t you assume the seller was not showing the horse to other buyers until you had your appointment?

I’d assume the seller WAS showing the horse, unless I left a deposit or had an explicit agreement with them to be first in line.

but the buyer with the appointment could have easily placed a deposit as well,

Exactly. And they chose not to.

and isn’t it common courtesy to let the buyer know other buyers will have an opportunity to purchase the horse if they don’t move faster?

It’s pretty well understood, so no need to spell it out. Deposits are the way around this.

I suppose if a buyer seemed really naive it might need to be mentioned, but if a buyer knows enough to bring their trainer along, I can see the seller assuming buyer/trainer know how deposits vs. first come first server works.

[goodhors]

Totally agree, Seller keeps showing the horse, even if there is an appointment with a possible buyer next week. Without the deposit, Seller is out of a possible sale while waiting for a “possible” Buyer. Way too many folks out just trying horses, never buy. Some Buyers never come when they make the appointment!

So I am in the ‘money talks’ group, and horse is for sale to anyone giving me his price or a hefty deposit to hold a sale horse for X days. Non refundable deposit by the way, since I might have lost a sale waiting on this Buyer to make up their mind. I keep names on a list, might give you a call back, if the first Buyer with deposit doesn’t purchase.

Be glad the nice Seller called you to save the trip. Showed courtesy for you and your time, money.

[arabhorse2]

First person with money gets the horse. Typical selling scenario.

I find it rather presumptuous that you’d expect a seller to NOT show a horse for almost a week. There’s no guarantee you’d have bought the animal, anyway. If that had happened, the seller would have cheesed off another potential buyer by telling them they had to wait.

[TWH_Girl]

[QUOTE=rjanyk;8036020]
Here is the situation, what are your thoughts?

Seller has horse advertised, buyer inquires and sets up appointment to view 6 days later. Coach is unavailable until following week, which is why viewing is not scheduled sooner.
Horse is located approx. 1.5 hrs (one way) from buyer.

Buyer receives email evening before viewing notifying the horse is no longer available b/c another buyer has placed a deposit.

As the buyer, wouldn’t you assume the seller was not showing the horse to other buyers until you had your appointment? Or at least thought the seller would notify you if other buyers were interested, in case you wanted to view it earlier than your scheduled appointment?

I know money speaks, but the buyer with the appointment could have easily placed a deposit as well, and isn’t it common courtesy to let the buyer know other buyers will have an opportunity to purchase the horse if they don’t move faster?[/QUOTE]

I believe it’s courteous to let other potential buyers know there are others looking at the horse and he may sell prior to your appt. Yes, money talks, but no one has ever lost business from being courteous and it certainly helps ones reputation in this sometimes God awful horse business.

[Beam_Me_Up]

I would expect the seller to keep showing until they get a deposit. It’s not unusual to make a number of appointments on a horse, especially given how many buyers don’t show up, or buy something else first, or don’t like the horse at first glance.

Although I expect a seller to keep showing a horse even if I have an appointment the next week, if they talk about all the other interest in the horse it generally feels more like a hard sell than courtesy, to be honest.

[Flash44]

I agree that the seller should show the horse until a deposit is made. Telling the buyer that other people are coming out first can backfire if the other people don’t buy the horse - makes it look like something is wrong with the horse. As a buyer, I do NOT like to feel pressured by having sellers tell me that other people are coming out to look. If I like the horse the first time I try it, I am ready to make a deposit. If I love the horse on paper and video, and can’t get out there right away, I will ask the buyer if they have other appointments, and move heaven and earth to get there first.

[trubandloki]

I would be more shocked if a seller did not show the horse than if they did.

There are so many people who never even show up for their appointments, that alone is a good reason for a seller to not consider a buyer a real buyer until they offer some money.

[BeeHoney]

As a buyer, I would fully expect that the seller would continue showing the horse to other buyers prior to my appointment, especially if it were six days out. It would not be reasonable to expect otherwise.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=TWH Girl;8036138]
I believe it’s courteous to let other potential buyers know there are others looking at the horse and he may sell prior to your appt. Yes, money talks, but no one has ever lost business from being courteous and it certainly helps ones reputation in this sometimes God awful horse business.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps, but one man’s “courtesy” is another’s “high pressure sales tactic.”

Any request to hold should be backed by a deposit.

G.

[candyappy]

I think you were really lucky that you were notified that the horse was no longer available BEFORE you drove the 1 1/2 hours to see him.

In defense of the seller, how many times do people make appointments to try a horse and never show at all? It might be that when you made your appointment there was no other interested buyer. She also knew you couldn’t make it there before your scheduled time. She had a buyer who was there with a deposit in hand. I am sorry you were too far to see him sooner.

[IronwoodFarm]

Unless the seller requested the 6 day delay, then the seller had no obligation to hold the horse. I do understand that getting the coach to see the horse is important, but Mr. Video Camera is your friend in this regard. There was no reason why the buyer would not go out sooner and have someone video the horse being demo ridden and then ridden by the buyer. The buyer could determine if the horse was worth the coach’s attention and offer a deposit to hold it until the coach could see it. I know I would take a deposit if we are talking a short period of time. Meanwhile the coach could review the video.

I also agree with Guilherme about high pressure sales tactics. Many people would be very off-put by a seller asking them to meet or beat a deposit. If you didn’t ask about a deposit to hold, then that is your mistake.

I would just consider it a lesson learned in horse shopping. I once has a lady try a horse that she really liked, but she needed her coach’s approval. I was very direct that the horse was on the market and I had another appointment scheduled in a few days. I offered to hold the horse with a contract and a deposit (my deposits are 100% refundable if the horse does not suit.) She declined the offer and I ended up selling the horse a few days later. She seemed rather surprised that horses sold so quickly. Some do, some don’t and in this case she chose the former type.

[Cluck]

As a buyer, I’d only expect a seller to hold the horse if I’d put down a deposit. However, until I’ve been able to try a horse, I do expect the deposit to be refundable if I don’t decide to go to a pre-purchase exam. This kind of scenario seems reasonable if I have to take an overnight trip to see a horse.

On the other hand, if I was only 1.5 hours away I would go and see the horse immediately, leave a non-refundable deposit if I loved it, and then take my trainer.

As a seller, the horse is for sale until someone gives me a deposit. Whether it’s refundable or not, depends upon the situation. I have always told a potential buyer if someone else is interested.

[Nootka]

you are lucky they called and told you the horse was sold. I have had sellers not even do that.

Money talks… BS walks

[HunterEqGirl]

I suppose that is my own naivety in thinking courtesy of transparency is a give in. I completely agree that a deposit would hold the horse, and that often people do not show up for appointments, and the seller must look out for their own interest. But I also think if you would like to remain fair and reputable, it is in your best interest to disclose to ALL buyers that the horse will be shown regardless of appointments. If a person is in a different city that requires travel arrangements, wouldn’t it be decent to let the person know that if they wanted to be sure the horse was still available, they would need to put down a deposit? I see the first come first serve mentality, but then you are always going to have people who live in close proximity have first dibs. That person who is very interested and set up an apt with the seller would be at a disadvantage because of their location, even though they spoke to the seller first. Just seems a seller should be clear when setting up meetings that there are not any expectations of first rights because they will continue to show it. When I sold my last horse we had buyers flying in. I never would have thought to allow others to come see the horse and possibly purchase it. The initial buyers were travelling and wouldn’t be there til the following week, and they hadn’t put a deposit down, but it would have seemed unethical to go and sell it someone else.