I decided to go horse shopping so posted an ISO on FB in an area “horses for sale” group and before I could respond to several responses, I had other people wanting information on the seller’s horse. WTF? I thought it was very bad form to hijack my ad and told one of them who was responding to a hijacker and would get back to me if the hijacker declined. Again, WTF? Is this normal these days?
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FB is not the format for a private conversation. Why would you expect that it is?
FB is an open communication platform that encourages threads. You started a thread. People responded. That’s what FB is.
If you want to buy anything on FB, or by any other channel, it is much better to inquire privately, not publicly. Through FB DM, or maybe they have a link to a website that provides other communications channels.
It helps if the seller states in the ad the best way to contact them. But if they don’t there is always DM or following links for another channel.
FB posting is sort of like speaking into the microphone in a large convention hall filled with people randomly milling around. Maybe a few have more purpose, but many don’t. Anyway, whatever you say into the microphone, everyone hears it. And randomly some will respond, as is their prerogative.
If a seller states that they only want to respond on the FB page, then yes, you are in a public forum with a lot of other interested parties, or just curious parties. I’d wonder how serious my chance of buying is, with such an open communication.
- The seller may be previewing the horse to figure out how much interest there is, before seriously following up on a potential sale.
- The seller may be looking to select which responder out of several they are most interested in following up with.
- Or they may not be very experienced with better ways of communicating with potential buyers.
I will probably never understand why people think that FB is a private communications channel, and are then surprised to find out that it’s not, at all.
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Nope, totally normal. Rude hijacking would be to post unrelated horses for a commenter under the same ad, or go off topic on the ad. Public post = anyone can comment.
People can be so wishy washy, so a savvy seller goes FCFS. A very small fraction of interested parties comment on other people’s ads as well - most just message the seller IME.
Good luck shopping - Facebook is a hellhole but also the most common way to buy horses these days! Be prepared to move fast as the internet (and don’t be surprised if horses sell out from under you without money/contract down) but don’t get pressured into anything you’re not comfortable with!
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I also called a barn to inquire about boarding and they called me back and said they have a couple of horses for sale there so went and looked over the weekend. Checking them out more fully this weekend. Word of mouth I guess is best.
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That’s unfortunately how it is. Some more focused groups will have ‘rules’ in place to prevent sniping but at the end of the day it can’t really be enforced anyway. It’s annoying but sometimes worth it.
That being said, watch out for the RAMPANT horse scams infiltrating almost all FB horse sale groups. It’s downright ridiculous.
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If you are going to clutch your pearls over it you need to be sure people can send you messages and then turn off the comments. That way they have to contact you and you alone vs advertising to the world. Really it’s not a big deal because most of the time the comments are not going to be horses that match what you are looking for by more than 25%. Sellers just grab at any opportunity to put their goods out there since many groups don’t allow posting from sellers only the responding to ISO ads.
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I wouldn’t say I’m pearl clutching (I used to have a pearl necklace, I wonder what happened to it) but I thought that kind of behavior was frowned on in general.
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I think in theory, yes- this is bad manners and frowned upon. But there are few manners on social media, fewer people with manners and no one seems to care too much. People behave on social media in ways they likely wouldn’t in person. Horse shopping is dog eat dog. I “lost out” on several or so i thought because the one I ended up with was literally there waiting for me and he’s perfect. Let them fight over themselves on FB.
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It is bad form - I’d have been irritated too!
Recommend adding “please don’t hijack my post” or words to that effect on your want ads.
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To hijack this thread, your pearl necklace is probably with my pearl necklace, Spuds. I have no idea what happened to mine, either.
Damn, I miss the 80’s. That was a chapter in my life when I don’t think I left the house without a pearl necklace and pearl earrings. 
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Facebook is a scam ridden hellhole where etiquette goes to die, but I will at least say, “if the OP passes I would love more info about this one” if I come across one buried in the comments but really matching my needs.
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From the sales groups I’m in, that behavior (snipping) is frowned on. Any comments I see where someone is doing that specifically say “hey, I’m interested if OP passes.”
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Very normal. I bought my girl because the seller responded to someone else’s ISO. I privately messaged the seller inquiring and ended up buying the horse shortly after.
In my situation, the original FB poster wouldn’t have even known I “hijacked” their post as I directly messaged the seller from the comments. ISO posts are typically tailwinds to sellers as most ISO’s have lots of lurkers who are looking for similar criteria.
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I know where my pearl necklace is, but I never go anywhere that justifies wearing it. I might put earrings in every couple of months. I’ve gotten so lazy about that sort of thing since I retired. I tend to wear sweats a lot of the time, and it’s just not worth figuring what earrings go with a particular pair of sweats. Dress up for me is putting on jeans.
Rebecca
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My pearl necklace, which I was very fond of, was stolen when thieves broke into my house while I was away on vacation. I “knew” who did it but had no proof, denials were made all around, and police couldn’t get any good fingerprints. But I digress.
Anyway, I wouldn’t directly hijack an ISO, even though it seems to be common practice, but I would message the seller and inquire privately with an “if the OP passes I’m interested.” I mean, really, most of the responses to ISO posts are for horses that are wildly unsuitable for the person who made the post, so most poachers aren’t really affecting that person.
Think of all the ISO posts that say something like “Looking for older beginner safe steady Eddie warmblood less than 16 hands. Must be within 3 hour drive of Atlanta.” And they get responses like, “This horse is everything you’re looking for except he’s 17.3. And a 3 year old OTTB. And located in San Diego.”
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I think it used to be, people posting “next” or “interested if poster passes” but nowadays, I don’t think so. Sellers want to sell.
Honestly I think the “interested if poster passes” thing was always just a veneer of politeness. No seller responding to ISOs would hold a horse for someone whose only demonstrated interest is posting the ISO (which, let’s be real, probably doesn’t match the offered horse well anyway). And no buyer should really expect to have “dibs” based on that. I suppose it’s rude to leave out the conditional, but far from the rudest thing occurring on FB…
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We did the same for DH’s ottb. Seller responded to an ISO ad with 2 potentials. We DM’d, then DH got on the phone with the seller/breeder. They talked quite a while before DH decided to buy his boy sight unseen. Seller said other horse could work for the original ISO poster who was coming that weekend to try both.
After the trial, seller didn’t think either would have been good for the buyer so I don’t feel terribly guilty.
We keep in touch with seller and she is THRILLED with the progress the 2 have made. We’re thrilled too. He is a lovely lovely lovely horse.
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I guess it is hard to find a good horse . I hate to say it but if I saw a reply to someone’s" ISO ad" that was the type of horse I was looking for, I would contact them too.
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I agree with this. I have responded to ISO posts, but the horse I am selling is available to ANY suitable buyer, not just the OP. Interested parties cannot prevent me from marketing the horses to others without a commitment to buy. It always amuses me as well to consider how we decide the OP has “passed”- do they have to post “no thanks”? Wait three weeks? I would bet the OP is only responding to a handful of the replies anyway, and so many ISO posts are clearly tire kickers (but can be good to get the ad out there).
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