Negotiating Horse Prices

[sparkygrace]

Horse buying and selling is one of the most difficult things. When I was selling a high-class pony for a fair price, a buyer 2,000 miles away made not only a low-ball offer, but wanted me to haul the pony to a state half-way between for delivery. I laughed and laughed.

When shopping, I have almost always paid full price for a nice horse. However, I have seen some horses so overpriced that I wouldn’t even look. There is one advertised right now. Cute horse doing upper level dressage work at a very young age. To me, the trainer taught it “tricks” to raise the price to an astronomical level. When people expressed shock at the price, the trainer deleted the price from the ad. I expect that horse to be on the market for a long, long time.

As others have stated, there is tactful way to negotiate price if it seems too high. The seller may be open to some wiggle room for the right buyer. However, throwing out a ridiculous low-ball offer is never a good idea.

[joiedevie99]

@BlueDrifter

Just a curiosity question: I keep hearing of folks who got the $80k horse for $65k. And I have heard of differences of 20% on a regular basis. This is SoCal. Is everyone lying?

Very normal. Most trainers will offer 10-15% below ask, then negotiate to 5-10% below ask. 20% isn’t unheard of, especially if the horse has been on the market for a while and the seller already found her next horse. Board/carrying costs are expensive - especially when we’re talking expensive horses in full training programs. Sometimes that gets sorted out through commissions and doesn’t change what goes to the seller. But that is a very different bracket, with different practices, than this.

[eightpondfarm]

i don’t enjoy dickering on price. Not for an animal, nor a truck nor a persian rug. When i’m interested, i’ll ask the price. If i think it’s worth the price i’ll pay it. If i think it’s too much, i don’t.

[NJRider]

“Are you firm on your price?”

[candyappy]

@eightpondfarm

i don’t enjoy dickering on price. Not for an animal, nor a truck nor a persian rug. When i’m interested, i’ll ask the price. If i think it’s worth the price i’ll pay it. If i think it’s too much, i don’t.

My husband is exactly the same way.

[eightpondfarm]

lol…funniest thing. A friend was having a garage sale and i gave him some stuff to sell. (for him to keep all money) and i stopped by to shop. Some guy offered him one dollar for a lovely designer white cotton dress shirt and he i think had 2.50 on it or some-such… and he said: “I’d rather burn it.”

@candyappy

My husband is exactly the same way.

Having grown up in the Persian rug business… (aunts/uncles/mother/grandparents/grand aunts & uncles all over the usa) and to hear them agonize over the horrible customers, wealthy folks who have the money but somehow enjoy getting them down another hundred dollars…To some people, that’s half a car payment or something. i decided that i would not haggle over prices. Maybe some people expect it, but to me, i just don’t want to.
Either an OK price or it isn’t. Right now i’m trying to replace my trailer and in one small encounter the trade-in price changed in about 5 minutes and i didn’t even ask for that. When they FINALLY help me get all my wants untangled from my NEEDS (lol) and quote a price. I’ll either go or go shopping somewhere else.

But gosh…haggling over the price of a horse is something i don’t think would even occur to me. Or a dog. Or a guinea pig even. Animals seem…i dunno… sacrosanct? (maybe that’s the word i want)

I wouldn’t haggle over the price of a burger or a calzone or a burrito at a restaurant either.

[eightpondfarm]

one additional thought. If I were selling a horse, (first of all i cannot IMAGINE ever doing that), and mind you, i bond with my animals, so if i were selling a horse i would think it a precious, very precious, being. And if someone were to ask me if i’d lower my price, i’d walk away fast. My thinking would be: So, i guess you don’t have the money for good hay or a vet or regular farrier/dewormer. I would question their ability/willingness to keep spending the money upkeep on a horse always is.

[Tha_Ridge]

@eightpondfarm

My thinking would be: So, i guess you don’t have the money for good hay or a vet or regular farrier/dewormer. I would question their ability/willingness to keep spending the money upkeep on a horse always is.

LOL, what? I once offered $10k less on a $100k horse once due to a minor issue on the vetting that the seller was not aware of beforehand. Why on EARTH would that mean I can’t afford to pay for good hay or dewormer or farrier? Some of the things I read on this forum are mind-blowing.

[red_mares]

I let my trainer negotiate. Neither he nor I had any problem offering a lower price than the posted price. Trainer was up front about my budget; the price they mentioned was above that, but their words were “Don’t let the price scare you”.

The purchase price was 40% off the asking price. They countered at one point with an extended payment plan. It was more than I wanted to pay and was clear about that. They accepted my offer as a $1K training bill was coming in three days.

I liked the pony, but was willing to keep looking.

This was in the high 4 figures to $20K range. I don’t think any horse in the barn was bought at list price, with the exception of Mom’s $500 pony. The only reason a counter offer wasn’t made there was my father refused to pay less than that; the guy selling her would have taken $300.

[OnAMission]

I’m not going to pay a crazy asking price just to prove I have money; that concept is bonkers to me. That’s nutz considering I’m incurring costs with taking on a hayburner. If I’m dumb enough to pay crazy prices eventually I’m going to go broke on horses/hay/vet/saddles and that horse is coming down with me. I see a whole lot of crazy prices in my market right now and they can pound sand if they won’t listen to a reasonable offer. I won’t assume that every seller has priced (anything) fairly and not as a who knows someone might pay it, why not. No. Just no. I work in real estate, sellers ask crazy prices but I can see all the time that people aren’t paying them to the people that really want to sell. The buyers really dictate what is the real price. I wish I could really see what horses go for vs the asking price.

[pluvinel]

The price of a horse is what the buyer is willing to pay to buy and what the seller is willing to sell for.

You have gotten good advice from negotiate down to pay asking price.

I would know the market, the seller, and remember that any horse, be it a $1 or a $100,000 horse can injure themselves the day after your check clears. Offer what you think the horse is worth and be willing to walk.

My personal pet peeve is horse sellers who start out by asking what your budget. If you have a horse to sell, tell me the price and I will decide if I can afford it.

[Arlomine]

I do think you’re a bit off base here. It is considered completely normal to negotiate price with Horses. It’s not haggling. And it does not need to imply the inability to take really good care of the horse. People have a price point they can achieve when they are searching for a horse… And sometimes they might inquire about a horse who is advertised at a little bit above what they can afford. It really depends on the seller’s situation. You have no idea what’s going on for them. They may have some personal emergency/urgent situation that causes them to be ready to drop the price. If you don’t ask you don’t know.

I have done a lot of buying and a lot of selling. I have offered Horses to people for less money than advertised, because I knew it was going to be a great home, and I have refused to sell horses at any price to others for the opposite reason.

I have respectfully inquired if there was wiggle room in the price in my very first interaction with the seller, I have never had a negative response to that. I usually keep it very short, say I have X amount to work with… And while I know that’s not their asking price, I really like the horse, and I thought I would inquire to see if I there was wiggle room.

Again, I think reframing this in your mind from haggling to something else may be helpful. Ultimately, it’s just negotiation, and if everybody is polite and respectful and listens to the other party, I have never had a problem. Of course, if somebody lowballs me right off the bat, or tries to use something ridiculous to reduce the price, I just shut the whole thing down

[TheJenners]

@mlayton

She bought him for 6 figures at a breeders sale, and the horse is too slow showing no interest.

It doesn’t matter what she bought him for, that’s the cost of doing (horse) business.

I really only wanted to comment on that, I’m here to read because I’ll have a horse for sale soon and want to see what to expect.

[quietann]

After Lola’s vetting, I did make a lower offer. She has an issue that may or may not ever need treatment but if it does, it could get expensive. The seller countered with halfway between what I offered and her asking price, and I took that. I think that’s fair. But for a horse with no issues, I probably wouldn’t try to negotiate. (I would, however, look at horses priced a bit above my budget; I know a couple of people who’ve ended up with nice horses this way, either when they did not sell at the asking price, or the seller decided the potential buyer would be “the right person” for their horse.)

[Posting_Trot]

In terms of negotiating prices and whether it’s okay or a good thing to do, a lot of issues come into play. One big one: is the potential buyer giving off an obnoxious or “know-it-all” vibe? (Or also a clueless vibe).

Sometimes the seller can be very put off by the way that the lower offer is communicated. Empathetic professionalism that doesn’t impugn the dignity or the sanity of the seller is a real plus!

[Spudsmyguy]

I had a similar scenario happen to me. I was in the market and went to look at a horse up north and my husband called a friend who lived near there to see if he knew of anyone who had a horse for sale. His neighbor had an appy mare for sale so we went and looked at her too. Guy said he was thinking of selling but hadn’t made up his mind. Cute little horse and I rode her around the pasture bareback and said I wanted to buy her. He made me an offer of $600 but was still not too happy about selling. We gave him every offer to just say the word and we’d go away, no problem. But, like the old country guy he was, said if he said he would sell her than he would. I wrote that check out and told him we’d be back with the trailer that night. I swear he had tears in his eyes when we loaded her up. She was one of the best mountain horses I’ve ever been on and lived with us until they day she died.

[clanter]

@TheJenners

I’m here to read because I’ll have a horse for sale soon and want to see what to expect.

I really do not know any more, a few weeks ago at the Morgan Nationals the winner of one class liked the second place horse better than theirs who won, it was not on the market so trainer called to owner who said $125,000, woman wrote check on the spot.

And there was another that was being purchased as a junior exhibitor’s equation mount, $150,000

If the horse is nice and has a proven record than price is just a number

[candyappy]

@Tha_Ridge

a $100k horse

For some that alone is mind blowing.

[aregard]

@eightpondfarm

Either an OK price or it isn’t.

Jumping off point.

It really is cultural for many folks. I took a class in it once, and there are some places/people/cultures where they’re astounded if you DON’T haggle, and they will start the haggle if you just say no. It’s part of the process. Others, well, they are offended. Runs the gamut. It was a very interesting class (designed, I think, for people who had to do business negotiations, so it wasn’t just garage sale kinds of stuff. Or horses.)

ETA, I’ve bought, I’ve sold. I’ve gotten some whopping deals when the seller was having to liquidate. I’ve refused lower offers for a nice horse, and I’ve given horses away. I know a bunch of people from my riding association who were given discounts because they were ‘known homes’ versus someone off the street with a check book. There really is no “one way”.

[TheJenners]

@Tha_Ridge

LOL, what? I once offered $10k less on a $100k horse once due to a minor issue on the vetting that the seller was not aware of beforehand. Why on EARTH would that mean I can’t afford to pay for good hay or dewormer or farrier? Some of the things I read on this forum are mind-blowing.

There is a huge difference between haggling price and not being able to afford hay. The comment was weird. People haggle horses prices from $400 to $40k and beyond, to think it means they can’t afford to then take care of it is just asinine. I’m with you.