What to do? Sales Commission vs. Finder's Fee

[sehorses]

Hello,

Looking for some advice about a horse sales situation. I have a horse that I’ve been trying to sell for months now and have been working with my local trainer. I think my horse needs to get to a new market area and my trainers suggested sending her to a friend they have up north to be sold.
This seems like a great idea but I’m not sure what the appropriate situation will be for commissions, etc. in this instance. If my trainer’s friend sells my horse, I think they are owed the 10% commission. Does my local trainer have any claim on a commission from the sale still? I don’t want to have to end up paying more than one commission. Is my local trainer owed a finder’s fee just for making the connection?

I’d appreciate any advice, thoughts or words from personal experiences.

[SnicklefritzG]

From personal experience, I would almost never consider sending a horse out to be sold unless I could travel easily to the other facility. There are maybe only 1 or 2 people I would trust to handle things properly, meaning the horse gets the training you pay for and is marketed actively.

Consider what you might pay in board and training at the other facility. Ask yourself if you could drop the price by that amount or some percentage of it and sell the horse locally. Ask yourself how quickly you need to sell the horse and how much you need the money.

Regardless of where you sell the horse, I think having everything in writing is critical. If you send the horse somewhere, the trainer may already have a stipulation regarding commission. I think for most it is 10%, but others might have a different percentage or a sliding scale. What you do with your current trainer is up to you if there is no written agreement. I don’t think you owe him or her anything necessarily. At the very least if the horse sells quickly with the person they recommended to you, then a finders fee might be nice, but that would be up to you to decide.

[AirForceWife]

Why would you send the horse north when the south’s show season is kicking off?

[DancingQueen]

There’s really only one way to be sure you are doing the right thing and know what to expect, ask your trainer.

I’m presuming that you have given it a good thinkover and are onboard with sending your horse up north and have all the pros and cons there sorted out.

Have a sit down with your trainer and tell her what you told us. Say you are not sure how it’s done and what to expect and that you want to make sure everybody involved are happy. Your trainer might say, yes I expect a comission or she might say not to worry about it.
If you are to “take care of” (pay a commission) to your trainer you might want to tell the trainer up north that you want to make xx on the horse and that includes your trainer but she will have to make her commission on top or from the buyer.

It’s also a good idea to discuss, if you haven’t already, what your expectations are with the trainer up north. Tell her everything about your horse and ask her -I’m thinking that I would like to get xx, is this realistic, do you think you can get this much? How long do you expect before you can sell my horse? What will we do if you can’t sell him in this timeframe? Would you be open to a lease in case the horse doesn’t sell etc.
You could also tell her that you would like xx, and you are happy paying the 10% on that number. If she can get more you will give her a bigger % on the exceeds to encourage her to get top dollar for your horse rather then going for the Quick sale if this is more important to you. Also discuss what happens if you end up selling for less then what you had planned.

Should your trainer say that she does not expect a commission I still think that you should get her a little something when the horse is sold since it is her connection and she might be calling in a favor from a friend.
If you end up being more then happy with the sale and making a lot of money, you can again offer to cut her in, or depending on the value of the horse a nice gift could be anything from a good bottle of wine or a dinner out to a cooler in her barn colors or something else she might enjoy.