Spoiler alert: He’s gorgeous!
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Just in case it helps someone, I found a horse I really liked (albeit 20 years ago), and I leased him while he was for sale. They were asking 15K, and I had 7k. Through my trainer, I made a contact with the seller, explaining my situation and budget, and offered 7k. They showed the horse a few more times, and the owner’s daughter was heading off to college. She told her dad she wanted me to have him b/c I loved him, and they sold me the horse at 7k.
You never know – and if you make the offer with a carefully worded “just asking on the chance you might consider…” the worst they can say is no, and in my experience they may be exasperated but usually not offended.
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I agree with @soloudinhere . As a seller that discloses everything and does a lot of market research to ensure each horse is priced fairly and realistically, I would be turned off by a bid that was 40% below the asking price. And I wouldn’t counter.
As a buyer, information is your friend. Do tons of homework to understand what comparable athletes are “selling” for. It is very common for sellers to mark up their horses to allow some room for negotiation or perhaps another commission. I’m not advocating the practice, but a 10-20% markup is common. On the other hand, there are some sellers that have zero interest in haggling but they will usually tell you that up front when they stipulate the price is firm.
Here is a funny tale. We had a Mother inquire about a very fancy six figure horse for her daughter. Mother asks the price and we tell her and explain the price was firm. Mother and trainer make appointment and drive 5ish hours. Kid is an okay rider but not great. Horse is perfect despite kid telling him a few jokes. Everyone loves the horse. Mother drives home and sends an e-mail saying “lets not waste any time, what is your bottom line on the horse”. We repeat the price and tell her it is firm. She’s gets annoyed and suggests that we wasted her time.
Horse is sold to the next client at full price.
People are weird.
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Just another example of it doesn’t hurt to ask…when I was younger my instructor at the time had a lovely Dutch Warmblood gelding. She was asking 25k for him. I was in absolute love with him, but he was 7 years old and unbroke. Great ground manners, but she had never gotten around to starting him. I bided my time, and after a year of her having him on the market, offered 15k. She took it, and I got a lovely Dutch Warmblood. He ended up being the first horse I fully started myself (with the help of said instructor), and he turned into a fabulous riding horse. I originally wanted to show dressage on him, but he ended up enjoying jumping more. He went on to be a fantastic eventer for another rider. So it never hurts to ask!
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The bolded part is absolutely true. If people set up a fair price for their horse, then yes, a lot of them would be offended by a lowball offer.
On another slightly different topic…
One thing I have seen occasionally is the “I don’t really want to sell this horse” type of price. A friend of mine inquired about a horse who was quoted at $50k, which at the time was about $20k more than what most horses of similar age, breeding, and experience level were going for. I think some of those sellers are saying to themselves they would sell if someone came along and had to have the horse and was willing to pay that. Otherwise they would keep riding and training the horse until its experience and show results brought it closer to its asking price.
Then I’ve also seen people who set the prices and adjust them up or down as a way to test the market. Not really wanting to sell but using one of their horses as a test case.
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This definitely happens. Perhaps a very fancy youngster turns a lot of heads but the owner isn’t ready to sell just yet. Perhaps a well known judge or BNT keeps asking for the horse’s price. There are many scenarios.
When put on the hot seat, I’ve been known to put a big price on a horse; a big price that the horse needed to grow into. When doing so, we always explain, if someone had to have the horse, we would entertain offers north of XXX, but we are not in a hurry to sell him.
However, I would not advertise a horse until I was serious about selling and the price was realistic. IME there is no point in advertising a horse that is priced 60% too high. It just makes the seller look silly and undermines their credibility.
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i think the margin of negotiation is wider when the deal is quick and uncomplicated. I.e. you don’t have to live with fluffy for a month before you will decide if you do a PPE. Or you don’t have to ride them at gettysburg when there is canon fire to see how they tolerate it. Yes, someone asked me if my mare for sale would be good with cannon fire.
