A service for horse buyers?? Business idea!

M

MagicMelon

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 November 2004
Messages
16,379
Location
North East Scotland
Visit site
After selling a horse yesterday on behalf of my friend and the buyers saying how they'd seen some rather dodgy horses beforehand, it made me wonder if there could be business to be had providing a service whereby I'd source suitable horses for sale for the client and then try them out before advising the client on suitable ones for them to see? Could work both ways - buyer would pay me for the service as it would seriously reduce their time being wasted and sellers could register their horses with me for a fee to link with buyers etc.?

Have no idea if this would be a useful service or not?!
crazy.gif
 
I can see what you mean, might be tricky as thats what a lot of people use friends and instructors for, going to view suitable horses. In this climate im not sure people are willing to spend very much and lots of people are after a 'bargain' It does take a long time to build up a database of clients but hey maybe worth giving it a go alongside your current work and see where it goes ??
 
Aah ok, I didnt realise there were people known as "agents" who already did this! I just thought it would be useful as I know of 2 people recently who were thrown off horses they'd gone to see so figured they might like someone else to try them first! lol.

emma69 - Dealers tend to buy a horse or have a horse with them to sell on etc. This would be more of a go-between.
 
Do some sums on realistically how many hours work (plus travel costs) you would have to put in before you made 1 sale, and how much you would make on that sale. You will probably find it works out fewer £/hr than minimum wage!

I call this the Tesco test. If it works out fewer £/hr than Tesco would pay me to stack shelves, its not worth doing.
 
QR
Good luck with that...
So, basically get the income dealer gets without the responsibility or outlay to buy your stock then?
I don't think there is much mileage in that, people want something for nothing and it would be rather tricky to take a cut out of market already desperately stretching to make any sort of profit.
 
I've worked with a couple of dealers who would 'source' horses for you - i.e. I tell them I am looking for a 16.2hh Irish hunter between 5-8 years old, they will find something matching that description. What it means is that I pay slightly over the odds (their profit) and they do the leg work of going to sales (occasionally private sellers) and in return, I get a week to make sure the horse performs as he is supposed to, otherwise he went back. Now it may be because I did a good volume of trade with these dealers that they were willing to hunt them down, but I know a few individuals they have helped out too.

In terms of people being thrown off the horses they have been to see, I am not sure an agent would be the solution. I usually ask to see the horse ridden by owner first, to make sure it is a) broken and b) not a psycho. I would have thought most people would do the same. So if the owner can stay on, presumably an experienced rider (agent) would do the same, it is no guarentee that the prospective buyer wouldn't then fall off. I think most novice riders / owners take instructors or experienced friends with them to view horses, I have been to see several with clients, that way they have someone experienced with them to check over the basics, ride is required, but more importantly, can comment on the suitability of that horse for that rider. I have seen some stunning horses (that made me want to call mr bank manager to ask sweetly for some cash!) that I have then told clients no, whilst a super horse, great bargin, it isn't right for you. I'm not sure you could do that for someone you don't know.
 
I used an agent four years ago to find my horse - was working full time, had a boyfriend(now husband) who was only home at weekends and was finding it really difficult to find the time to see horses, or they'd be gone before I could get to them. This company was featured in a national magazine in an article on alternative ways to buy a horse.

I would use an agent again, as it did make the process much quicker and a lot less stressful, but I wouldn't use this particular agent Even though my boy is great, (90% of what I was looking for, but I believe you always have to compromise somewhere) there were a few other issues that I had that never got sorted. They are too complicated to go into now but the short version is that I believe I paid for services I never got and this person soon seemed to disappear of the face of the earth when I tried to query this. This person was fairly local to me and still after four years of asking I can't find anybody who knows anything about them.

A good honest agent can provide an excellent service, but you can't account for a horse and rider clicking. You might spend ages finding the right horse, only for the rider to dislike it for no particular reason.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top