Advertised for too much? Help!

[Governor]

I'm getting a little concerned that i've advertised G for too much. I've never had to sell a horse before and haven't looked to buy for almost 6 years so went on the advice of my instructor and comparison of similar horses on the market.

I said I was in no rush to sell but it's getting increasingly hard to maintain some sort of workload and therefore present him well. He's in the magazine this week, and next week and will be on the website for another couple of weeks but i've only had 2 phonecalls so far and no viewings arranged yet.

Is this likely to just be the state of the market at the moment? What sort of margin for negotiation would people assume there would be? I have a figure in my mind that i'd accept happily if it was the right home but it's about 30% less than what i'm asking. I was worried about attracting tyre kickers if I advertised too low but now I wonder if i'm putting people off?

Does anyone know if the website advert price can be changed?

 

[KatB]

OMG, didnt know you were selling! Where is he advertised? Unfortunately I found H&H crap and got far more response from Horsequest, unless I wanted to sell him as a hunter!!!!

 

[Stoxx]

It's difficult. People keep telling me that there are going to be a lot of cheap horses about coming into this winter. I am yet to see this, but I just wonder if others are sitting back and waiting incase there are bargins to be had.

I agree though that he needs to be in a decent amount of work to be shown well, so you are in a bit of a difficult situation.

Could you include 'price negotiable to the right home' on the ad? There's me trying to offer advice....... I'm clueless on selling horses!!

 

[*hic*]

FWIW I just found the ad and if I were looking I wouldn't be attracted by that photo. Replace it with a better one and you might find the calls start coming.

hth

 

[Stoxx]

Ooh and did you know 'that horse' has left to be SOLD?

 

[Governor]

jemima - how did you find the ad? Was it this photo?

If so what sort of photo would you suggest instead?

L, will PM you in a sec. Not sure which horse you're talking about and i'm back for a bit so wondered if we could try and arrange a 'sit'.

 

[Puppy]

I didn't know you were selling G

I've noticed at the moment there are a lot of horses for sale, some rather desperately, because it's that time when many young riders are heading off to uni, and of course the seasons are changing.... Perhaps you could add to the advert, "ono, good home more important than price"??

 

[*hic*]

Yup, it was that photo! I found the ad by looking through your previous post where you had asked for ad advice and then applying some of the info to the abysmally slow search function on the site.

I'm no expert so I'm going off gut feel here. What didn't grab me? For a start picture quality is poor. It's a difficult background where his poll disappears into the dark half. It appears as though he's got a sweet little dished face - but is that the angle? and actually it's one of the few distinguishing features on him. He does look sweet but the photo doesn't have the WOW factor.

Sorry, I'm only trying to help you attract as many people as possible to get him the home you'd be happiest with.

 

[Divasmum]

Try a different photo.

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

I've sent you a PM and am frantically trying to find the ad.......

 

[blue2262]

I look first at photo then at price. I never assume that price is very negotiable even when it says ono or home more important ( I don't know what that means!) I have not seen your advert but for what its worth my views are:
Choose the best photo you have, doing what the horse is advertised for ie showjumper / eventer should be jumping, preferably at a competition, be realistic about the price you really want ( don't expect people to be prepared to haggle especially if you are hoping for a nice long term home) and keep the advert short, looking for horses is a slow business without having to wade through an essay. If you have lots to say put an e mail address and ask people to e mail for further details.
Always put your location, if the horse has a good record include the name.
My biggest hate is no price, why are people coy about the price, the horse is for sale they must know how much they want. I once rang about a pony to ask the price, the seller was really shirty about telling me. If she had included it I would have known not to bother her.
If you get no response it is a good indication that the price is too high, it can be a long job and you will need to repeat the ad on other sites/ publications.It is often a case of keeping your nerve, and I have found recently that word of mouth is better than adverts so tell everyone you meet.
The market is very difficult at themoment, lots of people are in the same situation as you and need to sell not buy.
I think horses are still overpriced but the prices on the cheaper sites eg Horsemart are starting to drop.

 

[Ferdinase514]

Def change the photo. It is blurry and he doesn't look his best.

Are you selling him as a dressage horse or allrounder?

 

[millitiger]

haven't seen the advert so don't know what you are advertising him as or what the price is but i would change the photo asap.

it is blurry, he isn't going in a great outline and looks strung out and the background doesn't make the horse 'pop' out from the picture.

i would get as blank a background as you can, get white bandages on and go for a flashy trot picture from the side- or over a nice big oxer if he is advertised as a jumper.