Bad experiences with potential buyers!

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Toby_Zaphod

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People moan on this forum about sellers not returning calls to prospective buyers & seeming to not be bothered about selling their horse but it also cuts the other way. We have a horse for sale, he’s a schoolmaster. He can jump, do dressage at Novice & Elementary level, cross country & hack out without worrying about large vehicles/farm machinery. Everything in his advert we can prove with BS record, dressage sheets, video evidence etc. We priced him reasonably so as not to exclude a good home for people with a restricted budget.

We got the usual silly texts but we also got some really nice calls & arrangements were made for people to come & view. We were in touch with one woman, sounded great, had a good home, was really interested, called us several time & then vanished. Totally fell off the radar. Didn’t answer phone, text, nothing. What a time waster.

Another phoned numerous times, was really interested, wanted to come immediately. Due to us being away on holiday couldn’t arrange to view immediately but arranged for a Saturday morning a week later. On the Friday night before we are text saying she’d broken her arm & was cancelling the viewing. She’s not contacted us since.

Another sounded ideal on phone, arranged to come on a Saturday, was prepared to travel over 3 hours to view. She told us about her background & where he’d be kept etc which sounded great. She was a middle aged woman who sounded knowledgeable. She’s viewed numerous videos on You Tube of him & really interested in him, She was going to phone on Friday evening to confirm directions & post code. She didn’t phone so we text her. She text back saying wasn’t going to come & gave some excuse. If we hadn't contacted her we'd have got horse ready & waited for her no to bother turning up.

Another teenager came with parents, rode him & jumped him & he made her look really good & teenager loved him. He never put a foot wrong. They wanted to try him again so they came again 2 days later & rode him again. He was brilliant & she loved him & went away to think. They then called & wanted to go to a cross country course to see what he was like in an open space They’d already seen videos of him doing this so we said to them they needed to show some commitment before we would do a third viewing & guess what, they decided they wouldn’t have him. What a bunch of time joy riding time wasters!

These are just details of 4 viewings that were a total waste of time & there have been more.

My daughter has been up front & honest with all these people. All she wants is a good home for this marvellous schoolmaster with great all round ability. It’s very hard for her to sell him as she is so attached to him, she’s had him for 8 years. Now when someone calls she can’t trust what they say or if they will come & is totally losing heart & I believe getting depressed. Sometimes potential buyers are so heartless with their dealings with sellers.

Many sellers are honest & just want a good home & good match for their horse. Buyers don't assume that everyone who wants to sell a horse is crooked & wants to rip you off. :(
 
I do know how frustrating it is as a seller (have been there myself and I hate it) but of the 4 you've mentioned above, I'd only really describe one as a true time waster.

The first one may well have found another horse whilst she was speaking to you about yours, or had a change in circumstances - it is discourteous not to inform you of that fact, but she hadn't actually arranged a viewing as far you've said?

The second wanted to come sooner which you couldn't do, and then broke her arm - I'm not sure why you'd expect to hear from her as presumably she won't be able to ride for several weeks and is probably thinking the horse will be long sold by then.

The fourth one - well, they could be joyriders, but on the flip side it's not wholly out of the ordinary for someone to ask to try a horse cross country schooling particularly if they're going to event it - and particularly for a teenager who may not be very experienced or confident. Seeing a video is not the same thing - the rider could be hiding a multitude of sins, or could be taken when the horse has settled after being a loon for the first 45 minutes. I can see that it would be annoying, but if they were prepared to cover the costs for taking the horse (which they should be), then sometimes that's the sort of thing you have to be prepared to do to make a sale.

I'm sorry you're having a tough time selling, and I do sympathise because I know how frustrating it can be. But I also don't think you should be too quick to dismiss people as timewasters. For me, those are the types who arrange viewings and never show up (like your third lady, although at least she responded to let you know the day before), or people who lie about their ability and what they want from a horse.
 
Gosh how dare you do your up most to ensure you are buying the right horse for your teenager!?

what you need to remember is that you know that your horse is what you say he is, others don't and also people's perceptions are different anyway.
 
To be honest the teenager that came too view wasn't a time waster, I believe you put them off the sale by not allowing them too see the horse ridden in open. I would of run a mile aswell. A seller not allowing the horse to be tried fully in my opinion is hiding something. They should of covered the costs but I do think you lost the sale by doing that.
 
CleanShavings said:
To be honest the teenager that came too view wasn't a time waster, I believe you put them off the sale by not allowing them too see the horse ridden in open. I would of run a mile aswell. A seller not allowing the horse to be tried fully in my opinion is hiding something. They should of covered the costs but I do think you lost the sale by doing that.
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Sadly I agree. If I was buying to event I want to see a horse over coloured and rustic fences and open space. I have been caught out before. No reflection on you but in a time when so many horror stories are posted, you can see why someone is cautious. Don't forget. They don't know you at all,..,
 
time wasters or customers? wanting to make sure that quite massive purchase and commitment is a good fit for both rider and the home that can be offered? The only one that *nearly* wasted your time was the one that didnt contact you up front to say she wasnt coming.

I wouldnt even bother viewing a horse that had 'no time wasters' in the ad.
 
You just can't buy a horse from an ad, on the phone it may not be suitable and then again in person it may not be either. Yes it make her look good but if she like the feel then they won't buy. You wouldn't know that until you've sat on the horse.
 
After some of our experiences, we wouldn't buy a horse without checking how the horse behaved in all the spheres we'd want it for, so I don't see how the wanting a cross-country trial would be too much to ask for.

Ditto the above re broken arm, etc.

I've just bought a horse. Wanted to go see, but couldn't make the day, so had to tell the seller that it would have to wait for a week as I was collecting daughters from Uni on the immediate weekend after seeing the advert. Lots of emails. Finally made it down. Decided I wanted him. Couldn't collect for a week, so left a small deposit. Went to pick up a week later, but he wouldn't load, so he's still there and 'old' owner is looking after him until we can implement Plan B. The point of saying all this is that things do odd things and Life gets in the way.
 
We have just sold for the first time but TBH the ones you have talked about are nothing. Annoying hen they seem to like the horse & go off saying they would like to try xc with their trainer prsent but then vanish, but it happens. More annoying when they come and see an ISH that has 3 generations of it's breeding on the advert and then say "I didn't realise it was part TB" before they even get on. At least the ones that had driven 2 hours to see him wasted more of their time than ours & he was nicely groomed to nip out SJ which we weren't expecting to do.
 
CleanShavings said:
To be honest the teenager that came too view wasn't a time waster, I believe you put them off the sale by not allowing them too see the horse ridden in open. I would of run a mile aswell. A seller not allowing the horse to be tried fully in my opinion is hiding something. They should of covered the costs but I do think you lost the sale by doing that.
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The first visit they rode him at our place & then we transported him to another arena which was bigger & had full set of show jumps where she had a lesson on him with her trainer. The second time they came we did the same again for them, flat work at our place & jumping at her trainers. All this was at our expense, there was no mention of them assisting in the costs of travel & arena venue rental. The final 'want' was for me to take the horse approximately 40 miles for them to try again & again no mention of any payment for travel or venue rental.

Her trainer also trains my daughter was present when she tried the horse on both occasions. The trainer knows the horse well & it was her that recommended them to come & try him. It was also the trainer that told us that unless they show some indication of their intent to just move on as we had been more than accommodating to them. We'd even given them a printout of his vet history.

We & the trainer firmly believe that they were joy riders & wasting everyones time.
 
MrsMozart said:
After some of our experiences, we wouldn't buy a horse without checking how the horse behaved in all the spheres we'd want it for, so I don't see how the wanting a cross-country trial would be too much to ask for.

Ditto the above re broken arm, etc.

I've just bought a horse. Wanted to go see, but couldn't make the day, so had to tell the seller that it would have to wait for a week as I was collecting daughters from Uni on the immediate weekend after seeing the advert. Lots of emails. Finally made it down. Decided I wanted him. Couldn't collect for a week, so left a small deposit. Went to pick up a week later, but he wouldn't load, so he's still there and 'old' owner is looking after him until we can implement Plan B. The point of saying all this is that things do odd things and Life gets in the way.
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When you wanted to view & bought you kept in touch & were honest & up front with why you couldn't come & when you could & that's great. You're a good honest buyer, you come & try, like the horse, it does what you want so you buy it. Shame about the loading issue. You showed interest & that you wanted him, our buyers never showed true interest.

The broken arm we have since found out was a fabrication so she was a time waster.

Oh & someone said they'd never go & see an advert where it said 'No Time Wasters', well I wouldn't either & so our advert never had that it it. A time waster would pay no heed to that anyway.
 
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Why on earth would anyone waste their own time viewing a horse they've no intention of possibly buying?

Petrol costs, listening to sellers bs, getting dropped by mad horses, traveling hours to find lame/ short/ deformed horses, etc…. Who are these lunatics who would put themselves through trialing horses without even buying one? I think sellers are kidding themselves that many of these people exist.

Making enquiries, showing a bit of interest then not following through isn't any more time wasting to you than it is to the people making the enquiries. Who sits around enquiring about horses if they aren't looking to buy a horse? That would just be weird and I don't think it happens anything like as often as sellers like to claim it does. The simple fact is that the buyer will have thought through your answers, weighed up the details, price and package and decided its not for them.
 
It is surprising what people will do Horses are a bit like houses to some people quite a few are dreamers Quite a few are over staing their abilities and many more are under stating their abilities for fear of being shown up or made to look stupid by the horse. But in all cases most of the complaints from sellers and buyers alike comes down to good manners. It is polite to say thanks but no thanks rather than disappear off the face of the earth, It is better to cancel several days in advance or to contact the seller to tell them you will not be coming again good manners. Sellers I dont know how you expect to sell by deception you will just waste yours and everyone elses time. So If everyone was polite and honest most transactions would be only down to taste.
 
Flame_ said:
Making enquiries, showing a bit of interest then not following through isn't any more time wasting to you than it is to the people making the enquiries. Who sits around enquiring about horses if they aren't looking to buy a horse? That would just be weird and I don't think it happens anything like as often as sellers like to claim it does. The simple fact is that the buyer will have thought through your answers, weighed up the details, price and package and decided its not for them.
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I sorry, but I've got a friend who does exactly that. She's been messing a woman around who has a young horse for sale all winter. She seems to have stopped now and finally accepted she doesn't have time for a new youngster (possibly because I asked her either to go and see it or to stop talking about it, after about six months). She's also wasted several other people's time enquiring about horses, but not quite as much. She is fooling herself rather than being outright dishonest with the sellers, but she's definitely wasted a lot of people time in the last nine months :(
 
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Toby_Zaphod said:
The broken arm we have since found out was a fabrication so she was a time waster.
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Still not really a time waster though.

Sometimes people tell white lies to avoid being honest and offending a seller. Maybe they were keen on the horse, but then showed the videos to their trainer who said 'not talented enough' or 'doesn't look sound' or 'overpriced' or something else. Rather than say this to you, they make up a white lie. That's very common in my experience.

Enquiring about a horse, even fairly in depth, doesn't make someone a time waster if they eventually decide not to view. That's just part of selling - dealing with enquiries.

I've just bought a horse - the first one I viewed. I'm not a very fussy buyer as it happens - but I do rule a lot out at enquiry stage. I'd rather avoid wasting my time and the seller's by going to view a horse that isn't suitable - but I don't consider myself a time waster for having some in depth discussions with sellers and then deciding not to view in the end.
 
The worst we have had is people turning up but over estimating their ability.
Big time over estimating.
To the extent they cannot ride. Not even a seaside donkey.
But, as an owner, you have no idea their claims of their ability are a complete fabrication until they sit on your precious horse and scream when it goes forward at a rapid rate following a huge boot to the side.
 
I've never had to sell a horse and I've only really properly bought 2 (my 3rd was off a friend). When I was looking for my recent one I was always open and honest as possible.

Found one I liked- but it was frustrating - the lady was selling on behalf of her friend and after texting finally gave her number. Owner was a bit awkward and used text talk and generally didn't seem to care. After managing to make a viewing (I was being open) turns out he's lame. I wanted to still view him because he was my ideal on paper. However in the time waiting for my pushed back viewing I found my perfect horse, owner was pleasant and professional. I was very pleased and made a viewing. I viewed him and bought him on his first viewing (first I viewed too - I got lucky!) I promptly cancelled my other viewing for this other horse 2 weeks early ASAP. Owner replied with a bit of a pissy message, I just left it. There loss, why should I care. :-P
 
For some people, buying is not a big deal. Buy it, don't like it you sell it on. For some, its a big deal. Its a horse you plan to have for life, and if he is not right you will be very stressed out and sad. Personally i would want that one who came back again and again. I sold my old boy to a nice lady, only one who seemed genuinely interested, but she came and picked him up and barely looked at him. Asked how he was a bit later and he had gone already.
 
Equi has a good point - each time for me this has been a massive deal. Mine are all for life so each time it has been a big deal. I didn't view him more than once - I didn't need to. We clicked and I just knew he was the one.
 
I agree with Equi. In the last few months I've viewed over 30 horses. A small minority of which I refused to even sit on after watching the seller ride as despite their adverts and lengthy conversations before viewing I knew they were simply not suitable for one reason or another. Even more I discovered were lame/had known issues that weren't disclosed until viewings, were terribly schooled, unwilling characters and generally not as described. A very few we've gone back to have a second look at. Some I just didn't "click" with, but on 3 occasions this led to vettings, 2 of which failed and 1 is now sat in my stable most likely trying to eat her straw bed right now.

It's almost laughable the way despite me explaining my reasons for not riding their precious darling (vertical rearing at a ground pole does not make a "confidence giving jumper" - though worry not, he'd "just gone green" that day!) or not wanting to buy (she dragged her hind toes hideously and looked lame) they considered I was the timewaster, often despite the fact we'd driven hours to come view said horse. Yet not once did I accuse the sellers of being timewasters, even with their ability to stretch the truth! I just figured it was a somewhat annoying byproduct of searching for your next horse and makes it all the more rewarding when you find the right one.

Yes I could have probably bought a few of the ones I saw along the way, but I didn't want to settle for something that would do, when the ideal horse was out there somewhere.

On an entirely separate note, OP could you pm me a link to your ad as I have a friend looking for a schoolmaster type at the moment.
 
Buying a horse is a massive commitment and getting it wrong is a nightmare, I know, so people coming to try a horse a few times to make sure is normal and to want to see how it behaves in open spaces if that is what they want the horse for seems a reasonable request. The right owner will come along and better that the horse ends up with the right owner.
 
I occasionally sell an odd home bred horse. I only sell the really nice ones from home anything the slightest bit quirky goes through a dealer.
Believe me buyers can be a nightmare. I had one person try a horse three times - in the school, out hacking and then with their trainer. All this does impact on your day but no problem that is selling horses. But to be told after all that, that it is too big is totally out of order.
I could repeat many experiences over the years and both sides are guilty. I have been to see horses for my husband (he was 6' 2" and weighed 13 stone) - off to see 16.3, 9" bone only to find 15.2 skinny beast. Why oh why do people not be honest and accurate - it would save both sides lots of time and money. If you are stupid enough not to know what size of horse you are selling/wish to buy then for goodness sake take some expert advice.
 
I have sold a fair amount over the years, many for clients, I rarely have to deal with timewasters, yes it takes time to answer questions, send photos and videos but that is not a waste of time if it means the right people come to view and the wrong ones are weeded out beforehand.
There are always a few broken appointments, often those made far in advance as life takes over or they find something nearer that ticks more boxes or just change their minds, again not really timewasters if they cancel or fail to confirm the arrangement then the time is not lost waiting for them to turn up, a sensible seller will still have other interested parties lined up and booked in, I show a maximum twice in one day so the horses are not tired or jaded.

I try and describe as accurately as possible, the height is always correct and I am frequently told they look "big" probably because most are not measured properly and when they see a full up 14.2 it can be a surprise when they have been trying far smaller judged by guesswork, someone recently looking round my yard looked at my 16.2 and thought he was well over 17 hands, that the 15.2 was 16hands, neither are for sale but it shows how many people really have no idea of heights.

For the OP this horse sounds lovely and should have sold very easily if he is everything you say, he has been on the market for some time, you have complained about many timewasters so my suggestion would be to take a step back and really look at the ad, does it need changing in some way to attract a different type of person, sometimes we are too close to the horse to be really objective, then think about how you handle the calls, I tend to ask the buyer as much as they ask me, it can be very enlightening and help gain a picture of who they are and what they really want, it comes across that I want the best home possible but I am realistic in my expectations and I expect the buyers to be equally realistic in theirs, if you are too fixed on your "ideal home" you may miss the perfect person who could be put off because they don't offer something they think you expect, not sure if that all makes sense or not but I have sold to homes that have not sounded ideal on paper but the people were perfect for the individual horse.
 
sport horse said:
Believe me buyers can be a nightmare. I had one person try a horse three times - in the school, out hacking and then with their trainer. All this does impact on your day but no problem that is selling horses. But to be told after all that, that it is too big is totally out of order.
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Similar happened to the people who sold me my current horse (had him 13.5yrs now!), someone almost bought him before I did, they tried him several times, had a lesson on him with their trainer and then decided they didn't want a grey...
 
I agree with a previous post and think a lot of this could be avoided with good manners. Texts are nearly always free and it wouldn't take two minutes to text to say someone can't make it/have changed their mind/don't think it's right horse for them. I understand it can be difficult to be honest as the potential buyer may not want to be seen negatively but through texts/email you can avoid speaking directly to the seller so rule out the awkwardness of the situation.

I hope you find the right home for your horse OP, and hope your daughter doesn't lose faith in the good mannered buyers out there.
 
We had a classic at my previous yard, but it turned out well in the end. YM had a horse in to sell - terrible confirmation but the sweetest natured and most bombproof mare you could get. Aunt and niece combo turned up to view her, niece was very nervous and decided not to ride. Aunt came out for a hack with me on my 4yo and YM on a sharpish one he had in for schooling. The mare was angelic throughout, although aunt declined to leave out off-road hacking and ride her on the (quiet) road with us. They must have come back to ride her three or four more time times and eventually the niece agreed to ride her, and we sent her off down our very quiet drive on her own. When she didn't come back we set off in the car looking for her to find that she had ventured out onto the main road at the end of the drive and that there was a car transporter coming up behind her. The horse never batted an eyelid and the niece came back all smiles. SOLD! We never did work out whether they just didn't believe how quiet she was!
 
I went to view a cob x, liver chestnut and when I got there obviously whatever he was crossed with had more of a say in his conformation as he looked like a tb. I immediately said I wasn't interested as he wasn't chuncky enough for me but she asked if I would ride him anyway. Thought it was odd but as he was tacked up ready I got on. He was perfect, such a gentleman and did everything asked of him. I walked away because I still thought he wasn't for me as he wasn't a cob. Biggest mistake I have made, ended up with a very handsome cob that has been a nightmare. That owner knew how good her horse was to ride and I wish to this day I had bought him. I thought she was a time waster for incorrectly advertising him as a pb cob but his papers showed he was just that. If OP your horse is as you describe I am sure the right owner will come along.
 
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