Dealers/buying & selling

SarahRicoh said:
Do you think that theres money to be made from dealing horses? Do you think its wrong? Can people just deal as their job?

Opinions please.. (no arguing! :) )
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It is not illegal, but you need to be tough, very experienced and have suitable facilities. It is not a career choice. You need to buy cheap and sell dear, find buyers for difficult animals, maybe be prepared to shoot the failures.
Like any form of self-employment there are more disadvantages than advantages.
You need to be a person who loves to buy and sell, and have an eye for a good animal.
 
Sarah, you seem to be going round in circles - you asked almost the same question only about a week or so ago - then wanting to know if you could make money out of getting ponie s in cheaply & passing them on soon after as a business here in your question part 1:
: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=528824

You were then given a lot of sound advice - perhaps you ought to go back & read some of it again? :confused:
 
Im.not asking for me to do it...im asking as a general question.to see peoples opinions! Iv looked at a few sites recently such as safe cobs etc & just thought id post to see how they survive? And peoples opinions on actual proper dealers..
Not once have i stated its because i want to do it....
 
It must be possible to make a living as plenty do. But you need to know what your buying and who your selling to. I bought my last two horses off dealers, the first one was a disaster, not as described at all. Could not fault the dealer really as she took horse back and gave me a full refund. Second horse I have now had for 6 weeks and so far so good (fingers crossed !!!).
There are plenty of dodgy dealers out there, they must struggle to survive because surely word gets out?
Good dealers sell at a premium, I paid more than a private sale for my boy as the dealer came highly recommended, both on here and from friends.
I wouldn't want to do it for all the tea in China, I'd end up keeping them all:D
 
Iv never bought from a dealer. Only private.
But iv noticed a few sites & they look decent horses & like someones said they must be good or surely word would get round & they wouldnt survive?
 
In the past I've bought & sold on a very very small scale, either unbroken or projects that needed re-schooling. But even though I had cheap grazing & bought cheap, it was never a major money spinner, more of a hobby, would have made as much with a part time bar job. But I got satisfaction from knowing that a bit of work made the difference between a downwards spiral of homes & a future as a nice riding type with some of the projects. And I'd rather ride youngsters than work in a pub etc.
The reasons bad dealers get away with it is because there'll always be people who are trusting. Good dealers can make it work imo, but a lot of its reputation. Someone without horsey connections is unlikely to have a good dealer recommended by word of mouth, hence a bad one may get their custom.
 
It seems to me that horses from some dealing yards are very expensive, but if you take into account the costs involved (i.e. business rates, wages, feed, equipment etc etc) that is not surprising. I am amazed that anybody can make a decent living at dealing horses and ponies, and I expect that any profits are quite small. I used to have project ponies to bring on and sell, and if you took into account my time (as well as everything else) I ALWAYS made a loss overall, but, hey, it was fun.
 
I bought my horse from a dealer. She has contacts in Ireland scouting round for good easy going horses that although green are generally easy going, easy to keep, don't need a lot of work just to sell on. she also has a contact in a riding school who she does loan some horses to for a while to give them some extra mileage and obv no cost to her.

If a horse is no good/trouble/something wrong with it, she doesn't sell it, she sends it back! Therefore her reputation is excellent! Because of this she does sell a fair few horses most of the time and I don't think her profit margin is that big on some of them.
 
In this area the ones who have a good reputation are those who have a livery yard or whatever and just take a couple in as a sideline. Then they only take horses that they are convinced they can produce/sell and be picky - they don't have to deal in volume.

Those who do deal in volume and do well seem to specialise in say cobs or dressage or iberian.
 
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I have made a living for most of my life from either dealing and/or breeding horses (not now 'tho :-). No dealer wants to sell you a bad horse: someone sold it to him/her. Honest dealers either tell you about problems, or PTS and absorb the loss. THERE IS NO MONEY TO BE MADE! Most "dealers" are hobbyists, fantasists or broke.
 
I've worked for dealers all my working life. The ability to make a very good living is there, but with some conditions.

1. Own your own place, outright of possible, eg family farm. Lowers the overheads drastically.

2. Know your stuff. This means spotting an unsoundness, whether physical or mental, from a mile away, knowing what will sell (eg I could sell 1000 15.2 ish quiet connie x geldings, 5-9) and what won't (16.3hh, tricky chestnut mares, no matter how beautiful or talented). Basic veterinary knowledge, how to DIY treat lots of things, knowing when to cut your losses.

3. Be an extremely good/brave rider. or employ one. There will be times when you have to pick a fight and stick it out til you win. Also, the ability to put good flatwork and jumping on a greenie in a very short space of time, like a fortnight.

I have been lucky enough to work for some good dealers, but it is a hard thing to get into in a way that will support any sort of nice lifestyle.
 
Hello!

I trade for a living (www.ntequine.co.uk) Have been going for a few years on my own now but prior to that worked for others. You can make money, but you have to have a very good eye for a horse and know what you can and can't work with. You win some, you lose some, thats the way it goes. My liveries pay my yard rent so the keep on the horses is what they have to earn back (hay, feed etc.). It will at times break your heart, but at others it's highly rewarding! I got in to buying and selling by accident, but love it and wouldn't stop for anything. I enjoy a challenge occasionally but prefer nice straightforwards types who are easy to work with. Horse supplier also has an awful lot to do with your success or failure, and finding a good one is VERY difficult. You have to have a head for business and figures, and know when to cut your losses and also when to spend. It's not an ideal career choice, but I love my job and wouldn't want to do anything else, each day on the yard never feels like work! To me the most important thing is you like your stock and believe in what your selling, and enjoy working with them. Reputation is everything, and I think that a good dealer will bend over backwards to help you out.
 
Depends what you class as a dealer. Technically, anyone who buys a horse with the aim of increasing its value to sell on is a dealer I believe? Loads of people do that but dont consider themselves dealers. I've done it with a few 'projects', I used to buy an unbacked pony at the beginning of the summer basically to have fun backing it and getting it out competing then I'd sell it about 2 - 3 months later. I didnt do it for the money, I did it purely because I enjoyed it. Realistically money-wise, I used to buy them at £500 then sell for £2,500 was my usual. I was extremely picky about where the ponies were sold too as well! Its fine to make a little bit of pocket money to go alongside a full time job, am thinking about doing another project this summer purely because I'll be on maternity leave and my own horse is broken and needs time off. I can't imagine proper dealers (who buy in lots) make a huge amount of money, its a difficult line of work.
 
SarahRicoh said:
Im.not asking for me to do it...im asking as a general question.to see peoples opinions! Iv looked at a few sites recently such as safe cobs etc & just thought id post to see how they survive? And peoples opinions on actual proper dealers..
Not once have i stated its because i want to do it....
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The lady who sells the "safecobs"in sussex spends alot of time with the horses she gets in and doesnt turn them around quickly which means she gets to know them there are not many dealers like her around anymore i bought and sold horses for nearly 3 years in the 90s it can be a really gutting job i to sold cobs as i found them alot easier to deal with i only ever had 1 pts but it has changed these days and i really think you have to have your own land ect its not like buying a cheap car and tarting it up and selling it you have to feed horses shoe them vets bills the list is endless i gave up in the end as its a 24/7 365 days a year job it also cost me my marriage as i was never home so no i would never do it again and that also includes running a livery yard which can also be thankless
 
SarahRicoh said:
Thats a good point about anyone buying & selling being a dealer.. Is there a certain number of horses you need to sell before ur classed as a dealer?
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My friend sued someone under the Sale of Goods Act and establisehd that she was a dealer by showing that she had sold more than 3 horses in one year.

There is nothing wrong with good dealers and good dealers have good reputations. They do a much needed job.
 
It seems to be much more common to use a dealer recently and there's often the option to take the horse back as well as having more protection under the sale of goods act. I've bought 2 lovely horses from different dealers..there's probably money to be made particularly if you have your own land and you diversify by having liveries or hunting hirelings or something similar. :)
 
cptrayes said:
My friend sued someone under the Sale of Goods Act and establisehd that she was a dealer by showing that she had sold more than 3 horses in one year.

There is nothing wrong with good dealers and good dealers have good reputations. They do a much needed job.
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Thats right, more than 3 in a year and you are considered to be doing it as a business not hobby. All the protections for the buyer then kick in which do not apply to a private sale.
 
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