Haggling

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TT55

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So i've found a horse i'd like to buy, however it's a bit more than I think it's worth and i'd rather not pay full price... but I hate haggling! Recently i've sold a lot of other things (not horsey) and i've been very offended by some of the offers i've been given (usually half price or less)...

So i'd like to know, in your opinion, how much off the asking price is a reasonable amount to offer without causing offence? 10%? 20%? 30%?? Obviously you wont haggle much off a horse for £500, but the one im looking at is in the £5k+ range...
 
Well I offered £1500 for a £2000 youngster. She just said she couldn't go that low. So that meant she would move on price, just not that low. So I just asked her what her best price was, and that is what I paid. I would offer £4000 for a £5000 horse. They can always then say they are not open to offers, or give you a counter offer or their best price.
 
I hate haggling as well, so I sympathise. Just remember, the seller isn't your friend and if you offend them it isn't the end of the world. Everywhere in the world except England it is entirely normal and no one minds.
 
Are you prepared to pay the asking price if they refuse your offer? If so then I think you need to be more cautious with your offer as if you offend them you may be told where to go and have to start your horsey search again.

If you are not prepared to pay over a set price that you have in mind I would offer slightly below it and see what they say, you need to be prepared to walk away from the horse if it doesn't go to plan though!
 
Agree with other posters. Haggling is fine if done tactfully and reasonably.

Do as Amymay says but don't try to get the horse as cheap as possible. if I were selling, I'd think you were mean, and mean owners may skimp on paying for costs in keeping the horse after the sale. I wouldn't sell to someone who wouldn't or couldn't keep the horse well.
 
Thanks for your replies. I will definitely be asking if they are open to offers before I make one.

You're exactly right, dogatemysalad and 3beasties... this is what i'm worried about. I need to make my offer not too low that they think i'm ridiculous and don't just hang up the phone on me! I know, that personally, I wont even bother to negotiate with someone who makes an unreasonable offer and i don't want to be that person....!

Wish me luck :) haha
 
If at all possible I would try to do any haggling face to face rather than over the phone or by text or email. That way you can read the seller much better and also you have made the effort to come to speak to them face to face. You can also leave a cash deposit there and then to seal the deal. Rather than just making an offer such as 'I'll give you £4,000 for him', say 'would you take £4,000 cash for him if I leave you a deposit today?' It is less offensive as you are asking a question.
 
I don't haggle .
I go in with one view what is the horse worth to me that's all that interests me .
I' ll come to this judgement based on what I feel about the horse how much of my work it will take to get he horse to where I want it.
I think buyers are more realistic at the moment but in the past it's often seemed that you where asked to pay what the horse might be worth after you had slogged your guts out putting the basics in place for eighteen months .
I refuse to do this so I just take a judgement based on the horses way of going etc etc then I say I like the horse But then explain why I think the horse is not worth the price Asked and say I will pay X no messing .
I don't think I have ever been turned down that I can remember.
However if a think a horse is well presented at a fair price I will pay the asking price without a quibble .
I negotiated thousands of the price this way on some purchases .
The only price that matters as a buyer is what you are prepared to pay.
 
We priced our pony at £500 more than we were expecting to get for him, and after talking to friends it seems a lot of them do the same.
 
Thanks Wagtail.

The owner lives about an hour and a half away, so it's not too easy to just pop down. However, I may ask to see the horse again to be sure it's the one i want, then i can make the owner an offer while im there.
 
I am the same as Goldenstar, I value the horse and I will offer fair market value for that horse. Generally the sellers I've dealt with know the value of their horse and maybe they've overpriced it somewhat expecting to be bumped down, or hopeful that they'll get a bit more than it's worth. Doesn't matter to me, I offer FMV for every horse I view. If a horse is worth significantly more than the price it's advertised at then I pay their asking price. Earlier this year I managed to secure the most amazing deal in the history of deals. I paid, what most would feel was an absolute fortune, for a horse but I knew this horse was half the price it should have been and I jumped at the chance to pay the sellers full asking price. I know fine well other breeders tried to get this horse after the seller and I had made a deal, and they were prepared to pay double for the horse, but my seller was as honest as I am and he went through with the deal.

OP if you're used to buying horses then value the horse and then see where you are at. If the horse is significantly over priced then make your offer. One piece of advice, never put down someone else horse when you are trying to buy. There is nothing worse than someone obviously coming up with pathetic excuses as to why they don't want to pay the price asked. Just make your offer and make no negative comments about the horse and why you believe you should pay a lower price.
 
Thank you for your advice.

Unfortunately, i'm no expert at buying horses so I do not think i could accurately value the horse. I base my opinion on what i think it's worth based on other similar horses i have seen recently.
 
TT55 said:
Thank you for your advice.

Unfortunately, i'm no expert at buying horses so I do not think i could accurately value the horse. I base my opinion on what i think it's worth based on other similar horses i have seen recently.
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Remember horses don't really have a value, other than what someone is prepared to pay !
 
I think horses do have a value. If you are after a specific type, let's say 6-10 gelding, 16.2 plus, eventing history, then I would spend time on the net to get an idea of what the value would be of the horse.
 
I love To Haggle Do not be afraid to Haggle even to the point of seeming to be rude always Haggle with Smile and a bit of mischief and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.
One of our site Managers at work is an Israeli They CAN HAGGLE.
 
Last horse we bought was advertised at £3.5 k, was nice but far too green for that amount. Rang to arrange 2nd viewing, but on condition they would drop to £ 2k if we still wanted her.
Eventually agreed at £2250, turned up to 2nd viewing with cash & trailer - everyone happy.
 
I'm rubbish at haggling and only had a limited budget did some digging realised the people who owned him where wealthy so was cheeky and said £4k finally offer and want tack thrown in not thinking they would accept :-) bloody glad they did as wanted the horse. Saved £900 and got Albion saddle and GFS bridle included :-)
 
Do you have any idea how long the horse has been up for sale? If its recently on the market and they've had interest then they might not move too much. Or they might be more desperate especially with the run up to christmas. A good home will hopefully prove more important so emphasize on what you can offer the horse.
 
Aw, haggling is the best part! NO ONE pays the asking price over here (well, no one except you lot), and a good horse deal can take several days to settle. I once went to look at a horse advertised for 5,000, offered 500 and after hours of to-ing and froe-ing got him for 800. Even I was surprised at that! In general, unless the sellers are genuinely deluded, I'd expect to pay between 10% and 20% less than the asking price.
 
Cortez said:
Aw, haggling is the best part! NO ONE pays the asking price over here (well, no one except you lot), and a good horse deal can take several days to settle. I once went to look at a horse advertised for 5,000, offered 500 and after hours of to-ing and froe-ing got him for 800. Even I was surprised at that! In general, unless the sellers are genuinely deluded, I'd expect to pay between 10% and 20% less than the asking price.
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Oooh! I like you!:D

A super market carrier bag full of crisp notes can have a very persuasive effect.

Or get several of your mates to phone and ask the price -- then have them collapse with laughter when they hear it….

I once spent a whole afternoon arguing over 50p on the price of a dog in Ireland. Never did get him to shift either and ended up paying. We were both laughing about it.

Its like a good game of poker. All bluff and body language. Great sport.
 
Who doesn't Haggle??? Christ dont come to Ireland buying horses without a willingness to do that or ye will get screwed on prices!Every original price over here tend to have haggle room accounted for!Cars etc if sold privately are the same.My last one was advertised as 6500,got it for 5800 with 50 back "for luck" :P


*note to self may offend lots of people if buying in England.

On the original post id say throw out a lower offer than you have available with a top price in mind and see what happens..
 
Wagtail said:
If at all possible I would try to do any haggling face to face rather than over the phone or by text or email. That way you can read the seller much better and also you have made the effort to come to speak to them face to face. You can also leave a cash deposit there and then to seal the deal. Rather than just making an offer such as 'I'll give you £4,000 for him', say 'would you take £4,000 cash for him if I leave you a deposit today?' It is less offensive as you are asking a question.
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Agree with this.

I got £500 off the price of my boy despite the fact that someone else was interested and coming back for a second look the following day. I took a cash deposit with me when I viewed and offered a quick, no hassle sale for the price I was able to pay. They had a quick word between themselves in private and accepted my offer :) Offering to collect the horse ASAP always helps IME as it saves the seller work and costs.
 
I hate haggling but I do it :o I didn't pay much for the last horse I bought, was about 1000 and I got £100 off the asking price. Just sold one advertised at 3450 and got 3300 (was offered 3000 but said no), so I was quite happy with that when combined with a great home :) I had already turned down a couple of offers because I didn't like the people or home :o
 
It does help if you can offer the seller something to sweeten your offer. When I bought our Appy youngster recently,, I made an offer a couple of hundred under the asking price (she wasn't expensive) but asked the breeder not to have her shod as they had planned and said that we would collect her. Offer was accepted.
Incidentally, I NEVER want a horse shod/trimmed again by the seller's farrier, after buying a horse from a dealer many years ago who was shod between viewing and delivery. She had been great with her feet when I saw her and by the time she got to us a week or so later, she was nightmare. It took our farrier ages to get her back to being good for him and he had a decided view about what had happened in the meantime.
 
Cortez said:
Aw, haggling is the best part! NO ONE pays the asking price over here (well, no one except you lot), and a good horse deal can take several days to settle. I once went to look at a horse advertised for 5,000, offered 500 and after hours of to-ing and froe-ing got him for 800. Even I was surprised at that! In general, unless the sellers are genuinely deluded, I'd expect to pay between 10% and 20% less than the asking price.
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This!

I get everything cheaper. If people get offended that's their problem, IMO. I'm more bothered about my finances than that of some random stranger.
If a horse was advertised for £2.50 I'd want it for no more than £1.75 ;)

If you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves. If never throw away an extra £500, or even £5, on a horse because I didn't want to ask the question.

I think living on a farm makes a difference. If we paid full price for everything we'd be in trouble, so everything is business and you just get used to haggling for everything.

For example, I was recently quoted £15000 for a new handmade bespoke kitchen. I've now got it down to £10,250, with 2 extra drawer units and better quality appliances.

It is a bit of an art though. Luckily I have a good teacher - my OH is amazing. He got me a Ifor Williams, the big one, a year old for £900. :)
 
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The "best price" thing really annoys me. As if, as a seller, you should haggle yourself down to your lowest price! If anyone asks me this I repeat the original price and say that if you want to make an offer, make it, I'll consider it and we'll go from there.
 
Flame_ said:
The "best price" thing really annoys me. As if, as a seller, you should haggle yourself down to your lowest price! If anyone asks me this I repeat the original price and say that if you want to make an offer, make it, I'll consider it and we'll go from there.
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Me too!
You tell me what you want to pay, ill tell you if I'll consider it. The seller shouldn't have to start coming up with lower prices FOR you!
 
If going to view will involve a big mileage, I'll often ask over the phone before travelling what is the least they'll take "because it is a long way to come to haggle". If that is a ball park figure, I will go and view -- and probably still try to haggle the price down!

I agree with the poster who said she wouldn't sell to someone she doesn't like. Me too. It also makes me realise that I should not be too critical of what I am trying to buy and to try not to upset the seller.

Having said all that, I've just bought a new pup, unseen, for the asking price…though as I've only paid a deposit I suppose in theory I could still haggle! I must be going soft! But if someone has travelled a long way, they are unlikely to want to go home empty handed or to lose a deposit.
 
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