Is it wrong to offer considerably below the asking price?

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QueenDee_

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As we all know the market at the moment is pants:o so as title really, is it wrong to go and view a horse, knowing that if you were likely to make an offer it would be significantly below the asking price?

(eg asking £2000, offer £1200) if the horse had quirks and was an ex-racer 1 year into re-training, though had potential to be a good comp horse?
 
Not at all IMO, the worst they can say is no!
I bought my boy in December, after initially refusing any offers, his old owner dropped from 4,000 to 2,700.
I have never paid the full asking price for a horse I've bought.
 
Does the ad say open to offers?

I too would want to save money if I could, but at the same time if you are only willing to pay a lot less the seller may think of you as a time waster. That being said, horses are rarely what they are advertised so there may be negotiating room.

I would speak to the seller before wasting your time and sellers time if a low offer has no chance of being excepted.

That being said, my friend viewed a horse and offered a lot less, and her offer was declined. A week or so later the seller called and said he was hers for her original offer price if she wanted him.
 
I think that reduction is a little cheeky but if you are prepared to risk offending them then go for it.... I guess it all depends how it comes across. Be upfront and in a non emotive way say 'look, I like the horse I do feel that somewhere nearer ..... Would be a realistic price for the following reasons' then you may well get somewhere.

Seller was advertising at 4250 for my mare, told me that she really wanted 3500 for her and we eventually settled at 2700 because she knew I was right for her. So, I guess it all depends on circumstances and the seller...
 
I think its discourteous to view knowing that you have no intention of offering any where near the asking price.

Quite different to viewing and then deciding the horse is over priced and you then make a more realistic offer.

Better to ask before viewing if they are open to offers and then you waste no one's time.
 
I've been and tried but made clear before hand my budget, saves the hassle of trying them if owner won't budge. I haggled a super horse down to £1800 from £2500 without seeing it, tried it, loved it but it failed vet. I prefer it if we all know before how much Im willing to pay ,
 
If 1200 is all you can afford, you need to let the vendors know that first.
I'm sure most sellers would be cross if an offer that low came out of the blue.
 
horserider said:
I think its discourteous to view knowing that you have no intention of offering any where near the asking price.

Quite different to viewing and then deciding the horse is over priced and you then make a more realistic offer.

Better to ask before viewing if they are open to offers and then you waste no one's time.
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Yes, good point here Hr! When I rang to discuss my mare I did make it clear that I really liked the look of her but she was out of budget and I noticed she hadn't sold despite being advertised for about 8 weeks, seller made it clear she would like to meet and was open to negotiate so we went from there...
 
horserider said:
I think its discourteous to view knowing that you have no intention of offering any where near the asking price.

Quite different to viewing and then deciding the horse is over priced and you then make a more realistic offer.

Better to ask before viewing if they are open to offers and then you waste no one's time.
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have already emailed with the owner and they said it would be negotiable, they also outlined his 'quirks' and how much re-training hes had which led me to considering offering less.

So would you suggest to make it clear that i'd consider offering lower prior to viewing? The only thing with this is that she seems keen to find him an appropriate home and without viewing wouldn't know whether he suits me or me him?
 
Hmmm, well, people have made silly offers to me without even coming to look and i was peeved. Like offering £800, for my pony who was up for £1750 with rugs and bits and bobs too. I politely told them where to go.

Now if they had come to view, liked him and i liked them and knew he was going to the right people, then maybe i would have settled at a price higher than their offer but lower than my asking price.

It cant hurt making an offer, the worst they can do is say no, but make it clear that you have less money than the asking price.
 
I think that's a really big jump down tbh.
Whenever I've looked at horses I've always knocked £200-300 off the asking price but never more.
Luckily when I've sold I've always had so much interest I've always got the full asking price as had 4-5 other possible viewings lined up if the first viewer isn't suitable.
But I do try to prove realistically.
I would be quite annoyed if I had a £2000 horses for sale and I spent an hour or 2 with somebody for them to say they couldn't afford the asking price.
 
Thanks for the replies guys:) think the overall verdict is if I am going to do so, then state before arranging to view etc. I agree that it is quite a big drop down, however for the horse in question I don't think it is an unreasonable offer, in any case the seller can always say no!
 
Don't make too much of a big thing. If they have said they are open to offers leave it at that until you have seen the horse, tried it, liked it and want to buy it.

The general thing is to make an offer, they reject it and you come back with another, slightly higher, so both sides save face.

If you want to have it vetted, you could always say that you are interested but would like to see what the vet says before making a final offer, although some sellers wouldn't be too happy about that as they are hanging on not know what sort of price you are thinking of. On the other hand they might be pleased to have a potential buyer at any price.
 
I'd definitely mention it when you phone up. It's one thing having the full buying price in your bank but not thinking the horse is worth it, but another to have no intention of paying their price from the start.

If it's been up for sale for a while with no price drop, then it's likely that everyone (if anyone has) who has looked at it has thought it was overpriced and has walked away, so they may be more willing to drop the price. Or they may be totally unrealistic and not realise that their horse hasn't sold because they're asking too much. eg there's a horse still for sale after 7 weeks on one site I've looked at, it does seem an awful lot for what it is, price hasn't been dropped at all.
 
It depends - If you could afford the asking price then i don't see the problem with going and viewing and then, if you feel it's truly not worth that (ie needed a lot more work) but you were still interested then offer a lower price.

We went to see a 4 yo for my sister several years back, the wanted £3250 for him I think. I believe we ended up paying £2600 (or maybe even a bit less) as, although we liked him he was quite undeveloped for his age and our vet said although he wasn't a fail as such, he couldn't really pass him vetting wise due to a couple of points. On that basis we offered less money for him.

Also, many years previous to that we went to see a horse who had been advertised for weeks (this was before internet and you looked inyour local classifeds) so we thought it would be worth seeing. He was above our budget at £4000 but we went to see him anyway. we actually saw him twice and rode him out, saw him at a local XC comp as well. He was a fab jumper and a nice individual but there was just something that didn't make me want him (maybe the fact he seemed to be a little accident prone from what they said!). We said thanks but no thanks and left it at that. About a week or so later, the owner rang asking would we consider if they reduced the price - they said they'd take £2000 for him!!! Turned out daughter wanted a car and needed the cash from his sale for that. We still said no but i often do wonder what happened to him.
 
I saw a horse advertised at £4,000 that I would have liked to look at, but because it was way beyond my budget I didn't go to view. I heard later that it had sold for £2,000 and I was very cross because I would have probably offered more than that if I had liked it.
 
Our newbie was up for £1900, owner then dropped it to £1200 when I saw him advertised. Owner was very novice & all he is, is a kids pony advertised as a confidence giver, a hack, apparently hated jumping & hadn't done any competing. So £1200 I felt was very steep for a hack with pretty odd confirmation - he's a trotter. We had him on trial to see exactly what he was like.. he's a good boy but is a second pony & isn't a plod he does have to been ridden by a capable rider, we liked him & the child he was for even though can be nervous sometimes got on great with him.. we offered £800 & said we were happy for them to keep the 17.5 inch thorowgood saddle that was rediculously long for him.. they wasn't happy at first, but I explained he was a hack & that was all, but accepted as they knew he'd be looked after. He needs bringing on with jumping as I think he's been wacked in the back by the massive saddle he'd been ridden in..but is doing well. So it can't hurt to make an offer they can only say no.. They were advertising him at the price they paid for him at the dealers yard when he was jumping 3ft rounds a year or so before.
 
I think you should ask them if they are open to offers before you go and guage their reaction. Otherwise you could waste your own time and theirs.
I would appreciate being asked if I was selling a horse.
 
Firewell said:
I think you should ask them if they are open to offers before you go and guage their reaction. Otherwise you could waste your own time and theirs.
I would appreciate being asked if I was selling a horse.
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This. The market is, contrary to popular belief, bouyant for good quality horses and I've never been busier. Not all prices are open to negation so it's important to communicate before viewing. Best of luck
 
No it's not wrong and I often do and always have done I also often just pay the asked price if I like the horse and consider the it fairly priced.
ATM I have one who was priced at £8500 price was agreed at £5000 I explained to the owner why I thought the horse was not as described and based the price on the work and time I felt it would take me to get to where I needed him to be to do the job he was being bought for.
I always present this as a staight deal I dont barter over a horses price I feel it's undignified for the horse.
However I never view horses I can't afford to buy that is time wasting IMO .
The other three horses I own I paid asking price for two where great value for money and one saved my life during the viewing by behaving with great fortitude when a driver lost control of his oil lorry in the wet coming towards us when I was trying him in a carriage I felt he deserved his good home for that alone .
Private buyer vary enormously in there attiude to price bargains can be found where people think issues they have with their horses are insurmountable where in fact they may be easily solved in another enviroment .
Others expect you to pay what the horse will be worth when you have worked it for two years and others expect to get their money back when they have spoiled the horse .
I am happy to buy from dealers but only ones with good reputations and then usually when I am thinking I would spend a fair bit say starting at £10,000 but there are great horses for sale from private homes at very keen prices if you are in the right place at the right time and prepared invest time in the search.
 
measles said:
This. The market is, contrary to popular belief, bouyant for good quality horses and I've never been busier. Not all prices are open to negation so it's important to communicate before viewing. Best of luck
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I think the market for good horses has been buoyant throughout .
From the buyers point of view I am pretty disinterested in the sellers price I am interested in what I think a horse is worth to me .
However I would not I think arrive on your yard and find ready to go young eventers as green as grass over a filler or that can't canter unless you holding up its front end but you often find this in inexperianced private sales.
I am always looking for a long term horse I don't need to turn a profit from them just to like them and want to spend training them and see where we get.
 
horserider said:
I think its discourteous to view knowing that you have no intention of offering any where near the asking price.

Quite different to viewing and then deciding the horse is over priced and you then make a more realistic offer.

Better to ask before viewing if they are open to offers and then you waste no one's time.
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Totally agree
 
Agree with Measles and Goldenstar.
Good horses are always in demand. I like Goldenstar's remark about being undignified for the horse to haggle, but to pay a fair price based on the real value of the horse to you.

Personally, it would out me off if a buyer was trying to offer as little as possible when they could afford the horse and knew it was worth it.

Fair enough if you can't afford the price and lay your cards on the table before going to view, that's different.
 
Totally agree about the whole viewing a horse that you cant afford, I do think that's a waste of time for the buyer and very cheeky,

I can afford the horse in question at the asking price, however I do not think that the horse is worth the asking price from the description given (however granted I probably can't make this judgement until post viewing!)
 
If ad doesnt state no offers then I would ;) our last one was up for £5k, I offered £3.5k, they accepted £4k. This new one was advertised at £3750, I offered £3k then we settled at £3400.

If it says ono then I expect them to have some leway (sp?) on price xx
 
I wanted to view a horse a 4 hour round trip price neg. i had £2000 off before i even set foot in the car, sadly for me it was nothing like its advert stated, or the pics, vids, stopped at 4 out of 6 jumps and was like a toast rack, nothing like the ads, very sad as it had been a 1* horse the previous year.
My last horse id have paid full price for as she was exactly what i wanted and did the job she was advertised to do well,but did negotiate 500 off before visiting.
 
From the POV of someone who is selling at the moment- I'm flexible on my horses asking price by a couple of hundred quid, and have told people who have asked so, but I don't want to "get rid of her"- not all sellers are desperate to sell, and I'd rather keep her and event her myself than sell her cheaply. So it would be a waste of time if someone came to try her and then offered a lot less than asking price as I wouldn't accept it. Just another point to consider!!
It also isn't such a bad market at the moment- I've *touch wood* sold my mare pretty easily.
 
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