Is this fair?

[shadowboy]

I have only sold one horse in the past as all my horses stay with me for life (or get loaned for a while, but always come back to me) Last week I called at 2pm to arrange to view a horse -we arranged for sunday the following day (no other people had been to see him yet) at 9pm that night i recieve a phonecall from seller to say someone else came to see the horse and liked him but were making up their mind, did i still want to see him. Yes i did. I was however very upset that they had squeezed in another buyer without asking us if we wanted to come any earlier to make sure we saw him first as we were the first to call about him. We loved him- absolutely i still cant get him out of my head. problem is the first person to see him also feels this way and has asked to purchase. The seller wont sell to us as we saw horse second even though we are offereng £200 more than asking price as horse is perfect for us and called to see him first. Seller says no he wants to be fair to person who came first. But this should have been us! is this how it works when selling horses in the horsey world? We are far more experienced (15years) and have experience with large horse/thoroughbreds- the buyer is 15years old, 5', with parents who know nothing about horses. I think this is a bit weird. Or am i wrong -was the seller right to sell to the girl? should i be aware of this for future viewings. opinions welcomed!

 

[Claireg9]

I think this is fair, always book to see the horse at yur earliest convinence other wise you might be pipped to the post. Im sure the seller thinks the girl is capable otherwise she wouldnt sell and as to being 5ft well im not much bigger and am far better at handleing all sizes of horses and ponies than alot of taller people down our yard!
I think lesson learnt, if you can possibly get to see it earlier dont risk it by booking a later appointment.
Sorry x

 

[ihatework]

Difficult one, I can see why you are a little upset but if you turn it around the other way I think the seller is being very honourable to the current buyer, they saw the horse first, made first offer had it accepted. If you were in their position you'd probably be a little peeved if you then didn't get said horse.

I think the buying process varies greatly depending on who is doing the selling.
Someone selling a much loved horse may see all interested buyers and then decide who they would most like to sell to. Other sellers may just want a quick sale and accept money from the first person to turn up.

 

[ChrissieCollins]

I know it's annoying but in future ask the seller to let you know if anyone arranges to come and see the horse earlier than you've arranged, then maybe you can get to see the horse earlier. I think they acted very reasonably in

 

[kick_On]

NO!

IOM
the way i have sold anything (horse, car etc....) is first person who makes contact is first in que, then i taken phone number. So if first person can't make it for a day or two i would phone them to say i have another person interested would they like to come earlier and say to second person that some else is doing a viewing aswell.
I ask people sell what their views are and before i leaving also phone up to make sure horse is still for sale

 

[flyingfeet]

When someone calls up about a horse you know nothing about them, other than what they tell you, what is usually B*llocks.

So if someone came earlier and seller thought they were ok, they would sell to them first. I'm afraid the seller wouldn't know that you may be a better home. Best to go to see a good horse ASAP.

 

[vicijp]

It is not fair to expect a seller not to allow other buyers to view, what is to say you will turn up (this is not personal)?
When people buy off me it is strictly first come, first served. That is not to say I will sell to any old muppet.
However if you had come to me and made an offer when the first viewers were still faffing around, I would have sold the horse to you.

 

[Blizzard]

I agree with the other posters, there is no way I would hold a horse because someone rang first, they might not turn up or may not want the horse when they do, meanwhile I could be turning away the right home for my horse.
In my opinion its first come first served, and Ive lost out in the past by being beaten to it myself, but thats just the way it is, if it was me and I KNEW I wanted the horse, i would make sure I could see it the next day.

 

[izzyxxx]

i have been piped to the post before and they rang me the morning we were due to see it saying that they had sold it the day before i was so anoyed putting everthing of that day for nothing but i am glad i didnt get him because i wouldnt have the 1 i have know but i understand that you r disapointed!

 

[chipsnham]

It is fair just bad luck for you, perhaps it wasn't meant to be, on the other hand keep in touch with the seller as the first buyer may change her mind or the horse may fail the vet and you could get a second chance!

 

[madabout2]

IMO yes.

I have been bitten the other way.

Not with a horse but a trailer.

I had a buyer coming to view trailer next evening and another rang up with cass desperate to buy that evening and I said I had agreed with first caller and wanted to honour my agreement. Guess what first caller never turned up and when I rang the second caller she'd bought one full rpice that morning from a dealer !
Sorry for me it will be first with solid offer not first to make contact.

 

[Tia]

The first person to come and see the horse has priority when I am selling - if they make an offer and I accept then the deal is done. A phone call means nothing to me I'm sorry to say......I get those all the time.

 

[pottamus]

I agree with everyone else. When I arranged to go and see my horse when he was for sale I had to travel all the way to Llandudno from Derbyshire, which was going to take several hours. I knew I wanted him before I saw him so I asked the seller to bear in mind the distance I was travelling and asked her if she was willing to put anyone else off until after my travelling time or at least ring me to let me know. She agreed because of the distance and there was no problem...but if I had not asked her, then she would not have known.

 

[xspiralx]

Agree with all the others - if you could have come earlier you should have come earlier.

As for [ QUOTE ]
We are far more experienced (15years) and have experience with large horse/thoroughbreds- the buyer is 15years old, 5', with parents who know nothing about horses. I think this is a bit weird. Or am i wrong -was the seller right to sell to the girl? opinions welcomed!

[/ QUOTE ]

think thats a bit out of order tbh. I'm 5ft2, I've been riding and owning thoroughbred horses since I was 15 and my parents know nothing about horses - does that make me an unfit owner? This girl is probably a very good owner for the horse.

 

[MagicMelon]

To be honest I sell my horses first come first served (if they are a nice home!). I leave it up to the potential buyer to come and see the horse as early as they possibly can, also a few times you can get a LOT of people arranging a viewing! Would I be expected to call every single one if someone wanted to come straight away?!

At the same time if I had 2 people who wanted the horse, I would probably choose which home was best for my horse. If it were the 2nd person who viewed then I would sell to them. It is usually the first person who has first refusal but I love my horses therefore the home is most important to me!!

Yes, you should be aware of this in future. Really, there are no set rules so everyone is different but usually most sellers give first refusal to the first viewers. I bought my last horse this way - I agreed to take the horse on a weeks trial with the serious intent to buy at the end. However before Id even picked the horse up, the owners called me to say someone else had seen the horse and wanted to buy it! So either I bought it or they'd sell to them!!! This was very unfair as we had already agreed to a trial!!

 

[crazyfrog]

i'm afraid that this is what the world as become,it doesn't matter to the dealers who rang first but who come and see the horse first.it's unfair but we have to understand the sellers point of vue who have to sell if they get a chance,because had he kept the horse for you and it didn't suit you,he would have lost a sell so no matter unfair it is.that's the way it has to be so don't get caught up next time, see the horse as soon as you can ond try to talk to the sellers to give you first refusal regarless if you are the second person to look at the horse'

 

[shadowboy]

Well, when we came to see horse seller actually said he was hoping girl would not cope with horse as he was only 6 years old and still baby like but felt if she decided to buy he would have to sell. As it is ive arranged to see some others today and have asked seller to let me know if anyone else tries to come before us as for some of the viewings we are driving three hours for- i would hate to drive so far and find that we are not getting first refusal.
I have nothing against short people i am only 5'3 but the horse was for my boyfriend and he is 6' and the horse nearly 17hh. I dont wish anything bad on the girl i just hope the horse is loved and well treated by someone whos first horse purchase seems a little erratic! Good luck to her and i hope we find something nice ourselves. Thanks everyone for their advice- i have taken it on board. Im not the most experienced buyer as most of my horses have come to me when their owners had given up on them- so all this buying is a bit wierd for me! Thanks Guys!