POA

Green Bean

Green Bean

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Why do people put POA on the price of their horse for sale? What do they possibly hope to gain from this. I just skip straight past these ones without a look. The nearest to this I responded to was 'reasonably priced' which turned out to be 8K but willing to negotiate. I wonder even those with pots of money, would bother to look as I would think the most expensive horses sell by word of mouth anyway?
 
People normally do this for competition horses. I think part of it is that they will probably be more likely only to get responses from people genuinely interested in the horse.

Also it's very easy to find past adverts for horses and a lot of people don't want others to know what they paid for the horse, especially if it's very expensive. Almost every SJ I know puts POA when advertising a horse, and one said to me that it's because the buyer may be less likely to enquire if every man and his dog is able to see how much they're paying for it!

ETA just seen we have the same name haha
 
I have done it once in a while, usually for something I value a bit higher than average for the type so I can be a bit flexible, one pony I sold we wanted a good home as the priority, as well as a sensible price to buy the next one, a few people phoned and were put off by the price but also some who thought their child was far better than they were but money was no problem, we found the ideal home at £2k under the asking price with people who would probably not have called if the price had been on the ad, he was £3k over their ideal budget but was an exceptionally nice pony, so it can work both ways.

If I call about one I ask the price first, I will not disclose my budget until I know the ballpark figure, if we are not too far apart then we can have a conversation before deciding whether a viewing is worthwhile, often the sellers are testing the water and the right home is more important than the money so it gives them a bit more control.
 
Green Bean said:
Why do people put POA on the price of their horse for sale? What do they possibly hope to gain from this. I just skip straight past these ones without a look. The nearest to this I responded to was 'reasonably priced' which turned out to be 8K but willing to negotiate. I wonder even those with pots of money, would bother to look as I would think the most expensive horses sell by word of mouth anyway?
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Seems sensible that you skip on by. Sadly there’s not a lot straightforward about buying or selling horses. If sold by word of mouth the price could still be from peanuts to millions depending how much the seller wants to sell and who to. Low end horses may have a price on because they simply need to be moved on, but if you’re scrolling by l’d guess you’re also on a ‘day trip’ to see what’s about and are more motivated by price than attainments, potential or long term use.
 
Weirdly and I never understood, I would get more calls which resulted in more visits and more chance of pony selling with a POA.
I once had a PC type pony advertised literally for months and no calls, changed to POA out of desperation within 24 hours lots of calls, 3 visits and pony sold. Sold for exactly original asking price too.
After that i trialled it several times and always experienced similar results.
 
Ive bought a POA pony, he would have been seriously out of out budget and wouldnt have phoned about him if his proce had been in his advert. As it was the lady wanted a good permanent home for him and knocked a 0 off the end of the price.
 
gallopingby said:
but if you’re scrolling by l’d guess you’re also on a ‘day trip’ to see what’s about and are more motivated by price than attainments, potential or long term use.
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I don't understand this comment. Please explain.

I have never called up about a horse that is POA. I have a strict budget so I only call up about horses within that budget. With ridden horses, I need a very specific type (suitable for a disabled rider) so there are qualities that the horse needs that cannot be compromised on in any way.

With youngstock, the breed, temperament and trainability is essential. I also very much prefer to meet the dam, sire and siblings if possible. Yes I've gone to stud farms and spent hours there - so a day trip I guess - but I bought the filly I went to see. I was a serious buyer.
 
gallopingby said:
if you’re scrolling by l’d guess you’re also on a ‘day trip’ to see what’s about and are more motivated by price than attainments, potential or long term use.
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I'm not sure what you mean by this? Of course price is important. I'd love to have an unlimited budget to spend on a horse, but I don't.
 
I wouldn't enquire about a POA because the first thing you hae to ask so as not to waste everyone's time is, 'how much is it'? And having that as the leading question would make me feel as if I were mercenary & cared about price above everything else. When this wouldn't be true - but it's a strong factor & an important criterion when considering how interested I am in something...
 
gallopingby said:
Seems sensible that you skip on by. Sadly there’s not a lot straightforward about buying or selling horses. If sold by word of mouth the price could still be from peanuts to millions depending how much the seller wants to sell and who to. Low end horses may have a price on because they simply need to be moved on, but if you’re scrolling by l’d guess you’re also on a ‘day trip’ to see what’s about and are more motivated by price than attainments, potential or long term use.
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I don't think this is necessarily fair .

What I don't have is an unlimited budget, so price does have to be a factor when looking. I'm no less serious when I do look but there is very little to be gained by enquiring about a horse that is likely to bevoutside my budget. The horse could be everything I dreamed of and muck itself out to boot, but if I can't afford him or her, then I would (and have) scrolled on by.
 
Personally I would only do it if I wanted my horse to go to an owner that cared more about what the horse was like than the price. People who enquire are then likely to be more interested in the horse as the price clearly isn't going to be a deal breaker. Just a personal preference, obviously there are some perfect owners out there who do care about the price and might skip by, but for my peace of mind I would put POA.
 
If I see POA, I also scroll on by. I assume that it's out of my budget, and as I'm very realistic about what I have to spend, I don't see the point in wasting anyone's time by getting in touch.
 
If it's an established pony with an impressive record I'll scroll by because it will be waaaay out of budget. If it's very young and actively being produced for sale, I might ring because the price changes rapidly as the training progresses so POA is easier than having older ads with old prices floating about.
 
I’d never bother with a POA advert. I’d think I was waste of time ringing and would be embarrassed having to say “oh, erm out of my budget thanks”.

Nearly all Facebook adverts seem to be POA at the moment.
 
Honey08 said:
I’d never bother with a POA advert. I’d think I was waste of time ringing and would be embarrassed having to say “oh, erm out of my budget thanks”.

Nearly all Facebook adverts seem to be POA at the moment.
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That's an attempt to get around the ban on selling animals on Facebook. You'll also see a lot of, "Dobbin needs a new home" rather than, "Dobbin's for sale."
 
I have called about a few if I really like the advert. One time, I was looking for a nice eventer to do BE novice, and I called to enquire about one that was already doing nicely at novice but was POA, at a time where my budget was 15K but I could have stretched to 18K for one that made my heart sing. It was 50K!!!

It just makes me smile that
gallopingby said:
Low end horses may have a price on because they simply need to be moved on, but if you’re scrolling by l’d guess you’re also on a ‘day trip’ to see what’s about and are more motivated by price than attainments, potential or long term use.
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as there is a world of difference in a horse at 18K and 50K! You just need to know you are in the right ballpark, which this one was not!

I understand when producers don't put the price on, as the horse is worth more the more it does, and if someone has seen the horse advertised at 10K then they won't be impressed if told the price is actually 12.
 
greenbean10 said:
People normally do this for competition horses. I think part of it is that they will probably be more likely only to get responses from people genuinely interested in the horse.

Also it's very easy to find past adverts for horses and a lot of people don't want others to know what they paid for the horse, especially if it's very expensive. Almost every SJ I know puts POA when advertising a horse, and one said to me that it's because the buyer may be less likely to enquire if every man and his dog is able to see how much they're paying for it!

ETA just seen we have the same name haha
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Yes, I do wonder about the origin of all the Green Beans?. Mine was a nickname a million years ago
 
Im Not so bothered about POA about live animals...but for things like a car, hay, other general secondhand stuff, i find POA infuriating and boycott such ads no matter how appealing!
 
I have no issue with POA on adverts. If the horse meets my criteria and I would contact the seller if the advert had a price on it I would contact the seller if it said POA. I would however start the conversation by saying “I don’t want to waste your time so how much are you looking for”. If the answer is within budget or close I would find out more. If it’s way outside my budget I would tell them that & thank them for their time. No need to be embarrassed, they don’t know me I don’t know them and all it’s cost me is a phone call.
 
Upthecreek said:
I have no issue with POA on adverts. If the horse meets my criteria and I would contact the seller if the advert had a price on it I would contact the seller if it said POA. I would however start the conversation by saying “I don’t want to waste your time so how much are you looking for”. If the answer is within budget or close I would find out more. If it’s way outside my budget I would tell them that & thank them for their time. No need to be embarrassed, they don’t know me I don’t know them and all it’s cost me is a phone call.
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Completely agree with this. And in fact on Facebook you don't even have to ring them. I've just sent people a message a few times asking the price and they've replied straight away.
 
Not everybody wants to have the world and his wife know what they are asking for a horse. I have no problem with POA's, it's easy enough to lift the phone and ask and say thank you that's out of my budget if it's higher than you wan to pay.
 
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