Private sales Vs dealers???

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Arniebear

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I think I'm in the market for a new stead! My current lad is out for most of 2013 with torn suspensories on both hinds :(

so my question to you lovely HHO is would you prefer to buy from a private sale or a dealer and why??

and when I say dealer I don't mean one who deals with anything and everything I mean a specific well known dealer for the discipline you are looking for! I can think of a few pros and cons for both but what's the general feel??


I have chocolate log on offer :D
 
I tend to read all the ads and then pick out the most suitable horses to look at, regardless of who is selling them. I do, however, make sure that I avoid any dealers with a rather dodgy reputation. As it happens I have only ever bought privately but that is just by chance.
 
When I was looking I felt private owners over estimated the talent of their horses and value several also failed to mention on phone major problems eg pollen allergy, huge sand crack, lame etc. so long as you research dealers to weed out the well know dubious ones in your area, I think you get a more realistick price & good dealers don't want to ruin their reputation by stitching u up (although they are making money out of you)
 
i agree with what both of you have said!! people seem to be asking either silly amounts of money or pricing something cheaper where you then wander whats wrong with it!! problem being where i live is it seems to just be TBs for sale and i dont want another TB!!! i think i personally would prefer a private sale as then you get a better background of the horse (if they have owned it for a while) as opposed to a dealer who has just got the horse in! but dealers seem to price them more realistically! i guess the horsehunt is on!!! :) thanks for your comments!
 
Have only ever bought from dealers twice in all the horses ever bought. Must say they were the two that were the worst. Am sure there are some very good dealers out there but for me would rather a breeder or private.
 
I have bought from both. I would research whoever I was buying from and 'google' and 'H&H forum' search before visiting any horse. Just like in any other trade there are 'good' and 'bad' dealers and private sellers.
 
I'll buy from whoever has the right horse, last one was from a dealer but I've brought private in the past too.

I always google the phone number on the ad to get a measure of who the seller really is and if I don't like what I read I don't bother to go see.

There are some real stupid people out there posing as private sellers when they're not & not enough brains to realise that it's easy to know that they're telling porkies in their ads :)
 
When I was horse hunting this year I looked at several horses in private homes.

I spent hours driving around, and found that almost everything I looked at was unsound or greener than advertised.

Then I went to a dealer, and in the space of two hours was shown upwards of 10 lovely horses, all quality, all sound, all reasonably priced, of which I'd have been happy to take home any of them.

So based on that, I'd look first to a dealer for my next horse, though I wouldn't rule out a horse sold privately if it sounded right.
 
I would never buy from a private sale only a reputable dearlers selling quality horses. Private sales see there horses through rise tinted glasses also you have zero come back.

For me a dearler is the only one I'd consider.
 
You forgot the other option - a reputable breeder!!

The market for weanlings and yearlings went through the floor a couple of years ago so many of us bring our youngsters on and back them and get them going nicely before selling. You can usually see the dams, sometimes the sires, and often the siblings too! And no-one knows the background and temperament of any horse better than its breeder.
 
Auld Lang Syne said:
I would never buy from a private sale only a reputable dearlers selling quality horses. Private sales see there horses through rise tinted glasses also you have zero come back.

For me a dearler is the only one I'd consider.
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I excercise caution when looking at any horse from any seller as the potential pitfalls are endless....

however I would tend to agree with this comment. I bought from a private seller who ripped me off badly. I lost alot of money and my lovely horse :( very heartbreaking...... Once bitten twice shy and all that. so when I viewed my new horse I was highly suspicious of the sellers and left no stone unturned. Every part of the deal was carried out meticulously ( reciepts for everything signed by both parties and stating CLEARLY what the reciept was for) and I had a witness with me at all times. Said horse was bought from a yard who had decided to do some dealing. I still stay in touch with the YOs daughter who had been riding my horse for nearly a year prior to putting up for sale ( horse was helping rebuild girls confidence show jumping) so we got all the positive aspects of a dealer and a private seller all on one!
 
thanks everyone for your comments, i hadnt thought about breeders mainly because im after something over the age of 6-7 and i wasnt sure breeders would hang on to them that long! as im after something to jump/event and i live in racing world! (newmarket) do you think i would be better at looking for dealers/horses for sale down south? as i really dont want another TB ive figured out you seem to pay more for a non TB here then say hampshire or Gloucestershire. does anyone know of any reptuable dealers? ideally looking for an ID x TB or more classic irish sports horse :)
 
This is interesting as I am thinking of selling mine and when I posted about selling her through sales livery (I.e a dealer) most were really negative about it!!!
 
I have bought from both, and would prefer to use a dealer. Although I qualify that to add "reputable". I have also bought from sales, but would only ever buy unbroken or youngstock there. Dealers have a range of horses in one place, don't waste my time by pulling out things that are too small/tall/old/young/etc., know my price range and have reputations to uphold. Private sellers are usually either deluded or hopelessly mendacious.
 
I have no preferences. Most dealers know what they have sat in their stables so tends to be more £££. My preferred choice is the private seller who has totally over horsed themselves!
 
LEC said:
I have no preferences. Most dealers know what they have sat in their stables so tends to be more £££. My preferred choice is the private seller who has totally over horsed themselves!
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How do you get on when your trying one out and getting a tune from them, with the current owner looking.....?
 
I have bought from both private sellers & also dealers, I look for the horse I want & then I look to see if it's private or dealer. Many 'private sellers' are dealers in disguise anyway, & I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole!

If you approach a reputable dealer, and there are many of them, they value their reputation & they will either have the horse you want or they will be able to locate via their network of contacts. They will tell you what the horse can & can't do, will be honest with you & they will actually know the value of particular horses. Genuine private sellers normally over value their horses as they are emotionally attached, dealers are not.

To be honest I would go to a dealer if I was after another horse. Normally if you contact them a while before going they will have several horses on site for you to try, this saves you travelling countless miles going to see wrongly described horses & wasting your time.
 
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