Purchasing from a reputable dealer?

[sanjo]

Hi, we have found a lovely horse from a very reputable dealer. Question is while he is perfect for me, the horse is not worth his current price tag. I appreciate the dealer has to make a margin, and he has to cover his own heavy overheads and costs. CAn I ask if you have bought through a dealer and if so, what was your purchase price vs the actual price tag? Many thanks in advance.

 

[stormox]

If the horse is what you want and the dealer has a good reputation, why do you think the price is too high? Someone else might think he IS worth the money being asked.

 

[sanjo]

Yes someone else might, as with all purchases, but knowing the market and what is available I don't. There are a lot of horses for sale, and I am under no illusions that he is the one and only horse for me...

 

[be positive]

Whenever I sell I try and build in a 10% margin to the asking price, I will rarely drop more than that and often don't have to move at all, there are a lot of horses for sale but many have an if or but so once you weed out the ones that don't suit you will normally find there are far less than first appears, so my advice would be if the horse suits you and you want it then offer around 10-15% below the asking price being prepared to move a bit to meet somewhere in between.
Dealers usually want to move their stock so will expect a bit of haggling but most know the value of a straightforward horse and also know someone else will come along if you are too cheeky.

 

[mandyroberts]

It never hurts to make an offer - and I agree with 'be positive' - start around 10-15%.
Can you move quickly with your vetting? And leave a deposit subject to vetting? This all helps.
Surely whatever you are selling you expect to be made an offer?

BUT - you say there will be other horses out there for you ....once I have seen the horse I want I know its the one and its hard to find another. Doesn't sound to me like you are 100% hooked and if not keep looking. You need to feel that connection to give you that 'must have it' feeling

 

[Equi]

My loan horse was sold to me for £800, his price tag if i had sent him back to his owner would have been £1200. His actual worth is subjective. He has a leg issue i discovered via xRay after purchase and while it doesnt cause him any discomfort in life, it can sometimes limit his right rein ability in canter. That aside, he is an amazing horse to me. He does need a rider to give him confidence and push him on, but at the same time he is safe as houses. Worth a million. Realistically, worth about what i paid. £1200 would have been FAR too much.

Same dealer sold me my previous horse too, for £1200 (they like that number) a 16.1 TB who was alright in general, hacked alone (with screams) or in company and would school fine but no jumping in him..but had horrific separation anxiety and weaved. However i had him at home with just him and his partner...so i let that slide cause realistically a bigger yard would have been better. I sold him for £250 cause if im honest my nerves had gone so much due to his anxiety and he was not for me, but we had a good 2 years before that (his buddys rider got up the duff so we were left alone) he ended up getting ringbone a year after i sold him so maybe a silverlining...

anywho, realistically he was probably worth about £400 when i bought him, but i was a little naive and stupid in those days.

 

[Mildlander]

I bought from a reputable dealer last year, asking price £4000, I paid £3750. Felt that was very fair for the horse and she's turned out to be everything I hoped she would be. Safe and sensible with enough ability to suit me at riding club level. She had no schooling when I bought her, think giraffe head position (Irish hunter), 2 weeks ago she did her 1st Prelim dressage and came 5th with 62%, perfect work in progress. But she gives me loads of confidence in jumping when I'm a complete wuss.
The dealer made the process easy, tried her twice and could have gone back as many times as I wanted.

 

[Goldenstar]

The last horse I bought was at a dealers and I was buying through an agent .
I had a go at reducing the price but the horse was very very keenly priced for what he was they knew that and I knew that .
Of course you need to know the horse and price to make a judgement but if it’s a nice easy horse there will be lots of people who will pay for him so don’t loose him over a few hundred pounds .
You need to expect to pay a bit more from a dealer in most circumstances.

 

[gallopingby]

Why do people persist in thinking a number of horses for sale aren't worth the price a reputable dealer is asking, and more importantly that they should be cheaper? If its the horse for you either you think it is and are prepared to pay the price or go and find another cheaper one! You don't say what the price is or age/height/level of horse. Maybe you should consider the cost of the dealer - or anyone else getting the horse to the level he is at today. Don't forget weekly livery cost or the price of hay/feed. This winter top quality hay is now £50 a round bale. Midlanders price sounds about right for a confidence giver requiring further schooling.

 

[Wheels]

The last horse I bought was at a dealers and I was buying through an agent .
I had a go at reducing the price but the horse was very very keenly priced for what he was they knew that and I knew that .
Of course you need to know the horse and price to make a judgement but if it’s a nice easy horse there will be lots of people who will pay for him so don’t loose him over a few hundred pounds .
You need to expect to pay a bit more from a dealer in most circumstances.

Same here

Although I didn't get as far as even making a lower offer, I asked the agent if haggling was the norm or not and they said no, the price is the price. Fair enough, I paid it and very happy I did so.

 

[Ambers Echo]

A horse is worth what someone will pay... I know a local dealer who 'over charges' in the sense that the horses she has in (and I know a few of them well as they have been bought by friends of mine!) are priced far higher you could get the same horse privately. But she has a good eye for a horse and is honest and approachable with no hard sell, so people pay what she charges for peace of mind and convenience. Her horses never hang around for long.

 

[Blixen Vixen]

Sanyo if you have as good an eye as the dealer and the same level of knowledge there’s nothing to stop you going out and buying privately for a cheaper price.

Many of us would not have the same level of knowledge as a dealer, which is exactly why riders chose to buy from them and pay the premium for doing so. It’s like any other industry; they are experts and are paid accordingly. In return you get peace of mind.

 

[pansymouse]

Sanyo if you have as good an eye as the dealer and the same level of knowledge there’s nothing to stop you going out and buying privately for a cheaper price.

Many of us would not have the same level of knowledge as a dealer, which is exactly why riders chose to buy from them and pay the premium for doing so. It’s like any other industry; they are experts and are paid accordingly. In return you get peace of mind.

I really wish dealers were as you described but the sad fact is that the majority aren't expert in anything except hiding faults and moving on unsuitable and/or unsound horses to unsuspecting buyers.

 

[seaofdreams]

Same here

Although I didn't get as far as even making a lower offer, I asked the agent if haggling was the norm or not and they said no, the price is the price. Fair enough, I paid it and very happy I did so.

We asked our agent too and got the same answer! But I'm so glad I went ahead, the horse was my horse of a lifetime and I'd do anything to have another the same as her.

 

[Blixen Vixen]

I really wish dealers were as you described but the sad fact is that the majority aren't expert in anything except hiding faults and moving on unsuitable and/or unsound horses to unsuspecting buyers.

The reputable ones are, that’s how they prosper in business long term. People who act as you describe don’t stay in business very long as the word gets out.

 

[ihatework]

Same here

Although I didn't get as far as even making a lower offer, I asked the agent if haggling was the norm or not and they said no, the price is the price. Fair enough, I paid it and very happy I did so.

I dealt with an agent who I’ve used before this autumn and they royally peed us off.
We were looking for 2 horses with different budgets. We were shown only 1 that fitted into the lower budget, with the rest well into the higher bracket.

Well we didn’t think, in general, what was being shown to us was worth the money being asked.
There were a couple we quite liked but weren’t prepared to pay for. So as the agent said there wasn’t much negotiation to be had and they had other buyers waiting we said thanks but no thanks. Guess what - suddenly the price was negotiable.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

I think it depends how much you want the horse. As others have said on here before, a horse is worth whatever someone will pay! And clearly the dealer thinks someone will pay that price.

I've overpaid for both my horses. I will happily admit to it. First one out of naivety on the part of me and my parents (I was 14 and unaware of how much a horse should cost) but she was worth every penny in the end, and I could have sold her for more than I paid if I'd ever wanted to.

Henry was also overpriced, and we knew it, but instructor and I agreed that if I definitely wanted him I'd probably just have to pay the asking price. I think with time she might have reduced the price, but I knew he was the right horse for me, and his owner had been so helpful and accommodating in every other aspect and we could afford the extra, so we just paid up. I reckon that eventually he will be worth what we paid (and more), but it doesn't matter much as I'm not planning on selling him in the foreseeable future.

 

[vam]

The reputable ones are, that’s how they prosper in business long term. People who act as you describe don’t stay in business very long as the word gets out.

Yeah they do, they just change name a lot....

 

[Cortez]

I wouldn't even think of paying the asking price! But then that's the culture here (Ireland), where horse dealing is another name for haggling ;-) Really it boils down to how much you want the horse VS how much you are prepared to walk away. Horses don't have a set value.

 

[Orangehorse]

Dealers in my experience don't move much on the price, they know they can always sell the horse to someone else.

 

[Rowreach]

Seriously, the purchase price of any horse is probably the cheapest part of horse ownership. If it's the right horse, then unless it's overpriced by thousands, I'd pay the money and be glad I'd got a good 'un.

 

[JDH01]

Always worth making an offer but be sensible and don't make an 'insulting' one as they are making a living and others may be prepared to pay the going rate.