I'm looking for input on negotiating a price on purchasing a horse. ANY input is greatly appreciated. :wink:
I regularly negotiate prices for just about everything else, but am uncomfortable in how I would do this when making an offer on a horse. I don't want to offend any owners, but I definitely don't want 'to pay retail'' if need be. Additionally, years ago I was shopping for a car, and had $5000 to spend so knowing what percentage was usually negotiable helped-I could look at ads up to about $7000 knowing we could negotiate to my price point. However I haven't got a clue when it comes to horses!
I am interested to hear what you said that worked, what you said that didn't...
What someone said to you that didn't work or that did work...
And in general, how negotiable are horse prices? I am assuming it will 'all depend' but in the low four figure range, what percentage is negotiable as a rule?
From the seller's perspective, negotiability appears to hinge on how long the horse has been for sale without serious offers, how quickly they need to get rid of the horse and how serious they are about truly selling. I've run across folks who put a horse up for sale it seems just for the fun of seeing if there is interest in the horse; I've seen adds where there is an unfortunate personal circumstance and the horse has to go because of it; I've seen horses who have been for sale for months with no bites at the asking price because it is high and the seller either drops it periodically or in the end takes the first serious offer to get the horse off their hands.
I think when you see an 'odd' amount, usually accompanied by 'or best offer', that's an indication of what a seller really wants. For example, asking price is $2,750 - they would most certainly go for $2,700 and likely even $2,500 right off the hop without too much fuss.
In my own experience, I've paid the asking price as it was 'firm'; I've bought at auctions; I've gotten the price down a few hundred by just asking politely 'would you accept xxx?'; I've also lost out on purchases because of what I was willing offer as I felt that figure was a truer representation of the horse's worth.
I think you need to look at a bunch of ads for your general area, looking at breed, sex and training, and see what the asking prices tend to run. You'll see some way above and below but the majority will tend to fall into a curve. So, hypothetical AQHA gelding, 5 years old, trained hunter over fences, has a credible but not stellar show record, good at the local level but not shown at the A level or higher yet. If you can pull 10 ads, 2 will be for $20K, 1 will be for $2K and the majority will fall between $4500 and $6K. If you have $5K to spend, then I certainly wouldn't go look at the 2 for $20K. But, if there's one or 2 at $6K you think you like, I'd certainly go look and if I felt one was THE one, I'd offer $5K cash in hand and see if the seller bites. Cash talks. Most of the time the seller will counter at $5500 or $5750, if you don't show them the money. I, personally, am not going to allow that $5K to leave my property in someone else's pocket.
The best advice I could give you as far as negotiating goes is don't play the "What's the lowest you will take?" card. While I have never sold a horse, I have sold many other items and nothing puts me off more than this. If I'm selling a horse for $3000, I'm not going to suddenly decide that the price is $2500 because you ask me what the lowest I'll go is. I don't have a problem with someone making (reasonable) offers- I have a horse for sale at $3000 and you ask if I'll take $2800. I may accept it, or I may not. I can almost guarantee that you'll get a lower price from me if you take the normal negotiation route instead of just asking what's your bottom dollar. It may work with some folks that don't feel like dealing with the back and forth of negotiation, but I once heard that the best response to this is "What's the highest you will offer?"
Before you try to negotiate, know the situation. How are comparable horses priced in your area? Does this horse have other prospective buyers? If the horse is already priced pretty low or has other prospective buyers, or they're not in a hurry to sell, then the seller may laugh their way to the next buyer. If the horse has seen little interest, is priced high for the market, or the owner needs to sell quickly, then they'll be more likely to deal.
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