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Expert
Posts: 1956
   
Location: Ky | For the most part, sellers lie! Especially on horses that are supposedly ready to win. Good horses that are winning do not have to be advertised. Buyers are seeking out those horses.
I have been trying to buy a horse for 2 years from a guy that won't sell. And I'm not alone in trying to buy that horse.
Not all sellers are liars but enough are that you don't know who to trust.
About 10 years ago we drove 5 hours one time and 8 hours another time to look at 2 horses that were advertised here. Talked to both sellers in depth before making the drive. Went with the trailer and cash both times. Came home empty both times because the sellers were out and out liars.
There probably should be some sort of reporting system but I can't imagine how that would work in reality. What would keep a rival seller from reporting a falsehood about a horse? And how would the governing body know if that's the case?
I found over years and years of trial and error that about the only way to be sure, {or close to sure}, is to go ride a supposedly proven horse in a competition. That's the only real way to know if that horse will work for you. Even if it's as good as they say it might not be the right horse for you in competition.
If the seller refuses to allow that then stay away.
We didn't take our own advice on a horse and drove to Wisconsin to look at a horse for $20,000. These folks had an indoor arena and an outdoor arena at their home. We only rode the horse at the sellers home arenas. The horse was fantastic there. These people were very well off and had several other horses. She told us she would take the horse back if we weren't satisfied. We ended up paying $17,500 for the horse.
This was in Oct. As we were leaving we said something about taking him to a show at home the next weekend. She suggested that we give him the winter off. Thought that was odd but didn't put much stock in it.
Found out why the next weekend. The horse was absoultely ring sour at anywhere but home.
We implied about the return guarantee that she had offered. She was still good for that but she would only give $10,000 for him back. Should have gotten that guarantee in writing.
I also should have taken the $10,000. We didn't and we finally got rid of him the next year for far less than $10,000.
So, learn from our mistakes.
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 Sorry I don't have any advice
Posts: 1975
Location: Sunnyland Florida |
While rating sellers is a great idea, it could be a real hornets nest also, as someone else stated. It can also turn out to be terrible for honest sellers.
Here's the main point to ponder: Have any of you sellers ever sold a horse and the buyer did not take care of it or did not ride the horse correctly? Did the buyer change bits, remove the shoes, change feeds, change the horse's pattern, practice it to death, etc. and then complain your 1D horse was not performing and they got taken? I'd bet a LOT of money it's happened to many honest sellers on here, and they would get a bad rating/report.
That said, I've been taken and lied to on horse purchases and suffered consequences more than I'd like to say, LOL. What I've learned from my experiences is don't buy sight unseen, don't take a vet's word on conformation or soundness (a vet local to seller), and don't think someone with a well-known name won't "pass the trash".
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 595
Location: nj | Actually http://www.ripoffreport.com is a place where I have seen some people on here listed. not a bad resource. | |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12704
 
| Runaway - 2014-08-31 9:25 AM
While rating sellers is a great idea, it could be a real hornets nest also, as someone else stated. It can also turn out to be terrible for honest sellers.
Here's the main point to ponder: Have any of you sellers ever sold a horse and the buyer did not take care of it or did not ride the horse correctly? Did the buyer change bits, remove the shoes, change feeds, change the horse's pattern, practice it to death, etc. and then complain your 1D horse was not performing and they got taken? I'd bet a LOT of money it's happened to many honest sellers on here, and they would get a bad rating/report.
That said, I've been taken and lied to on horse purchases and suffered consequences more than I'd like to say, LOL. What I've learned from my experiences is don't buy sight unseen, don't take a vet's word on conformation or soundness (a vet local to seller), and don't think someone with a well-known name won't "pass the trash".
I'll bite on this one . . .
I sold a nice mare, younger sister to my Zan stallion. The mare was naturally faster and higher energy than Zan, with the same flat, smooth pattern that he has. She pulled checks from my first ride on her. Started in the 4D and moved up to 3D within a few shows. I am NOT a world class rider and make errors on a regular basis, so I knew that with a better rider and a little more time for confidence this mare would make a 2D horse. Probably not 1D since she was not a free running horse. So, an agressive and very nice riding youth bought her. The people did not feed her enough, or have her feet cared for properly. She turns out very slightly and has to have regular trims to keep that from becoming a flare. She dropped weight and stopped being energetic. The girl lost interest in her and they tried to get me to buy her back, 9 months later, looking like a turd, for the same money. I had told them that I would take her back if she didn't work out, but the first weeks the girl pulled checks on her in the 4D, which means she just needed to work with the horse for a bit and get together with her and move along into the higher D's.
I already know I'm too honest when I sell. I'll tell potential buyers the good, bad AND ugly about any of my horses. Even last year when I had to sell 8 to keep the remaing 6 fed I decided I'd rather get less per sale and find a good fit for the horse. | |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Its a buyers beware market out there, you have got to be careful who you buy from, please try to do all the research you can on horse and seller. I have a horse sitting in my back pasture that I payed good money for and found out a few things about him after I bought, my fault I should have done more research on him but got in a hurry. I could never sell him to someone else because I would be so sick with worry that he would hurt someone. So I have pasture and hes out there with my older retired horses.
Buyer and Sellers reviews that some thought would or might work could really hurt the good sellers I think, there is to many mean people out there that are jealous of the good ones and would try to hurt them by putting a bad review on the honest/good ones. | |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16572
Location: Displaced Iowegian | Runaway - 2014-08-31 9:25 AM
While rating sellers is a great idea, it could be a real hornets nest also, as someone else stated. It can also turn out to be terrible for honest sellers.
Here's the main point to ponder: Have any of you sellers ever sold a horse and the buyer did not take care of it or did not ride the horse correctly? Did the buyer change bits, remove the shoes, change feeds, change the horse's pattern, practice it to death, etc. and then complain your 1D horse was not performing and they got taken? I'd bet a LOT of money it's happened to many honest sellers on here, and they would get a bad rating/report.
That said, I've been taken and lied to on horse purchases and suffered consequences more than I'd like to say, LOL. What I've learned from my experiences is don't buy sight unseen, don't take a vet's word on conformation or soundness (a vet local to seller), and don't think someone with a well-known name won't "pass the trash".
^^^^ THIS is exactly why a lot of sellers would get bad reviews. SO many times I have seen a person "trash" a seller because THEY couldn't ride the horse or ride the "caliber" of horse that they bought or didn't feed and take care of it. IMO, IF a buyer does their homework, it lessens the chance of being scammed. With BHW, other websites and FaceBook, there is ALWAYS someone in the area of a person selling. ASK ! ! ! ! | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
Location: Home on the Range | NJJ - 2014-08-31 11:27 AM Runaway - 2014-08-31 9:25 AM
While rating sellers is a great idea, it could be a real hornets nest also, as someone else stated. It can also turn out to be terrible for honest sellers.
Here's the main point to ponder: Have any of you sellers ever sold a horse and the buyer did not take care of it or did not ride the horse correctly? Did the buyer change bits, remove the shoes, change feeds, change the horse's pattern, practice it to death, etc. and then complain your 1D horse was not performing and they got taken? I'd bet a LOT of money it's happened to many honest sellers on here, and they would get a bad rating/report.
That said, I've been taken and lied to on horse purchases and suffered consequences more than I'd like to say, LOL. What I've learned from my experiences is don't buy sight unseen, don't take a vet's word on conformation or soundness (a vet local to seller), and don't think someone with a well-known name won't "pass the trash".
^^^^ THIS is exactly why a lot of sellers would get bad reviews. SO many times I have seen a person "trash" a seller because THEY couldn't ride the horse or ride the "caliber" of horse that they bought or didn't feed and take care of it. IMO, IF a buyer does their homework, it lessens the chance of being scammed. With BHW, other websites and FaceBook, there is ALWAYS someone in the area of a person selling. ASK ! ! ! !   & The Funniest thing about folks referring to Checking out the Scam & Rip Off Reports etc. is that you will Never hear about the Biggest Perpetrators as they can AFFORD to PAY a Monthly Fee to a "Keep a Great Reputation Service" that post all kinds of POSITIVE COMMENTS about the Person &/or Business in order to bury all the Negative Reports! Just for FUN, Try to find even ONE Negative Report about the Person or the Business name that will get a thread deleted and I bet you won't find anything Negative, just positive. Case in Point! Can you say PAID OFF? And FYI RIP OFF REPORTS will be the first ones to contact you about "legal" services to extinguish the reports for a big FEE of course. $2,000 to remove a report! Last I read, RIP OFF REPORTS was being investigated for RIP OFFS! Guess what company owns the Legal Service Company? Who is Ripping Off & Scamming who? About everything and anything can be swept under the carpet for enough $$$$$$$$$$ & for anyone that may feel compelled to post negative reports on someone, think long & hard about it because if you change your mind later, Rip Off Reports will charge you the poster $2,000 also to remove it. No Delete Button!
The BEST thing a potential buyer can do is stop being Penny wise, Dollar Foolish. Bear the Expense to Make the TRIP & TRY THE HORSE. Then, get a Pre Purchase Vet Exam. Myself, I love when a potential buyer has a vet check done. Gives both parties piece of mind. A seller is Not a Vet & it could be very possible that the seller is unaware of an unsoundness condition that a vet could detect. Verify Credentials! Basically Do your homework! Could save a whole lot of heart ache & money in the long run.
Edited by downngo 2014-08-31 3:01 PM
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