Selling in a Depressed Market

Lately, economics and other factors have had adverse affects on the Horse market in general. People are selling nice horses cheaply all the time and taking HUGE losses…

Here are some steps you can take to avoid & minimize that…

Take GOOD or even GREAT photos. Take photos that are going to set your horse apart from the rest. Some elbow grease and effort can make the difference.

You need pictures that make people say “WOW! There he is… my DREAM HORSE!!!”

Muddy, furry horses aren’t going to sell for a decent price. Period. Don’t supply your customer with these kinds of pictures unless it is absolutely all you have, even then, make sure to do your best to get decent shots. A bad photo can be worse than no photo.

Offer plenty of relevant information about your horse in your ads. Don't waste potential buyer's time by telling them the life story of the horse, you can supply this information when they request it. Make sure your ad has the horse's age, sex, foaling date, sire and dam, perhaps some pedigree information, one or two major acomplishments of the horse.

Evaluate your website!

Make sure your website isn’t crowded with bad pictures, silly animations or other childish add ons that can drive traffic AWAY from your site. You want people to recognize that you have a good quality horse(s) to offer. You don’t want your website to feel like “Happy Hands at Home”…

List your horse’s attributes and use them build his/her value.

Selling online and even locally is all about perceived value.

People want to feel like they are getting something that is very valuable for much less… so use that to your advantage.

If your horse has famous well known ancestors or his siblings are doing well on a show circuit, let them know. However, let it be known in a polite way and use it as a selling point and not THE selling point. For example if you are selling a Quarter Horse stud colt and his dam produced 5 Halter Champions, let them know the names and if you have the information, the price they sold for and what they are doing now. This builds potential value for the customer, and often times, they may see the unproven prospect as an investment. People always want to get something for less than someone else.

The fun of shopping for a horse for many is finding a bargain!

Research your horse’s pedigree. Know it well so that when questions are asked, you are equipped with knowledge.

Offer videos! Video can be your best friend

Offer affordable payment plans. In a depressed market you may be more likely to get your asking price if you make it affordable for the customer to BUY the horse!

Use common sense; don’t market a 2 year old stallion with a kid on him. Some people would frown on you doing that. It can portray to people that you aren't concerned about safety. So use caution when choosing photos.

Don’t market a stallion prospect for 1500.00, at that price; his perceived value is that he is a gelding and likely will not produce valuable foals. There are exceptions to every rule however. However, it is safe to say that a good stallion prospect won't be purchased for $1500.00!

Research your local market and research your internet market.

Price fairly, but don’t sell your horses too short. You want to be able to sell them, however, the vast majority of people do believe on some level that you get what you pay for.

Be open minded and generous in your terms and you shouldn’t have any trouble selling horses!

Sometimes it is best to take an offer when you GET one, than to hold onto the horse thinking you're going to get more money and end up feeding him longer and risk selling him for less, or worse, having him die and have no chance of a sale at all!!!