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Discussion on Auctions
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2001 - 11:06 am:
how to sell a horse??
what do you all think about auctions, now i am talking about the big/vet checked out horse auctions, (warmblood auctions)...(not meat house)
do you believe that the buyer is getting the better deal?? or the seller???
do you believe that selling a weanling at an auction can be profittable, or do consignment fees take the profit....????
if not an auction what are the other ways to sell a weanling...??
please tell me how you all have been able to sell young stock...
ann
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2001 - 12:18 pm:
Hi Ann - Boy, do I have a feeling this is going to end up being an interesting round-table discussion!
From personal experience, I would have to say upfront that auctions - ANY auctions - are what you make of them, whether you are the buyer or the seller. While I have so far only been the "buyer", I am closely acquainted with several "sellers". Who ends up getting the "better deal" has so many variables, it is pretty much unanswerable.
There is no way to determine ahead of time who gets the better deal. If you think your weanling is worth $2,500 & you end up selling it at auction for $5,000 - obviously even when commissions are deducted, you'll probably feel you "won". If those figures are reversed, you won't.
If you are thinking of going the professional (i.e. quality) auction route, I would first subscribe to a few catalogs, attend a few, etc., to see how the market is running. Then be sure to place a reasonable reserve on your animal, and figure on any "no sale" & original listing charges, etc.
I myself will shortly have a weanling for sale, & have already had several potential buyers "take a look" just via word of mouth. I plan to advertise via local media, tack shop postings, my breed registry, internet, etc., because to tell the truth - unless something happens where I must sell DESPERATELY - I would much prefer to have more of a handle on where & what type of home my weanling ends up in. Raising horses is expensive & emotional, & I think we owe it to them to try our best at predicting the outcome of their futures. But then - that's a whole 'nother ballgame that was discussed "ad infinitum" under a different post.
Bonnie
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2001 - 3:39 pm:
Bonnie i have checked out these auctions now for some years...and have noticed that either the weanling sales for a grand price or not at all.. there seems to be NO happy middle road.... i have a med. of the road kind of priced weanling....the consignment fees total about $500. that includes the showing of your stock... i don't believe that if you have a no sell that there is any reimbursement....then there is the 10% of the selling price as well....
so its a crap shoot i guess!~ do i try to sell and see if i can recoup my expenses? or do i just add another run in for the winter and hang on to her, and sell at my leisure...???
this decision would not be so difficult, but we have just moved into this new place, and my husband is TIRED OF DOING HORSY CHORES.. and would love to unpack his garage at some point.. 
i believe that the auctions are for the buyers... i believe that you can get a really nice horse if you know what to look for, and are betting that no one else sees what you see...
all for the love of these beasts....
ann
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 8, 2001 - 4:50 pm:
I probably agree with you in the long run Ann.
I do have two nice horses that I bid on & won at very reasonable prices from two different auctions. The first was a 6-yr. old papered AQHA palomino gelding, very well-bred (Impressive HYPP n/n - I had him tested) who had passed thru 9 different dealers/auctions before ending up at an extremely sleazy auction & ultimately (& impulsively!) with me for $1,200. Turned out he had a retained abdominal testicle which cost me another $1,000 to have removed, but I now have a very nice, sound, comfortable horse. The second was a registered 7 yr.old Thoroughbred mare, branded "premium" with the RPSI German verband - sound (but not worked since coming off the track)& pregnant by an expensive RPSI-licensed Oldenburg stallion (stud fee $2,000). The owner was getting out of the warmblood breeding business & sent the mare to a nice, fairly good quality auction local to me, where I got her for $3,000. The foal she produced has since been appraised for $12,000. So yes, I think that if you know what you are looking for & are very, very careful; very, very LUCKY; & able to live with the fact that you could end up with a "pig in a poke" regardless - you can win at the auctions. Now that, of course, is strictly from a "buyers" viewpoint. Like I said above, don't think I'd want to be a seller.
And tell your husband he has very good company. I broke my leg very badly back in April & have gone thru & will continue to go thru several surgeries. Since then, my husband has also been relegated to the HORSEY CHORES (& he does not ride). One gelding, two mares, one foal, and one yearling. I think if I told him he didn't have to do that anymore (+ his regular full-time job!) he'd be willing to come over & unpack your husband's garage for him!!!
All for the love of these beasts is right . . . .
Bonnie
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