Asking for advice

[Chaos Ranch]

I have a client that has approx. 30 or more horses that I have to sell for him. They are not miniature horses, but I figure the sales process would be the same.

I have given a lot of thought to the process, and am considering hosting a dispersal auction for him rather than an individual sale. What I was wondering is, when it comes to the actual auctioning process, do we use one of the auctioneers that do that rattling/fast talking bid calling, or do we use someone to speaks slowly and clearly? Also, would it be better to bring them into the ring and take bids that way, or would it be better to feature each horse in the ring, and take silent bids instead?

My thinking is that if we take silent bids instead, that would allow the buyer to be more discreet about his/her pruchase price. However, when you take bids in the ring the competition tends to drie the price up to where my seller could possibly get better offers.

Also, should this be a one day sale or a weekend event? With a one day sale that would allow more people to attend because they would be able to travel here, get the horses they want, and travel home without it interrupting their work schedule. But if it's a two day event that would allow more time per horse, as well as riding/personal inspection time.

When deciding on the lots, do you typically divide the horses by age, bloodline, or training level?

Also, would it be better to offer concessions? We have two different facilities in mind, both have convessions, and we could give the proceeds from the concessions to the facility.

I would really appreciate any pointers, advice, or guidance you guys have to offer.

 

[SampleMM]

I have never done this so if it were me, I'd hire an expert like Double Diamond. You can get into legal issues that I wouldn't want to be responsible for.

 

[Miniv]

Have you "interviewed" some different horse/livestock auctioneers in your area? They may have some suggestions. Every auctioneer is different and handles a different level of buyer.....You need to "shop", I guess.

A lot depends on how much money you want to spend with Marketing and Advertising too. If you feel the horses should command some higher dollars, then you need to push with the ads/fliers..... Get a list of clients/buyers/friends from the farm owner to send an "invite" of the sale to. Does the client belong to a local/regional club or a registry?

Lots also depends on how much time you have to promote the sale.

Everything written above is only based on what I've observed with other sales.

Oh, and one of the most impressive sales I was a part of was done by Hartin Miniatures. It was before the economy went south, but after the major price boom for minis. And yes, it was a silent auction. He had a huge list of people that he contacted - either by mail or via FAX. We received it by FAX and it was a complete list of his horses available. We were invited to call between specific hours on a certain date to place our bid. I don't remember if he had any reserves......but all the horses were sold. (Not sure if this would still work with this economy.)

 

[wildoak]

A lot depends on the caliber of horses you are selling, and the price you expect them to bring. Be realistic about the prices too, given the current horse market.

I agree with the suggestion to hire a professional...they cover a lot of liability issues that might not occur to the rest of us.

Jan

 

[Chaos Ranch]

Thank you all very much for your advice. The legal issues are something I had not considered. I was thinking more from the advertising and actualy process of the auction, and the legal end is something that had not came into consideration. I believe after reading your advice that it's best to just stick with selling the horses individually rather than hosting an auction. I really appreciate all of your input, could have saved us from a disaster we wouldn't of even thought about.