Serious Inquiries only... Do you feel this statement off putting?

[Crabby-Chicken]

When I see an ad with that in it... I don't even bother to talk to the seller. Even if it was the most perfect horse in the world.

To me it seems like the seller feels that they are too important to bother. I am not aiming this statement at anyone. I have bought and sold many horses through the years and I would not ask about a horse for sale if that was in the description,,, even if I had all the cash in my hot little hand as I looked at the ad. Anyone else feel this way?

Just a vent, and yes, people that are just browsing can sometimes take time. But I always hope if they are taking their time, they are going to the trouble to get the right info before they make a purchase that is going to live maybe 35 years and has feelings. Just me I guess.

 

[Jill]

No, it doesn't bother me a bit IF I am SERIOUSLY interested in the horse.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

To me this just means that they are either higher priced or require a certain type of home, same with "private treaty" marked horses. If I really am interested in a horse I will inquire.

 

[Flyin G Farm]

I agree Kim. I don't bother either when I see that. I don't know if I'm serious until I've gotten more information/pictures. Most ads put just the basic information and some don't include any pictures at all. So am I wasting people's time by asking for more information and a picture, and are they considering me "not serious" because I get the information/pictures and decide the horse wasn't what I happened to be looking for? I know I've emailed on ads before, gotten great information and talked with the seller and ended up buying a different horse from the seller because it happened to fit what I was looking for. Because that seller took the time with me, they were still able to sell a horse even though I ended up not being "serious" about the initial horse I asked about.

For me as a seller, I'd MUCH rather have people email me and give me the chance to talk with them more, give them a lot more information, more pictures, and make sure the horse I have is fitting what the person wants. And if my horse isn't what they want, no problem. I think they will remember that later on and I've had people come back to me if/when they were looking again to ask if I had what they were looking for...or refer their friends.

So for me, putting in the "serious inquiries only" is something I don't do or respond to.

 

[REO]

I agree Kim. I don't bother either when I see that. I don't know if I'm serious until I've gotten more information/pictures. Most ads put just the basic information and some don't include any pictures at all. So am I wasting people's time by asking for more information and a picture, and are they considering me "not serious" because I get the information/pictures and decide the horse wasn't what I happened to be looking for? I know I've emailed on ads before, gotten great information and talked with the seller and ended up buying a different horse from the seller because it happened to fit what I was looking for. Because that seller took the time with me, they were still able to sell a horse even though I ended up not being "serious" about the initial horse I asked about.

For me as a seller, I'd MUCH rather have people email me and give me the chance to talk with them more, give them a lot more information, more pictures, and make sure the horse I have is fitting what the person wants. And if my horse isn't what they want, no problem. I think they will remember that later on and I've had people come back to me if/when they were looking again to ask if I had what they were looking for...or refer their friends.

So for me, putting in the "serious inquiries only" is something I don't do or respond to.

DITTO!

 

[maggiemae]

To me it depends - if they put enough information in the add that I can tell if it would be something I'm interested in -then I would call and follow up if I'm serious about the horse, but if they put a brief description with very little info, I won't bother calling because I don't know if I'll be serious until I"ve taken up more of their time and I feel that they are asking me not to do that. So, I don't.

 

[Genie]

I feel bad when I have asked a lot of questions and received a lot of info and then decide not to go ahead.

I am always sorry to have bothered people with a lot of questions and pictures and then it not be what I want.

That said, if the ad said "serious inquiries only" it wouldn't bother me, because whenever I am interested in something advertised, I am serious.

 

[Minimor]

For me it depends.

I might inquire, if I the ad is specific enough in the information it gives, and if the horse really seems to be what I want.

If, however, the ad gives only very brief information then I probably wouldn’t bother, no matter how serious I am about buying at the time.  Here’s why:

I may be seriously interested if the horse’s price is $1500….but not if the price is $15000.  If the price isn’t listed—I won’t know that.

I may be seriously interested if the horse lives up to its written description, but if there is no picture I won’t inquire because I will not be interested at all if the horse is an absolute dog and the seller is as barn blind as a bat in bright sunlight.

I may be seriously interested if the horse is within 500 miles of me….but not if the horse is in Key West.  No location given in the ad? I won’t inquire.

I may be seriously interested if the horse is registered and in the name of the seller….but not if the horse is 4 years old and selling on application.

I may be seriously interested if the seller is good to work with, agreeable about meeting transport, etc.  but I am not at all interested if the seller is one who is going to insist on my going to visit & see the horse in person and demand that I fill out a 10 page questionnaire to decide if I am a suitable home…I just can’t be bothered with the last part,  and have no intention of travelling hundreds of miles to look at a horse before I buy—I am very good at buying the horses I want sight unseen and have no intention of changing that to suit a seller.   There are just too many good horses to choose from without my having to deal with a difficult or flighty seller.  If I do contact the seller my “serious interest” may very quickly change to “no thank you, not what I want” if the seller is too pushy or demanding.

I do know that some sellers get very angry when someone contacts them about a horse and then doesn’t end up buying that horse…it seems some think you are seriously interested only if you actually buy their horse, and they get angry and label you a tire kicker if you inquire and then decide that the horse is not the one you want after all.  (I know this—I have had people vent to me after a potential buyer did not buy from them—sometimes I could see their point, sometimes I believe they are being totally unreasonable in their condemnation of the non-buyer.)  In view of this—yes, I do find the term “serious inquiries only” to be rather off putting.   

 

[Jill]

Another point to consider, when you're looking for a new horse, that's what you're looking for. Not a new best friend or penpal! I want my sellers to be honest and knowledgable... and I wouldn't inquire about a horse unless I was serious. The notation of "Serious Inquiries Only" in no way discourages me. I always think "Yes, I'm serious if the horse turns out to be what I'm hoping." If the sellers are as busy as many of us, they do not have time to field inquiries from the nosey or the bored... So many people like to kick tires and I think everyone should basically take it upon themselves not to inquire if they are not serious, whether or not the seller requests it. And on a related note, it's a nice and considerate touch that you let a seller know if you are no longer considering a horse that they' ve supplied you additional information about.

 

[targetsmom]

Well, I am very glad that the first mini we bought was not from an ad that said "serious inquiries only" because if it had, we might not have inquired! Yes, we were shopping, but the farm we called was not known for pintos, which was what we wanted. But they were nearby, we really wanted to see their place, and they had ONE pinto for sale, a wild colored 2 year old stallion. This was January, he was quite a handful (but not mean), and something about him just got to us. We not only bought him, they had him gelded for us, because we wanted a gelding as a companion for our big horse. Then we became friends, bought our stallion from them, then a broodmare.... Just something sellers might want to think about before they put those words in an ad. You never know who you might be turning away.

 

[mydaddysjag]

From the other end of the spectrum, here is what sellers are dealing with right now.

I have a horse for sale for $2500, I get a ton of inquires everytime I list him for sale. I send pictures less than a month old, videos of the horse being handled by children, adults, setting up to show, bite, conformation shots, show pictures, etc. I have a very detailed description of him in the sales ad, as well as the normal no vices, utd on shots worming farrier, etc.

I wont even try to count how many people want pictures newer than the ones I send them that are a month old. I recently had someone request I re bodyclip and send her new pictures, video, and video of the horse being handled by a younger child. She actually wanted this for both horses I have for sale Now, I found and paid a baby sitter to watch my own two year old son (its quite hard to find a babysitter for a disabled toddler) so that I could go bath and clip horses. I then drove an hour to pick up "borrowed" children to be able to get a video of the horses with children handling them. The seller said she was still interested. So, she asked me if I could transport them to the state of california for her (im unable to, my child cant travel that far) but told her if she was seriously interested in purchasing that I could check into shipping for her. I spend an entire day getting her shipping quotes which were way more than reasonable.

She emailed me the next day that sorry, she had only intended on spending $1000 on a horse including shipping to california, which is the other side of the country from me.

I have had atleast 10 different people contact me like this.

Now, my ad says seriously inquires only. The horses arent over priced, and honestly, some of the people had told me they only intended to pay $500 for a horse. I dont think someone is seriously interested if they know from the getgo that they have $500, and are inquiring on a horse that is $2500. Yea, my price has room to work, but not knocking down $2,000

Its just incredibly rude to ask a seller to jump through hoops for you for several days when you were just poking around to see what was available and "werent planning to buy anything until spring and was just looking"

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

From the other end of the spectrum, here is what sellers are dealing with right now.

I have a horse for sale for $2500, I get a ton of inquires everytime I list him for sale. I send pictures less than a month old, videos of the horse being handled by children, adults, setting up to show, bite, conformation shots, show pictures, etc. I have a very detailed description of him in the sales ad, as well as the normal no vices, utd on shots worming farrier, etc.

I wont even try to count how many people want pictures newer than the ones I send them that are a month old. I recently had someone request I re bodyclip and send her new pictures, video, and video of the horse being handled by a younger child. She actually wanted this for both horses I have for sale Now, I found and paid a baby sitter to watch my own two year old son (its quite hard to find a babysitter for a disabled toddler) so that I could go bath and clip horses. I then drove an hour to pick up "borrowed" children to be able to get a video of the horses with children handling them. The seller said she was still interested. So, she asked me if I could transport them to the state of california for her (im unable to, my child cant travel that far) but told her if she was seriously interested in purchasing that I could check into shipping for her. I spend an entire day getting her shipping quotes which were way more than reasonable.

She emailed me the next day that sorry, she had only intended on spending $1000 on a horse including shipping to california, which is the other side of the country from me.

I have had atleast 10 different people contact me like this.

Now, my ad says seriously inquires only. The horses arent over priced, and honestly, some of the people had told me they only intended to pay $500 for a horse. I dont think someone is seriously interested if they know from the getgo that they have $500, and are inquiring on a horse that is $2500. Yea, my price has room to work, but not knocking down $2,000

Its just incredibly rude to ask a seller to jump through hoops for you for several days when you were just poking around to see what was available and "werent planning to buy anything until spring and was just looking"

That just burns me up! Jump through all those hoops with the inquirer KNOWING that they had $ XXX and you were asking $XXXX.

I had that just last week with some Breyers I am selling. Pic of this one, pic of THAT one, how much is THOSE ones, Do you have THIS one... then decide that it was more than they wanted to spend when they KNEW WHAT THE PRICE WAS BEFOREHAND!

I've had people offer less than half of what I was asking on minis. Um, no. I'll keep her. Or you get asked about trades and when they send the pic of their horse you're like "WTH?? Really? THAT?" Um again, no thanks.

 

[Lizzie]

'Serious inquiries only' in an ad, wouldn't bother me at all. I think some sellers might not be particularly adept at writing a good ad and maybe add it purely because they have seen others do so. We have probably all seen ads which say something like, 'Nice horse for sale.' The seller doesn't say the sex, breed, colour, height, training or anything else. Not likely to receive many enquiries, even though the horse might be something quite wonderful. Some might add it, because they are sick of very young people writing to ask about their horse, when they have no hope of purchasing one and their parents probably don't know they are asking about the horse/s for sale. Advertisements sometimes tell nothing or a great deal, about a given horse. The actual wording in an ad really doesn't bother me. If I think I might be the slightest bit interested, then I would contact the seller.

Lizzie

 

[MajorClementine]

If I'm serious it doesn't deter me. BUT if I'm just kind of browsing at the time I don't usually bother people who have put that. Not that I'm not serious but I'm in more of a "shopping around" stage than a "buying" stage. If that horse is still around when I get to serious buying stage then I'd contact them. I will start looking at horses in the fall and not plan on buying until the spring. But I like to see what's out there, prices, breeding, etc.

 

[minimomNC]

I see no problem with it at all. Like mydaddysjag, you do everything they want, the price is in the ad then when you have bent over backwards to please them, well they can only spend $1000. If the price is $2500 to start, why would you not ask about a price reduction before you ask for more pictures or videos? If the price can't go low enough for you, don't bother asking for the rest. Another pet peeve of mine, don't ask for everything just to say, well I can't buy him/her now, I don't have the money, but if they are still available in a year, I will come back. Really??? If you don't have the money to buy now, why are you looking? I understand people take payments, but if you have nothing to put down, nothing to make payments with, nothing to pay for shipping, then why are you inquiring at all.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I would never mind an ad that said "serious inquiries only"... To me it doesn't mean that you can't ask questions and find more information even if you are not going to buy... to me it says... "hey crazy people, don't call me" LOL, I had a full sized horse for sale and I got a call from somebody that wanted to trade me walmart certificates in exchange for the horse, another person wanted me to sell my 11 hand pony to a 20 year old kid who was 6 foot tall and they lived in montana and didn't have a barn. I don't take that line as being rude when I am looking at ads and would never be offended by it. There are curiosity seekers that really have nothing better to do than to call and ask a million dumb questions who are not in the market for a horse really. To me the people that are using that line are just asking for people to call if they are interested for real. There are tons of people who just call all the ads, that don't have any intentions of buying and make the seller jump through all kinds of hoops, send photos and spend hours on the phone for nothing. goodness knows when you advertise you get all sorts of spam mail anyway, so I guess that line really won't keep out the "true crazies" anyway... Walmart certificates...lol... I think the guy said he was a forensic pathologist too... hmmm.. just kidding.. bottom line... nope that line in an ad does not bother me in the least.

 

[madmax]

Serious inquires only does not bother me. What does rile me, is prospect asking for long pedigree, pics of parents, show records in detail, more photos, etc., sending it all with long descriptions of horse's history, then..............they do not have the courtesy to reply with a answer that they are not further interested.....how long does it take to hit the reply button and say thanks, but it is not what I am looking for after all. If it is not what you want just say so, I really do not mind that at all, my horses need to go where they are really wanted ...............just please respond with a thanks but no thanks and not leave me hanging.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

I feel bad when I have asked a lot of questions and received a lot of info and then decide not to go ahead.

I am always sorry to have bothered people with a lot of questions and pictures and then it not be what I want.

That said, if the ad said "serious inquiries only" it wouldn't bother me, because whenever I am interested in something advertised, I am serious.

Me too. Well said.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Theres no reason to feel bad if you were seriously interested in a horse and it didnt turn out to be what you needed.

To me seriously interested means that there is a good chance of me buying this horse IF it is what I want/need.

What "serious inquires only" means to me is if Im not really interested in purchasing a horse and am just window shopping with no intentions to buy anything or dont have the money to buy another, please dont contact them.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I think it could also mean that if you are checking out a horse priced at $1500, don't make the seller jump through hoops and then say "I only wanted to spend $250. I think serious inquiries only can also mean, don't call me if you don't have any where near the money I am asking for my horse. There is flexibility and there is insult.