"Serious Buyer only"

[Seashells]

"Please Do NOT respond/reply to this ad unless you are a SERIOUS buyer."

"Serious inquiry only."

Whenever I see those words in an ad, I cringe. It's a turn off to inquire, it's a turn off to communicate.

Have you ever seen a business put those words on their commercials or advertiments? Of course not! Then why would you?

Smart selllers understand people should freely aproach/call out of curiousity. Afterall, once a customer gets informed, educated, involved....then he may become that "serious" customer.... and make that purchase. You have to give people fair chance to inquire, otherwise you may lose great potentials.

Okay, you may be a serious seller. However that doesn't make your horse the right one for that "serious buyer." Afterall, even a serious buyer needs to make that "curiuos inquiry."

Think about it: One must be "curious" to become serious.

I hope this helps anyone out there trying to find a new home for their minis. The curious inquiries are important. Plus, it's a chance for you to decide if the buyer (serious or curious) is a responsible/safe/loving horse owner....Not just someone with the bucks to spend because he's serious.

 

[txminipinto]

Ok, I'll bite. I use this term frequently. Why? Because I take a LOT of time with my buyers, answering questions, sending photos, etc and I DO NOT want to waste it with someone who's "hoof kicking". Recently, I had a potential buyer who was sounding serious. I had emailed photos, answered all their questions, and they said (via email) that they wanted to buy. I told them that was great, but they would need to call me in person so that we could iron out a few additional details. They kept beating around the bush, never calling always emailing, and finally asked "is he conformationally correct". I'm sorry, didn't I just spend a week with you emailing GOOD pictures and answering questions? I ended that sale.

If someone wants the horse, they will have the means to purchase it as well as meet the seller half way on the deal. That is a serious buyer. It's extremely time consuming to answer questions and send photos/video to someone who's "just looking".

 

[Boinky]

i agree totally. I often wonder what "serious buyer only" means.. I mean most people are not going to buy the horse just because they inquire. I've inquired about animals i wasn't neassarily TRULY interested in only to end up buying the animal. Like you said once curiosity is stimulated sometimes that's all it takes to sell them.

Another thing that bugs me is 'serious inquiries/buyers only" but they don't list a price or pertinent information.. HOW THE HECK DO I KNOW IF I'M SERIOUS IF I DON'T KNOW THE PRICE OR PERTINENT INFO?!!? I think most people don't have an unlimited budget and most will not pay more than X amount for a horse. If that price is well above most peoples budgets they are likely to pass right by it if it's listed instead of wasting our time inquiring. lay it all out there if you want 'serious inquiries only".

 

[MiniHunterHorseFan]

I think of people as a 'serious buyer' if they are able to afford the horse and if they really want to buy a new horse. I can imagine it might be hard on the people selling $70,000+ dressage horses to have people calling up to find out about the horse and come see it just to satisfy their curiosity. If it were me, of course I'd want to go just to see a horse with a price tag like that just for fun. But sellers don't need their time wasted like that.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Well I agree that the term "serious buyer only" is a turn off. If I'm in the market for a new horse I want to check out a lot of them to find that one that is for me the best choice. That takes a lot of casual inquiries and some horses get eliminated quickly some take more time. Doesn't mean I'm not serious just means I haven't found 'the' horse I want yet. When an ad reads 'serious buyers only' I just pass on by. I don't want to waste anyones time and if their horse isn't the one I want then it may seem to them I have. There are plenty of horses to choose from so if the seller feels impatient before I even start why bother them at all, I just look elsewhere. as a seller i take all inquiries as a chance to talk about the things I like the most, my horses.

 

[bingo]

I find it a ridiculous statement to put in a ad. So what if you spend time answering questions dealing with customers. HELLO that is the business you chose to be in. If you choose to be in sales then you accept that not all of the time will your work pay off in the closing of a sale.

Many truly smart and honorable sales people realize what may not turn into a sale today can very well turn into one next week.

Now really how can anyone be serious without the information needed to decide if they are serious or not? When purchasing a horse across the country you need many questions answered, many photos/video and plenty of information.

I would expect to see the horse being worked in a round pen or arena if it is trained. I want to see it move I want to see it set up and not set up. An added bonus is seeing the facilities it came from although that is not a necessity for me. If the horse came from a trainer's facility I would expect no less then to see the above mentioned things. If I am drawn to an ad with a horse standing in a pasture and I take the time to e-mail then I am serious enough to have noticed the horse and request more.

If the seller is to lazy to provide me with that I choose to take my business elsewhere.

And by the way if I choose to not purchase your horse after getting the information and pictures/video I requested it does not mean I was not serious it means for whatever reason your horse was not the horse for me.

 

[Jill]

I understand why people put that in their ads. I know from conversations with a lot of people that there are many tire kickers out there. However, you never know and the person you "entertain" today may be a great buyer for you in time yet to come.

When I've had horses for sale, I have all the pictures and the answers kind of ready to roll, even smetimes a template email on my computer. So, it only takes a small effort to give everyone who asks all the information they may need. Keeps it easy and fast in terms of getting back to everyone, too.

 

[Magic]

I've never responded to an ad that stated "serious buyers only". I HAVE responded to ads of horses that I'd seen and I was pretty sure right from the start that I wanted to buy that horse, but I still had some questions and wanted more pictures before I did indeed buy the horse.

I just personally feel like those ads that state "serious inquiry only" are eliminating a lot of potential buyers. Like me. But hey, look at the time they are saving!

 

[minimomNC]

To me wanting serious buyers only means, read my ad, will this horse even begin to be what you want before you ever ask the first question. IF I advertise a horse for $10,000 and someone asks for the moon and more, then your are darn right I will send them everything I can, but don't come back after a week or so of questions, pictures and videos and tell me you only have $2000 to spend, its a waste of my time and yours if you can't meet even half my asking price. Also if your looking for a show filly, don't email me about my 10 year old proven broodmare, she won't be able to go back and show successfully. Same with looking for a broodmare in foal, my yearling filly won't fill the bill right now.

Serious means you at least have an idea of what your looking for and according to my ad, my horse might fit the bill. The one thing that gets me the most is someone wanting a horse worth several thousand and only having a few hunderd to spend. Be realistic, we aren't selling these horses for fun. Most of them we don't want to sell at all but sometimes life gets in the way. At least know a bit of what your looking for and if you can afford it, before you start asking for the moon.

And if you have to make payments to buy, let me know that up front, not after the deal is done and I am expecting a check in the full amount. Sometimes serious just means, know what your doing first.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I have spent many long days showing horses to tire kickers. Even to teenagers who I know don't have the money to spend. I look at it this way, that tire kicker may go down the road and tell his/her friend who is looking seriously for a horse, and I may have bagged a sale by word of mouth, and who knows that tire kicker may have some serious money the next day, week, month, and who will he come to? Me, because I spent time with him. That teen ager is the future buyer of tomorrow, and hopefully will come to me when they have the resources. Maybe so, maybe not, but at the same time, I have given some good cheer, interest, and time to promote my breed.

 

[Jill]

What Karen said is what I was getting at. I know of situations where someone's asked lots of questions only to then say they wanted a mare vs. a gelding or that the horse was too tall or too old or some other major piece of information that was disclosed all along...

Still, if you have like a boilder plate response and pictures ready, etc., it is easy to give fast service for all inquiries so no one feels slighted and people do remember those who treat them well. If they're not going to buy from you "this" time, they might next time!

 

[Minimor]

It's nice to have the photos and video/dvd all made up & ready to go, but then again if the seller is someone that doesn't have high speed internet and a newer computer....,or even someone that doesn't have a computer at all and yes, there are still plenty of those people around too!...for the former, it's easy to e-mail photos but impossible to e-mail a video--and so any video must be sent via snail mail. For the person with no computer at all, all photos and videos must be snail mailed. It is not practical to mail photos and video out to a bunch of tire kickers who just want to look at your gelding for something to do while they are really shopping for mares--In view of that, I don't think 'serious inquiries only' is an unreasonable phrase to put into an ad.

So many people on this board say they won't inquire on horses with no price, nor on horses with 'serious inquiries only' in the ad...and yet I do know quite a number of people who sell quite a few horses without ever posting a price. Sometimes those same people sell horses that are advertised with the 'serious inquiries only' in the wording of the ad--and so I have to think there are still plenty of people that will inquire on these ads!

I know I will--it doesn't bother me at all to inquire on a horse advertised without a price. As for 'serious buyers only'--if it's just a slow day and I'm curious about a horse but have absolutely no intention of buying then I wouldn't bother with such an ad either (not that I very often bother inquiring on a horse if I have absolutely no intention of buying, I just don't have the time to bother with something like that) But, if I'm wanting to buy a yearling filly and I see an ad for one that might work, sure I'll ask for more info, even if those words are there in the ad...because if I am shopping for a yearling filly and the yearling filly advertised seems likely to fit the bill, then I am a serious buyer. That's not to say the filly will actually turn out to be the one for me, but the possibility is there and I feel I qualify to inquire.

 

[River Wood]

I agree with seashells

and Jill as well.

I understand why people put that in their ads. I know from conversations with a lot of people that there are many tire kickers out there. However, you never know and the person you "entertain" today may be a great buyer for you in time yet to come.
When I've had horses for sale, I have all the pictures and the answers kind of ready to roll, even smetimes a template email on my computer. So, it only takes a small effort to give everyone who asks all the information they may need. Keeps it easy and fast in terms of getting back to everyone, too.