Thoughts on buying,,,,,,sight unseen

[New2Minis]

I just got my last 3 from the internet. IMO , it is no different from looking in the newspaper. You definately should get to know the buyer/seller, even if it is via email . You can learn alot about people just thru emailing! No bad experiences here, but you definately have to be on your toes. But you would even if you were looking in the newspaper or sale ads!

GOOD LUCK! :bgrin

 

[Sandee]

I have found some good ones on the internet but I've never purchased without a visit. Just too paranoid I guess. I always look and then if I'm really interested we take a "vacation" and go visit.

The only one I've actually bought "sight unseen" was from a breeder that we've dealt with before and found to be very reliable. He convinced me I should have this one and since she's still growing and maturing (showing and otherwise), the jury is still out if she'll be worth what she cost. I love her but I still want her to "prove" herself.

 

[spellcasterminis]

We have only bought one horse without going and seeing it in person. After I'd seen the picture of her I just had to have her. The breeder answered all my questions, sent me tons of pictures. Even sent me new pictures while we were paying on her so I could see how she was growing. Thanks Freeland for allowing us to buy Mona Lisa and making it a great experience!

At the same time I've had friends get scammed too. One friend bought a Quarter Horse gelding from out west. She was told he was a lil easty/westy. Well when he got to her the fact is he was turned out at the knees. The bones were rotated, he required special shoeing etc and probably wouldn't hold up for the type of riding she wanted to do. I've also heard the horror stories of wrong horses or horses in poor condition arriving at their new homes.

I think the best thing to do is go with your gut. If something seems too good to be true or just doesn't feel right find someone in the area to go check the horse out for you. JMHO

 

[Suzie]

We have bought about 50% of our herd on pics only. In all cases they were better than expected. Maybe we are just lucky. I do ask for current pics, etc. If I have any "gut feelings" that the seller is hedging, I don't go there....most people will tell you more than you ask for about their horses if they want them to go to a good home. My faith in good sellers is still intact and I hope it stays that way. Also, I have to say in a lot of our cases, a lower price did not reflect on the quality of the horse being sold. We have gotten some real deals on the internet. We have gotten some absolutely stunning horses for a lot less money than I would sell them for today! Of course, low price can sometimes mean lower quality- just not in every case. Sometimes people just need to move the horses to go ahead with a life change.

 

[spellcasterminis]

I think another thing that is VERY important is to have a good written contract. Make sure everything imaginable and then some is listed in it. Be very careful how it is written and that it protects the buyer, seller and horse. I've seen many contracts written with clauses or whatever in them that leave the buyer screwed.

 

[Cathy_H]

It is all relative. Since everyones opinion varies on show quality there in lies the potential problem.............. Also the integrity of the seller - I've found if some perceived to be honest sellers really need to sell a horse right now, then they may fudge the facts some. Thus the reason we don't buy sight unseen - we give a maybe until the horse can be seen.......... If someone you trust lives closer to the seller - have them go look at the horse for you.

 

[Jill]

I'm trying to think up how many horses and which ones I bought sight unseen...

• DunIT -- Erica's Gone and DunIT
  
• Destiny -- Erica's Echos of My Destiny
  
• Khaki -- Triple H Buckin Khaki
  
• Suprize -- Erica's Oh What A Suprize
  
• Double -- Erica's Double Dipped
  
• Treasure -- Fantasy Corrals Secret Treasure
  
• Hope -- Harrells Rowdys Reflection of Hope
  
• Flirt -- Harrells Flirting With Perfection
  
• Klassy -- Little Wee Klassic Showgirl
  
• Sunny -- Tibbs Sundowner
  
• Bacardi -- Little Kings BT Bacardi Gold
  
• Derby -- Triple H Derby Day Miracle
  

Now of this list, there are two horses (Suprize & Double) that I have not yet seen in person but I have no doubt based on other purchases from Erica that I will be delighted with them both in person!
The above horses are "most" of the horses I have ever purchased meaning that most of my horses have been bought based only on pictures and sometimes video. If I am recalling every horse correctly, these that have been bought without meeting them in person first have come from six individual sellers / breeders.

Over all, I am thrilled with each of my long-distance purchases. With a couple of the horses, there are some things that were a little different than I originally thought but in both of those, other things about them are better than I thought so it balances out. With the others on the list, they've been better than I anticipated in all ways. I have not ever bought a horse and then came to think (or realize as when I sold it) that it was not worth the price a paid. It's always been worth more or sold for more than I paid.

It comes down to dealing with a seller who is not just an honest and good person, but someone who is very knowledgable about horses. Someone may tell you the horse is 100% correct and beleive it but the horse may still have a glaring problem they do not recognize -- which is not at all to say they are dishonest. When I have dealt with various sellers, I've gotten a little insightful and figuring out how much the seller honestly knows about conformation and that helps me get more pointed with my questions and my request for specific pictures of this and that and from various angles.

Many / most of my purchases the last couple of years have been from our own Erica which is no surprise to most of us! When it came to my first horse from Erica -- Destiny -- to be honest, I listened to what Erica said about him and I looked at his foal pictures and shaggy boy yearling pictures. I saw a horse with an interesting color and just took Erica's word for all that she saw in him. Best move I ever made in horses! At this point when it comes to any purchases from her, I just ask this or that question and listen to her describe the horse. I only "need" pictures to drool over really, not for deciding, when it comes to something from Erica (and only Erica!)... So, if I ever hit the lottery and she's available, I'd love to hire her to just pick me out a second herd of hoofed wonders

:

Additionally, the reality of this situation would vary with what a person looks for in a mini since we all have different goals and also where in the world a person lives, but for ME, there are not very many farms that have the type of mini that would interest me within a distance where I'd be able to see the horse in person prior to purchase. For that reason, in order to grown and improve what I have going on, it was necessary to go outside of my region.

 

[rhea]

We've bought multiple horses sight unseen, both mini and big horse. Ideally I would ask for a video, but we never did. We've been very lucky and haven't had any problems, the sellers were very uprfront with all the problems, etc. Overall, very good experiences.