time wasters WHY......????

[pennypoo]

WHY WHY WHY do people text, email or msg me about horses for sale say they are going to come and then never ring back and leave you wondering, or ask for more pics which you go out in the freezing cold to do then not so much as a thank you when you up load them??!!!!!
not so much on horse gossip but other horse sale websites why do people do this ......
you can see from the pics what you would be going to look at so then why enquire then ignore WHHHHHYYYYYYY
is it just me or are others having this problem???
its hard enough as it selling something you dont really want to part with.

[stormyskies]

oh welcome to the club!!!

i even had one woman come and try Sam and leae a cheque for a deposit after riding him in howling gales and him not putting a foot wron g and then she rang me next day to cancel sale to say she thought it was suspicious that he had no turn out!!!!!! I mean what could possibly be wrong with him??? I explained my 1 winter field was given to oungsters and broodmares that cant be ridden and that Sam and the stallion and Mac were turned in arena together and ridden.

And i have soooooooooooooooooo many e mails asking for more pics/info/price reductions!!

i have stopped answering and am of the opinion i they truly interested they will ring

[pennypoo]

oh poor poor you
i had one lady come twice to ride my big mare loved her soooo much poor horse did everything right everything!!!!! but wanted to bring the EXPERT RIDING INSTRUCTOR!!!! who came and could hardly trot the horse who is soooo laid back and then said she was too sharpe WHAT!!!! what a wasted of time
getting people texting and e mailing all time about my ponies too soon as i reply they go dead and dont rspond!!!! just cutting down on what i have due to lttle time so the sales are heartbreaking
why do people window shop why??
fed up ......

[sageandonion]

I have just read this ad in a monthly mag, so you have my greatest sympathy:

Horse wanted for novice rider. Must be well mannered, uncomplicated, quiet and vice free. Don't mind plods, but must be good jumper. Will spend up to £1,000.

I sincerely hope you don't get a visit from that person.

[sallyw]

I have put a blog on my new website entitled "And anyway our saddle would not fit" (www.equestrianmarketplace.com - goes live 1st Jan) on this very subject. However, in defence of buyers, I was told by someone (who has never met me).that they thought I could not afford their horse - and yet its still for sale. I suspect they thought that because of my email address (related to the website) that I might be some kind of dealer. Never judge a book by its cover! I need a horse to ride out with my grandchildren and I am having real difficulty find the right one.

[Milliesmum]

Messydesk, I know I'm off topic, but have you contacted local riding schools to see if they have a quiet cob in need of an easier life? The good ones are usually really happy to sell if they know it's a good home.

[ladybird]

Oh god do i know how you feel..........if i ever sell anything again and i see 'any pics' i will IMMEDIATELY delete the message, gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[turtlepooch]

Just a imput We are not all like that I ask for pics as it saves wasting both my time and also sellers. I will then go and see the horse if I like the pic. Believe you me I have heard some good writups but lucky if it can even move!!!! I know what I like but it is very difficult to access. What peees me off is I wish people would be realistic with prices. Please put the price up you want. I have been to see 2 horses this month surposedly in my price range as reasonable. Quoted 10.000 for one told hoping if I fell in love with it I would pay that price. So still looking for 3-5yr old

[paddywak]

O god i had the worst one come and look at my old PC pony

She was a jumping pony only half did flat was quite quick but always came back when asked and this lady came and saw her prob mid 40's and omg it was scary to watch and she got off and said she was too much i was like thank god ...

then i get a call the next week saying she cant stop thinking about her and can she come and ride her again... i was like ok

so she rode her in an open field and pony chilled right out and went really sweetly i thought mayeb she will be ok

so says can she have her vetted i was like yer theres a vet at yard tomoz whos not mine heres the number so thats all fine asks me what size girth travel boots etc .....

call in morn o im not sure she isnt too much i dont want her .... 1/2 hour later i get another call o i have changed my mind can i come and hack her again i was like .... i suppose so ...

Comes and hacks her inisists i canter in front pony gets a bit keen but impecably behaved she jumps off leads her back and says she doesnt want her after all!

[marchell]

I had an enquiry a while ago about my colt , via email. I had immediately googled the email address and found that the same person had fairly recently sold a colt so I was a bit suspicious.
After the normal exchange of " how much" etc etc I enquired about the future plans for the colt ( I dont normally sell entires so wanted some assurances about owners ability etc)
I then got the longest email in history - outlining the colts future from purchase to vetran status !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lovely in theory but no one can plan that far ahead......

Plans made to view him and that was the last I heard from her!

Beggars belief why anyone would go to the lengths of sending an email that was more like war and peace and all for nothing!

[paddywak]

also once i drove 2 hours to see the people who owned the pony sounded lovely on phone so we drove down they said we will meet you in the village as its hard to give direction to get to . we phoned she said ok just coming will be 2 mins and didnt shhow !! left us sat for ages !! muchly not impressed ! x

[icarus]

Ive had soooooo many timewasters this time. I think it is the new pastime in the current climate!
I cant tell you how many emails ive had, all asking for more pics, and is it still for sale and then guess what?? you dont hear from them again!!!!!
Also texts! I mean, how rude? i purposely put no texts as i wont reply and guess what? they still text, someone has been texting me at 3am!!!!!!

[hacklover]

messydesk, you need a fell pony!!!

[honeypot]

Sorry I people have not had the decency to return your e-mails but good photo's are so important when your going to spend 6 hours and £40 in petrol to look at a pony.
What is the point of advertising with a pic thats a not showing the pony in its best light?
Next time you go shopping for something other than food make a note of how many items you look at before you buy and thats seeing something you can see and touch in the flesh.
I e-mailed someone enquiring about pony as to type, the picture was very dark and the pony is a C/D cross, the answer was so off putting you think, should I bother.
I have had one replie the pictures show the pony well so once the weather improves I feel that the 8 hour round trip is likely to be time well spent, I would not be bothering if not for those pics.

[proudwilliam]

I was looking for a show hunter two years ago I must have gone miles one was to a "nice" 4 year old with clean legs.!!!!! Well yes they were washed BUT there was only one with out a lump on it and a beautiful pair of curbs. I could not stop laughing when the breeder told me they would go with time.!!! Made our excuses and left.
Saw another one priced at £20000 that had been hobdayed and still made a noise. and had no tail.

[ladybird]

Hang on a minute guys, forgive me for being a dinosaur, but how did any of us manage before the days of computers, mobile phones etc etc. I agree its very useful to see a picture before travelling miles to see a pony, but we did actually manage you know lol!!

[shy talk]

Of course its not just buyers that are time wasting
We were on the look out for a pony about 5 months ago, spotted an ad on here for one that looked a nice sort and enquired via pm or email I forget which. With one thing and another it was impossible to get to see the pony for ages (mostly my shifts and the sellers shifts etc) but I said to them please don't hold teh pony for us, if someone comes along and wants him then thats fine.
Some people did go to see him and liked him but said he was moving a bit funny, seller said she would get the vet out and have him checked which they did and vet report said he was fine, ok says i we'll still come and see him- might've been the ground or something and nothing. Also the viewers had measured him and he was approx 2 inches smaller than advertised
Owner said they had had enough of time wasters and if we didn't have him then they were keeping him (at this point we had only pm-ed, emailed and spoken on the phone)
Made plans to go and see him, took a holiday from work to fit in with the seller, but the night before receieved an email to say he'd gone lame but I could still go and see him the next day. decided against it, it wasn't a mega long journey but still approx 150 miles and weather awful.
Eventually the following week (4 months after first enquiring about the pony) we got to see him Lovely people and very hospitable. Pony was smaller again than I was lead to beleive but wasn't out of the realms of what we wanted, but it was a bit of an argumentative b*gger and somewhat bolshy. The owner said they had spoiled him and didn't like to discipline him which had lead him to be a bit ar$ey.
I didn't like him because of his attitude but my daughter did, so after discussion I contacted the seller via pm and email and said can we have him? No reply for a few days. I told my daughter that maybe they hadn't thought we were right for him which was fair enough, and emailed the seller to say that if they didn't want him to come to us then thats fine but let me know either way.
Eventually got a reply saying that yes they would be happy for him to come to us, they wanted him in his new home before Xmas and wanted him insured before he was moved, that was fair enough I said and would they be happy for him to come via transporter as I couldn't get time off to fetch him etc thats fine she said so I spent hours researching prof transporters and getting quotes and referneces from various companies and getting quotes for insurance etc
Then received a pm saying, sorry but they had had some family problem and could we put things on hold for a few days and they would get back to me, thats fine I said thinking something sounded not quite right but its quite possible they had genuinely had a problem.
Next thing the ad is amended saying pony is now **Loaned** ? Does that mean loaned to me or to someone else?
Kept checking owners profile and she had been online most days but hadn't contacted me so took it to mean that the pony had gone to someone else.
As I said I didn't think this pony was the be all and end all and it wasn't as if the owner had to even speak to me face to face, they could've quite easily have pm-ed emailed or texted me and said sorry we have changed our minds, or we don't think you are right for him etc But no, they just said nothing
As it happens, we are hopefully getting a lovely mare that I have liked for a long time but didn't have the cash for (Unless I sold one of mine and I have trouble selling and just keep loaning them out) she has a lovely attitude and owners that are experienced and haven't let them run wild and get away with murder, just waiting for the d**n weather to clear
Well done if you have read through all that rant but had to get it off my chest, very annoying and a waste of my time, a nights holiday from work and £50 in petrol Plus I let two better ponies go that we were offered in the meantime of waiting to go and see this one that was lame, then moving funny etc
Can't wait for new pony to come, bed all ready and pink bucket and haynet bought

[ladybird]

Crikey, ive read every word, you poor thing. Im coming to the conclusion that at least half the pony world is bonkers! Apart from anything else, how rude ggrrrrrrrr.
I hope you have a lovely time with your new pony, happy new year!!

[clairenrosie]

i am in the same boat i have had a few people comeing to try my mare,even before they come i tell them everything from what she likes and does not etc so even before they come they have a good idea,1 left a deposit and said she was haveing her veted a week later she said she couldnt get the funds to buy her i have had people phone and not turn up aswell,i can understand aswell she may not be to everyones taste but some people are just pain in the bxxs and just come for a free ride

[hs]

I think horse selling/buying is stressful for everyone involved.

Viewing is time consuming for all concerning and the more information you can get from a seller before you go to view the better as it prevents as much time wasting as possible. Sometimes people want to see horses from different angles or doing different things from the photo in the adverts. The more photos you have at your disposal the better - after all taking a photo is probably less time consuming than doing a viewing and then if the person is not interested after seeing the photo at least you have more photos to show other people.

There are so many stories on forums of people buying horses and then they are not as described or it all goes horribly wrong it makes people more suspicious.

Being very cynical I can imagine people wanting information by email as this is as a good in writing and should the horse not turn out to be how it was described to be there is no dispute about how the seller has described the animal whereas over the phone on in person it is one person's word above another.

Regarding the horse with no turnout - I would question that too - eg has it got a lami problem which means it cannot have access grass, it is very difficult to catch, does it beat up other horses etc.

If people are looking at lots of horses then by the time you have replied or the time of appointments comes they have found a suitable horse then perhaps they are just cant be bothered to cancel or reply which is I agree very rude but there are a lot of rude people out there not just when it comes to buying horses!

I have always tried to give feedback to sellers about why their horse was not suitable but sometimes people do not take it well so I stopped - I saw quite a few ponies before I found mine.

Buying a horse for a lot of people is a really big deal especially if they do not intend to sell on and they might keep asking lots of questions or coming back for more information and if they do it is probably because they do want to make sure the horse is just right for them not because they want to waste your time.

I knew I wanted my pony on the first viewing but I did not want my heart to overule my brain so I did need to ask more questions and go back again and have some quiet time to think about it.

I think forums in some ways make life a bit more complicated as people ask for advice and someone stranger on a forum might say go back and make an offer for less money, or go and view it anyway even if you can't afford it you never know they might drop the price and people do take this sort of advice whereas before people relied only on their opinions or people they knew well and trusted..

[shy talk]

Jan 1, 2010 17:00:53 GMT ladybird said:

Crikey, ive read every word, you poor thing. Im coming to the conclusion that at least half the pony world is bonkers! Apart from anything else, how rude ggrrrrrrrr.
I hope you have a lovely time with your new pony, happy new year!!

Oh yes, the pony world is totally mad! I think each and every one of us must have a small amount of insanity else we would keep goldfish- much cheaper, easier to transport, and we could stay warm
But I agree, rather rude of her, I can understand someone would find it difficult to say to a prospective buyer or loaner, Sorry but i don't want you to have this pony, but a text, email or pm is an easy option.
Looking forward to the new girl arriving, she is a sweet heart, can't beat a nice mare they are gems
Happy New Year to you too.

[lizzie]

Its not just buying and selling although I have been on the receiving end of that. We run a small yard and you get people ringing up saying we'd like to come and have a look around at x time and you say yeh thats fine so you wait around and then they dont show up and you think why do people bother if they dont want to come have changed their mind or whatever just pick the phone up or send a text and let us know. Alright we may own the yard but we do have a life and other commitments like everyone else.

Shy Talk that sounds like a right palaver poor you and good luck with your new pony sometimes it takes a bit of a trial before you find the right one. My coloured mare we couldnt get the seller to answer the phone or our messages for a week and then when they did they said they thought we were someone else who had been tried her and theyd had to call the police on as they started smacking her and wouldnt leave the yard. So sometimes it takes going a round about way to get to the perfect solution.

[honeypot]

Hs, sums it up in a nut shell.
I would also say if you are selling something you have to put effort in to it. You can not expect the first person that comes a long to buy your pony. When I advertise I hope for a least 10 relpies but know I will perhaps have only 1 or 2 serious buyers who will come and look, and if they do not buy I do not take offence.
There is someone advertising on HG who's ad is so agressive that she not only puts off the people she doesn't want but also the people who may be really interested.
Can you imagine going in to a shop and someone standing a the door saying 'you can only come in if you are going to buy'
A pony is so individual, if you saw and ad for a Ford Fiesta, you would have a good chance of knowing what it looked like. Now try, 13.2 SHP., and thats without age, mileage, sex etc.
It is a buyers market, yes there may people who you think waste your time but if you want to sell you have to put in the effort.

[apple123]

When I was putting my mare out on loan we had so many lunatics ring up about her it was frustrating - she was advertised as a Small Hack with showing pictures and I had a lady ring me up asking about her for a Father who wanted to hunt with his children. Unfortunately, to find the right person for your horse you have to windle through the timewasters and Sunday jollies.

[ladybird]

The point i think we are trying to make apple 123 or question we are trying to ask is why people want to waste time or have a sunday jolly, its unfair rude and i for one wish i had some time to waste as im sure do many other HGers!!

[donkeydo]

I think some people actually have nothing better to do. I have a friend who goes viewing houses for sale at weekends but has no intention of moving!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

[zac]

About 5yrs ago, i had a lovely lady come down to view my horse for sale, i even arranged for her to hack him out with some friends off our yard. Two hours later came back said how perfect he was and would come back next day with someone else to look over him and the deposit. Needless to say she never even had the decency to phone me back, so really just came down for a free two hour hack, how cheeky. x

[aphrodite]

I am just waiting for this snow to stop as it has put a complete stop to my Shetland pony search!

Some people are very nice and happy to provide pics and information, some others think it is a total inconvenience to bother!

I want to buy a shetland, I am not timewasting but if I dont get pics, I certainly will not waste my petrol and time bothering to view. ;D

[madrider]

i had a 5yr old tb up for sale a few months ago. broken as 4yr old in racing yard and turned away to grow. when brought in as 5yr old hadnt grown so sent to me. i advertsed him exactly as above and emphasised that he needed to be started again to give him a chance to remember what he had been taught. a lady came to see him, fell in love with him, wanted to come back day after to see him with expert friend. came back watched him lunge and be ridden, friend rode him, expert told me isnt he green!!!! i was gobsmacked. the girl phoned me later to say still wants him, can come down with deposit, but hasnt got a stable and doesnt know how long to get one. can i keep him indefinitely for her, but she cant afford to pay for his keep!! what a nerve, needless to say he is staying with me now, cant be bothered with joyriders and idiots any more

[iluvmyponies]

Im only 13 so have never rang up ect but one thing that annoys me is that, i was helping my friend look for a new pony and one was the right size and type she wanted. "15hh SHP/WHP" And then the actually advert said "15hh SHP/WHP. Dark Bay. Email me for more info." And then the e-mail address. My friend said it sounded perfect...up to now So she email around 3 months ago and nothing AND it is still for sale as the advert has been put up on another website.
Aphrodite-I thought you went and looked at one and liked it? Probably me imagining things lol Good luck xx