Clearing Out Sales

[Argent II]

I'm buying up low priced horses and rehoming or aging them to retirement. Fair warning to anyone with cheap horses on the market that they actually want to be used.

[Scythian]

Thank you for helping in this way.

[Argent II]

roughly 200 horses down.

[Argent II]

from 99 pages down to 66 and still working

[fakethislife]

What about those of us who breed 'rare' breeds and have priced them 'low' to try to get some interest in them? And it's hardly fair warning unless you are in the states. You did that to mine, and I didn't even have a 'far chance' to change to cancel the sale because I live in the UK and was asleep!

So thanks for not being helpful to my breed and my game at all. If those horses did sell I was more than happy for them to stay on my farm. We don't all price low because we want to get rid of the horses. Some of us price low to try to get people interested.

[Devolare]

What about those of us who breed 'rare' breeds and have priced them 'low' to try to get some interest in them? And it's hardly fair warning unless you are in the states. You did that to mine, and I didn't even have a 'far chance' to change to cancel the sale because I live in the UK and was asleep!

So thanks for not being helpful to my breed and my game at all. If those horses did sell I was more than happy for them to stay on my farm. We don't all price low because we want to get rid of the horses. Some of us price low to try to get people interested.

I get you're upset about it, I imagine I would be too, but I also think you're being kinda silly about this whole thing.

And I don't know about you, but the 'rare' breeds I have, never go into the market low priced, for a number of reasons. The first being that I'm a selfish hog, and if I have a rare breed that I worked hard for, man, I'm going to keep them as my own until someone topples my empire.
The second, and more reasonable reason, being that people don't want to just buy the breeds they want. A lot of them want to make them with their own horses. At least that's how it was for me. They like having a goal and working their way up. That is part of the fun. Games like these make me lose interest really fast when I complete my goals, so getting the breed I want fast isn't the way to go.
The final reason (that I'll talk about because there are plenty more) is that selling them cheap does not generate interest. It gives them little value, if any at all. They are bought by new players who most likely won't play the game for more than a day, so they will sit by themselves on a beginner farm for the rest of their days. Or, they get rehomed because the new player figures out what they actually want to do and it's not what they bought. I've seen both scenarios, and, in my opinion, this isn't any different than buying horses to intentionally rehome them or age them out.

I don't think you can really get that upset with argent over this. You put them up for sale and someone else could just as easily have bought them up, only to rehome them (which is a reasonable assumption to make because you priced them cheaply and therefore have no value, so rehoming is at no cost to them). For example, you buy a horse for 1k, you don't feel bad rehoming it if you decide you don't like it anymore. You buy a horse for 100k, then you start feeling it in your wallet and feel that it is worth a lot, even if it isn't.

As for argent not giving enough fair warning, well okay. Nothing can be done about it now, but in the future maybe at least a full days warning would be a good idea? It'll be a learning experience for everyone.

Also, as a friendly side note, if you want to get people interested in your breed, selling them in general isn't the way to go. Start up a breeding community thread, get active, ask around, and stir up the interest yourself in the forums. And if that doesn't work, well sometimes interest in a particular breed is just not meant to be. There are many reasons for this; the breed may not be popular, people just don't like that type of horse, etc. Thoroughbreds, Mustangs, Appaloosas... those will always be popular, because people know of them, or can relate to them. That's just how it is. So don't get disheartened if it doesn't work out the way you're hoping it will.

[Xant’hippe]

For the most part, I find myself agreeing with Devolare above, although I understand why fakethislife is deeply unhappy.

Some folks may remember I did something like the buyout in March, although on a much more limited scale -- offered specifically to give 18+ year olds a "good last home". I think I allowed **too much** lead time -- a whole week! When I made my search, none turned up with the "yellow horse" color description, a sure indicator that the horse was intended for me.

However: I bought 16 horses. 13 of them did simply "retire", get fat, and die -- at ages ranging from 20 to 22-1/2. But that same search gave me a great Shetland Pony stallion, Prince of the Hunt! and an excellent broodmare, and a too-small-but-beautiful stallion, all of whom are still alive and breeding. Which is why I haven't done much of this sort of thing; I get emotionally involved.

The reason Scythian (my other, more cynical half) thanked Argent II was straightforward appreciation of an attempt to alleviate the sales congestion, something we see as a continuing problem for owners and buyers.

Being the sentimental player I am, I can sympathize with fakethislife, too. I have been able to buy horses by "private treaty" -- the owner and I being online simultaneously and in voice communication: "okay, s/he's posted!" "Got him/her!". But that's rare, and I wish some kind of "for sale to approved buyer" option were in effect. As it is, I have always respected all "Don't Buy!" and "Transfer" warnings, and am glad others have respected mine/Scythians's.

In the absence of being able to exert some kind of restriction on who buys what and why, I'm also forced to agree with Argent II -- a super player in many senses -- whose assertion that a low price cheapens the horse is a good warning. If you want someone to respect the horse, ask at least $100, OK? Maybe more like $500 to $1000. Two other factors that can help: some training, and a PUBLIC show record (no other player can see what you've done in Locals). I counted myself extremely fortunate to find "Illuminated Ransom", a 15-year-old mixed-Andi broodmare, for $500. She had enough training and starts in competition to show that she is talented. You can look her up -- she's now "Furiosa", best Andi mare in standings.*

Which last reference is now oozing over into another debate topic, buyer's rights vs. seller/breeder's ... so I'm going to sign off, having opened enough cans of worms.

*Never again for sale, either. I can be greedy, too.

[Xant’hippe]

One last aside: Sometimes sponsoring breed-specific shows stimulates interest. Especially if they are at various levels or Level 10.

[Skraythrax]

I too am happy that Argent cleared out some of the sales. In a perfect world, I would want every horse to be loved and used for some useful purpose, but with the horse limits it just isn't possible. Every time I get something from sales, even if it is just to run some overdue competition, I end up thinking of all the possibilities I have with that animal, but then realize I don't have enough time or space to do that many projects. They sat for sale for a while, and Argent picked up a lot of those on my accounts, which I was happy about. I get much more frustrated when a new player buys one of my good horses, or any horse, and then quits. I have to look at that horse on their account forever! I do think maybe Argent should have given a little more warning time. Lastly, I think a lot of players don't understand how weak the market is right now for horses, and get flustered when their animals don't sell to good homes. Knowing this I can sort of understand why they would be upset at this since they don't understand the market. I see the sale ads all the time for things that are old news, like one and two green Arabians. Now, if it were a green strength, that would be something to talk about