We all know how frustrating it can be to head over to the marketplace in search of a particular breed of horse to find that not only is everything for sale way over priced... but its over bred from questionable lines as well. Well bred and birth capped horses seem at times to have gone extinct, but if you take the time and ask around a bit, you'll have a much easier time trying to find what you're looking for
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Things To Avoid
Now I know that at some point everyone has gone to the marketplace in an attempt to pick up a cheap foal to either use as a practice run before we buy up a whole foundy line, looked for something to use as an event filler, to fill an open spot in a stud ranch, or to train up for a new player who has their heart set on having a certain breed of horse. In this case we'll use Campolinas as an example as I love them to pieces. You wander to the marketplace, click a search, and of the 30 Campolinas for sale, 2 are old 15 year old untrained things, 1 is a 0.1 year old birth cap foal for 250k, and the other 27 are 3 million each, most of which aren't even birth cap. And 24 of them are from the same sire and dam.
Yes. Seriously.
If you figure in a couple sets of twins, thats still 22 breedings worth.
Now, considering that Nef is uber and lowered the price of Foundation horses from 18 mil each to 5 mil each ( and in a lot of cases you can get catchable breed Foundations for 500k-2 mil each ) you could either spend 10 mil, roll the stallion to 33, pull straws, and start breeding the mare at 17.9 until 25, release the worst 7 or 8 foals and you still easily have 7-8 foals left over, most of which that will be birth cap mind you with the correct rolling.
I do not understand who in their right mind thinks that 24 over bred Campolinas are going to make them 72 million in game.
This has become the normal thing lately in the marketplace. 90% of the horses are over bred, massively over prices, and not even birth cap. The market continues to be flooded with things that players won't touch for one of many reasons, they end up discouraged and frustrated, and they complain about in to other players. I hear it all the time, and there are times even I complain about the knee high pile of junk that I have to wade through in the Marketplace This is not The Labyrinth, I'm not going to save a baby, I don't want to dig through piles of overpriced trash to try and make a player happy.
What YOU Can Do!
1. Be mindful when you're pricing and selling horses. Players constantly talk about ways to get people into the game and staying in the game. If a person really wants a Percheron, 35 Percherons at 4 mil each is going to be nothing but disheartening. Who doesn't want a German Warmblood or two to event train and toss into events? Me for one, if the ones for sale are 2-3 million each. ( Now at the time I posted this there were 2 one off bc str GWBs for 17k which is a massive steal, and a couple of BC ones for under 500k, which is towards my upper limit for the breed but still a lot more reasonable than the higher prices, so there ARE people who are mindful of the situation and trying to provide good quality stock to players )
2. Don't be afraid to network! I know that if I want Gaited horses, I'm going to ask Khol. If I need something on the Stock side of things, I'm going to ask Dukes. If I absolutely NEED an Arabian, I'll ask Chrys if she has something. If you see something on a ranch on in an event it never hurts to ask a player who they got it from, and if the player is known for working with the breed, you can always ask them. The worst they can say is no. In the community there's always going to be someone who is known for working with a certain breed or breed type.
3. Take advantage of special deals breeders and trainers offer! For example:
~ Chrys (161380) has several amazing Arabians from money winning lines for 2 million each. However if you buy said Arabian from her, she offers up event training for the horse you purchased for 50k. That's right, $50,000. I loathe Arabians, but it's a killer deal!
~ Alyssa has SEVERAL event trained horses for sale/bid, and NONE of them are over 500k. That's event trained peoples, and she's got quite a few disciplines to choose from: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=169775
~ DWS Sells Pure Money Lined foals to ABC members at a fraction of what the general population pays XD Not an ABC Member? DWS also has event trained horses up for sale for 5 mil for open buy OR for 50k bids! Granted there are still people who buy them outright for 5 mil... but all they would have had to have done is message me and let me know they put a 50k bid on it XD Breeds & Disciplines available change weekly!
~ Remember to Shop Smart! Shop Foal Mart!
4. Several players offer a Create A Foal option from their Stallion / Broodmare ranches. Some players even offer discounts if you use both a stallion and a mare from their ranches. Players like Nickster ( 36672 ) Also offer a discounted training fee if you use their Create a Foal program!
5. Who doesn't love a good trade? Most players are more than happy to trade foals from different lines with other players! I know several players who deal in different warmblood breeds, but don't want in invest in a whole new set of lines on their own, so they simply breed up a few BC foals, and swap them for other BC foals. Doesn;t cost anything extra and you get new shiny ponies to train up!
As awesome as all of that information is Draggy, Can you help me price my horses?
OF COURSE!
For most players, 500k is a high point in general, especially if its from unknown or unproven lines, pure or unpure. I tend to balk at prices over 400k nowdays, as the game has slow down a bit, and there aren't as many active players as there used to be. Inflation years ago drove prices for foals into the 4&5 million range, and while that made sense when money was abundant, prices have changed. Private breeds used to sell for 800 mil to 1 billion VHR cash. Now players can find PBs for 100-125 mil, 200 mil if you're really desperate for one. So horses that were priced at with the inflation mentality at 2-3 mil should really be priced closer to 200-400k.
Selling 20 horses at 300k is the same as selling 10 horses for 600k, 5 horses for 3 mil, or 1 horse for 15 mil. Think about that.
So after consulting with several yahoos, some of which were around before and during the inflation issues, and newer players, here's a quick guide for breed types and some specific breeds for Birth Cap foal pricing:
2nd Gen Horses - Non Catchable Fundations ( In Dragon Language thats foals out of Foundation Horses): Should not cost more than 100k-250k, and even that is a stretch.
2nd Gen Horses - Catchable Foundies: Foals should not cost more than 100-200k simply because Catchable Foundations, even popular breeds like Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses, can be bought for 500k-2 million.
Grade AAA Horses: A BC Grade AAA horse should never cost a player more than 100k Unless its a) from winning lines or b) Pure. Grade AAAs below BC shouldn't cost more than 50k.
Draft Type - Unpure - 50k-200k
Draft Type - Pure - 50k-200k
Draft Type - Popular Show Breeds ( Shires, Clydesdales etc ) - 100k - 300k
Draft Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Troika Harness Horse, Black Forest Chestnut etc ) - 100k - 300k
Feral Type - Unpure - 50k-100k
Feral Type - Pure - 100k-200k
Feral Type - Popular Breeds ( Mustang, Breton ) - 100k - 300k
Feral Breed - Newer Release Breeds ( Australian Aboriginal Horse, Cumberland Island Horse ) - 100k-250k
Gaited Type - Unpure - 50k-200k
Gaited Type - Pure - 100k-200k
Gaited Type - Popular Show Breeds ( Kentucky Mountain Saddle, TWH, etc ) - 50k - 200k
Gaited Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Costarricense De Paso, Messara ) - 100k - 300k
Pony Type - Unpure - 50k-100k
Pony Type - Pure - 50k 200k
Pony Type - Popular Show Breeds ( Exmoor, Connemara ) - 50k - 200k
Pony Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Bidet, Choctaw Indian Pony ) - 100k - 250k
Prices look a bit identical don't they? The above 4 types tend to be less popular than the remaining 4 types, thus their prices will be a bit higher. The remaining types are quite a bit more popular thus in theory should be easier to come by and cost less:
Show Type - Unpure - 50k-150k
Show Type - Pure - 100k-200k
Show Type - Popular Show Breeds ( Warlander, Lipizzaner, Spanish TB ) - 100k - 200k
Show Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Navarrin, Songbird Pegasus ) - 150k - 300k
Sport Type - Unpure - 50k-100k
Sport Type - Pure - 50k-200k
Sport Type - Popular Sport Breeds ( Thoroughbred, Arabian, Standardbred ) - 50k - 200k
Sport Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Tempest Rider, Station Horse) - 100k - 250k
Stock Type - Unpure - 50k-100k
Stock Type - Pure - 50k-200k
Stock Type - Popular Stock Breeds ( ApQH, QH, Paint ) - 50k - 150k
Stock Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Romanian Guard, Block Horse ) - 100k - 250k
Warmblood Type - Unpure - 50k-100k
Warmblood Type - Pure - 50k-200k
Warmblood Type - Popular WB ( Paards, German WB ) - 50k - 150k
Warmblood Type - Newer Release Breeds ( Once Upon A Time Warmbloods, Satanic Warmbloods ) - 100k - 250k
Holiday Breeds & Gift Breeds where the foundies are no longer available for purchase can be tricky. You can usually find most of these for sale for 500k-1 mil, depending on the breed. If none are currently available for sale, you can find them for stud or brood, or ask players who are known for collecting the harder to find breeds, and they will point you in the right direction
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
But Dragon, I like my high priced horses just the way they are!
And no one is saying that you have to change your pricing at all
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
To those of you who pride yourselves on selling BC foals for low and affordable prices, I know you're out there because I've bought from you in the past. Bravo! Thank you for taking the initiative to provide the community with wonderful horses at great prices. Let's see how many more players we can get on board