Wednesday, February 1, 2012

What is wrong with online horse classifieds?

I'm not saying there is a problem with them in general, just that none of them are perfect. Although a couple are close, there is something about each that I don't like.

equine.com

dreamhorse.com

equinenow.com

horseclicks.com

agdirect.com

equinehits.com

horsetopia.com

What parts of these sites do you like, and in what areas are they lacking? If you were to build the perfect online horse classified site, what features would you include?What is wrong with online horse classifieds?
you need the notability of Equine.com - more people sell and buy horses from that site than any of the others, but I don't like it. That whole login and pasword that you don't choose thing kills me. And there are way too many ads in the middle of the listings. I like the "exlude breeds" thing on dreamhorse.com I think free pictures are good, so you can see what each horse looks like, they should just charge for a second picture. "registered horses only" is a must, and even better would be only horses in X registry (so you get AQHA registered QHs, not "grade horse registry" which you can register any horse in). AgDirect, I like the ranch search option, that thing is my best friend.
SEARCH ENGINES!!!! I'm not going to go to each one to check them out right now, but if I remember correctly (and I like to window shop) equine and dreamhorse have really good search engines. I like to be able to pick the surrounding states to search in, not an arbitrarily set zone (for example, Arkansas is WAY too far away to still be "southeast"). A simple search and an advanced search, and a date listed filter of some sort. Otherwise, each time I go back, I may get the same older listings over and over.What is wrong with online horse classifieds?
I found my horse on Equine.com the online classifieds are a place to look.....the great ones are few and far between but they are there if you look.....after I found what I was looking for the rest was with the owner....I thought it was really convenient.What is wrong with online horse classifieds?
Theo nly one I like (and the only one I've used) is dreamhorse.com. They have an exhaustive "advanced search" feature where you can search on pretty much anything and everything, in any combination you want. That is a huge attraction for me.
The problem is, if there is a horse that is good enough for you to want it, it would most likely not be on a classified add. The horse world is huge, but there are more connections between different people than you can imagine. What I am trying to say is that the "best horses" would be sold through word of mouth before it would be put on one of those adds (no matter if you are looking for a backyard horse, or an olympic champion). They are on there because the owners have had trouble finding someone willing to buy them. There are so many people looking to buy horses, there should be no problem selling a great horse. I will say that some people have success on there, but not many. I have wasted many hours of my life on those sites. Don't waste yours. Ask your trainer, they know whats out there.
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