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The Virtual Saleyard - Vendor Guide
Some hints to help you to get the best from your Virtual Saleyard listing.
What Vendors Should Know About The Virtual Saleyard
  • Your ads will be seen. The Virtual Saleyard is by far the most popular service of its kind in Australia, established for over 4 years and within Cyberhorse, Australia's most popular web site for horse lovers.
  • Listings in the Horse and Classifieds sections are free. There is no charge unless they are Enhanced or Featured.
  • Listings in the Stallion and Products & Services Directory sections are semi-permanent (3 - 12 months). Directory listings are not free, they must be Enhanced or Featured.
  • Cyberhorse charges no commission on anything sold through The Virtual Saleyard.
  • All Horse and Classifieds listings can be of unlimited duration, however they will be removed if they are not updated for more than 6 months.
  • There is no limit on the number of listings per vendor.
  • All listings are entered and maintained by the vendor. This includes closing the listing by marking it as sold or withdrawn.
  • All listings can be amended any number of times by the vendor. Our unique online Vendor Control Panel provides the facility for you to check the entire history of your advertisement(s).
  • Vendor access to your listings is password protected via Member Services.
How Do I Add A New Listing?
1. If you haven't already done so, you need to Register as a TVF Member.

2. Once you have registered, you should Login to Member Services by clicking on the padlock icon at left.

3. Within Member Services you will see icons which will allow you to add a  Horses, Classifieds, Stallions or Products & Services listing.

How Do I Add A Photo To My Listing?
1. If you haven't done so already, create a new text listing by following the procedure to add a new listing above.

2. From the Vendor Control Panel select the Enhance or Feature option for the listing concerned. A popup window allows you to fill in the details of the Enhancement or Feature you wish to order.

3. Once you have completed the order form, if you have selected the online payment option, you will be asked to provide your credit card details for payment.

4. If you have selected offline payment, Cyberhorse expects that you will make payment in that way.

5. You should then send your photo(s) to us via email or post.

6. Cyberhorse will add the photo(s) to your listing for you once we have them and your payment has been succesfully processed.

Selling Strategies With The Virtual Saleyard
You can extend the presentation of your text listing by adding photos, pedigrees, vet certificates and other documents. Enhanced Listings are prioritised in search results and are highlighted with a thumbnail photo and attract 10 times the attention of text listings.

A stud can make use of Enhanced Listings by creating a text listing for each new born foal and then enhancing it at various points with photos as the foal matures. Perhaps one at 3 weeks or so and then a further one at weanling or yearling stage. If close relations are doing well, a pedigree update could be included. As the young horse matures its value will change, so you can adjust the price accordingly.

A Vendor Logo is an inexpensive Enhancement which is the only way of linking your TVS Listing to your own web site. In this way, you can let the buyer assess those important things other than the horse in question, such as how has it been reared, what sort of property does it come from, what else have they bred and who are the vendors?

For vendors with a number of horses to sell, a good strategy is to first list all the horses as text listings. Then pick out the best 3 or so and turn them into Feature Listings. In this way you can spread the net quite widely, without the expense of paying for every one of your horses to be advertised.

If you normally sell at auction, The Virtual Saleyard can be used as a reference for pre-auction promotion. One of the drawbacks of auction selling is the sinking feeling when you don't achieve your reserve price. With The Virtual Saleyard you have the option of passing your horse in, knowing that there is still an alternative. You can update your Virtual Saleyard listing with photos taken at the auction, which is when your horse will probably look its very best.

If you have your own web site, Virtual Saleyard Feature Listings can be used as "bait" to get people to clickk through to your web site. By featuring your most attractive offerings you can attract people to look at all you have to sell.

Pricing Your Listing
One of the most difficult issues when selling your horse is what price to ask. There is no correct answer, but there are some things you should think about
  • Check out similar listings in TVS and see what price they are asking. If you include sold horses in your search, you will get an idea of what prices horses like yours have been sold for in the past.
  • Bargains generally sell quickly, although pricing too low may prevent a sale by making the buyer wonder what's wrong with the horse.
  • On the other hand, a high price may indicate either a horse of real quality, or a vendor with impossibly high expectations.
  • You can change your asking price at any time for your TVS listings.
Getting A Good Photo
Perhaps the best aid in getting your horse sold will be a decent photo. Its worth paying a professional to get your photos done as there are so many points to get right. Some hints :-
  • Pick a fine day and take horse photos when the sun is not too high in the sky and have the sun shining on the horse from behind the photographer. In the middle of the day, the neck, chest and belly are in shadow and can detract from your horse's appearance.
  • Try to get the front and back legs forming 2 V's so that the horse appears properly balanced.
  • The head should be up and the ears pricked forward so the horse looks alert. A tape recording of a foal calling is a great way of getting a horse to prick its ears.
  • Keep the rider out of the picture unless its a winning performance of some note. Remember the purchaser is buying the horse - not you!
  • Young horses often grow at either the wither or the rump, giving them an 'uphill' or 'downhill' appearance at various stages. Consider posing such horses on a slope so as to make them appear a little more 'level'.
Negotiating With Buyers
It goes without saying that your asking price is probably a little higher than you are prepared to accept. Most buyers will expect that, so be prepared for a bit of haggling. The most important consideration is to get an interested buyer in front of your horse and touching it. At that point it has stopped being one of the millions of horses in the world the buyer will never own and has assumed some prospect of becoming their next horse. The buyer inspecting your horse has made some effort to find it and has an emotional commitment to making a buying decision.

An important part of the negotiation process is to ensure that your potential buyer does in fact have enough money. Don't be frightened to ask this question outright as there is little point in wasting time on someone who can't pay. Consider asking your buyer to take out a loan from his or her financial institution. They know your buyer better than you do and if they won't lend the money why should you?

If your buyer wants time to pay, make sure you have a decent deposit and keep the papers so there is no doubt you still own the horse if final payment has not been made. A written sale agreement is quite in order in these circumstances. You should consider having the buyer insure the horse in your name, so that if anything happens to it, you will still get paid. Remember that insurance is generally only for mortality, so serious injury is most likely not covered.

If you make any warranties about the horse, beware that they are legally binding and you can be sued if they turn out to be false. Better to make no promises at all and perhaps accept a lower price, than get carried away about the prospects of a horse that you will have little to do with in the future.

 

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