The game's economy

[Malakai10]

I liked the quote!
...
I know this probably doesn't offer much insight into the game's economy flow today versus what it was last year and the years before, but my own purchasing opinions haven't changed. Does this mean I overlook some horses I may be interested in? Most likely. Does this really bother me? No, because there will always be another that will fit what I'm looking for.

It is rather funny I got it from my QI Book of Advanced Banter (which is mostly full of snark. Ironically enough, I saw a quote by Elvis Presley, "I don't know anything about music. In my line, you don't have to." right before I wrote my music theory exam. I, of course, wrote this quote in on the last page of the exam, along with two others, a drawing of an Akhal Teke and two paragraphs on the OP-ness of the breed.)

Your explanation has given me a better idea. Thanks so much!

[Malakai10]

I don't know if it will help but I can write up how I price a horse to buy or sell. If there is any interest.

arabian, non adoption center that was bred from available market stock 6 gold and below
untrained 2-5k, trained to 795% and at least 5 stats 20k-40k

other ancient breeds improved 10k15- for 2-3 stats non red stat, trained 30k-60k for 2 or more stats

adoption center ancient breeds with neutral or better stats ( no red stats) 5k-10k untrained

non ancient breeds unimproved and untrained with no more than one cross 5k-10k with no reds with reds 3k-5k

non ancient breeds with 2-4 crosses untrained and unimproved 7k-15k

improved versions of 2 stat 45k hgp or more of the last two add 2k per stat

non ancient breeds with 5 or more crosses or breeds involved unimproved and untrained anywhere from 50k-250k
same as before improved 2 stats and 45k hgp or more add 5k-10k per stat

Thank you for writing this out :) Every bit of insight is helpful.

[Malakai10]

So, I've been playing for three years and horse prices were a lot lower and more consistent when I started. I'm not the most observant of people; thus, I am having a fair bit of trouble judging the worth of a horse, even by browsing through the sale. I have no idea what's going on with the prices anymore. Would someone be able to give me a general outline on the value of horses?

Thanks, have a great day!

"There are three kinds of economists. Those that can add, and those that can't." -Hamish McRae

I have only been playing for about a year and a half, so I have no idea what prices were from before. It is all supply and demand. If you have something rare, people will pay a premium for it. If it is common then of course people will pay less. With that being said, most players don't have the money to go out and drop $1,000,000 on a horse no matter how good or well lined that horse might be. Much of the money in game, I suspect, is held by less than 50 players. Prices are also, pretty skewed by what high purse events are available for a specific breed.

The following is my opinion and no one else's....

I normally will not even look at a horse in the market place for under $5,000. There are a few times I will, when I'm looking for a specific color/markings, just wasting time or if I'm browsing for AC horses.

I often have unusual projects running almost constantly, so rarities interest me, like: Low Speed (40 or below) gold speed stated TBs or micro (33 inches or below) horses of breeds I don't have yet, these I will pay a hefty penny for.

I usually will not hesitate to buy horse that has what I'm looking for in the $50,000 range for a run of the mill horse. AC horses usually if unbred I will pay up to $500,000 if they were bought specific for me, there is usually some trait I'm looking for if I'm going after the AC horses. For some private or less public lines I will even go up into the millions.

Now, if I'm looking for something specific, then I will pay appropriately for someone to use their time to get me what I want. I will pay upwards for $100,000 for a decent grinder for brood/stud since I should get one or two acceptable foals from them. I also, like some breeds to be realistically colored, so I will pay a premium for horses that meet those specifications. I breed mostly spotted horse breeds (Appies, Knabs, POAs and Sugarbush Drafts), Ponies, Drafts, Racers and Russian breeds, will pay more for these breeds than I will say a Swedish Warmblood.

I cannot tell you how I would actually price horses for sale, since I rarely sell publicly in the marketplace. I will on occasion toss up some random horses of breeds if there is a call for them, for instance when the pinto colorations was announced I did toss up some Paints, so people could breed some correctly colored Paint horses. These were just randomly bred horses, not from my own lines or horses I was overly worried about being over bred.

Thanks so much for giving me your opinion! :)

[Malakai10]

Important factor: in the last year, a bug cropped up that was exploited, and flooded the game with absurd amounts of cash. So prices are probably inflated because people have to much excess money and nothing to really spend it on.

That explain a lot... thank you for explaining this :)

[Malakai10]

I believe there is no such thing as economy on prices.
If you offer for a specific horse, be ready to spend a lot. If you want something that is generally popular, be ready to spend a lot. If you want something that is important to you, but not to general community, you can buy an excellent horse for 5k or probably even less. If you just want a good horse and don't want it immediately, you can get one for almost free.
Since I am not on the boat with the most popular trends on the game, I have horses that don't fit the "generally popular" mark (the few 70k+ Arabians I have I won't be selling any time soon). Also I don't breed for selling, the foal either fits my project or it doesn't. If it fits, it sits, if not, I rehome. So I rarely sell at all. The few times I do, I tend to price them low, because I want those horses gone.

Thank you for replying :) that does make a lot of sense and fits with why horses from older player's lines are always priced a lot more.

[Argent]

the bug was fixed

The bug was fixed. The cash was not removed.

[vallers]

the bug was fixed

The bug was fixed. The cash was not removed.

I was told when I asked that they are working on a money sink for this.

[Royale Ranch]

Thanks for the insight everyone, its great to see what other players think. Although i haven't even been on here a year, i like the way that pricing, in general, is rising.

i understand that as a newbie, its tough sometimes. but its the same in real life, right? make the wrong decisions, and you are sunk. risk it, possibly loose it, or make a break. do your research and you will be fine there are plenty of players out there more than willing to help - not with handouts, but with advice - thats the only way you will learn, and the most rewarding method to earn.

I fully agree with the supply and demand metrics - it makes perfect sense, and encourages players to breed some of the more rarer breeds. same with the improved stats - what point is a game, if the main subjects are not improving over time?
there is one point specifically i'd like to make. just like with everyday items - cars, clothing, household items, you can buy both your stock standard product, possibly a cheap product, and most likely, a variety of high end products that yes, have great quality, but also have a brand. and admittedly, the brand is largely part of the price.

the same can stand true for horses and training on HWO. for those that have a great reputation, a great line of horses (possibly either a rare breed, unique feature or line of champions etc) why not pay extra, especially for the brand?

There is a player that i fully support and admire that said "my horses are no better than anyone elses, i just know who to sell them to" (okay, i dont know if that was exact, but we get the point. plus, they have a great reputation. unspoken brand recognition. so why not, if you can, sell them for more? its called business, peoples. competitive pricing. It's life.

from my personal point of view, AC horses could be worth up to 10k each - after all, they represent the true form of horse, have 0% coi - and are paid for singularly in PT - which, as we all know, until you have premium, are horridly difficult to obtain.

training depends on the style, player, and reputation. all i'm saying is that when buying a trained horse, you have to remember that that horse is worth both the value of the training, and the value of the horse.

titled horses.. a champion isnt that special. c'mon, people.. i entered my grinder into some non-inflated level one endurance shows and he was a champion before the day was out. what really counts with competitions and titles, i think, is the % win rate. a racing horse could eventually gain a title in log pull, if you entered it in enough times, but at what % win rate?

the book store indicates that the cost of the evaluation book per breed indicates the difficulty to create that breed. why shouldn't that have a part in determining the price for horses as well? - some of those books are worth more than 20K alone..

Very sorry for how long this post is - if anyone even managed to make it to the end... thanks
hope that makes sense, and please, feel free to correct me on anything

[Tjigra]

Just a quick thought while reading the previous reply - there is generally no such thing as "good horse" in HWO (at least in my opinion). With main emphasis for most of the players being breeding (either creating breeds or breeding for specific trait, colour, whatever) - we each have very different ideas about what is good and what isn't. Those 20hh 7 gold Arabians are good horses for sure, but not for me, because I am trying to breed a 15hh downhill Arabians. I'd rather pay a small fortune for a 14hh pony type Arabian regardless of its HGP or stat colours - something that most others would find completely useless. So, quoting an economist whose name I can't remember - everything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And noone can blame others for asking too much or offering too little - that's market, you have to meet in the middle or find someone else who is asking less or offering more. Very free market economy, I'd say

[Royale Ranch]

Just a quick thought while reading the previous reply - there is generally no such thing as "good horse" in HWO (at least in my opinion). With main emphasis for most of the players being breeding (either creating breeds or breeding for specific trait, colour, whatever) - we each have very different ideas about what is good and what isn't. Those 20hh 7 gold Arabians are good horses for sure, but not for me, because I am trying to breed a 15hh downhill Arabians. I'd rather pay a small fortune for a 14hh pony type Arabian regardless of its HGP or stat colours - something that most others would find completely useless. So, quoting an economist whose name I can't remember - everything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And noone can blame others for asking too much or offering too little - that's market, you have to meet in the middle or find someone else who is asking less or offering more. Very free market economy, I'd say

good point, Tjigra, thanks for bringing that up