Frequently Asked Questions

Once a seller completes their consignment form, and accepts our Terms & Conditions, they are committing to selling through Cowpony Sales up to 2 weeks after the Auction ends. Should a horse not meet reserve, all inquiries and purchases are to be handled through Cowpony Sales. This is due to the nature of our agreement and the advertising that is done while the horse is on consignment. This protects both the Buyer and Seller.

First make sure you have created a Bidder Registration account (this is different than when signing up for notifications) and verified your account via email. You then want to Login and place your bid.

When placing a bid, do NOT use any symbols, such as $ , . or cents. Only enter the numerical value. Once your bid is entered, you’ll be asked to confirm your bid.

If receiving an message that states “your amount matches another bidder” that means you’ve entered exactly the same number as someone else and you’ll need to increase your bid.

This is done in the same way you place any other bid. Bids must be placed in $200 increments or more. If you would like the system to place bids on your behalf, you can put in a larger amount and then system will bid in $200 increments, as others place bids. If no other bids are placed, the system will not jump to your larger amount (unless it matches the reserve price). This amount is not public and is not visible to others. It is ideal to use this function to avoid technical glitches or missing out at auctions end. 

You can increase your Auto/Max Bid at anytime by entering in a new value. If you are the current high bidder, it will not increase the current price as you cannot bid against yourself. When logged into your account, you will see a notice at the top of your screen, on the horses page, that tells you if you’re the highest bidder and what your Auto/Max bid amount is. You cannot lower or remove your bid once it’s been placed.

Once a bid has been placed, it is not removable. When entering a bid, you’ll see a confirmation window showing the amount you are bidding. At that time you can approve your bid or cancel it. Once you’ve approved your bid, it is not removable. This also stands when setting an Auto/Max bid. Once you’ve set this, by approving in the confirmation window, it cannot be removed or lowered.

When on the horses page, you’ll find several pieces of information. When you see the description section, you’ll see the headers labeled: Description, Bids, Horse Details. Select the Bids section and you’ll see the usernames of those that are currently bidding on the horse.

All sellers have the option to set a Reserve price when consigning. This is the lowest amount they are willing to accept for the consignment. Sellers are NOT allowed to increase the Reserve price once the consignment has been accepted. They CAN lower the Reserve price at any time during the consignment period. IF a Reserve price is not met during the active auction, the highest bidder will be contacted and given first option to purchase. If they decline or do not respond, the additional bidders and interested parties will be contacted. 

All horses that were listed are moved to the SOLD page, even if they did not sell. If a horse displays the message, “Reserve Price Has Not Been Met” you can contact Cowpony Sales to get pricing information. Horses remain available, if not sold on consignment, for a minimum of 2 weeks via Cowpony Sales and all payments are to be handled through Cowpony Sales.

At this time, the only accepted form of payment is a Wire Transfer, within 2 business days, to Cowpony Sales. This is the safest and most secure form of payment for all parties. Wire transfers can often times be done online or require a simple visit to the bank. WE provide YOU the banking information, keeping your personal information secure. Some banks charge a small fee for this service, though Cowpony Sales does not charge or receive any additional fees by using this payment method.

Horses are located with the seller. Locations vary across the continental US. You can see where a specific horse is located on each consignments individual page.

We encourage ALL interested parties to view and/or ride the consignment whenever possible. If location or time is a factor, we encourage interested parties to request a live video chat with the seller and/or hire a professional in the area to make an assessment for potential buyer. 

All consignments have the sellers contact information listed on their individual page. We encourage all interested parties to contact the seller to ask specific questions about each listing, and if possible, view the horse in person.

Absolutely! We encourage all potential buyers to feel confident and comfortable with purchasing. If there are concerns or it is important to the buyer to have various potential ailments examined, they should do so BEFORE bidding and/or purchasing. Before the auction ends, the potential buyer may have radiographs, flexions, bloodwork, ultrasounds, etc done by a licensed vet of the buyers choice. Once the auction has ended, the buyer is allowed to have a vet perform a Limited Post Purchase Exam. This allows the buyer to have a vet verify that items on the Health & Fitness Guarantee are true and accurate and does NOT allow radiographs, flexions, bloodwork, ultrasounds or other more invasive testing.

We recommend placing your first bid BEFORE the last day of the auction. This helps ensure that your account is active and functioning correctly. It also allows you to test/learn the system before the hustle of the last day of the auction. Auto Bids are extremely helpful at anytime, taking the worry of a bid not going through away. Bidding in the last 4 minutes of an auction will add 4 minutes to the timer. This means, if you bid when there are just seconds left of an auction, it will add 4 minutes to the timer, extending the current auction. 

Though each auction has an end time set, it is what is called a Soft Close. This helps prevent someone from bidding last second and winning the auction. It also helps account for lags in Internet and refreshes on various devices. If NO bid is placed in the last 4 minutes of an auction, the auction will end at the time posted. If a bid IS placed in the last 4 minutes of an auction, 4 minutes will be added to the timer. 

For example, if there are 2 minutes left of an auction when a bid is placed, 4 minutes is added to the timer, extending the total time left to 6 minutes. 

A buyer will only be charged the winning bid! There are NO additional charges added on from the seller or Cowpony Sales. Depending upon the Buyers bank, there may be a small fee when sending payment (this varies from bank to bank). 

A seller will be charged a $200 consignment fee, prior to listing. There are additional services, beyond what is provided with the consignment fee, that are available for an additional fee if the seller desires. Once a horse sells, Cowpony Sales will collect the full payment from the buyer and retain 8% of the sold price.

Upon conclusion of the auction, Cowpony Sales with contact the winning bidder with payment instructions. All payments are to be made to Cowpony Sales directly.

Once funds are received and verified, Cowpony Sales will pay the seller directly. The seller can receive payment via Automatic Deposit or by Check.