# Buy your hay



## Guest

Hay everyone!

A while back I posed a question for the group on how to best sell hay. Thanks very much for all yalls help!

I took your feedback and launched The Hayspot - a trusted community to buy and sell hay locally. You can search for hay by zipcode, pay securely and shipping is handled by one of our partners.

Honestly, I just got frustrated with several websites listing hay, then calling people, who didnt have it, or they did, then they negotiated with you, then if you liked the price you had to find delivery, then you had to negotiate with the shipper...it was such a pain.

We are rolling out state by state, and I'd appreciate if yall could give me some feedback.

if you have hay to sell, please list it! We have over 200 buyers already!

www.thehayspot.com

Thanks again,

S


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## RockyHill

So exactly how does the community work? I think I understand listing but past that I'm at a loss about how it works.

Shelia


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## urednecku

OK, just to see I put in a local zip code, filter to 200 miles. It comes up with zip code 54115, which comes back to 'DE PERE WI', slightly more than 200 miles from central Florida.


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## Chessiedog

must be the only place with hay .. came up the same for me


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## ontario hay man

Thats not a good sign


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## urednecku

ontario hay man said:


> Thats not a good sign


I dunno. IF that's the only place with hay, think what the price is about to do for those of us that *do* have some!!


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## ontario hay man

Ya what I meant is the fact they only have one listing lol


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## RockyHill

. . . and those 200+ buyers . . . . will be waiting for video of them trying to get that hay


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## ontario hay man

Ya thats what I was thinking. It would be like having 200 alcoholics in a room and throwing one beer in lol.


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## mlappin

Be nice guys, I'm sure amazon or ebay didn't start out as mega entities


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## ontario hay man

mlappin said:


> Be nice guys, I'm sure amazon or ebay didn't start out as mega entities


I just dont get how he says there is 200+ buyers and 2 ads. Not trying to be mean just dont make much sense


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## urednecku

Just checked it again, looks like the mile filter is working better now. I got no lots for sale within 200 miles, 2 within 500 & 3 in 1k miles.


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## RockyHill

More hay listed on there now . . . . still would like to know HOW it works before listing


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## expensive hobby

I tried to send some question in the contact box but it will not send


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## mlappin

expensive hobby said:


> I tried to send some question in the contact box but it will not send


Maybe the same people who designed the Healthcare.gov site worked on this one?


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## Guest

You guys are hilarious! Thanks all for your comments and questions - I love it!

Just as Mlappin said, because we are new, we don't have a ton of listings right now. At this point, we are focused on the Wisconsin area but as you know, word spreads and folks from all over have listed their hay - we are growing like crazy!

How it works for the Buyer:

1. You type in your zip code on the The Hayspot

2. Do a search by miles (as close as 50 miles up to 1000)

3. You buy the hay that you want

4. We work with our shipping partners to get it to you ASAP

No muss, no fuss - no haggling, no dealing with delivery. * If you don't like the hay, we'll refund your purchase 100% - no questions asked.*

How it works for the Seller:

1. You sign up at The Hayspot

2. List your hay (type, weight, price, quantity, rfv)

3. When someone buys your hay you get an email from us saying "You've got cash at the Hayspot"

4. Our shipping partners will contact you for pickup and we'll issue you payment before the shippers get to your place

5. We take a nominal portion of the proceeds, depending on the size of the sale

That's it - I started this because it was very hard to buy and sell hay locally and delivery is a big problem.

I also got tired for 200% markups buy brokers (no offense) - and wanted to give people the option to buy locally because it builds a sense of community and it so much more efficient.

Hope to see y'all on the The Hayspot.

Please tell your friends!!!


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## Guest

expensive hobby said:


> I tried to send some question in the contact box but it will not send


Hi - I didn't get your question - what can I help you with? Thanks!!


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## Guest

RockyHill said:


> More hay listed on there now . . . . still would like to know HOW it works before listing


Thanks, RockyHill.

Just listed an explanation below - please let me know if you have further questions!


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## Guest

urednecku said:


> Just checked it again, looks like the mile filter is working better now. I got no lots for sale within 200 miles, 2 within 500 & 3 in 1k miles.


Post some hay!! We're constantly growing and are probably not in your area yet, but I guarantee you - its only a matter of time....


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## swmnhay

uanmi said:


> Post some hay!! We're constantly growing and are probably not in your area yet, but I guarantee you - its only a matter of time....


Just checked out your website.

From 30+ yrs in hay bizz the people I trust the least are the ones that tell me how trustworthy and safe they are.

So if anyone ever tells me how trustworthy and good for the $ they are there is a little guy pops up on my shoulder and waacks me over the head wth hammer,and says beware. :huh:

Hopefully this doesn't offend you but is meant more as advise to marketing your service.


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## RockyHill

uanmi said:


> You guys are hilarious! Thanks all for your comments and questions - I love it!
> 
> Just as Mlappin said, because we are new, we don't have a ton of listings right now. At this point, we are focused on the Wisconsin area but as you know, word spreads and folks from all over have listed their hay - we are growing like crazy!
> 
> How it works for the Buyer:
> 
> 1. You type in your zip code on the The Hayspot
> 
> 2. Do a search by miles (as close as 50 miles up to 1000)
> 
> 3. You buy the hay that you want
> 
> 4. We work with our shipping partners to get it to you ASAP
> 
> No muss, no fuss - no haggling, no dealing with delivery. * If you don't like the hay, we'll refund your purchase 100% - no questions asked.*
> 
> How it works for the Seller:
> 
> 1. You sign up at The Hayspot
> 
> 2. List your hay (type, weight, price, quantity,* rfv*)
> 
> 3. When someone buys your hay you get an email from us saying "You've got cash at the Hayspot"
> 
> 4. Our shipping partners will contact you for pickup and we'll issue you payment before the shippers get to your place
> 
> 5. We take a nominal portion of the proceeds, depending on the size of the sale
> 
> That's it - I started this because it was very hard to buy and sell hay locally and delivery is a big problem.
> 
> I also got tired for 200% markups buy brokers (no offense) - and wanted to give people the option to buy locally because it builds a sense of community and it so much more efficient.
> 
> Hope to see y'all on the The Hayspot.
> 
> Please tell your friends!!!


I'm not trying to be difficult but these are details I'd like to know more about. Don't misunderstand, a simplified selling process would be great.

does the buyer still contact the seller

must the hay be tested

isn't this a great risk for you

I know this has a lot of variables, but can you give some examples such as a semi load for X number of miles

what about the load out process, do you have hay priced completely loaded in/on trailer, is the shipping partner responsible for loading

- - - Shelia


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## Guest

Hi Sheila,

Thanks for your questions

Does the buyer does not contact the seller. The seller merely lists the hay and after the buyer purchases the hay, the seller receives full payment. Buyers pay no more than $2 / mile to buy the hay. We have no minimums for hay buying at this time.

For sellers, our only introductory commission is 3.5% of the total proceeds. So if the seller sells $100 worth of hay, then The Hayspot receives $3.50 and the seller keeps $96.50.

The seller is responsible for loading and the buyer is responsible for the unloading (although the shipping company may be open to helping out if you offer him / her some money).

We have over 2,500 listings now! Check it out!


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## Guest

swmnhay said:


> Just checked out your website.
> 
> From 30+ yrs in hay bizz the people I trust the least are the ones that tell me how trustworthy and safe they are.
> 
> So if anyone ever tells me how trustworthy and good for the $ they are there is a little guy pops up on my shoulder and waacks me over the head wth hammer,and says beware. :huh:
> 
> Hopefully this doesn't offend you but is meant more as advise to marketing your service.


I appreciate that you're skeptic but at the same time we offer a 100% money back guarantee - so if you're not satisfied, there is no risk.

We are a member of the National Hay Association and have every intention at building an offering that solves the problem of finding hay locally.

I hope, in time, you become a believer


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## ontario hay man

Thing I dont get is if buyer doesnt like the hay are you left holding the bag or does the seller have to take it back?


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## Guest

ontario hay man said:


> Thing I dont get is if buyer doesnt like the hay are you left holding the bag or does the seller have to take it back?


Hi there! We work very hard to ensure that the hay you buy is up to your expectations!

That said, we know that there will be some cases where you may not be satisfied with your purchase.

In that case, the buyer will be issued a full refund and the seller's hay will be returned to him or her.

The seller will be responsible for the return shipping fees and the buyer will be issued a full refund.

Hope that answers your question!


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## ontario hay man

uanmi said:


> Hi there! We work very hard to ensure that the hay you buy is up to your expectations!
> 
> That said, we know that there will be some cases where you may not be satisfied with your purchase.
> 
> In that case, the buyer will be issued a full refund and the seller's hay will be returned to him or her.
> 
> The seller will be responsible for the return shipping fees and the buyer will be issued a full refund.
> 
> Hope that answers your question!


You might get some mad sellers of you get a greenie city person that isnt satified with anything other then perfection. I dealt with one. Atleast he was close enough for me to pick it up and not pay shipping. Is there any people to ensure super fussy people cant turn down decent hay?


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## haybaler101

uanmi said:


> Hi there! We work very hard to ensure that the hay you buy is up to your expectations!
> 
> That said, we know that there will be some cases where you may not be satisfied with your purchase.
> 
> In that case, the buyer will be issued a full refund and the seller's hay will be returned to him or her.
> 
> The seller will be responsible for the return shipping fees and the buyer will be issued a full refund.
> 
> Hope that answers your question!


Yeah, one return freight of 1000 miles would sour me quick from your services plus eat up profits in a hurry.


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## swmnhay

uanmi said:


> Hi Sheila,
> 
> Thanks for your questions
> 
> Does the buyer does not contact the seller. The seller merely lists the hay and after the buyer purchases the hay, the seller receives full payment. Buyers pay no more than $2 / mile to buy the hay. We have no minimums for hay buying at this time.
> 
> For sellers, our only introductory commission is 3.5% of the total proceeds. So if the seller sells $100 worth of hay, then The Hayspot receives $3.50 and the seller keeps $96.50.
> 
> The seller is responsible for loading and the buyer is responsible for the unloading (although the shipping company may be open to helping out if you offer him / her some money).
> 
> We have over 2,500 listings now! Check it out!


I sent a inquirey for more info about this hay 42 rd bales alf @ 56165 and have not received a reply yet

https://secure.thehayspot.com/buy


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## Guest

haybaler101 said:


> Yeah, one return freight of 1000 miles would sour me quick from your services plus eat up profits in a hurry.


Yep, it sure would. Good thing The Hayspot is a *local *marketplace to buy and sell hay


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## ontario hay man

uanmi said:


> Yep, it sure would. Good thing The Hayspot is a *local *marketplace to buy and sell hay


Ya but it has a 1000 mile search? We are talkin about city slickers they do lots of stupid s***. I think there needs to be some control to it. Not saying it will happen but if a dummy bought hay from 1000 miles away and doesnt like it and it was good hay and farmer had to pay 2 way shipping at say $2/mile thats $4000. I have a bad feeling a farmer would go ballistic gettin a bill for shipping back good hay. Not trying to knit pick. Just things you need to think about. Maybe have a guy per state or more for bigger states that can say to the fussy farts no this is good hay you have to take it. I dont know if that will work but personally if I sold good hay and a fart head tried to give it back and you gave me a shipping bill I would tell you to shove it somewhere not so nice. Even at 50 miles it would be $200 which is enough to ruffle a farmers feathers.


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## swmnhay

I'd like more info on this hay on your website

Copy and pasted from your website.

Listed

Zip Code

Quantity

Shape

Form

Type

Weight per Bale or Ton

Cutting

RFV

Unit Price

Comments

Photo July 14, 2013 56165 42.0 Round Tons Alfalfa 144 $250.00 Ask Seller a Question Buy

Ask Seller a Question


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## swmnhay

uanmi,

It's been over 24 hrs and I've asked a ? on your website and on here about some hay in my area and I have yet to receive a response. 

I would like to look at the hay before I buy it.

And don't worry about the commission I will gladly pay it if I buy it.


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## barnrope

Saleem,

What happens when a buyer is not happy or rejects a load of hay, and the seller claims the hay is OK. Is the hay trucked back to the seller at the sellers expense? I hope you have a good middleman insurance policy!

I sure hope this works out for you. I think it would be challenge enough for some one with closer roots to farming or ranching, let alone for a Detroit native like yourself. My hat is off to you. Good luck!


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## ontario hay man

barnrope said:


> Saleem,
> 
> What happens when a buyer is not happy or rejects a load of hay, and the seller claims the hay is OK. Is the hay trucked back to the seller at the sellers expense? I hope you have a good middleman insurance policy!
> 
> I sure hope this works out for you. I think it would be challenge enough for some one with closer roots to farming or ranching, let alone for a Detroit native like yourself. My hat is off to you. Good luck!


Ya that was my point that never got answered lol


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## swmnhay

Something is fishy.

I punched my zipcode in and some hay came up for sale.Exact same zipcode,number of bales,RFV and price that I had listed on Internet Hay Exchange in July.

I've enquired about the hay and have received no respose other then a form email from them.

I would like to look at this hay.In 56165 zipcode.The most it could be from me is 3 miles!!!!


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## Vol

Vol said:


> Saw this on Progressive Forage Grower.
> 
> Regards, Mike
> 
> http://www.progressiveforage.com/index.php/news/industry-news/5233-new-site-aims-to-make-buying-and-selling-local-hay-easier


Maybe we should consider emailing PFG and tell them we have some unanswered questions/suspicions about this operation(Hayspot) and that we cannot get legitimate questions answered.

Regards, Mike


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## expensive hobby

ya apparently I sold 6 smalls, wanted my banking info that was the end of that ,why they not using paypal?


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## swmnhay

expensive hobby said:


> ya apparently I sold 6 smalls, wanted my banking info that was the end of that ,why they not using paypal?


So did you list the hay with them?Or did they just pull it off another website like they did with mine?


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## expensive hobby

I went through the hoops listing with them


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## ontario hay man

This guy doesnt answer questions now. I think you scared him away cy lol


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## swmnhay

My first impression appears to be correct.

They have not answered me either.


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## ontario hay man

Ya you called that right on. Good call


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