[Womble]

Just reading Morri2's thread about livestock markets and luck money......
 
Can anybody give some general guidance as to how the principle works?

I understand that the seller gives the buyer of livestock a little bit back 'for luck', but how much is customary and under what circumstances?

Cheers!

[robert waddell]

just posted on the other thread    it is all relevant to the price obtained       these high priced bulls and tups   could involve hundreds if not thousands of pounds     and is not declared to the tax man  so you wont get much conformation from either side 

[Fowgill Farm]

Somebody asked me how much luck money would be given back on a gilt i had up for sale, as i thought the sale price was reasonable i'm afraid my reply ended in Off , in big money sales i understand luck money is a big tax dodge, farmers pays thousands of pounds for bull say but gets a new tractor or piece of equipment delivered with bull, not sure how it all works but its dodgy as hell! Might give them a penny for their thoughts but nowt else i am a Yorkshire lass after all.
mandy
 

[woollyval]

Is this a northern thing? Never come across it here.....and I have been buying and selling for years??? Or....is it the 'big boys'

[omnipeasant]

It is a northern thing. In ,most cattle/sheep markets you would expect to get a little luck back from the seller.  But it is the seller's perogative to give it or not, it should never be aked for or expected. Incidently it is a the buyer who gets the luck money, but the seller who gets the 'luck' it is a kind of superstition.

For calves it used to be a pound for luck, but for dairy cows maybe five pounds. Inflation has probably altered this though. Some of the cumbrian sheep markets get silly with the luck on a high priced ram which is pre arranged between the trwo parties and definately corrupt!

[feldar]

Is this a northern thing? Never come across it here.....and I have been buying and selling for years??? Or....is it the 'big boys'

Well it happened at Wilton sheep fair just the other day!  Charolais buyer

[woollyval]

Wilton is ooop north to me...

[sokel]

It has always been something done amongst the horse dealers etc. When we bought our new Cumbria carriage in the spring he gave us some luck money back

[Blinkers]

Happens here in Wales too - I've been asked twice for "hope you're gonna give me some luck money".  I did to one but not the other .   Its still a mystery to me how it came about originally 

[Old Shep]

As a child I witnessed it over and over again when my Dad bought or sold anything.  It wasn't much - 2 bob upto say a fiver for a big transaction.  Even the traveller who sold tools and work clothes always gave a bit back for luck!  I understood it to be just what it says - to wish the purchaser luck with their new animal(s), and its not for the money or tax dodges its an old superstition.  A little nicety that unfortunately seems to be dying out.

[FiB]

I got given  £1 with my 10 ewe lambs and for cows in the ring it seems to be up to £5 - It really is a token to tradition here (Ruthin Market, North Wales) and as such I quite liked it.  I was very bemused when the seller handed it over and wished me lucj - but it did feel a bit like an old blessing!  I think you need all the luck you can get with sheep!

[SallyintNorth]

For the most part it's still a gentle tradition, just a coin or two, maybe a fiver on a big sale.

Yes you do suspect that larger amounts pass across in the headline sales.

Sometimes a seller will leave 'luck' with the mart office, to be passed across when the buyer pays up.  More usually the seller will seek out the buyer and pass over the luck in person.

I have several times been chased by buyers clearly wanting their luck money; on store lambs it was usual to give 20p - 50p per lamb, on fat lambs 10p-20p per lamb (usually selling in 10s at the least, some pens will be up to 50 lambs or even more.)  It is an opportunity to show your gratitude to the buyer and stick in his/her mind, so that next time they are bidding on your livestock they may decide to go that extra bidding increment and you'll get your luck money back in spades! 

I was once given a fistful of notes on a small pen of draft ewes; that seller has certainly stuck in my mind! 

I have given and/or received 'delivery for luck', 'luck potatoes', 'luck hay', 'luck feed', ... it's a nice tradition and I support it - but I do know some farmers who feel pressured by it and won't do it.

[Sylvia]

It was the usual thing in SW Ireland when I lived there. As a tradition and superstition it's a fine thing but not when it's abused.

[RichStaffs]

Here in the west midlands it is usual to give luck money in markets when selling, usually around £1 or 2 for a pen of fat or store lambs, around £5 for a pen of breeding ewes or store cattle, or perhaps up to £10 or £20 for pedigree sheep. It is usual for the vendor to be in the pen whilst being sold and holding the luck money up usually indicates that they are happy with the price reached.
I find that it is well worth the investment of offering luck money and being in the pen showing the animals off to their best.

[CaroleBulmer]

It has always been traditional in the sheep "fairs" when you sale a ram you normally give a £1.00 coin - crossing palms with gold - I always believed it was a tradition originally started with the horse trade