How much success have you had selling your saddles on a site like Ebay?

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fine_and_dandy

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Please note admin, I am not advertising any of the vital stats of my saddle - I haven't decided if it is definitely going to be sold as yet!

I need a little help as I am not sure whether trading my saddle in or selling it privately is the best thing to do. A friend has recently put 2 very good saddles which she paid an darm and leg for on Ebay and I am waiting to see what kind of response she gets.

I paid about £1k for my Black Country GP in June 2009. I would describe it as being nearly new. If I advertise it on Ebay, am I likely to get a reasonable return on it, taking into account what I paid originally and the condition? (I don't want to go into what I would like to achieve or describe it any more than that as I believe doing so will breach T&Cs). Has anyone sold saddles on Ebay before and got a decent return?

Also, if I do decide to list it on Ebay and it sells, how on earth do you go about packaging it properly, and what do you do re returns? If I do go along this route, I will take pictures of its condition from all angles for my reference and for the listing itself; can you say something on the listing along the lines of, "Please check your horse's size properly as this item is non-returnable"???

Thanks :)
 
i sold 2 saddles on ebay last month.
i packaged them each up in a big box, on their front with cantle at the top.
i offered a refund (minus postage, paypal and ebay costs) on the one that made decent money, if it wouldn't fit the horse. the girl who has it is chuffed to bits, says she knows she got a bargain, that it's the first saddle in 13 years to fit her horse and not move forward (he has very high withers), she's over the moon with it. i got reasonable money for it (£500) so not too unhappy.
most sellers do not accept returns though.
fees are pretty steep though, i was a bit shocked!
i advertised another one and it didn't make the reserve, am trying to decide whether to readvertise it (free, fwiw, fees already paid!)
 
I sold a nice GP for a friend who doesn't who an ebay account and it only made about £150. Barely worth it, especially once you've paid the fees.
 
I have bought and sold saddles on e-bay. The one I sold was cheap, an old Stubben and I got more than I expected. I bought a lovely English WHP saddle not branded for half what I expected to pay.
I would put a buy it now ad, with your phone number and a come hither but not stupidly cheap price and encourage people to come and look.
Every one wants a bargin but their may be someone out there looking for your saddle. I would take time and get some really good photo's.
 
I've sold a saddle successfully on Ebay - it was a well known make. I said if someone was local then I'd bring the saddle for them to try. And I said I'd accept returns within 14 days (minus cost of postage). In the end the buyer wasn't local and she was delighted with it.
I didn't put it as an auction, but I did a 'Buy It Now' for £399 + £25 for postage (I used www.parcelmonkey.co.uk for shipping, they are very good and good value).
I added LOADS of photos showing the saddle from all different angles, and under the flaps, with a ruler in the photos to give scale, and photos of the horses it has fitted.
The saddle was put on a saddle-horse for the photos so the pommel was up showing how forward-cut the saddle is. (Often one sees photos of saddles just on a rail, so the pommel is down and the saddle looks straighter-cut than it is.)
Here's how it all worked out:
Sale price £399
Postage paid £25
Ebay charge £25.53
PayPal charge £14.62
Actual Packing cost £10.20 (cardboard box & bubble wrap)
Actual Postage cost £13.92 (www.parcelmonkey.co.uk)
Profit £359.73

Good Luck selling your saddle.
 
If you can wait a while for it to sell to the right person then I would recommend preloved. Costs nothing and the ads are simple and easy to do with less rules, regs and boxes to fill in. I got about £100 more for my saddle than I would have got on Ebay even before you take account of the fees.
 
cyberhorse said:
If you can wait a while for it to sell to the right person then I would recommend preloved. Costs nothing and the ads are simple and easy to do with less rules, regs and boxes to fill in. I got about £100 more for my saddle than I would have got on Ebay even before you take account of the fees.
Click to expand...

Another vote for preloved! i recently sold my Albion K2 Jump on there for the same as I paid for it, and as I held out for collection only it didn't cost a thing (I had already paid the £5 membership a few months ago for another advert). Didn't have any success with it for selling my horse though, so think it's best for sub 2k items maybe?
 
It depends on the saddle, how you list it, whether there is anyone looking for that particular make/size etc...

I have sold a few saddles on there - I always start them at a price I would be happy to let them go for. I've had my fair share of idiots buying though! I always list every dimension I can think of, and post pictures of the tapemeasure in place. I take pictures of the girth straps, stirrup bars, underneath - everywhere, so that there is no comeback saying I gave the wrong measurement or it had a scratch etc.

You have to factor in that ebay with take 10% of your final value (they take up to £40) and then if the purchaser pays through paypal, they will take another cut. You also have your P&P fees, time etc.
 
I have sold a number of saddles on eBay over the last year as had a clearout.

they all sold well but were all high-end brands and very well looked after.

I sold a few to the Uk and a few abroad- packed in a big box with lots of bubblewrap and padding and sent via a courier who was around £15 (inc insurance).

I didn't offer refunds at all.
 
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