Local tack shops v cheap online?

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poiuytrewq

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Which do you use?
I'm all for trying to save money so usually use online stores but then do feel a little bit bad for the smaller local retailers.
I'm after a new hat and had planned to try in a big Countrywide to check size and buy online. I don't feel so bad about this! However they don't have the right size but a small indipendant saddlery does. They are a lot more pricey than I can get the same hat for online but I feel bad going and trying it with no intention to buy.
Or do I just spend the extra and support locally (which would be a tank of fuel in my little car kind of amount!)
 
I do most online - my local tack shop just doesn't stock the stuff I want to buy (caters for the cheap end of the market, no decent leatherwork etc.), other than rugs which I'll happily buy cheap - theirs however are cheap in quality but not price.

We do have a much nicer shop in a reasonable distance for any expensive purchases you'd want to try before you buy which is where I went hat shopping and I'll use them in that instance - however could have saved myself a fair whack on the hat, and probably would replace online now I know the size/brand/model etc.
 
Local shop you have to try it on and decide. Online you can try it on and return. It's a no brainer regardless of the price difference. I need to wear a hat for a while before I know if it's going to give me a headache.
 
Ask the smaller independent if they can drop the price a little, as you'd prefer to support an independent but given the internet price is so much cheaper you'd appreciate if they could drop...if not I'd still buy there anyway, if I do they'll still be there when there's a postal strike..
 
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I the majority online. We have one tackshop that's around 10mins away, who I wouldn't give my business to anymore. I buy my feed from a local indepedent feed merchant, but they don't have a large stock of other items. Anywhere else is a bit inconvenient tbh and you don't have the same selection in store that they take to all of the national shows on the tradestand? Online works best for me.
 
My local tack shop is amazing, absolutely packed to the rafters with everything you could want! I go there for major things like hats, boots, body protectors as I prefer to try these on and get them fitted properly. It's also easier if you need to return something. Other things I look online first. I actually don't agree with going to a small shop to get fitted then buying elsewhere. That's rude.
 
For hats and body protectors always a local shop as I dunno if the online will fit. I will go there too if I need something in a hurry, like my horse has broken something.

Otherwise online. I am poor, can't afford the prices of local shops usually, especially not the rugs.
 
A fellow livery runs a tack shop so often I'll just ping her a text with whatever I need and she'll bring it down...well worth the sometimes extra couple of ££'s for the convenience. For hats I tend to try on at the big shows (YHL, Olympia etc.) where I can try lots at once and then invariably buy online once I know my size.
 
In but most items from local tack shop. But always rugs on line as they are definitely cheaper. I had to buy a fly sheet at the last minute from the local tack shop. When it was destroyed, I compared on line for a replacement and it was 15 pounds cheaper
 
I work in a tack shop and we don't give sizes out for this exact reason. We are trained by beta to fit hats correctly, spend time trying lost of different hats on customers. You get what you pay for
 
Depends upon what it is. I would always buy a hat or body protector somewhere I can try on and get input from a trained fitter (unless perhaps a direct like for like replacement). Having said that the little tack shops often don't have much stock so I would probably go to a big show and hit the tradestands or drive a bit further to a branch of a larger store at a local equestrian centre.

I use the small local shops for things I need quickly or aren't worth paying postage or that I need to see or feel before buying. Stuff like plaiting bands, mane and tail spray or shampoo, a hat silk, clipper oil, first aid stuff etc.

Bigger stuff like rugs or stuff where you want the bigger range of choice like saddle pads I would buy online unless I spotted a bargain.

Breeches I would prefer to buy in a shop and would happily pay a bit more for the convenience of being able to try on without having to return them if they aren't right but very few places stock a good range of styles and sizes at different price points.
 
My local tack shop as far as possible due to their excellent service. Having realised on Friday that I needed a new hat following Thursday's fall, I rang them on Friday to check they could do a hat fit for me on Saturday morning as I needed one for teaching in the afternoon. It wasn't until I was paying for the hat that the staff member in the farm supply shop downstairs mentioned that the lovely girl had come in on her day off before flying out on holiday at lunchtime especially for me.

Yes, it might cost me a little bit more in hard cash, but it's worth it for their excellent service, good range of quality items at different price points and willingness to order items in (deposit taken unless you are a know reliable customer). It saves me having to chase down the couriers following the failed delivery attempts ...
 
Well I had a trip out to this tack shop and tbh the lady running it was so incredibly helpful and lovely that I didn't begrudge the extra. I will absolutely go there again.
Forgot how nice it is to look and feel things first!
 
I'll go to a local shop for anything I really want to see or try on before I buy. If I want it, i'll buy it from them - any extra cost is a fair price for the convenience of seeing and trying it.

I wouldn't dream of trying something to check the size in an independent shop then buying it online (unless customer service etc was shocking). I think it's rude - the independents are effectively providing you with a service, and will eventually close if we take advantage of them.
 
If you have a decent local tack shop - use & support it if you value you it or it will disappear and these places can have really helpful and knowledgeable staff if you are lucky but I know that is getting rarer

I know an acquaintance who had a country wear and clothes shop in a rural small town. I asked her why she closed down and said was due to folks going in and trying on but not buying then purchasing the same online for less. With her overheads and volume, she just could not compete with the online shops then she got all the 'oh nos' from the locals.
 
I love my nearest tack shop. I always get my hats and body protectors fitted there as the staff are so helpful and always work to my budget for hat fittings. I always end up coming home with all sorts of little things that I didn't really need. Often the shop has marked down saddlepads and ex display items.
I get my feed from my local feedstore, staff are helpful and friendly and there's a little shop too for licks, treats and buckets etc. Always get a free huge bag of carrots when I get my feed, and the staff load the car up for me.

I do shop online, I like the variety and usually the cheaper price. I get all grooming supplies etc online as well as jodhpurs and riding boots. At the same time I love my local tack shop and happily pay extra for the customer service. Use it or lose it, we'll all be complaining in 10 years time that there are no local tack shops to get hats fitted.
 
I work in a tack shop and there is a reason that prices are higher than online. If you go into a tack shop to buy a hat or body protector, you are not only paying for the product but for someone's time spent fitting you professionally and correctly with an important safety item.

We have all been professionally trained to fit hats and body protectors. If these items don't fit properly, they won't do their job effectively when necessary.

Also, we have staff from a range of backgrounds and there is a wealth of knowledge between us, which we are able to use to give as good a service as we can to our customers. Our shop sells very good quality products, which we all take the time to educate ourselves about. We have a qualified nutritionist who gives free, impartial advice to our customers.

It's so frustrating when people come into store and spend ages getting fitted for hats or boots or body protectors or ask loads of questions to get advice and then naff off to buy cheaper online. It's so rude. Shops have much higher costs to cover and just can't afford to compete with online stores, who don't have as many staff to pay or insurance premiums to cover or rent of premises to keep up with.
 
i wouldn't get fitted then go online - I'd feel embarrassed. I do both. I'll do replacements online or something new that I've seen somewhere but I won't try on unless I have the intention to buy.
 
Depends if they have what I need... if it's in the shop, I don't begrudge a few extra pounds just to have it there and then. I like to feel and think when I'm shopping for something special. Equally, I like to be able to 'pop' up to get something I need no matter how small.

If they don't then I go online. Recently though I have been to quite a few tack stores in my area (and further afield) just to find a decent whip! Why are whips so flimsy these days, there's no substance to any of them like they are made of jelly. How are you meant to ask a question with such soft whips? If I wan't a response, I want it now, not three weeks later and the handles are so thick and covered in rubber?? I don't want it to stick to reins thanks and why have they all got to be covered in this awful webbing that gets pulled into brambles on your usual hack.... *sigh* rant over.
 
I wouldn't ever look/try on in store and then buy the same thing online, to me this is plain rude.

I buy 'general' stuff like flyspray, shampoos plaiting bands etc at a local shop. They are really helpful and will order me stuff in at a relatively good price if they can. Things like rugs are generally bought online, most stores don't stock the sizes I'm looking for.
 
I'd have to agree with you catroo... I too would feel rude to go in someones shop and try on, only to buy online later. Chances are the postage makes it the same price as the shop.
 
tallyho! said:
I'd have to agree with you catroo... I too would feel rude to go in someones shop and try on, only to buy online later. Chances are the postage makes it the same price as the shop.
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This. When you factor in postage, it's often as easy and cheap to go to a shop. I'm lucky that there are some excellent tack shops local to me and anything they don't have, they're happy to order in. I do buy supplements online though because I use a specific brand which is not in shops.
 
Our tack shop is brilliant and run by the loveliest lady you could ever meet. However, I find they only stock top of the range riding gear and I just can't justify £100 for a pair of breeches when I can get them online for a fraction of the cost. So I buy a lot online and go to the tack shop for stuff like first aid kit, grooming kit, fly spray etc.

We now have a Decathlon so I buy all my breeches and hoodies etc in there but still look online for expensive purchases such as rugs, supplements etc.
 
Depends on the price difference relative to the price of the item in question.
If I were buying something for say, £10, and it cost say, £12 in my local tack shop, I'll go for the local tack shop. If the same item were £10 online and £15 in the tack shop, I'd go online. If it were a £100 item, and it were say, £115 in the tack shop, I'd probably go tackshop.

I would never go in for a fitting for a hat/body etc and then buy online though, that's just rude.
 
I know for a fact my local tack shop gets a delivery from robinsons nearly every day and then charges a fortune. Hay net that was a couple of quid from online robinsons was £13 in the shop.
 
I often buy things when they are on special so expensive rugs that are half price as they are 'last year's colours' So the reality is I am much more likely to see these come into my mailbox than see them on the rare occasions I am in a tack shop.

Just a note about buying riding hat online - a lot places will not exchange riding hats. This is because safety/PPE equipment cannot be resold but has to be destroyed.
 
Tack shop for me most times. I like to feel, touch & try on.

I do buy some day to day stuff online, mainly things like Biteback & Neem that aren't available in my local shops.
 
We're lucky enough to have a hack shop on site on our livery yard but the prices are just extortionate! It's small but has a good stock so I do try but I tend to buy stuff online. They have some lovely proper English leather bridles but they are super expensive :)
 
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