PEOPLE LISTING ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ENGLISH AS ENGLISH ON EBAY

M

mattymarlow

Active Member
Joined
5 December 2008
Messages
33
Location
CHESHIRE
www.heritagesaddlery.co.uk
Hi all,

I would just like to make people aware that there are still some sellers on ebay that are listing Heritage Bridles as "Made In England"

This is not the case.They are also not made by Samual Sharpes.
It's quite simple,they are made for Snowhill Equestrian from Sam Sharpes leather in India.

The bridles sold by my Company Heritage Bespoke Saddles are 100% English and it is a bit annoying that this is going on.
It not only confuses people and makes them mix up these bridles with mine but it also is totally unfair that they buy these things for next to nothing and pass them off to you the trusting ebayers as "Made in England" when us the English manufacturers struggle to make a living as it is without the tide of imports being passed off as English!

I am not getting into a war of words about the quality,I am sure some of you are very happy with them.But it is the duty of us sellers to be as honest as we can and inform you the buyer in as honest a fashion as possible.

The honesty is not happening with all sellers I am afraid so beware and ask questions and report anyone who is trying to deceive to ebay,trading standards etc as I and several other sellers have done.

Happy New Year to you all,

Matt.
 
I don't think you should be so judgemental. I purchased a job lot of tack to sell on and in this was a Heritage leather lead and Chain, made by Samuel Sharpes in England...the words 'Made in England' are quite clear on the packaging but I believe the item came from Snowhill....so would you consider this as 'not English'? And if so I think you should be contacting whoever put 'Made in England' on the tag as it is a trading standards issue.
 
I found this out a while ago - I bought a Heritage 'english' bridle from ebay and although it looks smart enough, to feel it just isn't the real McCoy and I know I won't get the years out of it that I had hoped
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Oh well, you live and learn!
 
Do they have the Heritage buckles on too? A friend has recently bought a Heritage bridle off ebay, but it has Heritage on the buckles & had bits of velcro also with the logo to pack.
 
Perhaps the bridle was made in England - or at least the parts were put together in England - in which case they are quite right in saying 'Made in England' even if it is not made from English leather.

I know it would be a massive hassle but have you considered changing your company's name Matt to avoid confusion? Is their logo similar to yours and is there any way you could make yours more distinctive?
 
Hi,
Why should I not judge? It's my livelyhood.
I have contacted trading standards and it is an ongoing issue.
I have been in this business all my life and there bridles are NOT MADE IN ENGLAND.
How do you think they can sell them so cheaply?
Do you think I would come on here and say this if I didn't know the facts?
 
Hi,
Due to the fact the name was taken by them a few years ago and I di not have it protected there was nothing I could do.
I am slowly changing the name to The Custom Made English Saddle Co'. due to this but so many people know me as Heritage it's hard to drop it all together.
 
oh right. well wel just have to hope that not to many people spend lots of money on items that arnt what they say they are.
 
I am not and have never said that they are copies of mine.I have no problem with the design of them,my issue is the fact that certain sellers are selling them as English Made when they are not.
It's impossible to make good English bridles,in England and sell them that cheaply.
 
So you are trying to tell me that the lead I have was not made in England and isn't English leather? Well seeing as I have the item here, have touched it, examined it etc I believe it to be English Leather.....you on the other hand have never seen it. Heritage is a very generic name and you can't kick off just because you've named your business the same as they have.

I would like to add that your company is not listed at Companies House but a Heritage Saddlery owned by Snowhill Saddlery is, and is a registered trademark so it would seem that YOU are the one in the wrong. http://www.start.biz/trade_marks/tmsearch_details.php?mark=%2Fdomestic%3Fdomesticnum%3D2292249

And if I was to sell my English leather, made in England lead on eBay I would be very annoyed if you decided to start slating me for selling fakes!
 
so the "fakes" are around half the price.

don't you agree that could be a massive clue to people that they aren't actually buying a "heritage bridle"?

or am i missing the point here?
 
I think fake is the wrong word. It seems there are two Heritages; one owned by Snowhill who use English leather, but make items in India, then wrongly label it as 'Made In England', & Matt's company who use (the same Sam Sharpes?) English leather & make their items in England.

The Heritage bridles many of us think of are probably the Indian made ones.
 
OK, so just had a look, it doesn't say 'made in England', but it IS English leather, made by Samuel Sharp. And I agree with legaldancer, when we think of Heritage, we think of this stuff from Snowhill....
heritageleatherlead3.jpg
 
I would like to say that I've bought one of these 'fake' bridles - from ebay.

I would not describe it as fake, but certainly was NOT the quality I was expecting.

I have since re-sold the bridle on ebay (& sold for the same price as bought for!) as I was not happy with it.

It did not smell any different to English leather - it certainly does not smell like Indian leather. Just to add that I do know my 'smells' as I have mistakenly bought a Northumbrian range girth - this IS Indian leather & smells vile!!! Huge mistake - would not recomend.
 
Seems the issue with the Snowhill ones is not the origin of the actual leather but the country in which the bridel parts are actually made. This can have a huge bearing on the finished item as we all know and Im sure we have all seen and heard horror stories of desperatly bad or dangerous stitching failing etc.

However it isnt right to tar all foreign work with the same brush.

Personally I think the Heritage issue IS confusing and it seems Matt is doing something to address this by promoting his new brand image/name. I have his site/Ebay listings in my 'favourites' as I know that when the time comes I can ask him to make a girth for me and know its been made by a craftsman, the same with bridlework.

I hope this wont turn into a crusade and get in the way of Matts business as its very easy to alter public perception of a good manufacturer in a heartbeat.

For those people who feel they can only justify £40 on a bridle then the Snowhill heritage stuff is fine. if you wish to spend more on a more quality product then thats great too.

Just do your homework and be aware that the vast majority of equine tack/ rider clothing is put together in India and rebadged when it comes into the UK by the big suppliers.
 
Can I just make a comparison here:

It's like someone starting a luxury food company and calling it Smartprice....and then moaning because ASDA already have a smartprice but sell 'value' products under that name....

Well that's how I see it anyway. How long has your company been called Heritage Matt? And how come you have never made any effort to register it with Companies House?
 
My understanding, for what its worth, is that the leather is English, but the bridle is made in India. Snowhill try to, at least, imply its made in the UK.

Its not unusual, a worse case I know of is a company that sells 'UK made' products by paying a machinist to remove the 'made in china' labels and replace them with made in the uk. They argue that the fact that some sewing takes place in the uk entitles them to make the claim. Amazing! It upsets the hell out of me as we are a small genuinely uk manufacter and have to compete with these guys...

Anyway back to the point, I think the OP needs to make a conserted effort to change the name of their company and distance themselves from the other heritage brand.

Nb I don't hate the heritage bridle, I have one, it was cheap and I knew it wasn't uk made

I also have a uk elevator bridle. Superb quality, but nearly 3 x the price.
 
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