Second hand saddles

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GrandmareS

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Please could someone advise me as to why there is apparently, no market for second hand saddles. In the past, it used to be possible to trade in when changing saddles. We have a new pony and do not want particularly to buy a new saddle. We have three from past equines, needless to say, none fit. We have been told that there is no market for second hand, but with the cost of new I find this hard to believe. Is everybody else so affluent that they only purchase new?
I would be interested to hear what others think on this matter
 
Private sellers on media such as Facebook asking way above the odds for crappy saddles making people realise that for a few hundred £££ more they can buy a brand new one to be fitted. More novice owners relying on saddlers to fit their saddles than being able to do it theirselves. Saddlers being given commission for selling new saddles. More brands. Cheaper brands.

I could go on!! Just ask less for the saddle you have and you should be able to shift it.
 
Cattysmith has it right, because sellers and buyers can deal directly the sellers want too much money and the buyers want to pay too little, and saddle fitters have a huge issue getting a decent profit from them. If you were a business and had £1000 to invest would you invest it in new stock that you can sell with a decent margin, or second hand trade ins etc that will make a much smaller margin? Not saying that it is as simple as that as many companies do still take trade ins (I might get reported for advertising if I say who does!!).

It is also true that there are way more cheaper saddles - synthetics, Indian saddles are more readily available sadly, Argentinian (not all bad by any means and several big brands are made over there), treeless, the list goes on. Very competitive market.
 
I don't understand this either. I have been trying to sell to very good quality, lightly used and well looked after second hand saddles since 2013. One finally sold in October last year, but the other one is still looking for a good home. I tried Facebook with absolutely no interest, and then eBay but people wanted a £500 saddle for £150. I even had a saddler send me a message saying that she was really interested in my saddle but would I come down on the price (a very realistic verging on cheap for the saddle on offer £300) because it would be going on her van and there wasn't enough profit in it for her.

Eventually I put them with a local saddler thinking it was the lack of professional fitting that was putting people off. There was still no luck and when I went to pick them up they were thick with mould so had obviously rarely, if at all, been out of the van and certainly not cleaned. In April last year I put them both with another saddler, who has at least cleaned them, and they sold one of them in October and are confident they will sell the other one once the eventing season gets off the ground.

I don't know why second hand doesn't seem to sell. I suppose it's a case of you have to have the right horse to fit the saddle available rather than holding stock of various different sizes which could mean you end up with a massive stock of saddles which are unlikely to sell? Or maybe there is less of a profit margin on a second hand saddle once you have paid the owner commission? All I know is trying to sell mine was really frustrating but it all worked out in the end. Kind of....

Good luck!
 
Everyone I know wants new everything. Second hand is viewed as a poor man's option. They would rather have a cheap Indian saddle for 100 new and a cheap brand rug for 50 and an Indian bridle for 10 then they have kitted the new horse out for about 200 once you add numnah, stirrups, girth. And its all shiney and new and they had great fun choosing from ebay or the local saddlery. It is seen as better to do that than buy quality second hand goods which will last far longer, but they do not realise this they see second hand and think old and tatty. If someone does want a second hand saddle it is because they have not got the money for a new one so they want it for 50 quid and can you deliver it for free too! That has been my experience anyway.
 
I think it might be to do with the slight improvement of people's circumstances since the height of the recession

Sort of around 2010/11 I was able to make a small (very small) income from buying and selling saddles on ebay and the like, even if it was just £20 profit I was able to pay some of my horse bills this way...
Certainly some makes are more commercial than others...PM me if you think I could help you, a lot has to do with how you market the saddle and keeping your nerve and not buckling on the price
 
Reading your replies I realise Ive been very lucky, sold my Black Country dressage saddle in a day on Preloved, was shocked at the interest I got. It was realistically priced though but I was happy with what I got, have also bought and sold a couple on Ebay, not for profit but bought for my horse and if they didnt fit sold them again. I have however got one left that IMO is the best buy of the lot but it hasnt sold. I think people want really well known makes in popular sizes, Ive seen some really old saddles selling for more than Im asking for this and Im a bit ???? as to why its still here.
 
All the saddles I've owned have been quality second hand. I recently sold a Wintec 500 in near perfect condition for £100 more than I paid for it. Yet my Jeffries Falcon in good nick I can't sell for love nor money. Strange.
 
ChesnutsRoasting said:
All the saddles I've owned have been quality second hand. I recently sold a Wintec 500 in near perfect condition for £100 more than I paid for it. Yet my Jeffries Falcon in good nick I can't sell for love nor money. Strange.
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We are looking to BUY a quality second hand saddle and prepared to pay a sensible amount. If we have to, for child and pony fit, we WILL buy a new one. We will also ensure anything fits perfectly by using a professional saddle fitter
Reasons for used are that we believe good quality lasts for years, far longer than the horse or pony. We paid £800.00 for a beautiful Stubben saddle which was second hand when we bought it 25 years ago, over a less expensive new one of the same make but different model. It is still in prime condition.
 
Street_Skill said:
In April last year I put them both with another saddler, who has at least cleaned them
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Saddle fitter whinge - please don't give saddle fitters and retailers dirty saddles for any reason, it's not my job to clean customer's saddles, health and safety rules actually mean you (I) shouldn't have to deal with dirty stuff, and we are perfectly within our rights to charge for the service.

Unless of course I have misunderstood in which case I apologise for the rant :).
 
When I do repairs I charge to clean too and itemise it on my invoice (hopefully to shame them into not doing it again). Some people send their stuff in in a shocking state - it can sometimes take me a week to get the leather revived enough to stitch without it splitting.
 
I have sold four or five on facebook local horse equipment pages. all realistically priced, i.e. around what I would receive after e bay charges. However I replaced them with two new ones, calf leather, flexi tree and adjustable for around £1200 each. The problem is that there are good new ones at what would have been secondhand prices four or five years ago. If buying secondhand I do try to pay a low price so that I can move it on without loss if it doesn't work out.
 
sbloom said:
Saddle fitter whinge - please don't give saddle fitters and retailers dirty saddles for any reason, it's not my job to clean customer's saddles, health and safety rules actually mean you (I) shouldn't have to deal with dirty stuff, and we are perfectly within our rights to charge for the service.

Unless of course I have misunderstood in which case I apologise for the rant :).
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I think you have misunderstood me! :-)

The saddles were immaculate when I took them to the saddlers, it was when I picked them up because they hadn't been sold that they were thick with mould! I take pride in looking after my equipment, and appreciate that in order to get the best price for it I need to present it at it's best. Obviously I cleaned both of them before taking them to the second saddler who assured me that they would be well looked after while they tried to sell them. To my mind allowing two saddles that you are trying to sell on behalf of someone else to get into that state shows a total lack of respect for your customers and that you had no intention of trying to sell them.

I wouldn't expect a saddler to take the same care of my saddle as I would, but I would expect it to be kept in a condition where it remained safe to use and wasn't left to rot and devalue in the back of their shop or van...... Needless to say I've not used the first saddler since :-(
 
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I have bought secondhand this week (solution treeless so not cheap) and sold secondhand, a wintec wide which went within an hour on facebook. I did dress up the one I was selling since accessories were of no use to me so it came with stirrups, leathers, new girth etc and gullets to change into. I think it was the package that grabbed lots of attention.
 
Can't shift my second hand Lovatt and Ricketts event saddle either, had it on eBay for an eternity, Facebook and preloved and no interest. It is clean, in fairly good nick and seemingly dirt cheap seeing as when I want to buy a saddle I can never seem to find a bargain. Considering taking a really low price just to shift as it's doing no one any good clogging up the tack room :(
 
I wanted to buy two second hand saddles for two horses last year. However, I wasn't willing to take a risk buying from a private seller where I couldn't try the saddle on my horses and ride on it so that eliminated a huge number of saddles. I finally found a saddle fitter nearby who did stock and fit used saddles and she came out to me with two vans full of saddles. None of which fitted. Well, one fitted the horse but not me. I ended up having to buy new. She also bought one of my spare saddles for a reasonable price. Shame there aren't more fitters willing to take second hand but I assume it is due to having to have a lot of money tied up in stock?
 
Star_pants said:
Can't shift my second hand Lovatt and Ricketts event saddle either, had it on eBay for an eternity, Facebook and preloved and no interest. It is clean, in fairly good nick and seemingly dirt cheap seeing as when I want to buy a saddle I can never seem to find a bargain. Considering taking a really low price just to shift as it's doing no one any good clogging up the tack room :(
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Lovatt and Ricketts were THE elite brand when I got my first pony...but that was about 23 years ago and they haven't kept up their marketing like the other big brands like Albion etc so the brand is virtually unknown in the younger lot...also I didn't think they made saddles anymore??
 
I love shopping secondhand, horsey or otherwise! I've never understood the mentality that used = poor, or bad quality; why go out and get a crappy brand new item, when you can get an older, top brand item for half it's original price?
I'll happily say that most of my horse's things came secondhand, and I've saved a fortune on rugs this year.
 
I'm happy to buy second hand. My current saddle is second hand, I bought it from my friend - I paid a bit too much for what it is, but I knew it had been looked after and it was very good condition, almost new. And said friend let me borrow it for around 8 months, so was happy to pay the extra.

I'll be in the market for a dressage saddle after we buy the house and I will be looking for second had.

The problem is, as has already been mentioned, second hand saddles are usually quite over priced. I see some ads that I would be very interested in, but I then see the price and for a couple hundred more, I could buy brand new. And I have a fairly decent budget, so not like I'm expecting something for nothing!

People need to be more realistic with their prices, both sellers and buyers.
 
fiwen30 said:
I love shopping secondhand, horsey or otherwise! I've never understood the mentality that used = poor, or bad quality; why go out and get a crappy brand new item, when you can get an older, top brand item for half it's original price?
I'll happily say that most of my horse's things came secondhand, and I've saved a fortune on rugs this year.
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What a sensible person you are!
 
I love second hand. My horse is generally kitted out in second hand or cheap new stuff. (Barring cheap nasty indian saddles!!)
 
I would have bought second hand but not confident enough in my own ability to get the fit right, and very few saddlers carry a stock of second hand.
I also think so many people rely on adjustable saddles and think they are the solution to all, I don't think I will have any trouble selling my Wintec when I get round to it!
 
fiwen30 said:
I love shopping secondhand, horsey or otherwise! I've never understood the mentality that used = poor, or bad quality; why go out and get a crappy brand new item, when you can get an older, top brand item for half it's original price?
I'll happily say that most of my horse's things came secondhand, and I've saved a fortune on rugs this year.
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I'm with you there. There is definitely a market for second hand.
If a saddle isn't selling, it is either advertised badly or too expensive.
 
I broke my boy in 5 years ago, £350 budget got me a lovely albeit old L&R saddle fitted but now there are lots more adjustable saddles on the market that you can buy new for the same range price or cheaper still over facebook and I think the people in that bracket are just going for these 'one saddle fits all' wonder saddles so there is probably less of a market for the old but quality saddles which is a shame :( espeically as i'm on the lookout for a brown dressage saddle for a short wide welsh D and I would be happy second hand but due to the specifics and the fact saddlers are carrying less second hand I will probably end up buying new.
 
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Frumpoon said:
Lovatt and Ricketts were THE elite brand when I got my first pony...but that was about 23 years ago and they haven't kept up their marketing like the other big brands like Albion etc so the brand is virtually unknown in the younger lot...also I didn't think they made saddles anymore??
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I checked and there is a website and the price for a GP is over $2500 the website sounds more american so maybe that is their market more than uk :/
 
In the old days there were plenty of proper tack shops where you could leave your saddle to be sold. Now these are few and far between. People buy saddles and then get a fitter out, so theywant a bargain in case it doesn't fit. I am waiting for a fitter to come out nextweek with a selection of new and used. some of the new one's start at £700! And they aren't crap either.
 
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