Thinking of buying a budget new saddle on ebay? Please PM me first

"To All Customers

We will extend the utmost respect and best customer care to each and every one of our most valued customers but those customers who do not extend this mutual respect to our business will be blocked without notice."

I read this to mean that, like Wagtail, anyone not leaving gushing feedback will be blocked and comments removed!!

Thanks for the heads up on this seller - I was looking at their saddles a while ago, thank goodness I didn't buy one.
 
Can I ask a genuine question?
What on earth possessed you to buy such a saddle in the first place?
Completely new/novice horse owner I could understand - but you run a livery yard!!!
 
Bertolie said:
"To All Customers

We will extend the utmost respect and best customer care to each and every one of our most valued customers but those customers who do not extend this mutual respect to our business will be blocked without notice."

I read this to mean that, like Wagtail, anyone not leaving gushing feedback will be blocked and comments removed!!

Thanks for the heads up on this seller - I was looking at their saddles a while ago, thank goodness I didn't buy one.
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Yes, when I read that statement at the time, it did make me wonder why they felt they had to write such a thing. It did set alarm bells ringing. Obviously not loud enough!

ihatework said:
Can I ask a genuine question?
What on earth possessed you to buy such a saddle in the first place?
Completely new/novice horse owner I could understand - but you run a livery yard!!!
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You know what, I really don't know! I read the description and was swayed by the 'German' reference. I did not know then they were actually made in India. As soon as I received it I almost said to myself aloud 'What were you thinking?'

I needed a temporary saddle for my mare until I knew she would remain sound before investing in a quality saddle, My Wintec was the wrong shape for her even though the gullet was right. I have now bought a thorowgood.
 
We all make mistakes and can all be victims of good advertising, what worries me is people who have no idea it is rubbish and dangerous would think its a great saddle and use it on there poor horse:(
 
screw it im gunna put myself in the fireing line.


i bought a saddle off ebay for £150, had it checked by 2 saddle fitters and a really experienced friend and all said it was perfectly fine. My mare is only 4 so still growing, when she stops ill get something more expensive no doubt,but right now i hack out twice a week school once a week and never had a complaint from my mare, my instructor or a saddle fitter and i like it.

So maybe its not all bad.

not necessarily advocating this seller, just saying.
 
Would you trust your life to this kind of workmanship?
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edgedem said:
screw it im gunna put myself in the fireing line.


i bought a saddle off ebay for £150, had it checked by 2 saddle fitters and a really experienced friend and all said it was perfectly fine. My mare is only 4 so still growing, when she stops ill get something more expensive no doubt,but right now i hack out twice a week school once a week and never had a complaint from my mare, my instructor or a saddle fitter and i like it.

So maybe its not all bad.

not necessarily advocating this seller, just saying.
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Just saying what?

Was the saddle you bought second hand or new? Did you buy one of these German designed; Indian made saddles that OP is referring to?
 
s4sugar said:
Would you trust your life to this kind of workmanship?
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And that is one of the better ones! You don't choose to photograph the worst. The saddle I received was worse than that even! Very rough jagged edges to the stirrup bars, already rusting. Also one stuck out about a cm from the saddle! :mad:
 
i am saying.. what i just said! :rolleyes:

it wasnt that particular saddle, and as i just said i am not advocating this seller, i am saying that i purchased an unbranded saddle from ebay (made where i do not know) and it was fine! and not dangerous.

thats all!
 
I'm afraid you get what you pay for...............

Bargains can be had, like the lovely Stubben dressage saddle I bought off Ebay last year for £140, like new really, just needed a good clean, and fitted the horse like a glove.
Maybe I got it for that price as Stubben aren't in fashion now? Who knows

But with new saddles I think you need to use your common sense.

One thing I will say though, I bought a saddle from this seller about 5 years ago. They had some jumping saddles advertised on Ebay, but not the size I wanted. I emailed them and they had an old stock jumping saddle in the size and fit I wanted, old stock but it was brand new. I sent a template in the post and they flocked it to fit my template.
I got the saddle for trade price as it was a small 17" and they just wanted it moved on I suppose, however I still paid over £400 for it.

It arrived in A1 condition and brand new, fitted the horse well and I've used it ever since.
But I have to add when I bought it they were not selling the kind of saddles they are selling now, if that makes sense?
They were all over £600 and nothing like the one shown, maybe they've changed their business? I don't know.

If you've had your money back just move on and count yourself lucky, there are so many iffy sellers out there, ripping off people who never get their money back :(
 
It really annoys me when sellers are not truthful with where the products come from. I bought a headcam from England, which turned out to be a cheap one from Hong Kong. I travel to the Far East a lot, and can buy my own cheap tat if I like. Had I known it was from there, I wouldn't have bothered. If sellers are honest, at least you know you are taking a bit of a chance if you buy..
 
birchave0 said:
I'm afraid you get what you pay for...............

Bargains can be had, like the lovely Stubben dressage saddle I bought off Ebay last year for £140, like new really, just needed a good clean, and fitted the horse like a glove.
Maybe I got it for that price as Stubben aren't in fashion now? Who knows

But with new saddles I think you need to use your common sense.

One thing I will say though, I bought a saddle from this seller about 5 years ago. They had some jumping saddles advertised on Ebay, but not the size I wanted. I emailed them and they had an old stock jumping saddle in the size and fit I wanted, old stock but it was brand new. I sent a template in the post and they flocked it to fit my template.
I got the saddle for trade price as it was a small 17" and they just wanted it moved on I suppose, however I still paid over £400 for it.

It arrived in A1 condition and brand new, fitted the horse well and I've used it ever since.
But I have to add when I bought it they were not selling the kind of saddles they are selling now, if that makes sense?
They were all over £600 and nothing like the one shown, maybe they've changed their business? I don't know.

If you've had your money back just move on and count yourself lucky, there are so many iffy sellers out there, ripping off people who never get their money back :(
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I agree, this seller is great...until you want your money back. And I'm sorry, but now I have seen with my own eyes how dangerous these saddles are, I am not going to move on. I want as many people as possible to know how dangerous they are. Who knows, it may save a life, and at the very least save a horse from a bad back.

This seller told me lie after lie and had to be forced by paypal to refund me when I opened up a case against them. So I want to be able to warn others to save them the same problems. What is so wrong with that? If I had been allowed to leave the negative feedback, as I should have been able to, I wouldn't have started this thread as the warning would have been there and I could forget about it. :)
 
Honey08 said:
It really annoys me when sellers are not truthful with where the products come from. I bought a headcam from England, which turned out to be a cheap one from Hong Kong. I travel to the Far East a lot, and can buy my own cheap tat if I like. Had I known it was from there, I wouldn't have bothered. If sellers are honest, at least you know you are taking a bit of a chance if you buy..
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And it doesn't help when ebay prevent buyers from warning others either.
 
But you've missed my point, you bought a cheap saddle, end of
a cheap new saddle, surely you wondered why it was so cheap?
Now this does not excuse the actions of the seller, or how long it took them to refund your money, so maybe your issue is over the refund?

Foreign saddles have been knocking around for years, I remember as a kid you could buy a new one for £40, that was 30+ years ago when an English one would have cost £200 from the saddler's

I've bought cheap rugs and learnt they don't fit, and rub, that they are the wrong shape, etc
so learnt the hard way, they are cheap for a reason :(
 
birchave0 said:
But you've missed my point, you bought a cheap saddle, end of
a cheap new saddle, surely you wondered why it was so cheap?
Now this does not excuse the actions of the seller, or how long it took them to refund your money, so maybe your issue is over the refund?

Foreign saddles have been knocking around for years, I remember as a kid you could buy a new one for £40, that was 30+ years ago when an English one would have cost £200 from the saddler's

I've bought cheap rugs and learnt they don't fit, and rub, that they are the wrong shape, etc
so learnt the hard way, they are cheap for a reason :(
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The seller is selling them as German. I have bought cheap German leather tack before and it has been excellent.

My experience has made me think about something that I never have done before. And that is that there should be some law that tack should meet certain safety standards, just as there is for helmets and body protectors etc. These saddles have only one piece of cheap webbing holding the girth straps, and the stirrup bars are dangerous. That bothers me. Sorry about that, but it does. If you are not bothered about it, then don't read the thread.

Anyone can go making 'move on' comments on all the threads where they wonder why the OP has such a bee in their bonnet about something. Personally, I just don't read those threads. :)
 
fine by me, report away
but please don't put words in my mouth by claiming that I'm not bothered, how do you know?
it would bother me not to buy a cheap, new saddle because I believe you get what you pay for, and in this case that is exactly that

but I was always told buy cheap, buy twice and it's true :(
 
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