supporting local tack shops

[CharliesAngel]

i do tend to order the vast majority of things online these days I have to admit.

Last Monday I called a local shop however as I recall they often have a good selection of more unusual things.... Im after a pair of acavallo opera stirrups. Id seen them online for a good price and quick 2 day delivery. The lady in the shop said no they didnt have any in but chatted away to me for ages , really interested in why I was after them and what advantages they have etc. Then she said she could get them for a really good price (£5 cheaper than online) and they would be there in 2 - 3 days so if I ordered today (Mon) Id have them for Wed. I drew breath to say no its ok.. then thought aww come on, support your local shop CA and she’s been so nice.. so I said ok, order them in for me. We are now on the following Wed - so 10 days and they arent here When I called she said oh I didnt actually get round to putting the order in for a few days as we had more things to add to it. then when it arrived the stirrups werent in the box. Arrrgh And this, sadly, is why I order online these days

 

[Jessey]

That's really frustrating, I would explain that she will likely be loosing business over this

My local feed manufacturer has a small tack shop (no saddles) in the loft of the feed barn, they have all the basics, grooming stuff, first aid, the odd bridle, a few rugs, some clothes, electric fence etc. and they are superb at ordering stuff in, I normally just facebook message the owner and he sorts it, then he messages me on the day to remind me its come in and will even deliver it to me if I want as they have a van doing feed deliveries, they are often slightly more expensive than getting things online but its quick and easy so I often use them. Our next closest tack shop is 45 mins away.

 

[PePo]

Like you, I want to support my local tackshop, but in reality it is difficult to.

I have to buy feed from there, but honestly the customer service is terrible. I'm not expecting the royal treatment but when you walk past 3 staff outside and no one acknowledges you then have to wait in an empty shop for 5 minutes to place your order because the staff are too busy gossiping, when they do serve you they are SO offhand and quite frankly rude. Then the person in the feed barn gives you the wrong feed and are questioned 'does it matter ...?!' before making a derogatory comment about your car.

It honestly makes you want to scream ...!

I have no problems waiting if the shop is busy, I have no problem with the occassional mistake and I understand that no-one is a ray of sunshine all the time (I worked in retail ) but this pretty much happens every single time. I buy as much as I can online.

 

[horseandgoatmom]

I also try to support local if I can.
Funny moving to the new place I'm sort of the same distance away from my closest tack shop just another direction..

Charlies Angel.. to not get around to ordering something is not acceptable
That place is its own worse ENEMY .............
Why would you bother again on trusting them to get something like that for you.

A lot of tack shops anymore don't have much "tack"

The one still close to me has a good selection of tack and when I ordered 2
saddles thru them they were fabulous.
They are a tucker dealer and worked with me and the company to get matching
tack beyond what was offered to match the saddle and longer trail reins etc.
Then the next year I loved the last year special edition decoration
but found I really loved the Gen II saddle style much more and I have the only
Gen II that matches the years prior special edition wi the same tooling spots
color etc etc.
IT WAS ONLY 50.00 XTRA TO GET THE look/deco I wanted.
I did have to wait quite a long time for it but it was soooooooooo worth the wait.

They are a small family run tack shop and the couple of non family people that also work there have been there for years.

There was another tack shop that was for many many years a big time
destination western shop.
People came from far away to go there lots of "Cowboy" tack horsehair mecate
a gigantic selection of Lots of tack sets etc etc -probably couple hundered
styles of western saddle pads.
They also had a tack repair as well .

The owner did the tack repair and it was very personal and hands on.
There was also a big feed/supply store as part of it.

It was an awesome place to go omg the choices!!!

A few years ago the owner sort of retired - he still owns the place but
sadly hes not in there any more.

You go there now and the big tack repair area is all still fitted out but sits
lifeless - there is very little tack at all and full of western ware and boots WHERE LOVELY TACK CHOICES WERE.

I have passed that place by when I was in the are so many times now
cause unless I need a bag of ration balancer or something.
Its lost its Mystique.

Quite a few years ago I bought my LJ wade saddle form him and he altered the stirrup leatehrs to fit my height.

Then a few years past that I bought a cutting saddle and he also altered the stirrup leathers added special conchos and I chose a set of lovely wood stirrups
and he added decorated 1/2 stirrup covers similar to ones on the LJ
and made it totally unique.

OMG THE PRICE WAS SO REASONBLE TOO.

It was also the only place in the area to get the twist and wrap done on
older western saddle stirrup leathers or on new ones that did not have it.

Sadly there is no place any more around to get that done.

Not that I need any more saddles.
That place as it was IS SADLY MISSED

I was lucky to also have the wrap and twist done on the tuckers
when they were ordered.

 

[domane]

We have some good tack shops around here. The one at Albrighton has the top floor dedicated to rugs and they are all in convenient size sections which makes life easy. There is also a lovely shop at Kingswinford and the staff are incredibly helpful. They also do a payment scheme whereby they will put something by for you and you can pay it off in instalments if you need to.

And Jackie Roberts in Clent is fab too....and their August sale is legendary.

 

[CharliesAngel]

well i went in to get them today and the lady in the shop had to go and ask the owner how much they were and we waited almost 15 mins. turns out I was charged the same as they would have been online anyway The lady who served me was so lovely and i told her basically id only ordered them to try and ‘support local’ and she said she totally sympathised.

 

[horseandgoatmom]

I'm mostly a western rider> I forgot about Dover saddlery
.
They have several stores 1 not far from the Tack shop that mostly has feed now.
They do have a great selection of English tack.
The original single store is in the other direction from the old house.
They also have a catalog and do a lot of online. I have gotten most of my ariat boots thru them and some training items Vienna reins surcingle etc .. and some horse care items.
They generally have a great stock on hand in the stores,
have sales a few times a year and are great at getting in something they don't have on hand and shipping to your house or>>> and I really like this if they
don't have a particular boot size and your not sure what size you really do need
they have no problem ordering in a couple sizes to see which one works best.

They probably do very well since there are many more hunter jumper/dressage
venues than anything western around.

I'm still waiting for WESTERN Dressage to catch on around here.

 

[joellie]

I mostly buy online these days. I find my local tack shops are just far too expensive. My local feed store is ok but I had a heated argument with the boss over the new delivery charge for shavings he put in place. He brought in a new standard delivery charge of £20 no matter how far (within reason i expect ) or near. My yard is only just over a mile away plus the way I looked at it was he was getting a sale from me. It wasn't just a couple of bales either I was wanting 20 bales delivered. I told him it would cost less for me to get a taxi. I didn't mind paying an extra fiver or something but noway was I going to pay that.

 

[horseandgoatmom]

The feed store about 15 miles from here has a 15.00 flat delivery fee.

Hmmm wonder if they adjust it if someone was really close.

Since I only get hay for the goats the
Moment and they font go thru that much.
I have not gotten anything delivered.

They mostly have local hay.

The tack store I got my Tuckers at also has feed and hay they get Ny and Canadian
Hay that I like better. They deliver too but I don't know the cost.
Sadly they don't carry the brand of ration
Balancer I use for the horses.

 

[newforest]

My local shop that sells feed advised me to shop online! Seriously they cannot order in anything that isn't already on the shelf. They just get sent stock. It's no longer a small local company.

Luckily another had opened and it's only ten minutes from the yard.

 

[Star the Fell]

I use a small 'pet store' nearby. They sell feed, hay etc, plus basics such as fly spray, brushes, buckets ,head collars, but not tack as such. They are brilliant! The staff are lovely and friendly and always chat. Most stock is stored so you need to order the day before, but delivery is free and the driver will unload by himself and sort it into the correct storage areas. Brilliant!
The nearest tack shop is EXPENSIVE and a 20 minute drive away. I usually order on line to save time and money.