Tips For Buying Horse Riding Gear Online
In last month’s article we covered how to identify a reputable Australian online saddlery. Following those tips is your best bet at ensuring that where you are shopping is legitimate, what you are buying is genuine, and the personal information you are sharing as part of the transaction is kept safe and secure. In this month’s article, we will cover some fundamental tips on how to buy horse riding gear online so that you get exactly what you need.
As the number of online saddlery stores increases, so to does the likelihood that many riders are increasingly finding the tack they are looking for online rather than in a store. The advantages are easy to note: every store is a button click away, most online stores arrange their products in ways that make them easy to find, and in some cases, tack prices may be cheaper. As good as these advantages are, the one thing they can not account for is the physical connection we have long associated with shopping: entering a store, the look, feel, and smell of the horse riding equipment we are after and the face-to-face access we can have with staff who share your horse riding passion and want to help you make the best decision.
Buying horse riding gear online is different to physically entering a saddlery store, therefore, the strategies we use in engaging in an online environment should also be different. Below are some tips we believe will help you ensure each purchase you make is the right one for you and your horse.
Understand What You Want
As mentioned earlier, online shopping cannot provide you with the real life look, touch and feel of the tack you are looking for. Buying tack online is made much easier if you have a sense of exactly what it is you’re looking for. Doing so can take out much of the guesswork of deciding what item is right for you.
Online tack tip - take the time to know the kinds of materials and styles your desired tack is made from. What brands make them and what sets them apart?
Get Measurements
Horse riding equipment like summer horse rugs, winter horse rugs, saddle pads, horse bridles, and fly veils will often come in different sizes. To avoid the frustration of receiving tack that is too big or too small, make sure to always request specific measurements from the seller.
Online tack tip - if you need to know exactly how specific horse riding gear is measured, get in contact with the retailer and ask them for pictures that show how they are measuring the item.
Try Comparable Products
Whilst this option is not available to every rider, if you have friends, family, colleagues who ride and have the kind of gear you are looking for, ask to try theirs out. Doing so may help you determine the colour, size and brand of tack you are looking for.
More Pictures Please
Interested in an item you have found but need more images to help you decide? Contact your online saddlery and ask for more pictures of the exact item you are looking at.
Review the Total, Including Shipping
Shipping can be an issue if what you are seeking to buy only one or a couple of items that fall below the retailer’s free shipping amount. If you proceed to the checkout page of most horse gear online retailers, their ecommerce platform will usually detail the cost of shipping alongside the item amount. Be clear of the amount before you commit to buying the item.
Online tack tip - Active Equine offer free shipping on all orders over $150 and offer express as well as standard shipping options.
Exchange & Return Policies
Most retailers will have their exchange and return policy available in the footer menu of their website. Be sure to read this before buying anything online.
Only Use Secure Online Payment Options
When paying for a product, always use an established and trusted payment method that can prove that you sent payment, and which can give you legal recourse if the transaction does not conclude satisfactorily. Postal mail payment requests of any kind will leave you with no recourse if the seller claims your payment never arrived, the item is never shipped or if the item gets lost in the mail.
Online Tack Tip - only use established transfer services like Paypal, Visa or from your bank or credit union.
Reach Out With An Email Or A Call
Just because you cannot attend in person, does not mean the retailer shouldn’t have staff available to answer your questions with the same passion and care as they would in person.
At Active Equine we pride ourselves on our passion and friendly customer service just as much as we pride ourselves on the quality and calibre of horse riding gear we stock.
So get in touch with us today with any questions you may have about any item in our product range or aspect of our service. We’d be happy to help.
