Dapper Horse - Buyer Beware

[SadieRidingHorses]

My dear non-horsey mother got me a gift card for Christmas to Dapper Horse. Their stuff is very nice looking, and pricey, but I was excited to have a gift card.

After much debating, I ordered a new pair of XC boots. When they arrived, I brought them to barn, held up one boot to mare’s leg without removing tags, took it away from leg before even tightening it as it was too small, wiped it off, sent it back. I’ve done this with boots from Smartpack/Dover a number of times and have never had an issue.

It took my a few emails to them to get confirmation that they had recived the boots back (I had to pay for return shipping). And then today, they said they’re going to apply a 35 dollar restocking fee. I pushed back - how could they possibly consider that a dirty boot when it was never actually on the horse, much less used - but no dice.

Just a warning if anyone is considering shopping from them - don’t expect the same level of customer service that you get from Dover and Smartpak.

[sascha]

@SadieRidingHorses

how could they possibly consider that a dirty boot when it was never actually on the horse, much less used - but no dice.

Restocking fees are a gouge for “administration” not a penalty for returning dirty items. That is why “no dice.”

[clanter]

@sascha

Restocking fees are a gouge for “administration” not a penalty for returning dirty items.

I see others agree with your statement but I used work for a company that sold stuff to end users, returns are a great pain as the item has to manually received, then thoroughly checked by some one who knows the product to verify it is in original condition with factory packaging (and all parts AND any instructions are there and complete) then reentered into inventory and finally returned to the warehouse to be returned to the shelf

Nothing worse than just chucking it on the shelf to be resold, shipping that to another party who gets it finding something missing

[Alterwho]

@sascha

@SadieRidingHorses

how could they possibly consider that a dirty boot when it was never actually on the horse, much less used - but no dice.

Restocking fees are a gouge for “administration” not a penalty for returning dirty items. That is why “no dice.”

Their web site says this:

"We politely request that if you have tried the item on your horse, please wipe it down before returning it. If the product is not wiped down (with hay, dirt, hair etc. removed, a restocking fee will be deducted from your refund).

Returns that are dirty or not in fully re-sellable condition will be charged a 15-25% restocking fee, depending on the condition of the product being returned."

[OverandOnward]

Re-stocking fees are normal in many online retail businesses that take returns. 35% is a common fee.

It has nothing to do with a ‘dirty’ item. It is about their time and cost to put it back. And perhaps to select and send a new one, if an exchange is requested.

[atr]

Yes but, if your business is online sales, then that pain is part of your business model, or should be. You must expect to have a certain percentage of returned items and a process for dealing with them and gathering the data on the item as to why it was returned…

Buying sized items online is a total crapshoot. But there’s so few other options available for most of us nowadays. Its bad enough having to pay the postage back and forth for an item that turns out to have bizarrely non-standard sizing and no size chart available, let alone a restocking fee.

I’ve just had a 4 month long ordeal with a small retailer I bought something from on Black Friday to get them to send me the correct item in the correct size, so I’m feeling a bit jaded about online sales at the moment.

[sascha]

I agree that returns are a pain. But they are a cost of doing business. I used to work in retail and am horrified at the restocking fee gouge. If it’s not in original condition (due to buyer’s fault) I’m all for no return at all. An item returned properly is an item that can be resold with no issue. Staff that know their products can very quickly assess the condition of the item. We’re talking horse boots here, not flat-packed, complicated machinery.

[OverandOnward]

@atr

Yes but, if your business is online sales, then that pain is part of your business model, or should be. You must expect to have a certain percentage of returned items and a process for dealing with them and gathering the data on the item as to why it was returned…

Exactly. That’s why the re-stocking fee.

Rather than charge an estimated total returns cost to all buyers, they are keeping their prices lower and just charging the people who return items. That’s good business.

Privileges such as returns aren’t free. The cost has to go somewhere.

[SadieRidingHorses]

I’ve actually bought items from them before - two saddle pads, and a pair of horse boots that my mare “tried on” in the exact same fashion as these - and when I returned those boots, I was not charged a restocking fee.

So it’s not a uniform charge they apply across the board. It’s apparently only “dirty or used items.” The point of my post is to let people know that ONE of these boots barely touched a horse, was not tightened, did not have tags removed, and was wiped down. The other boot never left the packaging (which I used to send them back). Despite all that, I was charged this fee. In my (embarassingly extensive) experience shopping from other horse retailers, including buying and returning a lot of boots, that’s never happened to me. I share my experience so that other consumers have the information, and they can do with it what they will.

[sascha]

@Alterwho

Returns that are dirty or not in fully re-sellable condition will be charged a 15-25% restocking fee, depending on the condition of the product being returned."

The OP returned the item clean. I maintain that the arbitrary use of restocking fees is a garbage gouge. Either accept the product back and resell it or refuse the return because the buyer did not return the item in re-sellable condition due to the buyer’s fault.

[OverandOnward]

How do they refuse it? Pay to return it back to the buyer, who then gets the item for free?

If you ever work on the other side of that transaction, especially if you do the financials, I have a feeling your perspective will change quite a bit.

[Angela_Freda]

@atr

Yes but, if your business is online sales, then that pain is part of your business model, or should be. You must expect to have a certain percentage of returned items and a process for dealing with them and gathering the data on the item as to why it was returned…

Especially if the issue is legitimately a sizing issue.
The boots were clearly too small without even putting them on.
What was the size listed and measurements of that size listed in the website?

I find with retailers, too often the size chart is absent or ambiguous. Asking for clarification is a dead end.
That’s not my problem, that’s theirs.
.

[atr]

A 35% restocking fee seems pretty steep to me.

I’m pretty careful in my online shopping because I’m concerned about the waste involved in returning stuff. But even so I get things that just don’t fit right or are not as described. It bites to be charged to mail it back and pay a restocking fee.

[sascha]

@OverandOnward

How do they refuse it?

Reiterate the policy ahead of any shipping, “If you send it back and we deem it to be used/dirty/missing original tags or packaging/whatever, there will be no refund given.” (100% restocking fee) This should eliminate receiving used/dirty stuff back. And folks who are dumb enough to send used/dirty/missing original tags or packaging/whatever back forfeit their shipping costs AND the cost of the item AND the item.

[anonevent]

That’s disappointing. I’ve ordered from them several times and have only had good experiences. I ordered a few pairs of breeches that didn’t fit and they exchanged them without any issue.

I understand that a small business can’t accept returns as liberally as Smartpak, but that restocking fee is way too high for an item that is in perfect condition.

[SadieRidingHorses]

@anonevent, thanks for capturing how I feel!

I don’t think I would never order from them again - although this experience has left a bad taste in my mouth - but I would be much more careful to order things where size is not an issue, or where I am confident on size. This just really surprised me.

And, FWIW, I did as much due diligence as I could on sizing. I specifically searched for this brand’s sizing chart - fairly certain Fundis had it, but not Dapper Horse - and tried to compare those measurements to the size charts for brands that I know fit my horse. I got it wrong, obviously, which I’ve done often when boot shopping.

If I’d known that I was going to spend roughly 50 dollars to return these boots (restocking plus shipping), I would have resold them to a barnmate or online. And used my gift card to buy a much “safer” item, which is what I will now do.

[SadieRidingHorses]

@sascha, great explanation! Would have totally changed my risk calculus, without necessarily eliminating me as a customer.