Dover saddlery in trouble?

[beowulf]

@shedllybip

In NY, this is not the case. There was maybe a 4 week time end of March -end of April-ish that returns were not allowed, but that has been long over. We are not required to quarantine returns and/or tried on clothing. NY was one of the first to shut it all down and one of the strictest (? is that a word?) about everything. Masks are a sure thing, but we went from having hte highest COVID to now the lowest while many other states are in trouble.

My post was regarding the warehouse (where main returns are sent), which is in MA. :encouragement:

[Fellbutbackup]

@beowulf

My post was regarding the warehouse (where main returns are sent), which is in MA. :encouragement:

FYI Smartpak retail store located in MA confirmed they are accepting returns

[fourfillies]

Interesting. I stopped by the Sparks store late last week and looked pretty much business as usual. Busy and stock levels looked pre COVID normal.

[clarity]

@Linny

Is that the Manchester shop? I’m friends with the manager, she’s terrific and works very hard for her customers. They have had managers only in shops and they have been working to fill online orders for items that the warehouse has run out of. My barnmate works at the local store and they are starting to do appointments.

Yes it is! I adore her. She always greets me by name and is willing to go out of her way to help me (not that my needs are ever outrageous, but still).

[Lv2rid3]

Off topic but I noticed a lot of small tack shop owners have commented on this thread. Are any of you willing to talk to a start up shop in N. AL?? I’d love to pick someones brain!

[shedllybip]

@Lv2rid3

Off topic but I noticed a lot of small tack shop owners have commented on this thread. Are any of you willing to talk to a start up shop in N. AL?? I’d love to pick someones brain!

I know nothing about your area of the country, but i would be happy to help you with anything!

[Linny]

My local Dover has started to get some of their fall stuff in. So far it’s just some apparel but it looks like they are planning on stocking up. They are still a bit light in tack and clothing but I found the breeches I wanted and other supplies.

[tikihorse2]

This is sort of appropriate to the topic. All but one of the local tack shops have closed, and that one I refuse to shop at for a number of reasons. I need a new helmet, as mine is rapidly approaching its expiration date and I won’t ride without one since I got a rather nasty concussion (not HR) a few years ago. I was planning to drive to the Dover store about 45 minutes away, but now I’m worried. Obviously I can call ahead, but I’m thinking long term. There are things like helmets I prefer to buy in person, plus I just like browsing and seeing what’s new. I really hope that Dover doesn’t fold!

[RainWeasley]

@Lv2rid3

Off topic but I noticed a lot of small tack shop owners have commented on this thread. Are any of you willing to talk to a start up shop in N. AL?? I’d love to pick someones brain!

Oh hey I think I know who you are 😂 are you thinking of doing a tack shop here? I love your saddle stands and am hoping to get one from you at some point.

[StormyDay]

Kinda late to the thread here, but I think my local dover is done for. I went in last week to find they had two saddle pad types left… just their brand and 3ish wilkers. The usual full saddle wall had half the inventory, they were out of many sizes of girths, there were like 6ish pairs of tall boots, they had ran out of all of the front boots so there was one pair per hook, etc. it was really, really sad.
They said they are having a hard time getting inventory. I don’t know if it’s the warehouse or if this particular dover just doesn’t have the money to reorder.

[vxf111]

@StormyDay

Kinda late to the thread here, but I think my local dover is done for. I went in last week to find they had two saddle pad types left… just their brand and 3ish wilkers. The usual full saddle wall had half the inventory, they were out of many sizes of girths, there were like 6ish pairs of tall boots, they had ran out of all of the front boots so there was one pair per hook, etc. it was really, really sad.
They said they are having a hard time getting inventory. I don’t know if it’s the warehouse or if this particular dover just doesn’t have the money to reorder.

Inventory is weird for everyone right now because of covid. I had a dickens of a time finding rubber martingale doughnut (of all things). I did eventually find some. The supply chain got really screwy and it’s taking a while to catch up

[StormyDay]

@vxf111

Inventory is weird for everyone right now because of covid. I had a dickens of a time finding rubber martingale doughnut (of all things). I did eventually find some. The supply chain got really screwy and it’s taking a while to catch up

I know at the beginning it was a PITA for most retailers. But, we are six months deep at this point and the other tack stores in the area don’t seem to be having this issue.
Maybe they’ve been having warehouse issues? They might be prioritizing which stores are the most important to keep fully stocked, and if so, the one near me isn’t anywhere near the top of the list.

[vxf111]

@StormyDay

I know at the beginning it was a PITA for most retailers. But, we are six months deep at this point and the other tack stores in the area don’t seem to be having this issue.
Maybe they’ve been having warehouse issues? They might be prioritizing which stores are the most important to keep fully stocked, and if so, the one near me isn’t anywhere near the top of the list.

My rubber doughnut issue was the past few weeks. Things are weird!

[cheektwocheek]

I’ve started shopping from UK tack stores with great success.
Example, helmets in the US, I am only finding older models and odd sizes currently in stock. Super surprised by how fast the shipping is from the UK and that the pricing was actually cheaper after most conversions. Dover failed me so many times this year, I won’t be back.

[shedllybip]

@vxf111

Inventory is weird for everyone right now because of covid. I had a dickens of a time finding rubber martingale doughnut (of all things). I did eventually find some. The supply chain got really screwy and it’s taking a while to catch up

It’s not a covid thing. It’s a they owe eveybody money thing and are having problems getting companies to ship to them

[vxf111]

@shedllybip

It’s not a covid thing. It’s a they owe eveybody money thing and are having problems getting companies to ship to them

Do you know that to be true?

[LexInVA]

The investment fund owner and financier of DS has been on a spending spree spree, snapping up a lot of medical businesses and some lifestyle ones too, so something is going on outside of the company itself. The merch DS gets is shipped from other countries via container ships, which are definitely a problem area in shipping right now, as demand is low and rates are high, so the flow of global merchandise has been reduced greatly with the reduction of spending due to COVID.

[vxf111]

@LexInVA

The investment fund owner and financier of DS has been on a spending spree spree, snapping up a lot of medical businesses and some lifestyle ones too, so something is going on outside of the company itself. The merch DS gets is shipped from other countries via container ships, which are definitely a problem area in shipping right now, as demand is low and rates are high, so the flow of global merchandise has been reduced greatly with the reduction of spending due to COVID.

Just curious what you knew or anyone else actually knew about what is going on right now with Dover because I’ve very recently been having a weird experience with an eBay seller that I kind of think HAS to be either a Dover employee or a Dover store but Dover customer service says it’s not (Dover CS didn’t seem like a strong English speaker when I spoke with them, which is not my usual experience, but it’s possible this rep just didn’t understand what I was asking).

[vxf111]

@Bunker

I just experienced the exact same thing. Bought a Rambo fly sheet for a great price. Received a Dover package today with a receipt for retail amount. So weird.

And now this has happened to me too but Dover SWEARS up and down it’s not them? The receipt inside the package from eBay was a Dover receipt and had MY NAME and address on it?!

[LexInVA]

@vxf111

Just curious what you knew or anyone else actually knew about what is going on right now with Dover because I’ve very recently been having a weird experience with an eBay seller that I kind of think HAS to be either a Dover employee or a Dover store but Dover customer service says it’s not (Dover CS didn’t seem like a strong English speaker when I spoke with them, which is not my usual experience, but it’s possible this rep just didn’t understand what I was asking).

I would assume that it’s just some weird inside deal. I know a guy who has a big Internet sale business that has his own separate eBay and Amazon Marketplace stores where he sells the merch from his regular business under his own name and offers the same or higher prices on stuff that he says is unavailable through his regular business, so it might be something like that. In the past, I’ve certainly seen large amounts of retail products put into “alternative distribution” resale channels that appear to be an individual small business, yet offer seemingly endless abundance of stuff at weird prices.