How TS breeches became a debacle

[Sticky_Situation]

This Susan woman sounds like a nut roll. I don’t own any TS breeches, but her attitude certainly doesn’t make me want to change that fact! Yikes

[JumpingSpots]

My understanding of only this specific situation was the young lady bought a pair of TS breeches at a tack shop. They didn’t work for her, but it was past the return policy of the tack store to take them back and she was stuck with them. So she tried (or is trying) to sell them for less than she paid, so it wasn’t a total loss and she could get them off her hands. The owner of TS was not happy about this and called her out on it. In today’s technology, we have FB groups and eBay, but before them, there were (and still are) garage sales and used tack sales. The only difference to me is one group is more visible because of being online and in any instance the young lady has done nothing wrong.

[Limerick2017]

@mroades

Lordy I know they are difficult but they are the ONLY brand that fits me at all…ack!!

Have you tried the RJ Classics?? I adore mine. I love them more than my old Pro Circuits and my ROMPHs and that is saying a lot.

[mroades]

literally the only ones that say no to crack…

[Draftmare]

@Natalie

Right–a few comments to that effect popped up on the Facebook debacle. Apparently they’re strict about the amount of product they require retailers to carry, pick and choose what gets sent to each store, and don’t allow retailers to discount even if they’ve had items sitting on the shelves for a really long time. Sounds like TS is digging their own grave, and it has nothing to do with the internet or the death of small retailers.

Yep, this is exactly why my local tack shop stopped carrying them. They couldn’t pick the colors, and once they bought them they were stuck with them forever with no option to mark them down to get them out the door. They now carry several other brands that have better fabric and fit. After talking to one of the managers for that tack shop about the whole TS thing, I’m honestly not sure how they are still in business.

[BLBSTBLS]

@mroades

literally the only ones that say no to crack…

Have you tied the Ovation Olympian Breeches. I got a pair at one of the big Dover Sales, and absolutely love the fit. Just as much as I love my GASP TS that I bought at a consignment shop wayyyy cheaper than retail LMAO.

[Fiona_785]

@MIKES MCS

what many of you DON’T understand is that manufactures and Vendors are facing an outright assault from AMAZON. that is a direct threat to the existence of the BRICK and Mortar Tack stores. What happens is this , A large Retailer who buys large quantities gets a price break on their purchases , the discount can be significant sometimes as much as 30% depending on the quantity purchased, this gives them a Profit margin advantage say over a smaller shop and often these brick and mortars have their own online e commerce sights … ENTER AMAZON… they negotiate deals with these stores to buy large quantities of an item from these established retailers then turn around and sell them at deep discounts sometimes at cost sometimes even below cost (loss leader) through and by AMAZON in order to draw the customer to the Amazon website , hoping they will find it so convenient that customers will start to buy other products from them . The dealer that sells to AMAZON , because they are buying so much product from the vendor/ manufacturer , gets the best price for more in-store profit and increases their overall profit margin by selling large quantities to Amazon , which they could never sell through there own stores. Imagine a store who sells 200 pairs of Tailored’s per year , now sells that to there in store clients but sell 1000 more to Amazon that’s profit they will never see otherwise… Sounds great until 8 out of 10 Brick and motors go out of business because they can’t compete with Amazon… So the question becomes for the consumer , is Amazon the only retail choice you want ? Tailored sportsman like many other Vendors are trying to protect their retailers from unfair competition … While I think the owner was way off base to even engage a customer in a TXTING fight , I do understand her frustration… If AMAZON becomes the only outlet to purchase an item , you will see ( and are seeing ) many products you came to l love, disappear, especially products like Tailored’s which are I believe still made in the US . Amazon is branching out and are fast becoming a monopoly in the retail game , imagine what’s going to happen when they start manufacturing for themselves .

Eh, to me inflexibility and TERRIBLE customer relations will kill companies faster than you can say “amazon”. If customer retention is Susan Issac’s goal then she is executing this all extremely poorly. She actually reeks of entitlement.

This is not even close to the first I’ve heard about negative dealings with Tailored Sportsman. Sorry, I don’t feel too badly about the loss of such retailers, especially those who treat their customers in such a way. If a company will not adapt to meet the needs and desires of their client, then they’ll simply be forgotten. Why should I give my hard-earned money to such a company? Because they feel like not changing with the times and still want to stay in business? It’s not my job to keep your company alive. I can take my business elsewhere.

PS: Our society is materialistic enough as it is, no need to mourn the loss of yet another greedy retailer. Less consumption would do us all some good anyway.

[Fiona_785]

@Ibex

TS is brutal to their small retailers anyways… I know at least one locally who won’t carry them any more.

YUP!! I’ve heard they’re hell to work with. No wonder to me, considering how Ms. Issac conducts herself on public forums. Can you say entitled and shameless? Just… wow. It’s just totally unprofessional.

So yea, bemoaning the rights of small businesses and using TS as leverage just doesn’t work. :lol:

[mroades]

@BLBSTBLS

Have you tied the Ovation Olympian Breeches. I got a pair at one of the big Dover Sales, and absolutely love the fit. Just as much as I love my GASP TS that I bought at a consignment shop wayyyy cheaper than retail LMAO.

I will see if I can find some! Thank you!

[APirateLooksAtForty]

Here’s why they will never go out of business: every single successful pony rider is wearing their jods. Really, you don’t see anything else on the AA circuit.

[StormyDay]

@APirateLooksAtForty

Here’s why they will never go out of business: every single successful pony rider is wearing their jods. Really, you don’t see anything else on the AA circuit.

That’s true, but children’s clothing has always been behind the trend of adult riders and TS has fallen out of favor in the older crowd within the last few years. While you still see them, you also see a ton of other brands, like some of the European brands and the more custom type brands. Even the ariat breeches have become popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see this soon with the children’s classes. After all, the judge can’t really tell the brand you are wearing.

[mvp]

Publicly going after an individual reselling one or two units of your product is Just Bad Form. How can someone at the top of a business not appreciate the shite optics of this? Or did Tailored Sportsman’s owner just not care who saw her taking this person to task for whatever a larger, commercial organization might be doing with pricing?

There’s so much competition out there, why give folks any reason to avoid your product?

[rockonxox]

They may be wearing them now, but as we all know trends change over time – and it’s easier to make a switch to something else if the manufacturer acts likes this towards it’s customers.

[APirateLooksAtForty]

@StormyDay

That’s true, but children’s clothing has always been behind the trend of adult riders and TS has fallen out of favor in the older crowd within the last few years. While you still see them, you also see a ton of other brands, like some of the European brands and the more custom type brands. Even the ariat breeches have become popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see this soon with the children’s classes. After all, the judge can’t really tell the brand you are wearing.

my point is there is nothing else really available that fits the same way and comes in such a variety of sizes (tall, short, etc).

[Limerick2017]

While I agree that Susan should not have handled herself this way on a public forum, I will still buy TS. I love them for my daughters. They hold up year after year. The two times I have called TS with issues, Susan has helped me in a very professional and attentive way. For that, I will chalk the online argument up to a bad day. Most of us are more grumpy these days. Money seems to be dictating too many aspects of our lives.

[Blinky]

I like my TS. I like the color choices and they last forever. My one complaint is just please get rid of the Velcro.

[North_Dakota]

I’m not a TS fan, they don’t fit me right but look nice. I went shopping with a friend who does the junior hunters, she got a pair of tredstep breeches. They are lovely and have a sock bottom, the fabric is nice and they sit a bit higher than TS, sort of that elusive mid height. There were also Kingsland breeches that looked quite nice as well. The breeches game has certainly improved, its so nice to have lots of options.

[pds]

@Blinky

I like my TS. I like the color choices and they last forever. My one complaint is just please get rid of the Velcro.

I agree. The Velcro is a deal breaker for me and one of the reasons that I think Tailored Sportsman has not kept up with the times. So many better options than Velcro.

[SWatson]

The TS owner clearly has NO clue about the Haute Couture world - if she did, she would know Chanel and Hermes and others are very valuable and are sold in many consignment shops. This is NOT what they go after - this is NOT what the FBI goes after. This woman is an idiot.

I was tempted to buy a pair of the colored TS’s LA Tack was selling just to support their decision to no longer sell TS’s LOL!

[Renn_aissance]

Color me unsurprised. I had similar dealings with Susan regarding use of a TS manufacturer gift certificate I won as a prize for a class TS sponsored. I was basically unable to use the certificate because of terms and conditions that weren’t conveyed to me by the manufacturer until I went to use the certificate. Susan was entirely unapologetic to the point of aggression. This was 6 years ago I think so I don’t recall the details of the fine print that was so fine it wasn’t printed. I do remember thinking that sponsoring a class by donating an unusable prize, thus getting an optics benefit for nothing, was a colossally shortsighted optics fail.

I just put a pair of TS breeches on consignment which I got as a gift and which no longer fit. I wear FITS and loooove them.