I saw their display in my local Tractor Supply yesterday. It was on the supplement aisle (makes sense). The two TSC stores near me don’t seem to have much say over their inventory. They’re never quite sure if or when they will restock something that isn’t on the shelf. It seems their corporate HQ makes those decisions. That would be my “fear” with buying Smartpaks from TSC. I can imagine heading there to buy my horse’s SmartPak and it being out of stock and the manager saying “It might be coming in the truck Tuesday. Check back then.”
2 Likes
I went to the warehouse store for the first time yesterday to see if they had anything good in light of the change in scope. Walked out without buying anything. I’d say it was less than what they used to have in the upstairs clearance section. I was mildly tempted by some DeNiro tall boots that were 40% off, but they were dress boots, not dressage boots, so I passed. They had the dressage boots in my foot size but with a slim calf - no way, no how.
1 Like
I gotta say, aside from the other changes… who did the UX and branding on that packaging? That looks like it was designed in 2000. There’s so much going on on that box it took me a hot minute to figure out what it was actually selling.
The bridle range would be a loss if discontinued. Those are well priced and reasonable quality.
10 Likes
My personal “fear” would be the age of the product on the shelf at the local TSC who depends upon a shipment from a regional TSC warehouse. I have not seen a packaging date on any of the SmartPak supplements we have gotten directly from SmartPak. It could have been recently packaged or maybe a decade old who knows
13 Likes
Completely agree. All that ad copy and so many different boxes. It’s too wordy, especially with the subscription plea, and too confusing if you’re not already familiar with the product line.
I’m sure this varies by region, but the horse people out here-- in general-- will buy a tube of calming paste or ulcer meds but they aren’t looking to spend over $60 to try an unknown brand over a period of several weeks.
I wonder if SP/SE considered doing free or minimal cost trial sizes? At least that way customers new to their product line could get a lower cost introduction.
3 Likes
Ah yes, special times!
Ultimately that didn’t work out well. So many SKU numbers that took up floor space and yet they still didn’t have the exact Stateline item the customer wanted. So yeah, back to the print catalog and mailing in a check. That’s why I wonder about the SmartPakEquine decision to partner with TSC,
5 Likes
I’m surprised they’re selling the supplements in SmartPaks. All of their things I’ve used have been bought in buckets or bags. And as a pony owner, the dose size is smaller for many supplements and I’m assuming they’re selling horse sized portions.
3 Likes
I do wonder who the target customer is for the TSC products. They appear to be boxes of a single product, in the single-serve SP “wells”, assuming in the standard default serving size. So, the person buying multiple supplements has to store and open multiple strips, and anyone wanting to fuss with the serving size is likely not going to do this.
Essentially, I would be far less confused if they had TSC start carrying some of their popular products in bulk containers. Maybe the company thinks a lot of people are going to just feed one supplement and might want to buy the single serving packs?
6 Likes
Yeah, this is odd. The whole idea behind what made SP great was the convenience of multiple supplements in one tear strip package.
I don’t see barn staff being happy to open multiple of the single cell packs.
10 Likes
Exactly. Why am I (hypothetically) buying 4 weeks worth of a supplement, divvied up into little plastic pockets I’ve got to rip open and then throw away every single day? Why not just skip down one shelf in that row and buy the big bucket of stuff from Select that I can scoop out and measure as needed? Added bonus: Handy bucket when it’s all gone!
5 Likes
Part of the benefit of the single-serve system IS the fact that there’s no scooping. When in a boarding situation with someone else feeding, it’s very easy to under or over dose as everyone’s “full scoop” is different. Since the wells are by weight, this prevents variation, it’s incredibly obvious when a portion is missed, and it’s much faster to feed 40 horses smartpaks vs scooping supps! All benefits of the SmartPak system, and a huge reason why I use them for my boarded horses.
If I was shopping at TSC, this goes RIGHT out the window the moment I want more than one supplement. (I feed 3 by default, Cu, Zn, and E, and none of the pre-mixes have the numbers I want.) Obviously the answer is to go order from the site but… isn’t part of the business model to encourage people to feed more supplements? Is there some untapped market I’m not aware of, or is this supposed to feed people into ordering more online?
Idk it just doesn’t clock for me, from my understanding of the business model as it started (before all the tack and clothing). But no one asked me 
6 Likes
This, totally this!
I went to actual Smartpaks after my buckets got messed up because the person covering for me while I recovered from surgery thought all the scoops were the same size so after fishing the scoop out of the fist container they used it on all the containers.
I admit that I am spoiled. I hate having to scoop. I added something prescribed by the vet recently and I dread the daily digging for the scoop and trying to get the product out of the container.
I feel like this new marketing is to get their cells/product into the hands of more people. They can grab some things to try and if it works out for them, order directly from Smartpak.
11 Likes
They confirmed in other comments that they are phasing out all their rider apparel 
2 Likes
You are right, I think that the new marketing for stores is to carry basic inventory and with so many ordering on line anyway for pickup/delivery, they will send most other directly from their warehouses, saving moving inventory twice and keeping in store more inventory.
Walmart used to have practically most of one side of the aisle all kinds of soups.
Right now here they carry basic soups in the store, maybe half if not less of the old diverse inventory and when you order thru the internet other than that, they will deliver any other in a day or two or even have other companies deliver it directly to you.
Modern computers programs make that seamless for companies
Don’t know if that is temporary, apt to change with location or market demand, or here to stay.
1 Like
I see that now, they hadn’t made that comment when I looked earlier. What a bummer.
1 Like
Very valid point. I guess I was looking at it from the point of view of only feeding my own horses, not a boarding situation.
2 Likes
I wonder if they sold the patterns or designs or whatever it’s called to another entity. Like, might “Pipers” appear under a different name sometime in the future? Would SP/SE even tell us?
1 Like
I guess call me the outlier. I bought 1 pair of piper breeches and they were one of the most unflattering pieces of clothing I have ever put on my body. I also bought a bridle and it was that nasty “painted” leather.
I stock up twice a year on mega-cell and fly spray when they do their free gift certificate sales but that’s really all I buy there. 
5 Likes
