Those who order feed on Chewy... does the price stay steady?

[Montanas_Girl]

For those ordering feed from Chewy, be sure to always check the manufactured date on any bag you receive (contact your feed company if you don’t know how to read their dating format). I have personally spoken to employees of two different feed companies who were approached by Chewy and chose not to have their feed distributed because Chewy wanted them to okay a 6-month “shelf life” on all products, including textured feeds.

For reference, the company I work for suggests that textured feeds reach the end user within 60 days of production in cool weather (30 days in the summer months); we expect pelleted feeds to reach the end user within 90 days of production.

[BroncoMo]

Ok so answers to a few questions, for those who have followed along (hopefully this helps others in the future:

-The Cadence Ultra contains 3.3 Mcal/kg. My homeschool math calculates that at 1.5 Mcal/pound.

-Ultimate Finish contains 3.4 Mcal/kg, or 1.55 Mcal/pound.

-They said the list price on Chewy is accurate and comparable to what I would find in a retail store.

So, yes MB was off in the caloric content. But for the feed and the price, it still beats what I can get locally. Including TC.

[JB]

Thanks @BroncoMo! I was really going to be shocked if the CU was 1950 (and yes, your homeschool math is right LOL)

[AskMyAccountant.17]

I’ve been ordering feed from Chewy for about 3 years. The convenience of free-shipping to my door is so worth it , and it’s the only way I can get buckeye (in my location).

I don’t see much fluctuation in pricing, right now I’m a bit lower than I was paying last year.

[SusanO]

I have been buying from Chewy for years now. Before I retired I had to make an hour long mad dash on Saturday mornings to buy a ration balancer because TSC would not carry them. And then my Cushings pony decided he would not eat Triple Crown RB which was the only one I could get from the closer store. I am feeding Gro N Win and it is cheaper than the retail price at the feed store over an hour away from me. The price fluctuates but I seriously doubt it is cheaper at the retail store. I am retired now so I can drive over there on a weekday and not just Saturday AM, but who wants to spend hours to drive to buy one bag of feed. Especially when you get there and even though you called to determine the availability, suddenly they are “out” but you can come back tomorrow.

As far as freshness - I have never gotten a bad, musty or old smelling bag of feed delivered. Which is a WHOLE lot more than I can say about feed purchased from TSC or the other two feed stores. And I have never had to wait for a delivery. Out here Amazon delivers in a 4 to 6 day span and when I screwed up and was running out of feed Chewy had it delivered in 2 days. NOTHING gets delivered out here in 2 days. But I am buying Buckeye so maybe that is the difference. One time the Gro N Win was unavailable. Chewy informed me via E-mail and I substituted another like feed and they gave me a $20 discount for the one bag.

Yes I am surprised that it is cheaper to have it delivered to my door but I suppose they are not having to pay all the costs involved with having a physical store and paying the employees to man it. And the Fed Ex guy knows me pretty well out here since I HATE to drive all over finding things from random stores and I get a lot of internet purchases delivered here…

[SmlHpy1]

So for what it’s worth, I’ve ordered Buckeye Ultimate Finish 40 from Chewy. Their price is 81.99 and the “crossed out price” is $114.32 . I never paid 81.99 because I would do the first autoship discount, etc. only buying if I could get it on sale.

My “local” feed store (about 55 mins from me, but 10 mins from my office) carries Buckeye and orders the UF 40 for me. Their price is $67 and they said “it’s expensive” lol. So. . . I don’t buy this crossed out “list price” that chewy has going on. Do you have a Buckeye dealer near you so that you could call and ask their price?

[BroncoMo]

I do not have a dealer within several hour driving distance. I guess I could just find a dealer in another state and see what they price things at. But the gentleman at Buckeye Nutrition that I spoke directly with said the Chewy price is very comparable to what I would find at a brick and mortar retailer; that it is a reasonably priced feed. Because of that, I’m a bit more confident in giving it a try.

[SmlHpy1]

I understand. I’d probably just call some dealers just to see. I feel like their “list price” is misleading to say the least. I do wonder where they get that from as it literally states “It may not necessarily reflect an actual price offered on our site or elsewhere.” That seems fishy to me. In the case of the UF 40 I think they have rolled in a shipping fee to the price they do charge.

[candyappy]

@BroncoMo

Yes, I’m highly overthinking this. But it seems I’ve run across something way too good to be true, but cannot verify that it is in fact TOO good.

Chewy gives you the real low price for the first order only and lower still if you sign up for auto ship but just that first time order. After that they are close to comparing with most others.

I occasionally take advantage of that and then get it locally . I have little faith in shipping reliability these days.

[SusanO]

I don’t pay any attention to any “list price” on purchases of anything. To me it is like the MRSP on an automobile at the dealership. Lots of products are advertised that way but I just consider it noise.

[SmlHpy1]

Sure but it’s deceiving. It leads the customer to believe they are saving money. I’m not sure it’s legal if it’s inaccurate. I remember seeing other companies get in trouble for this sort of thing.

[BroncoMo]

Beyond that, I don’t want to commit to changing to a feed that is $28.49 today, but then randomly jumps to $42.99 later.

[SusanO]

Auto ship is not that different than the feed store. If you drive to the feed store you can see the price on the bag of feed and you can decide if you want to buy it or not. You can also peruse the alternatives (that they have in stock) and decide if you want to buy that instead of your first choice. Or you can drive elsewhere.

When Chewy gets ready to send out an autoship they E-mail me and I can see the price they are going to charge me. I can cancel the autoship, buy something else on their website or shop elsewhere. And of course before I make any decision I can call and get the price on the same feed at the feedstore.

I don’t do this because the other feedstore does not have bargains generally and I am not interested in driving a 90 mile round trip to save a few bucks. I will admit some of the bags of feed on Chewy look really expensive and I would sure do some comparison shopping if I felt I had to have them. Some of the forage products are really high and I guess that covers the shipping for a bulky item. I think I would buy them elsewhere.

[IPEsq]

I will try to clarify my earlier comment. For Tribute, I think there are some dealers in nearby states. We have one dealer here but they actually go to AZ to pick up shipments, and I was quoted the same prices from them as Chewy. I was looking to buy more at a time because FedEx is awful and I think whoever drives the truck on Mondays will not lift anything heavy. And my (not that close by) neighbors occasionally get my feed instead of me. But at the end of the day, it’s like 45 mins drive to the other feed store and special orders, so I stuck with Chewy.

Initially, Tribute was very expensive. The “free shipping” upcharge was very high. But same price as if I ordered via Amazon or from the local dealer. After a while, this has come down maybe $15ish? And stayed relatively stable but does fluctuate a little bit even on auto ship. Enough that I switched my second horse to Tribute once he got to where he could eat a RB instead of full amounts of TC Senior Gold (which had inconsistent local supply). Last year, I got some Crypto Aero Wild Forage as a mix-in for this horse who occasionally didn’t want to eat any of his concentrates but liked the chopped hay and stuff in CA. It’s a 40lb bag and super expensive, but again similar prices to Smartpak or other sources. When other horse, who is soy free, got diagnosed ID last winter, I used some of the CA to cut calories and retain some bulk in his diet ration.

At one point, Chewy canceled the CA out of my auto ship, saying it was discontinued. Which was incorrect. I was able to add it back.

Then for a little while, all of my feeds were marked down basically half price for a while, which I think were prices more in line with what a true local store would carry. I think the Tribute may have been advertised as a sale, but it basically showed up the same as their price vs suggested price. I did order some extra during this time. It arrived quickly suggesting they had it warehoused locally. Now it’s all back up to the usual range. But it still arrives fast compared to when FedEx picks it up, so I think they are still keeping some fairly locally or in a nearby state (much of my feed gets shipped from MO, sometimes AZ).

Anytime FedEx has lost the package, they have been completely worthless to deal with, but Chewy has replaced it right away if I don’t get a message from a neighbor that they have my feed.

[TWH_Girl]

I’ve had great experiences with Chewy! I’ve ordered Ultra Cruz vitamin E, and also Tribute Constant Comfort and had them on auto ship. No issues with pricing, availability or shipping. They do run some enticing deals and buying from them is a great way to try products and feeds not readily available to purchase in person. I would not hesitate to use them on a regular basis.
As another poster said, I’ve had feed I’ve bought in person be moldy (TSC) so buying in person doesn’t guarantee anything.

[Montanas_Girl]

@TWH_Girl

As another poster said, I’ve had feed I’ve bought in person be moldy (TSC) so buying in person doesn’t guarantee anything.

That’s a known issue with TSC. Locally owned feed stores and cooperatives generally (but not always, of course) do a better job of inventory management and stock rotation than chains like TSC/Rural King or, especially, Chewy. And, if you buy in-person, it’s much easier to exchange the feed for fresher product.

I’m not saying “don’t buy feed from Chewy”. I’m saying keep an eye on the lot codes to make sure the product you receive is in date. That same advice applies to shopping at TSC.

[SusanO]

My other choices besides TSC are 45 minutes and 1 hour plus. Feed store #1 - lots of times the bags smell heavily of mouse urine. Like reek. And more than once I had to buy a bag that was taped up with holes in the bag. Mouse holes??? I have no idea if they were over the expiration date because I didn’t check but my pony refused to eat Triple Crown RB. Old feed? Maybe he just didn’t like the flavor.

Feed store #2 - not a whole lot better inventory management. Back in the day when they delivered it wasn’t uncommon to get a bag of moldy feed. And that was a huge problem when I went to the barn and I had no good feed. I have bought a few bags from them since and it wasn’t moldy but I am not impressed with their inventory management. When you call before you make the hour long trek they will tell you have something and when you get there it isn’t in stock.

And of course you have the TSC practice of having pallets of feed stored in the back parking lot under a tent/ temporary shelter. I could not get a bag of Neutrena feed that was not moldy in the middle.

Now I know not all feed stores are like these but I have had better luck with Chewy than the local stores.