Wake Up, Dover!!

If anyone from Dover is reading this board, heads up!

Time to get rid of that RIDICULOUS shipping charge scale that’s based not on actual shipping weight and time but on the amount spent. That’s prehistoric, folks, and not AT ALL competitive!

Both SmartPak and The Farm House have free shipping, even on returns with SP, whereas with Dover I had a $17.95 shipping charge PLUS sales tax last week for just a saddle pad and a shirt I wound up returning–at my expense.

Suffice it to say, I’m voting with my feet . . . Cheerio! :stuck_out_tongue:

My guess is it must be working for them, though, or they would have changed it a long time ago.

Hmm, i was wondering why the shipping was almost $16 for a couple pairs of breeches… They can’t possibly weigh that much. (And i looked a couple other places, but nobody else had what i wanted.)

No matter how many times people complain about their shipping charges on COTH, Dover isn’t going to do anything about it other than maybe come on and tell us to get their credit card to get better shipping. They don’t really seem to care about shipping charge complaints.

Well, they’ve lost my business.

At the time you ordered, you knew the shipping charge. If you were unhappy, why continue with the order?

I believe if you have their credit card, shipping is always $5.
Their customer service is excellent. A friend requested replacement closure for a blanket bought years ago and the sent her a new blanket because the part no longer available,

I never order from Dover, shipping is too much.

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;7622817]
Well, they’ve lost my business.[/QUOTE]

They are about to lose mine & not over the shipping.
I agree that is high, but you know it going in.
What has turned me off is the quality of the products.

I just ordered a pair of Riding Sport breeches - unaware it is a Dover brand - and they are pretty poor quality for the $100 price if not on closeout.
So my “bargain” 50% off is not so great, in regards to what I got.
Very thin fabric, hardly the “denim” advertised & the “R” length (no Long offered) is nearly highwater for me - a problem as I mostly ride in paddocks.
Spending $100 on this quality breech would really have pi$$ed me off.

I also ordered 2 cotton lead ropes @ $7.99 - mostly to satisfy my desire for custom colors - and they are pretty shoddy.
Small diameter rope, small chrome snaps, no knotting of snap to lead - uses that horrid big clamp instead.
They will become my emergency trailer leads when I can find decent replacements.

Dover used to mean Quality, not so much anymore it appears.

I refuse to order from them - haven’t in years due to their ridiculous shipping fees. I do have one of their stores about a half hour from me so I can easily go there but I rarely do (I prefer the family-owned tack shop a half hour in the other direction). And their customer service is a joke for the most part.

Heck I don’t even order from Smartpak anymore because I find their prices higher than most and free shipping is only if you spend at least $75.

People are well aware of Dovers shipping charges so don’t complain when you get to the checkout page and place your order.

I have to say I have found their customer service excellent. I have always found they have gone above and beyond to solve a problem for me. I agree my breeches from them didn’t hold up well, but they stood behind them and solved that for me, and their blankets are great.

It is pretty sad when you can purchase something from the UK and shipping is still cheaper than Dover!

I never shop from Dover anymore for 3 reasons. And I’m alittle bitter about it if you can tell hahah. I’ve wasted lots of money and lots of time driving to the store 30 minutes away from me before I finally realized what a waste it was.

  1. Prices! It’s honestly ridiculous. I’ve gotten everything from local tack shops and online since I stopped going there and saved a ton of money. I found a pair of really nice stirrup leathers for 90$ that were priced 160$ at Dover.
  2. Selection. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve asked for something and they literally don’t even know what it is. Ex: I wanted a fulmer bit and nobody in the entire store even knew what that was. And I can’t get ANYTHING in a pony size, not even online or with a special request.
  3. Customer service. This is probably my specific store, but like I said they sometimes don’t know what I’m asking for.

Anyways, there’s my rant for the day :slight_smile: Thanks for listening hahahahahah

I don’t order from Dover because of the shipping. I can’t justify spending $20 to have riding clothes shipped to my house, ridiculous! They do have a LOT of product on their website, so sometimes I’ll use it to find an item that suits my need, then I’ll look for it elsewhere. I go for SmartPak or VTO Saddlery first. I do love going to the physical Dover store though, SO nice inside and they have tons of things to try on for size. They do offer free shipping if you order something from inside the store, but it’s only a real cost saver if you live close to the store (I’m about three hours from it, so it’s a special trip.)

Yep, I totally agree. That’s why I stopped ordering from Dover.

My discontent goes back a bit further than the crazy shipping charges. I still haven’t gotten over the Dominion Saddlery in Chantilly VA becoming a Dover store. :wink:

[QUOTE=gumshoe;7623143]
My discontent goes back a bit further than the crazy shipping charges. I still haven’t gotten over the Dominion Saddlery in Chantilly VA becoming a Dover store. ;)[/QUOTE]

Thanks-- was not aware of this. (Haven’t been down there in decades, and was actually mulling driving down there some saturday this summer.)

Love Dover…a Huge fan…shop,in store in DE ( no tax) and buy with confidence on line…SmartPak not so much return return return…:frowning:

I ordered two RJ Classic show shirts from Dover and a baby pad just a couple of days ago. The shirts were on sale and really inexpensive, but then I had to pay $13 for shipping!

If I lived near a tack store where I could get my show clothes from, I don’t think I’d ever order from Dover again.

[QUOTE=Zenyatta;7623021]
I never order from Dover, shipping is too much.[/QUOTE]

Ditto this. I don’t even look at their website anymore; charging shipping by amount spent rather than weight is truly prehistoric and I walked with my feet a long time ago.