Come and visit us in store at Myerscough Arena 👋

Come and visit us in store at Myerscough Arena for saddle chats & valuations 👋

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Our team are available 9am - 4pm Monday-Friday

Selling A Saddle T&Cs

PLEASE NOTE ALL VALUATIONS ARE VALID FOR 14 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF YOUR VALUATION AS OUR STOCK LEVELS CHANGE DAILY AS DOES THE MARKET. 

Our Commitment to You

Saddles Direct has a wonderful team of knowledgeable and highly motivated staff, all working very hard to provide an excellent service & secure a sale as quickly as possible for all of our clients. We have a very loyal customer base & an unprecedented amount of repeat business from leisure riders all the way through to high profile professionals.

We aim to get sales as quickly as possible by providing clear photographs, descriptions & measurements to eliminate wasted trial attempts. This also makes sure our stocks are turned over quickly to stimulate traffic.

Your saddle is insured, cleaned, packaged & cared for as if it was our own. When sent out on trial they are fully tracked, insured & inspected to maintain high levels of care.

As much as we would love to take your accessories in, we do not have the space. Please do not send your saddle with a cover or accessories, as we will not be able to return them.

Saddle Inspection & MOT

Once your saddle arrives, it will be inspected by our in-house saddle fitters. Below are some of the common reasons saddles fail their checks and may incur additional costs:

Cleanliness & Hygiene: Please ensure your saddle comes to us in a fair condition. Heavily soiled saddles with cobwebs, mould, thick horse sweat & grease etc. will be subject to a £50 cleaning fee.

Leather Condition: please ensure any scuffs & scratches have been detailed in your valuation and the colour/condition of the leather is accurately shown in the pictures.

Saddle Pins & Badges: Please ensure that the saddles pin badges are secure and in place; if they are loose or missing, there is a replacement fee of £50 per badge.

Stitching: Please check the stitching on the girth straps, around the knee rolls and between the seat and panels. We can do minor repairs and will provide a quote before any work is carried out.

Knee & Thigh Blocks: If your saddle is meant to have velcro knee blocks, please ensure both matching are provided. If you no longer have them, we can replace them for you at the RRP.

Girth Guards: If these are missing, we can replace them for you at the RRP.

Adjustable Gullet Bars: Please ensure you have the correct model of gullet bar for your saddle. Using the wrong type of gullet bar can damage the tree, and will not be accepted. Also thoroughly check the gullet bar fastenings, bolts & screws to ensure they are not rusted, cross-threaded and do not have worn away heads.

Flocking & Panels: If the flocking is hard, lumpy, unevenly flocked or has indentations in the panel, it may need some flocking adjustments or a reflock. We can do this for you and will provide a quote before any work is carried out. If you have had maintenance done recently, please ensure this is detailed on your valuation.

Structural Integrity: Please ensure you check the soundness of the tree and stirrup bars. 

  • If the saddle has been dropped, rolled in or involved in a horse fall. It may be damaged.

  • Check how much movement & flex the tree has. If it is overbending, it may be cracked or broken. 

  • The stirrup bars should not be sticking out or digging in. If your stirrup leathers slide on and off very easily, it can indicate a fault. 

  • Saddles with tree and/or stirrup bar issues cannot be accepted for sale and will be returned to you.

The cost to return the saddle after a failed inspection is £25.00. We recommend returning the saddle to the manufacturer for a full inspection and any necessary repairs.

If you are unsure, please send pictures to valuations@saddlesdirect.co.uk 

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

  1. The valuation Service is free of charge, our experienced staff take their time to research the market and give you the most accurate valuation they can for your saddle.  Sometimes our valuation is far lower than you are expecting, but we really know this industry and the amounts we give you are based on what we feel is a realistic market valuation. 

  2. The valuation is not a guarantee of sale. The valuation is an estimate based on the information you have given us, so if you are using the valuation for insurance purposes or to sell privately yourself then you need to be very accurate. If you are selling to us as a result of our valuation the price will be confirmed once we have inspected your saddle in store (90% of all our valuations to buy are accurate).

  3. By sending your saddle to Saddles Direct, you grant us permission to photograph, list, and promote your saddle across our website, marketing channels, and partner platforms.

    We require the saddle to be advertised exclusively by us whilst available for trial. The saddle must be removed from all other sale listings including Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Preloved, Vinted etc.

  4. By agreeing to send your saddle to us for sale, you commit to having the saddle with us for a minimum of 20 weeks. If you request the saddle back within 20 weeks, there will be an early return fee of £50 plus the return postage. 

    1. If your saddle remains unsold after this period, we will review the pricing with you and may recommend adjustments to improve saleability based on current market conditions.

  5. You may request the return of your saddle, in accordance with the following;

    1. We require at least 1 week's notice, in case it is on trial.

    2. If it is on trial or a sale is agreed, we must finish the transaction with the new owner & pay you accordingly.

    3. If the saddle is in stock we will ship it to your collection address, or another address provided in writing.

    4. We will not ship the saddle to another third-party.

  1. By agreeing to send your saddle to us for sale, you acknowledge that your saddle is available for trial. We will cosmetically clean your saddle, and take all reasonable precautions to ensure its safety and condition.

    1. Customers can take saddles on trial in 5-day increments, up to a maximum of 15 days.

    2. Saddle fitters can take saddles on trial for up to 21 days to allow for multiple fittings and give your saddle the best chance of selling.

  2. By agreeing to our service, you acknowledge that saddles made available for trial may experience reasonable and unavoidable wear consistent with normal use.

    Saddles Direct shall not be liable for:

    • Minor cosmetic wear resulting from trial use
    • Pre-existing faults not disclosed at valuation
    • Loss or damage caused by third-party couriers where services have been selected by the seller
    • Our total liability shall not exceed the agreed valuation of the saddle.

  1. Our costs are covered in the commission fee from a sale. We will never charge you hidden fees for advertising, insurance, VAT, tax, packaging etc. You will never receive less than the valuation price, unless;

    1. The saddle valuation was reissued following the saddle inspection;

    2. You agreed to take a reduced offer from a buyer;

    3. You agreed to reduce the cost of the saddle to promote a sale.

  1. Payment to you will only be released once the buyer’s payment has been successfully received, cleared, and the trial period has concluded without return.

    In the event of a return, cancellation, or payment dispute, the sale will be considered void and no payment will be issued until the matter is resolved.

    1. For an outright purchase, you can choose to receive payment via PayPal upfront or via bank transfer when the saddle arrives to us.

    2. If opting for a bank transfer, payment is made to you within 48 hours of the saddle arriving with us.

    3. If you have agreed to a commission sale, you will receive payment 14 days from when the saddle is confirmed. This is to allow for the statutory cooling off period. Payment is made via bank transfer or PayPal.

Using our DPD Collection Service

  • The collection is purchased upfront and you can choose from either a tracked and/or insured service along with your preferred collection day. You will receive a link to purchase once you have accepted the valuation. 

  • Ensure the saddle(s) are well protected in a suitable box, with your details inside.

    • We recommend a 60 x 60 x 60 cm box. This will fit 2 saddles. 

  • Please write our address on the inside and outside of the box. DPD will provide a label, but should the label come off or get damaged, this ensures your parcel will still be sent to us. 

  • We will select the day of collection (monday-friday exc. Bank holidays) and DPD will provide a 1-hour window on the morning of collection.

  • DPD offers a 98% guarantee for collection, sometimes this may be carried over to the next day due to workload, so a work address is preferable, or your livery yard.

Where Saddles Direct arranges courier services on your behalf, we do so as an agent. While all shipments are tracked and insured where selected, Saddles Direct cannot guarantee courier performance and is not liable for delays once the parcel is in transit.

We strongly recommend selecting an insured service appropriate to the value of your saddle.