SHIPPING your sold dressage saddle.

Yay, good for you, you sold your saddle!  Congrats!  Now here are some tips for shipping from someone who handles a lot of packages.

1- Attach your address and phone number to the stirrup bar via a tag.  In the unlikely but also possible event that your saddle should become separated from the box, an address and phone number will help your saddle find its way home.

2- Wrap that rascal!  Packing shifts during transit. Then the leather rubs on cardboard for hundreds upon hundreds of bouncy miles.  Not good. I use oversized contractor garbage bags and slide the saddle in sideways, flap first not cantle or pommel first.

3- Size MATTERS!  Certainly you don't want to roll your saddle up and cram it into the smallest box possible, but shipping companies do have different pricing for certain size boxes.  Currently, an 18x18x24 size box will be big enough for the average dressage saddle and still small enough avoid those additional oversized fees with USPS.  USPS and UPS have great website calculators where you can calculate and compare shipping charges.  You can even purchase and print out your shipping label/postage on the sites, and usually for an additional savings.   I recommend checking out all options- don't always assume that ground/standard will be less expensive.  Pricing structures change, it only takes a few minutes to double check.

4- Don't create a box using other boxes.  Seriously.  Last I knew, Walmart has a decent 18x18x24 shipping box for next to nothing.  It's worth it.  Boxes that are cobbled together tend to be weak where they are taped.  I always have a spare box in the tack room because I've demoed many a saddle where the current box will not make the return trip safely.

5- Pack adequately, but that goes without saying.  Remember that parcels are not always handled by humans and that other parcels can and will be falling onto your parcel in the sorting machines.  To see these machines in action you can do a YouTube search.  Some shippers do offer a "Fragile" handling fee for extra careful treatment if you're particularly worried.

6- Be generous with the shipping tape. It doesn't weigh much.

7- Insure it.  Again, the vast majority of parcels arrive to their destinations perfectly fine, but not 100%.

8- Require a signature for delivery.  This service may come with the insurance automatically.  Once again, the vast majority of parcels arrive to their destinations perfectly fine, but not 100%.

Thinking about selling your dressage saddle?

It seems that I'm almost perpetually saddle shopping!  As I've ended up having to spend quite a bit of time asking for what I consider basic information from sellers about their saddles, I thought I'd put together an outline that might save sellers and buyers some time and effort.

First, please consider consigning it to a reputable saddle shop.  My MO is that if I don't sell a saddle quite quickly locally or on any of the Facebook groups, off to the consignment shop it goes.  I'd like to think it supports the industry a by helping someone earn a living by being a pro at saddles.  A win/win for me as I'll never have the depth of saddle knowledge that they will.  And beside making my life a whole lot easier, I'd like to think it also makes someone feel more comfortable buying a saddle.  Rather than having to trust someone they do not know with a PayPal transaction, they have the professional reputation of a business on which to rely.

So, if you're not going to consign...

1- Try to get the manufacturing stats on your saddle.  If you didn't purchase it new, contact the manufacturer with the serial number (if there is one), and ask if they have that information.  Model, year of manufacture, original tree size, seat size, any custom alterations, etc. I've been looking for a particular saddle lately, and I find that after I contact the saddle manufacturer about 50% of the ads have been incorrect- sort of- because...

2- For some saddles, that info may have changed (adjustable trees); each individual hand made saddle actually varies slightly; or the seller's description is really using a comparison.  An example would be to say that a certain saddle has a "wide" tree compared to other saddles, but really the manufacturer lists it as a medium.  So for clarity, it's also wise to provide a couple of measurements along with the manufacturer's stats.  This is why saddle shops will state that a saddle is "Marked" a certain measurement, but "Measures" another measurement.

The two most important places to measure are seat size and gullet.  Seat size is measured from the center of the nail head to the center of the cantle.  Gullet is a less standard measurement, what I recommend is to find a landmark (lines of stitching at the top of the panels), measure evenly and include a photo of the measurement so that the buyer has a visual comparison.

3- If the size of your ad is limited, a quick side shot of the saddle is OK, but if there is room seven pictures is even better.  Please don't condition your saddle immediately before taking pictures, I know it makes the leather look great but a good ad is all about clarity and accurate representation!

Seven pics- Front, gullet measurement, left side, rear, right side, top and bottom.  All of the saddle needs to be in each pic!  Additional pics to show close ups of any blemishes are also ideal.  Because of custom alterations, many models of saddles will have variations.  Providing a complete set of pics eliminates having to ask exactly what kind of panels that particular saddle has, etc.

4-  If wool or foam flocked, describe the condition of the flocking.  An older saddle that has recently had a strip flock is worth more than an older saddle that needs the flocking replaced.  Once again, clarity! Don't make a buyer guess or have the opportunity to be disappointed.

5- Double check the tree condition and possibly have it verified by a reputable saddle fitter.  I've received "flex tree" saddles on trial that really had broken trees.  The first test I do when pulling a trial saddle out of the box is to double check the tree.

6- Allow trails.  I know it sounds scary.  Probably so scary it's easier to just consign the saddle and let someone else deal with it.  But there are a lot of people who rightfully will not consider buying a saddle unless they can ride in it first. If you're confident that you can sell your saddle even after eliminating those people from a list of potential buyers, then by all means don't allow trials. 

7- Be savvy about pricing.  What other saddles just like yours are listed for might not be what they're actually selling for.  For this reason I also always entertain offers, and if someone catches me on a day I'm feeling cash poor, they could get a very good deal!   

Good luck selling your saddle and happy riding!