Saddle

But put a reserve on it on ebay. Otherwise you stand to lose a bit.

Whats that supposed to mean poppy? About the "quality saddles?..........

Yes it is very hard to sell saddles right now that aren't a name brand so be prepared to take a little loss$ and just be patient. Take some good photos of it (matching pad, etc on a nice well groomed horse) make the ebay listing look really good - that will help a BUNCH but the others are right - the bidding you get won't be top notch. That's just the economy today. If there is a newer saddle you want, sometimes the dealers will take it as a trade in and knock a little off the price of a new one. You might try that!

The problem with custom saddles is that unless you can find someone who likes the same style and colors as you, reselling is almost impossible. Everytime I buy a saddle - especially expensive stuff - I but with the intent to resell down the line or at the very least, I make sure I set myself up to have that option if I need it. As a result, I tend to stick to name brands and more conservative designs and such and have really good luck over the years with that. It might be something to consider with the purchase of your next saddle or other big ticket tack item.

Try Craiglist, too - you could also post flyers at feed stores and places like that. Good luck! But be patient - it might take a bit of work and a little bit of time to move it along.

As stated earlier in the thread this saddle is not made of good quality. And as such the majority of those saddles don't fit properly on the average horse. It may be ok if only used for certain events where the color may be appealing but it most likely would not hold up to daily use.

Well what poppy probably noticed right off the bat, is that the D ring for tying the girth is attached to a concho up under the pommel and not built into the skirt of the saddle - that is something that you see on the cheap overseas models...there should be a heavy d ring under the stirrup fender for tying your girth - not a choncho - that is dangerous...

It is just something that comes with years of experience looking at saddles - you can spot things that make you go 'hmmm' a mile away -

What is the saddle brand? What are other saddles of this brand going for? That would help you know what to sell it for, too...look them up and see what others are selling/buying the same saddle for...

There are so many cheap saddles (and by cheap, I mean that the construction might actually get a person/horse hurt from the way they are made) that I just go back to my trusty name brands when it is time for saddle shopping -

I like the abetta, big horn and american saddlery for codura/synthetic types in western, wintec for english

But in western full leather, I like circle Y, bighorn, courts, and dixieland for my gaited horses and the older american saddlery saddles before they joined with bighorn...

Those are names you can buy that are 20 years old for $300 and know they will last you another 20 years...

Also questioning the stirrup placement? Doesn't the fender usually cover the front cinch? Or at least most of it?

What was meant by a quality saddle is that there are people who you couldn't give the saddle to let alone expect any return on. I wouldn't even pay to have a free saddle shipped to me if it was a low quality saddle.

IMO you could maybe recoup some of your $ if someone is looking for a saddle to decorate with. But I am sure you will find a buyer who is looking beyond quality and thinking all saddles are the same.

Good luck with your sale but don't be surprised if you don't recoup much of what you paid for it. Sorry

You may have to make a choice then, you can price the saddle at whatever you want to, but you can't make people buy it. What I'm seeing is a very cheap looking saddle, and to me it would have 0 value, I would not take it in. The we have the issues of damage to it, not your fault, it came like that, I hope you complained BTW)

I wish you all the best of luck selling it, but don't expect it to go quickly

It really is amazing at how quickly just over the past 5 years or so, there are millions of saddles made for under or around $300 on ebay that are BAD BAD BAD in so many ways. The innocent shopper buying a saddle for the first time thinks that they have hit a gold mine and have all these wonderful choices - all they have to do is just decide on one and sadly they fall into situations like this.

I don't know how other people shop for saddles, and I can only speak for myself and my 25 yrs of experience - I don't even look at them if they are cheaper than $500 and if they are $500, then they are one of two things - a new or fairly new cordura/leather name brand or a 15 yr old or greater brand name all leather with some wear on it.

I expect to pay at least $6-$800 for a used brand name saddle less than 10 yrs old - and even that would be a steal!

This is just my little ol' opinion which might help someone along the way somewhere. Everybody has been thru it and that's how we learned, right?

There are so many of the poor quality name-brand saddles flooding the market, because people buy them. I wish the clubs, barns, trainers, instructors, etc would do some education about saddle quality and saddle fit. It wouldn't take much. People shouldn't have to learn about these saddles (not the OP's saddle specifically, which I know nothing about - but inexpensive saddles in general) by actually buying and owning one. I've stopped a few friends from buying lemons. It was easy. I set down my Passier, Collegiate, and a Stubben next to an Indian-made brand-less saddle, and said: look, feel, compare, and tell me your observations. Point made very quickly.