Would give 0 stars if I could. I called Tack N Rider and spoke to Prashant in October about consigning my saddle. I don't live close to Wellington, and I travel often for work. Instead of selling it myself, I was hoping to consign it because I don't have time to deal with shipping, fielding potential buyers, etc.
Prashant assured me that while he doesn't do consignments that often, he sold a similar saddle as mine in 24 hours. He assured me that he has a lot of clientele from South America, where this brand of saddle is particularly popular, and suggests he can work directly with them to move my saddle. Perfect.
I drive to Wellington one afternoon to drop off the saddle. Should have known right away this place was a joke. Suddenly, the stories about how he sold the same saddle in 24 hours seemed to dry up, and seemed much less confident about selling the saddle. Mind you, this is a high-end jump saddle in excellent condition, that's been indoors for the past 4 years, with almost no wear and tear. Prashant went back and forth with me on how I wanted to price it, told me he doesn't take saddles out to WEF in his trailer with other equipment (so how are people going to know it's for sale?), and asked me to give him the dimensions of the saddle, leathers, and girth, even though the saddle was in the room four feet away from us. When I told him I didn't know the measurements off the top of my head, and suggested he just go look at the equipment for the dimensions, he said it would be more "convenient" if I just told him. Thought it was weird but left the saddle with him because I didn't have time to take it somewhere else.
Weeks go by and I ask about the status of the saddle. I had checked his store's Instagram, and didn't see any pictures of it, so I asked him why. Prashant wrote back that he was waiting for a camera to come in (have you heard of using an iPhone?) so he could take pictures of it, and that he didn't think he could sell the saddle. I was about to leave the country and told him that I'd be happy to share the social post to my own networks once he got the camera/pictures.
A couple months go by, still nothing, I text him asking if he ever posted the saddle. He doesn't answer for several days. He says no he hasn't, and there's been no interest, and the season has been so busy that he hasn't had a chance to take a picture of it, and that the season is slow for saddles. (So it's a busy season, but you are going to refrain from advertising my saddle?) I ask a clarifying question, get no response. I send a follow up, realize he's blocked me. I tried calling the store on my phone several times, it goes straight to voicemail. I call on a friends phone, and I'm able to get ahold of the store, and he confirms he's blocked me, but won't tell me why. Completely unprofessional. I ask what time his shop closes, because online it says 6pm, and I wanted to come get the saddle that day. He tells me he's open until 5pm. I point out that on google and his website, it says 6pm, so that's really misleading. I ask if he has any intention of updating the time, and he says no. I'm astounded at how rude he is to me on the phone, and how unprofessional he's being.
When I eventually get the saddle, one of his assistants helps with the saddle, and he puts the saddle cover on completely wrong. Prashant is in the store, but doesn't approach me or offer to help. Ended up taking the saddle somewhere else.
I don't think Prashant or his staff know anything about the horse industry, and Prashant certainly doesn't know anything about professionalism, customer service, honesty, marketing, or sales. As is standard in the industry, he was going to get a 30% commission from the saddle; why not just post in on your page? It's easy money for you. I've never bought anything from here, and after this experience, would never set foot in this shop again. Looking at some of the other reviews here, it seems he's just as difficult with his clients. This guy is lazy and unprofessional; my advice is to support other tack shops and small equestrian businesses in Wellington.
Edited to add:
1) Prashant informed me he does do consignments on occasion, and enthusiastically invited me to bring my saddle in after our initial phone call.
2) I was never told "repeatedly" not to leave the saddle. Tack n Rider accepted the saddle for consignment, and both Prashant and I signed a legal contract outlining the terms of the consignment, thereby confirming he wished to do business with me.
3) The saddle in question is not in "extremely poor condition," and it certainly is not in such a condition that would warrant throwing it away. Unfortunately, it seems that the employees at Tack n Rider lack the necessary knowledge and experience to appropriately evaluate tack.
4) At no time did Prashant inform me that he thought said saddle is in poor condition. He certainly never indicated to me that it should be discarded. read more
