But First, a little about me...........
Hello everyone. I'm Kim. Initially, I was going to use this, my first blog post, to blah blah blah about me and what I've done in the horse world and where I've been. It seemed like that right thing to do but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I was bored trying to write it, you'd be bored reading it. So I chose instead to add a brief outline in my profile description, and I will leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I have a lot of experience from being immersed in the horse industry for 35 years and I believe that I earned the respect of many of my peers and other professionals as well. (If any of you out there would like to chime in, I'd appreciate it lol ) And by the way, this is me ....
The Why.........
Everyone has a reason for the things they do. Every company was founded because someone decided that the world could be a better place, even if only for some, if things were done a little bit differently. Now, I'm not saying that my decision to open a tack shop was based on some delusion that it would end hunger or bring about world peace, but it was rooted in thinking there must be a better way to get horse people what they need.
Over the past 35 years I have bought so many different horse products, and in the process spent many many dollars doing so. When you manage a barn of 50 horses, you learn quickly that value and cheap are two very different things. Value is when the money you've spent is well worth the product you've purchased. Cheap is about the price tag only and does not equate, in most cases, to getting any value in your purchase.
So many times, I would purchase and item, thinking the price was right, only to find on either arrival or with use, that there was a reason the price was so low. And if you are doing that in mulitples of 20 or 35 or 50 or 100, that gets tiresome very quickly.
Because a part of you thinks - they must have known this when they were selling it right?
And oftentimes, upon reflection, you don't even want to complain because you know deep down that to expect value from such a cheap price tag is unreasonable.
So I decided I wanted to open a store and not sell people crap. Value is what I always look for; cheap crap is not allowed. And that is what I have tried to do. But let me tell you, that is not always easy. And here's why....
Horses Are Expensive
Just keeping a horse alive day to day is expensive. A bale of hay, a bag of shavings, 5lbs of feed - $18/day - $126/week - $540/month.
And I believe that because of that, every service and product that falls under the same umbrella takes an economic hit because of it. Horse people don't just want, they need things to bring as much value as possible because their horses are eating and pooping on the rest of their money.
The language in the marketplace often reflects that.
"Looking for affordable...." "looking for reasonably priced"....
But they don't want "cheap" because very rarely will you see someone asking for something cheap. But they will buy it, in the hopes that it has value.
So for awhile, in an attempt to be able to get people what they need "reasonably priced", I did bring in some stuff that I would consider cheap, but the price was right. And you know what happened? People bought it, because the price was right, and that was all that mattered to them, and then they were unhappy. And that made me unhappy.
So What Does This All Mean?
It means that anything for sale on this site, to my knowledge, is not crap. It is either good or excellent value for your money. If something is On Sale or a Closeout, it's because it is a discontinued style or colour, or maybe I got a deal from the manufacturer and I'm passing it along or maybe I'm not selling enough of it and I don't want it to go stale. Sometimes, because I only have so much room, if something isn't moving well enough, I'll put it on closeout rather than having it take up space.
Lastly, My Promise To You
If there is ever an issue with something I'm selling it will say in the description - ie. say its short dated or has a blemish.
And if YOU every have an issue with something you have bought from me, I want to know. Text me, email me, Facebook message me.
I want the process of buying equestrian supplies to be better.
I want to bring you value.
Cheers,
Kim