... Even if you are lucky enough to live near a saddlers, the range of products is often very limited, and also pricey - I think this is due to the misconception that all horse/pony owners are wealthy! I’m certainly at the bottom end of the wealth ladder, which is where mail order firms such ... Read review
Advantages: Wide range, good prices Disadvantages: High postage
...mail order firms such as Robinsons come in.
ABOUT THE CATALOGUE
Robinsons Country Leisure have been established for over fifteen years, and they have built up a good reputation - they have won the Your Horse Product Awards for Best Equestrian Mail Order Service on numerous occasions.. They have a huge range of products - the catalogue is 248 pages - and prices are generally lower than the shops. They ... ...I automatically receive a new Robinsons catalogue every year. The current one was released in September and runs from 2003 to 2004. Inside are colour coded sections to make it easier to find what you are looking for:
- For You (red section)
- Your Home (orange section)
- Your Horse (green section)
- Your stable (blue section)
To give you a general idea of what to expect from each section, I will ... more
There’s something really good about being able to curl up on the sofa with a hot cuppa and do your shopping. That’s what I love about catalogues - no pushy sales assistants, no crowds of shoppers, no need to even leave your house. This is a huge plus, especially if you are shopping for horsey items and don’t have a saddlers nearby. Even if you are lucky enough to live near a saddlers, the range of products is often very limited, and also pricey - I think this is due to the misconception that all horse/pony owners are wealthy! I’m certainly at the bottom end of the wealth ladder, which is where mail order firms such as Robinsons come in.
ABOUT THE CATALOGUE
Robinsons Country Leisure have been established for over fifteen years, and they have built up a good reputation - they have won the Your Horse Product Awards for Best Equestrian Mail Order Service on numerous occasions.. They have a huge range of products - the catalogue is 248 pages - and prices are generally lower than the shops. They also have their own range of goods (Requisite) including rider clothing, horse rugs and bits, which are very good value.
There are several ways to buy at Robinsons:
- visit the superstore - via the website - through the catalogue (post, fax or phone)
I have never visited the superstore as it is just too far away. There was a huge fire last year that burned the whole place to the ground, but it has now been rebuilt on the same site, and is apparently much larger than before. Fortunately, the fire did not affect the mail order side of the business! For those that would like to visit the store, I have included contact details below.
I have visited the website, but that is a subject for another op!
As I am on their mailing list, I automatically receive a new Robinsons catalogue every year. The current one was released in September and runs from 2003 to 2004. Inside are colour coded sections to make it easier to find what you are looking for:
- For You (red section) - Your Home (orange section) - Your Horse (green section) - Your stable (blue section)
To give you a general idea of what to expect from each section, I will tell you a little about each.
The ‘For You’ section is where you will find everything for the rider. There is a range of childrens wear, jackets, hats, footwear and even special horse rider underwear (bet you didn’t know they made that!). Safety equipment such as flourescent gear, body protectors and hard hats are also in this section. I will admit, some of the leisure wear is a little tacky (tops and jumpers covered with giant horse heads for example), but everybody should be able to find something to their taste in this section.
The ‘Your Home’ section is the place to look if you want to find horse-related books, DVDs, toys, software, jewellery, gifts and so on. For pony mad children there is a range of bedding. There are also four pages of dog products such as bowls, coats and beds. I don’t have a dog at the moment, but it seems no horsey household is complete without a mutt, so I may be forced to get one lol!.
The ‘Your Horse’ section is by far the largest in the catalogue, and is also my favourite! This is where you will find everything you need for your horse - rugs, saddles, bridles, saddle cloths, boots, bandages - you name it, they’ve got it. Of course, this is the section where the big money gets spent - The cheapest saddle is £135, the most expensive £799 (choke, cough!).
Finally, there is the ‘Your Stable’ section where (you guessed it) everything needed around the stable yard is listed. Now, I don’t actually keep my pony in a stable but there are still plenty of handy things in this section - wormers, clippers, first aid equipment, grooming products, stable fittings and feed buckets are just a few. Did you know there are glitter gels, sprays and hoof polish available in case you want a real life My Little Pony? There are, and Robinsons sell them!
Robinsons have a personalisation service, and all the products that can be personalised are listed toward the back of the catalogue. I suspect this could be handy if your horse was kept on a large yard and you needed to know which bits of kit belonged to you. Some products have the personalisation included in the price. For rugs and saddlecloths the cost varies according to which type of lettering you choose, embroidery or heat press. There is a huge difference in price between the two - for example, up to three letters of embroidery on your rug costs £10, but up to three heat press letters cost £5. I have never used this service, as it does seem rather an expensive way of marking your gear - a paint brush and a pot of emulsion is much cheaper!.
Following on from the personalisation section there is a size guide for rugs, clothing, jodhpurs, saddles and bridles with a handy inches to centimetres conversion guide at the bottom of the page (it keeps Brussels happy!). Over the page is a comprehensive information section detailing how to order including a piece regarding exports.
ORDERING
Robinsons accept cheques and most major credit and debit cards except Solo, Electron and Maestro. Until I was blessed with a visa debit card, I only had the lowly Solo, and no cheque book, so I always used a different catalogue. Great way to lose business!
Ordering, as the catalogue says, ‘is so easy’. There are a few different ways to place your order:
By post - Fill in the order form at the back of the catalogue. There is space here for a first and second choice of colour options. Underneath the main order form is the personalisation order form. Once you have added up your totals you just need to post it to Robinsons (address below). Another small minus here, as the address is not freepost, so you must pay for a stamp as well as the postage for your parcel. Postal ordering is the only option for those people who don’t have the right bit of plastic. A new order form is included in your parcel, along with a returns form.
By fax - As above but faxed instead of posted.
By phone - A good way to order, as the operator can tell you immediately if an item is in stock, and if not when it will be. I have found the operators to be friendly and efficient, and my orders have always arrived within 4 working days when placed by phone.
Use the website - I have found this harder to use, mostly because the search function never seems to bring up what I’m looking for. This means manually checking the lists of products, which can take some time as they list each size of the same thing separately. However, this is another way to instantly check stock, and orders placed through the website also seem to arrive within 4 days.
POSTAGE RATES
A distinct downside to this particular catalogue is the high post and packing rates, though insurance is included in the price. Standard delivery costs £4.50 (UK offshore £6.50), and it is stated that they aim to despatch your order within 24 hours of receipt. This generally means a wait of 3-5 working days. Express delivery is also available at a cost of £9.50 provided you ring the call centre before 12 noon. You will then receive your parcel the next working day. Saturday and Sunday are not counted as working days so an order placed on Friday will arrive on Monday, and an order placed on Saturday will arrive on Tuesday. There is another postage rate for large or heavy goods, denoted by a green van symbol next to the item in question. This is £7.50, and is applied to the whole order, so if you decide to buy a new stable door along with a pair of gloves and a hairnet you only have to pay the one rate for everything.
OPENING TIMES
If you choose to telephone your order, the call centre is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm Saturday and 10am to 2pm Sunday. These hours are extended in the run up to Christmas (8 September to 19 December) 8.30am to 8.30pm weekdays only.
RETURNS
Robinsons state that they will refund any item returned within 28 days of purchase, provided it is accompanied by a valid RMA number and the items are unsoiled, undamaged, unused and not customised or personalised. I have never had any need to return any goods, so I can’t comment on how good the service is. If you need an RMA number, you ring the number given on the returns form, repack your goods and send them back to Robinsons using the address label provided on your invoice. Having read the instructions, it seems there is an assumption that you will want to order replacement goods, but I don’t think this is obligatory! If you do require an exchange, postage will be free as long as you have the all important RMA number.
WHAT DO I THINK OF THEM?
I have ordered from Robinsons through the post, telephone and internet. Fortunately I have never run into any problems and have always found the service to be fast and efficient. My goods, which have included rugs, harness racks, gloves, boot jacks etc, arrive well packed and undamaged. You know they are from Robinsins due to the lovely green and white packaging they use! I have noticed a lovely picture of a very happy looking picker/packer in the back of the catalogue - maybe it’s his wage rate giving him a laugh! There is a dedicated Customer Service number, which I find very useful if I have questions about sizing.
My friend had a slightly bad experience with Robinsons when she ordered a rug from their sale brochure (which is sent a few times a year). Firstly, her order didn’t arrive on time, then when it did arrive proved to be the wrong type of rug. After much phoning back and forth, this was eventually resolved. As they had run out of the outdoor rug she had originally ordered, they decided to send a stable (indoor) rug in its place, without consulting her. A stable rug is about as much use as a chocolate teapot to us, since our ponies live out 24 hours a day. She did get her money back, but it ended up costing her return postage and she still had no rug for her pony. I think this may have been one of those unfortunate ‘while stocks last’ situations, but I really think the company should have phoned to ask before sending a substitution.
Going by the service I have always received, I would recommend the Robinsons catalogue to horse owners/riders. The range of products is good, from high end to economy, and the prices compare favourably with the shop-based saddlerys I have used. I have always been happy with the quality of the packing and the speed of deliveries. Not once have they had to tell me that a product is out of stock. However, I will dock them a star for the experience of my friend and their high postage rates.
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