I have just been conned by someone who on the surface seemed to be a genuine ebay seller. The 'seller' already had what appeared to be good feedback and other people were bidding on the brand new Wintec 2000 saddles they were offering for sale, in both black and brown and from size 16 to 18 inches. I was disappointed when I lost out in an auction but then was pleasantly surprised to get a second chance offer from the seller to buy the saddle at sixty quid. This seemed an absolute bargain. I emailed the seller and asked if they had any stirurrups and leathers available too and got the email reply that yes they did and it would be an extra 15 pounds. I duly sent my payment off through Nochex and two days later, when I emailed the seller to confirm my goods had been sent, got a reply confirming the saddle had been posted on the Saturday. I wanted to keep an eye on the seller to see what kind of feedback they were getting form other buyers and how much the other saddles that were listed were going for. Imagine my surprise when , two days later I discovered that the seller suddenly had no items for sale....a few days later when I checked again I found that they were no longer registered with Ebay...I am annoyed with myself for falling into this trap and equally very angry at the 'seller' who has ripped me and several other people off and been paid good money for goods they had no intention of selling to us. I have put in a complaint to ebay but as I paid through Nochex and they are no longer registered with Ebay I am doubtful that I will see my money again. I am also taking the matter up with my credit card company. I lost ninety pounds to this sheister...I feel even more sorry for those people who I know bid more than two hundred pounds to buy off the same 'seller'.

The moral of the story..if somethiung seems too good an offer to be true..it probably is....As any horse owner will know, it is not a cheap interest to have and, contary to the popular image, we are not all made of money. My husband and I could ill afford to lose ninety pounds as we are smallholders and every penny counts. There are a lot of good, genuine people on Ebay and I have bought some fabulous kit for my ponies over the past few months but please, all of you, be very careful when buying saddles..Check the sellers feedback and also, if they are simply selling through Nochex I would avoid...as they do not have to give you contact details this way..crafty eh.....

Update Nov 2006.....I put in a claim to my credit card company to try to get the money back but as Nochex were simply acting at she 'middlemen' in the transaction they are unable to cliam the money back for me. No longer possible to contact the seller and I am not eligible to claim through Ebay . Brilliant! So some a*******le out there is having a good pre-Christmas spend up with mine and other people's cash, kowing fine well they have got away with it. To the rest of you..please be careful. There are a lot of ruthles people out there who know where and how to and exploit, loopholes in the system.

My advice...if you want a saddle..go to a saddlers or professional tack shop..Better for the horse and better for your wallet!