Thor.. You seem to have done/doing alot of research on your chippers. Like I said before have been selling chippers for the last 20 years. Interesting how many post about buying this machine or that machine thinking it is the right one,only to regret their purchase shortly after.
I have used most chippers over the years and certainly my best sales were acheived in the late 90's with the TP 760 and 960 range together with the Vermeer 620/625. The Entec and Greenmech machines soon took over. First Greenmech became the Uk leader but soon lost that spot to Entec,( now Timberwolf).
It's very interesting the way Jensen are suddenly shooting up the sales leader board, especially given the comments of some users on this thread. It seems clear that independant dealers/salesmen have a big influence to play on the chipper market.
For example at the last APF I had a hire company who were looking to break into the chipper hire and sales market they wanted to buy 2 x 6" and 2 x 9" mobile machines and had a set budget. After I did the rounds at the show getting some quotes the first importer who quoted me a dealer price realised that he would not get the order. He came back and offered an extra £8000 discount just to get the deal.
It just shows how much profit there is in chippers and how manufacture's and importers can adjust their prices to get sales No's up if they want.
Most of the tree guy's I know have now wised up to salesmen and which machines are good or bad, but at the end of the day they all like to try something new. You don't find many salesmen that will knock others machines,Why, it's simple in a couple of months time they might be selling that machine.
The chipper that you have a demo with and buy,is in the buyer's opinion the best for the money at that time. True until it breaks down or the parts back up is non existent. Best of all when you come to trade it in. We've all heard it, It's a bit tatty,you've not looked after it, nobody wants to buy a 4 yr old 2nd hand machine,The new ones we now sell have this or that fitted etc etc. Load of balls. Look at the number of machines that Mr Mason turns over.
I am moaning and feel it's about time a lot more people did. The chipper market is small in terms of annual sales units and there around 36 importers/manufacture's chasing that market. They are the ones making all the big money yet rely on a small minority to make that money. It's about time they realised that the small guy's are paying around the same amout of money for a new chipper as what they would for, lets say a decent car, mid range BMW,Merc etc yet the service and products and quality they offer bear little resemblence to that of the car. Until they get their acts together it never will.
It's time that sombody listened to the tree guy's and realised that they are business men too and not just country boys with a chainsaw or two. Until somebody does we will just have to take pot luck and believe the salesmen when they say "trust me" and " I'm not just saying this because I have a morgage to pay and really need the commission"
We should make a list of what we want and they should make sure that we get it. But buying a chipper is like voting for an MP. They will tell you what you want to hear, get the vote and you won't see them again until the next election.
Happy chipping
