Deep thoughts on Internet sales - Not a rant

[MS260 Fan]

Just a general comment I guess. I was looking for a lower dollar part for one of my saws. I went to ebay and found a US seller with the item for sale. This seller has sold approximately 33,000 items on ebay!!

My first thought was they must be offering a good deal so let's see what shipping is going to be. With shipping the item would have been $19 USD. Rather than buy I called my local Husky dealer. Their prices for the genuine part was a little over $12 + tax CDN.

I have nothing bad to say about this very reputable seller. It got me thinking though. Do people buy from these mail order companies out of laziness? Could they be like me and just assume they are getting a deal because 'it's on the internet'? I look for any excuse to go to dealers. I think I now have even more reasons.

 

[spacemule]

Just a general comment I guess. I was looking for a lower dollar part for one of my saws. I went to ebay and found a US seller with the item for sale. This seller has sold approximately 33,000 items on ebay!!

My first thought was they must be offering a good deal so let's see what shipping is going to be. With shipping the item would have been $19 USD. Rather than buy I called my local Husky dealer. Their prices for the genuine part was a little over $12 + tax CDN.

I have nothing bad to say about this very reputable seller. It got me thinking though. Do people buy from these mail order companies out of laziness? Could they be like me and just assume they are getting a deal because 'it's on the internet'? I look for any excuse to go to dealers. I think I now have even more reasons.

Why would you want to take time, money, and drive all the way down to your dealer when you can have the precise part you need delivered to your door step with a couple of clicks? With most purchases I make, I would much rather order online rather than fight traffic and take the time to go to a dealer. Also, I can order online 24/7. Show me a local dealer like that.

 

[bartlanz]

I shop around on most everything, I like to go into a store and check stuff out, You get to see new things, feel tools and talk to people if you so choose... I also like online shopping, no stupid sales people, some times better prices, peoples reviews and experiances, as you said lazyness... It depends, I bought my saw (stihl 361c-b) from a local dealer even though I was able to get it for less on ebay, I wanted to feel it, experiance it and have the service to back it up in the end. Electronics I almost always buy online.

 

[rms61moparman]

I always like to spend my money as close to where I live as I can.
Money spent halfway across the country stays there, while money spent in my hometown might eventually find its way back into my pocket.(or at least into one of my neighbors pockets)
That being said, I also like to beat the government out of what they THINK they deserve of my money as often as I can.
When I find myself needing an item, I very often search the internet for the best price I can find before I shop locally. Then I have a ballpark figure to work with.
When I bought my 5100 I found the best price I could find on the net and went to my dealer. I hate the haggle game so I looked him on the eye and told him what I could get it for and he gave me a price that was within $20.00 of the net price so I bought from my local dealer.
I have also taken several customers and potential customers to his store and introduced them.
He has made a couple of sales because of the way he dealt with me.


Mike

 

[thechainsawguy]

Its a convenience thing for most people, plus a way to find obsolete parts. I would pay at least $10 to not have to go to one store or another when I make a "trip to town". Since I drive an hour to go to town and have enough things to do, so if I can order online, rather that drive around, then that works good for me. Most dealers near me don't bother with saws over 10 years old and finding parts.

BTW I have a bunch of 394 cylinders if you still need one, you can email me. Dave.

 

[kevlar]

Its a convenience thing for most people, plus a way to find obsolete parts. I would pay at least $10 to not have to go to one store or another when I make a "trip to town". Since I drive an hour to go to town and have enough things to do, so if I can order online, rather that drive around, then that works good for me. Most dealers near me don't bother with saws over 10 years old and finding parts.

BTW I have a bunch of 394 cylinders if you still need one, you can email me. Dave.

that last sentence says it all: you need a cylinder,he has one. I love the internet, If I want/need something-bing bada boom. I can find everything I ever wanted online- hell I can find stuff I had no idea was even out there!

 

[atlarge54]

I needed a spark plug a few years ago and went to the local Stihl dealer to purchase one. First try was about a ten minute wait with the salesman working with another customer on a lawnmower sale. Second try was similar only I left sooner. Both times I could hear the owner having a social ****-chat in his office not far from the counter. I've never been back and will never go back. I've purchased two new saws from this dealer but it's under new ownership. Anyone have any similar experience with a dealer in Auburn, IN?

 

[272super]

Most of the time I can find a part cheaper on the web. I could not do without it. If a dealer has it for the same or less,I'll go there,but that does not happen very often. Try finding obsolete parts at a dealer.

 

[beanz4brainz]

Most of the time I can find a part cheaper on the web. I could not do without it. If a dealer has it for the same or less,I'll go there,but that does not happen very often. Try finding obsolete parts at a dealer.

I agree.

My 'dealer' and I get along like a house on fire, but unfortunately for both of us, that's where it ends.

Recently I ordered a complete clutch without first asking the price. Bad Move! I sorta choked when he asked for $145AUD. Promptly told him to send it back even if I had to pay the shipping, as I could get one online for $50AUD delivered from the UK..... so we ordered two!

Now, my outlook is that I'll only order from him either in an emergency, or for small hard to find parts and then only if I know what it's worth.


b4b.

 

[Modifiedmark]

How about this, I'm working overtime and get off past the closing time of the dealer. How much more is it going to cost me to leave work 2 hrs early to get there before closing time then just paying the shipping?

The 2 closest Stihl dealers to me are 10 miles and 20 miles away. The one 10 miles away don't seem to stock any parts to speak of and charges a shipping amount of one sort or another everytime he has to order something.

My closest Husky dealer is 30 miles away in a direction I never seem to go, so that's a 60 mile round trip most of the time.

Seems that the internet/mail order shipping charges is a cost effective means most the time for me.

I never have to leave the house and the parts appear on my back door.

No precious time lost, no gas wasted etc.

 

[thomasjf]

No doubt, I really appreciate the convience of internet shopping. For me, many of the parts I want or need are only availiable on the net. Small towns, rural areas, just don't have the dealer networks or stocks. And if I take my time and do some looking, I can usually find what I want at very attractive prices. The net is quick, easy, and how convient to have it delivered to your door and never spend a dime on gasoline trying to find something.

 

[porch monkey]

I always like to spend my money as close to where I live as I can.

Amen!! Support the people who support your community. Try getting the internet sites to donate to the volunteer fire department or the school booster club. They don't give a #### about that. But we always expect all of our local merchants to support local causes, don't we? They can't do that without making a profit.

 

[rambrush]

Like most here I live in a small town with not much shopping available. Las Vegas is 2 hours north and Phoenix is 3 hours.
Place in Montana is 8 miles off the paved road, off the grid and miles from anywhere.
Online is the way to go for most everything.

 

[BIG BEAM]

If you don't support the local guy's they'll disappear,it's as simple as that.Some hard to find parts you have to get on the net(discontinued parts).
DON

 

[oldsaw]

I just had to order a part for my VW from a supplier in Ohio. Neither dealer in town had one, nor any of the parts outlets. I paid the same money for an OEM part as the dealer wanted, but got overnight Saturday delivery included. I'm waiting for it as we speak.

I prefer to buy locally, but for Husky parts, that really isn't possible anymore. Closest dealers are now 50 miles away, and one stocks nothing but lawn equipment, have to order everything.

 

[WetGunPowder]

Amen!! Support the people who support your community. Try getting the internet sites to donate to the volunteer fire department or the school booster club. They don't give a #### about that. But we always expect all of our local merchants to support local causes, don't we? They can't do that without making a profit.

+1 Everyone's situation is different when it comes to buying online. But what happens when the day comes that all the small guys in small towns are gone?

 

[DougNH]

I like to go to my local dealer. It smells like bar oil and premix, we chat about things like tree-eating beetles, when to switch over to winter-weight, E10 sucks, skip vs. full comp, and how long it will take before all the parts on saws will be "made in China".

Having said that, I buy most of my stuff online, because my dealer is open mostly when it's light outside, and I want to spend that time cutting instead.

So what the $#@! am I doing here instead of out in the woods?

 

[REJ2]

Just this week I priced a 390xp from nearest local dealer 25 miles away, not in stock, would have to order, full retail over a grand, he wouldn't budge. I made one phone call to an out of state brick and mortar dealer and was quoted $809 powerhead only, I would have $24 shipping but no sales tax. He has them in stock and asked how many did I want. I haven't committed yet but if I do, it will be a no brainer. Heck for two hundred dollars I can buy a tach and go to chainsaw college. REJ2.

 

[Jtheo]

If I buy a new saw, it will be from a local dealer, but that is a 40 mile round trip for me.

I would rather buy parts online for the time saved and gasoline saved.

I can used the time saved to get more work done.

Gives me more time to spend on AS too, learning how many more saws I need buy.

 

[eyolf]

everyone's situation is different. A smart, flexible businessman can figure out how to make a little money, but some guys aren't so smart and flexible, eh? Sad to say, the days have come and gone that a little mom and pop store in a little town can make it work.

Some blame Wal-Mart, but that only goes so far. Box stores took advantage of the desire for cheap, but if we didn't let 'em take advantage of us, they wouldn't, would they? 50 or 100 years ago people got by with just what they needed, even though they wanted more.

Pretty hard to put that genie back in the bottle, now, eh?

I kinda like how some retailers are investing in online ordering. You can email or leave a voicemail, too, as long as you've made some attempt at working out a relationship with the dealer it works out OK. But it's a relationship that works both ways, and if both aren't willing to do that, it fails.