husky chainsaws from lowes

[GASoline71]

My local dealer is enough to discourage anyone from buying from a dealer.

It is really sad that this seems to be the norm for quite a few folks that post here. I guess I have been very fortunate to have good dealers in the areas that I have lived. Knowledgeable, friendly, no price gouging, quick turnaround on parts and service.

If I had to deal with the dealers that some have described here at AS, I would have a hard time buyin' a saw from them.

Like I said I guess I am lucky.

Gary

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I guess I'm lucky as well. My dealer is great, and I'll sit here all day long and preach the virtues of a good dealer, and the benfits of buying from him.

As for what's sold in the box stores, correct me if I'm wrong, but only Husky's entry level saws are sold in the box stores right? I don't think it has to do with Stihl being too stuffy to sell their stuff there, it's just that they want happy customers, and aren't going to sell out for the sake of the bottom line. It's like alot of other things, in that the best products belong at the dealerships, and the folks buying at the dealerships are the ones who know they want PPE, help and advice, and want to buy a good product that they can count on.

And as far as business goes, didn't Homelite, Poulan, and Mac leave the dealerships, and start selling in retail chains? Look what happened to them, and their quality these days. I hate to see Husqvarna go the same way.

Jeff

 

[1Alpha1]

Someone told me that Sears now sells a Husky or two. Not sure if it's true or not, but on my last visit to Sears, I think I did see a Husky on a rack as I passed by.

 

[GASoline71]

but on my last visit to Sears, I think I did see a Husky on a rack as I passed by.

Ouch! .....prayin' to the saw gods...

Jeff makes a good point in his post as well. It's not that Stihl is worried about sellin' out. They sell more than enuff Pro saws as well as homeowner saws to keep a loyal following. That loyalty is what will keep people comin' back. This can be like beatin' a dead horse. If you're only willing to spend 100 bucks on a new saw from a box store, you are accepting the fact that you will have to return the saw for a new one if it breaks down. I too will preach about findin' a good dealer and stickin' with them. A good dealer should help the customer in finding a saw that fits their needs. They shoudln't try to sell you a Pro-level saw if you cut 3 cords of firewood a year. It is just too bad that some of you have not had the experience that I have had with a dealer. The brand name shouldn't matter as too which dealer is better. I was raised on Stihl's so that is what my niche is. If I was raised usin' Husky's I would feel differently. So to each his own, and I do acknowledge the fact that there is a market for box store saws. But my own experience with off the shelf Wal-Mart type saws has not been too great. Some of you will swear by them. I'm glad you're happy with them....

Can't we all just get along..........

Gary

 

[Vman]

Someone told me that Sears now sells a Husky or two. Not sure if it's true or not, but on my last visit to Sears, I think I did see a Husky on a rack as I passed by.

did u guys know that K-Mart recently bought SEARS?? YEP!! i'm not joking!! i am interested to see what happens.

 

[mbopp]

I've been dealing with Commercial Cutters, since I can swing in their shop if I'm headed up North. Their prices on Husky's are actually lower than Lowes (last time checked.) So much for the Big Box theory.

 

[semi]

I really don't see too much bad in selling saws at the "box store". I recently purchased my husky 350 at a local dealer, but could have bought it for about $10 less at farm and fleet. It's the same saw, and i have been cutting up wood for quite some time. I am no pro, but i have used a chainsaw before. I think selling them for less at box stores isn't all that bad and i probably would have went that route if i didn't want to wait a few days to get the saw i wanted. What i noticed using a dealer was this,

i went to a Stihl dealer. The guy was a complete knob. I told him exactly what i wanted to cut and how i will be using the saw. He kept pushing me towards a $750 pro saw and said "what i wanted" was not good enough. He was condesending and frankly i wouldn't buy anything from this guy. His arrogance and thinking he knew better then me was enough.

Went to a husky dealer who proceeded to tell me that i also needed a $500 pro saw. This guys kept trying to get me to buy much bigger and kept repeating "there is no replacement for displacement" over and over and over.

i finally found a decent dealer (after calling about 10 differenet places) that gave me the real deal on what i needed and asked me first and foremost "what was i going to use it for". I bought it there.

now, if you are knowledgeble in what you want and do the research, i think you could buy a saw anywhere. In fact, even if you buy your husky at wal-mart a dealer has to fix it if it's under warranty. That is their policy.

I saw no reason to buy a $750 Stihl saw to cut down some tree's every couple of years and cut up firewood occasionally.

 

[Blowdown1]

Lowes sells up to the 359, but they also have them priced at full retail. Personally, I think you would have to be stupid to go the Lowes route. If you aren't gonna support a full dealer, then save money and buy online.

As for local dealers; it is sad that you have to shop around. The first Husky dealer I went to I won't go back. The other guy that is farther away seems good, but I didn't have them service anything, just bought some supplies.

As for Stihl, one local dealer doesn't actually service their stuff in-house. The other local guy is a real nut in a dump of a place. Too kooky for me to feel comfortable with. Another dealer about 30 miles away charged my neighbor a lot of money (I thought) to fix his 290 while at the same time charging a pretty penny for a 440 that he bought at the same time.

 

[Butch(OH)]

You can get 'em all at Lowes, just happened to be in Lowes Sunday and noticed the special order catalog hanging right by the saws. The prices on the non-stocked saws are nothing to bragg about though.

 

[pbtree]

Someone told me that Sears now sells a Husky or two. Not sure if it's true or not, but on my last visit to Sears, I think I did see a Husky on a rack as I passed by.

Quite true - they do indeed sell them.

 

[neverenough]

did u guys know that K-Mart recently bought SEARS?? YEP!! i'm not joking!! i am interested to see what happens.

Sears bought K-mart. K-mart was about to go under. IMO, a bad move on Sears' part. Years ago Sears had the chance to be the first national "big box store", but they passed on it to stay in the clothing and household sector. Bad move IMO. It could have been Sears vs. Lowe's instead of Home depot vs. Lowe's.

 

[pbtree]

I believe it is K-Mart that bought Sears...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6509683/

 

[pbtree]

Sears also own OSH, but I not sure they are competing effectively with Lowes or Home Depot...

 

[neverenough]

I believe it is K-Mart that bought Sears...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6509683/

Technically it's a merger, but everything is under Sears' name. Not sure where they got the headline K-mart bought Sears. It's not accurate.

 

[neverenough]

Sears also own OSH, but I not sure they are competing effectively with Lowes or Home Depot...

What's OSH???

 

[pbtree]

Orchard Supply Hardware

 

[pbtree]

Edward Lampert, chairman of Kmart, left, Aylwin Lewis, president of Kmart, center, and Alan Lacy, CEO of Sears, right, join hands during an announcement of a merger between Kmart and Sears in New York Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004. Kmart Holding Corp. shareholders approved the acquisition of Sears, Roebuck and Co. on Thursday, March 25, 2005, in an $11 billion deal executives hope will create a retail powerhouse while helping to reverse years of lagging sales. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

 

[Fish]

Actually, I just got back from at applying at a Lowes that is opening up here, nearby.
So if I get hired, I want no crap from any of you.

I seriously doubt they will hire me though, they seemed fixated on things like honesty
and police records.
I put Arboristsite down as a reference, so if they call, please lie through your teeth about me.

 

[tony marks]

i too am pro dealer. but agree with those who say ,,just because a dealer is a dealer does not insure good service. either a poor attitude or just plain not knowing their buisiness,is the problem ive run into. when i have to help a man behiond the counter put my chain on ,it certainly does not inspire confidence.on the other hand if u look and look u can find dealers that know their stuff. when u find one ,.. give him your buisiness ,as hes an valuable asset and u need to help him stay in buisiness.
the lowes husk saws are fine imo. but that doesnt help your dealer . u need him ,he needs u.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

The little guy who has to provide service after the sale is never going to be able to offer prices that are competitive with the box stores and chains. But if we all buy based only on the price of new stuff, pretty soon our local little guy is out of business, because he probably can't survive just on the service side of the business, either.

Then you have only two repair or service options: Ship it to the factory or do it yourself. I don't find that attractive. The box stores & chains are not going to carry the parts you need to do real service. They'll carry the basics like oil and spark plugs and filters bars and chains, but that's about it.

So if your local dealer is worth a plugged nickel, support him or he'll be gone.