Stihl commercial

[Just Mow]

This is the way all cars and trucks have been sold since, oh, the 1930s. I take it you won't be buying a new car or truck of any brand ever again until you have the option of buying it at Home Depot? Just kidding, of course, but Stihl's dealer network strategy works pretty well for the niche product they carry. Yes, I think premium brand chainsaws are a niche product.

W

He's just mad that he could not get a job at the Stihl factory.

 

[DOLMARatOs]

I had my local Stihl dealer tell me that they are not allowed to discount their saws below what Stihl says they can.

An ms 260 or 290 has such and such a price and they cannot go below that or above it so that all Stihl dealers will be at the same price and not compete with each other.

Is this true? I thought this was called price fixing and was illegal. I'd hate to think this guy is blowing smoke...dealer to dealer.

They've been in the game 25+ years.

Any ideas?

 

[oldsaw]

I had my local Stihl dealer tell me that they are not allowed to discount their saws below what Stihl says they can.

An ms 260 or 290 has such and such a price and they cannot go below that or above it so that all Stihl dealers will be at the same price and not compete with each other.

Is this true? I thought this was called price fixing and was illegal. I'd hate to think this guy is blowing smoke...dealer to dealer.

They've been in the game 25+ years.

Any ideas?

You would be correct. He is full of poop, or a dumba$$. Stihl can only state his price to buy, not his price to sell, unless someone from Stihl wants to spend time in the "graybar motel". Lots of things to do with price can't be discussed. He can't discuss pricing with another local Stihl dealer, or with a local Husky dealer ("Let's sell our 50cc saws for $xx). Bad mojo.

Mark

 

[musch]

I had my local Stihl dealer tell me that they are not allowed to discount their saws below what Stihl says they can.

An ms 260 or 290 has such and such a price and they cannot go below that or above it so that all Stihl dealers will be at the same price and not compete with each other.

Is this true? I thought this was called price fixing and was illegal. I'd hate to think this guy is blowing smoke...dealer to dealer.

They've been in the game 25+ years.

Any ideas?

That is totally illegal.
What he might have meant, is that all shops pay the same price for Stihl saws, therefore, they can only go so low, unless they were to sell at a loss.

But I am never surprised at anything. If Enron could do it, Stihl could too.

 

[DOLMARatOs]

This is what I thought. I think they are full of the chunky-brown for sure.

I questioned him as to the dealer price or sale price. He told me that if he didn't sell his saws for exactly the Stihl MSRP then he'd lose his Stihl dealership.

I told him this was price fixing and illegal in the US...he said yeah, but Stihl doesn't care.

I'm not sure if he's bad-mouthing Stihl or dropping a steaming pile on me. This is the reason that if someone needs Stihl parts that can't be bought aftermarket, I'll send them 18 miles south to a Stihl dealer instead of 3 miles north to the Local guy....who drumps the pooh all over. No wonder they are the most expensive shop in town....or within 20 miles. They sell those orange and whites by the truckload and apparently pile the BS on their customers.

 

[blis]

This is what I thought. I think they are full of the chunky-brown for sure.

I questioned him as to the dealer price or sale price. He told me that if he didn't sell his saws for exactly the Stihl MSRP then he'd lose his Stihl dealership.

I told him this was price fixing and illegal in the US...he said yeah, but Stihl doesn't care.

I'm not sure if he's bad-mouthing Stihl or dropping a steaming pile on me. This is the reason that if someone needs Stihl parts that can't be bought aftermarket, I'll send them 18 miles south to a Stihl dealer instead of 3 miles north to the Local guy....who drumps the pooh all over. No wonder they are the most expensive shop in town....or within 20 miles. They sell those orange and whites by the truckload and apparently pile the BS on their customers.

Man, thats just plain stupid but he may aswell be ????ting you for fun...

Anyway... why are you americans even crying about prices when you pay 1/2 of what others have to pay for saws outside USA....

 

[BLACKeR]

I would agree with you but........ Stihl is the #1 seller of chainsaws and their sells keep increasing year after year so they must be doing something right. Second, tell that to 90% of the mom and pop shops who have gone out of business because of the box stores. When I was a little kid my dad always used Homelite saws. They were a great saw, however they sold out and then started selling to the box stores and completely lost their dealer support and tanked........

i agree with what your saying. i like the fact that you wont buy husky because of that, your using your power as a consumer to make a point. this is the point i was trying to make. big stores havent shut down the mom and pop stores, the consumers have. walmart hasnt shut down smaller stores the consumers did. i realize that dealer support is important. but im not going to knock home depo for doing what they do. their just trying to make money, a lot of consumers like the way they sell saws. they know their not going to get service there. its up to the small dealers to make their service worth the extra $$$ and make the average homeowner believe it is. so my question is, if people on this site dont like the box stores, why is there a thread every day about a bad experience had there, why even go in and ask questions?

 

[vapnut257]

If Stihl really had their consumers best interest in mind, they would at least allow their parts and accessories to be purchased on line. I like to buy everything on line, with as little human intervention as possible. By forcing me to go to a dealer to buy a simple air filter or any other simple Stihl replacement part or accessory, they are making it very inconvenient for me and holding me hostage to their silly marketing plan. Once you walk into a Sthil dealer's store looking for a simple replacement part... they own you and can charge you whatever they want. I just like things open, simple, convenient and honest. That's all. Stihl's marketing plan looks out for their dealers... not the customer. I wonder why, if they make the BEST saws on earth, they don't back it up with a two year warranty like Husqvarna? I know it sounds like I'm arguing here, but I'm just seeing this thing from a consumer's perspective. As a consumer, a $100 bill means just as much to me as it does a dealer and so does my time. This is all I'll have to say about this subject because I am not a logger or tree service profesional like some of the other posters in this thread. I respect their quantified thoughts on this subject and appeciate their point of view.

 

[NYH1]

I can see Stihl selling their main products (chain saws and such) at a dealer. I'd like to see them at least let their parts be sold by other sources, online or mail order. You have to buy a new Ford, Chevy or Dodge "VEHICLE" at a dealer, but you can buy new FACTORY Ford, Chevy or Dodge "PARTS" online or mail order and save a lot of money. JMHO that's all! :biggrinbounce2:

 

[bsjonny520sp]

you can't buy a pro husky saw at a box store just their low hour homeowner saws that are made by poulan when husky starts selling xp series saws at Lowes IM OUT Stihl here I come but until then my 372xp does a fine job

 

[klickitatsacket]

Not only does Stihl pick and choose who can be a dealer, but they also pick and choose who can be a customer. I sure wish I was allowed to buy saws at RETAIL.