Stihl dealer wouldn't sell me an MS 200

[weimedog]

Hello, This is my first post, but I have looked in here occasionally for a quite a while now.

Here is what prompts me to register and post. I came into a little free money and wanted to blow it on something fun. I wanted a Stihl MS 200.

Problem is the dealer wouldn't sell it to me. Said it was more saw than I need. Those saws are really for professionals he tells me. I thought he was confused and said that I was not wanting the top handled version. I wanted the rear one.

I just want a really light saw.

He just wouldn't budge. Kept trying to sell me something else. I pointed out how the catalog lists the ms 200 as a "for occasional use" saw. Didn't phase him.

At your age, you can make your own decisions...and there are plenty of other Stihl ealers out there.

Get what you want, life is too short to be pushed around by someone who needs you more than you need them.


AND if all else fails......hunt a different brand and saw choice! The hunt is sometimes more fun than the kill!

 

[sbhooper]

:agree2: I would change brands before buying from that idiot. I fit into the "too old to have someone sell me what I don't want" category.

 

[teacherman]

You guys are most certainly right from a purely objective standpoint. I know that I do not need this saw. Given my needs, there are better choices out there. Except that, in this case, I don't really have a need at all. For my purposes I could easily make do with the old 026 and 028 here. This purchase is not about need. I just want a German made MS 200.

Part of the reason may be shallow in that the tree farmer that I used to work for is still a good friend of my dad's. I go out and help him trim now and then for fun, fellowship and old times sake. He has an MS 200 and he goes on and on about how it is the absolutely best trimming saw he has ever had. He really feels quite superior about it. I wanted to show up one day and pull out an MS 200 of my own. Just to show him that he isn't all that special. If I showed up with an MS 211 he would tell me that it is a good saw for someone like me, and then brag some more on his MS 200 (I know it sounds petty, but really it is all in very good fun, I have very deep respect for him.)

I am not the kind of person who normally just goes and buys expensive toys. I don't have a $30,000 bass boat, I don't have a $20,000 Harley, I have a beat up old Aluminum canoe and a mountain bike. I own a minivan for crying out loud. As I say, this was an unexpected little check in the mail, and sometimes you get tired of doing the responsible thing with money and just want to splurge. I thought I could afford myself this one fun senseless purchase without having to explain myself, and waiting over the weekend to think about it, before they would sell it to me.

Having to explain and rationalize a fun purchase takes a lot of the fun out of it. I'm wishing I would have stopped by the guitar shop, or the bike shop instead of the chainsaw shop with my fun money. If I go into the guitar shop with my heart set on a new American Stratocaster, I can't imagine that they would tell me to think on it. Or try to down sell me on a Mexican Strat. The difference is probably that the guitar dealer expects that you are buying for emotional/ fun reasons, whereas the Stihl dealer assumes that their customers have work that needs doing and are wanting the tool to do it.

It is just that, in my case, I was just wanting the saw for fun. I do think the dealer is a pretty good guy. The young owner of the business was actually one of my former logic students at the university. I will probably just talk directly to him sometime.

Anyway, I apologize for typing so much. I'll try to write shorter next time. You have a great website here.

No need to apologize, man! At least you're saying something.....

You could lay it out as follows: If A, then B. If not B, then not A.

A = $$ transferred from your hands to the dealer's.

B = A shiny new MS200 ordered for you by the dealer.

No denying the antecedent here, just a straight shot of Modus Ponens served up in a mutually exclusive style...... I stihl think it is way cool that you would choose to use your fun money on a great little saw like that. Go ahead and get it.

I actually found one on eFLay for 450 free shipping, it had less than one hour of use on it. It is not on the CAD treatment intervention list, even though I like the 009 series a lot.

Now that makes sense. old lakeside swore by his ms200

just find another dealer and buy a MS200

 

[erik m.]

No need to apologize, man! At least you're saying something.....

You could lay it out as follows: If A, then B. If not B, then not A.

A = $$ transferred from your hands to the dealer's.

B = A shiny new MS200 ordered for you by the dealer.

No denying the antecedent here, just a straight shot of Modus Ponens served up in a mutually exclusive style......

Thanks,

I think it would be Modus Tollens. A then B, dealer guy says not B therefore, it follows that not A.

If I talk to my former student I'll get to see how much he remembers of logic.

 

[Wishie22]

Good thought, except you just killed your commercial accounts. They are in the shop before 7:00 am. So now you need to be open 12 hours a day....welcome to the 80 hour work week

Oh and Mondays are big service days...no skipping those either.

I hear you, the though is to get a shop off the ground by taking the odd hours most are closed. Once established and if enough business is deemed possible to have reliable person open up the shop. This is just a thought.

He11, pitched an idea to the liquor store regarding credit gouging (seller & purchaser get hit on current sale practice's) vs cash purchases. He pays an average $500 a week to credit use.

 

[Normsworld]

Hello, This is my first post, but I have looked in here occasionally for a quite a while now.

Here is what prompts me to register and post. I came into a little free money and wanted to blow it on something fun. I wanted a Stihl MS 200. The rear handled version, not the top handled one. Given the limited amount of cutting I do I really have no need for a $600 saw. But need doesn't really matter here, I just want it.

When in high school and college I worked on a tree farm and really liked using the 020 (I think that was the number). Now I need a little saw to do some trimming work, and for cleaning up a little bit that has been blown down. And so I thought, even though the ms 200 is ridiculously priced at $629 I would just use some of that check I got in the mail and splurge on an upgrade to the ms 200.

Problem is the dealer wouldn't sell it to me. Said it was more saw than I need. Those saws are really for professionals he tells me. I thought he was confused and said that I was not wanting the top handled version. I wanted the rear one. Didn't matter, I really didn't need a professional saw like that. He pointed out that I could get three of some other models for that price. He also said for less money I could get a ms 260 pro, which in his opinion, was a better saw and would be more versatile. I said that may be but my dad has a 026 which I can conveniently use whenever I want, so I really don't need a 260. I just want a really light saw.

He just wouldn't budge. Kept trying to sell me something else. I pointed out how the catalog lists the ms 200 as a "for occasional use" saw. Didn't phase him.

Since he didn't have one in stock, and he couldn't order again until after the weekend, he said I should think about it over the weekend.

Now I am miffed and don't want to buy from him...

I appreciate that he was just trying to match the saw to my needs, but I think he could have warned me I was wasting my money and then sold me the saw. Sheesh.

What would cause someone to work so hard not to sell me a saw? Is there no profit in the ms 200 for the dealer? Is there some problem with the ms 200?

(Just for the record I am 37 years old, 5'11 and 175. I am in reasonably good shape. And, as I say, I have spent quite a few hours running chainsaws.)

Erik....go back ! What a golden opportunity to find out why he was like that . I would love to hear his answer . Don't be a jerk , bust through his wall just tell him some s##t on how honest and knowledgeable he seemed . You might just open a door with the only Kubuta dealer in town , likely the closest Sthil shop to you . You might need him someday .You can tell him LOOK I really want that saw .. you order it for me and throw in a chain with oil , thats what the other dealer said ( he knows your lookin ) but you really ( cough ,cough ) trust him . Oh man , I would love to go with you . Can you tape it, put it on youtube please ? I know it's easier to burn a bridge ,but it's more fun to use your head and possible make out with this hosebag . Welcome to AS , and tell us what you wind up getting .

 

[Wishie22]

Erik....go back ! What a golden opportunity to find out why he was like that . I would love to here his answer . Don't be a jerk , bust through his wall just tell him some s##t on how honest and knowledgeable he seemed . You might just open a door with the only Kubuta dealer in town , likely the closest Sthil shop to you . You might need him someday .You can tell him LOOK I really want that saw .. you order it for me and throw in a chain with oil , thats what the other dealer said ( he knows your lookin ) but you really ( cough ,cough ) trust him . Oh man , I would love to go with you . Can you tape it, put it on youtube please ? I know it's easier to burn a bridge ,but it's more fun to use your head and possible make out with this hosebag . Welcome to AS , and tell us what you wind up getting .

I like your style...normsworld
He might end up with better deals etc.

 

[teacherman]

Thanks,

I think it would be Modus Tollens. A then B, dealer guy says not B therefore, it follows that not A.

If I talk to my former student I'll get to see how much he remembers of logic.

It is so hard to remember that stuff from so many years ago. Thanks fer the correction. It would be a hilarious way to arrange for the purchase of a new MS200...............

Throw is a chain and some oil, with a side of Modus Tollens......:greenchainsaw:

 

[computeruser]

Screw that crap. Shop somewhere else. Preferably somewhere that actually stocks the full Stihl lineup.

 

[fishercat]

that is a logical thinking.

Screw that crap. Shop somewhere else. Preferably somewhere that actually stocks the full Stihl lineup.

obviously this gentleman is not from Madison WI. :greenchainsaw:

 

[woodbooga]

Rule number 1 in Sales. Give the customer what they want, if they are asking for a specific item

Yup.

But the first rule in entertainment is "Always leave 'em wanting more."

Sounds like this guy's running a dealership more for the entertainment value.

 

[huskystihl]

Good thought, except you just killed your commercial accounts. They are in the shop before 7:00 am. So now you need to be open 12 hours a day....welcome to the 80 hour work week

Oh and Mondays are big service days...no skipping those either.

Your right. My dealer is at the shop for the commercial guys at 6:00 but tecnically doesn't open till 8. He then closes at 6 but work out back till 8. I started at 6 this morning and was rained out by 10 so if I needed something this morning I knew I could get it.