Support your local dealer? The argument

[00juice]

If things are priced in the same ballpark, I'll always do the local retailer thing. Recently I bought an 084 on ebay that was listed as good running. Upon receipt, I took it to the local stihl dealer to have it looked over before i fire it up. Left the saw with them, got a call a day or two later, that the saw didn't have any compression. They took the time to write a detailed breakdown of the problem, and estimate to fix. They knew what the situation was, and realized I may not have it fixed with them because it may be sent back.. After all that, they didn't charge me a dime for any of their time. What online dealer will be able to complete that service? True, their prices are higher on everything the sell than online counterparts, but they are there when you need little things immediately. I actually had doubts about this dealer because their product and service prices seemed pretty high. But, little things like not charging me the 1 hour minimum for little work will definately bring me back again.

 

[adkranger]

I'm buying

Good post Spike. When I get down that way, I'm buying the first round.

I agree with your assessment of the loss many of the smaller shops out there. It's a complex situation and I didn't mean to imply that the internet was the main nemesis if some took it that way. It's just one of many hurdles that a small brick & mortor has to contend with especially in State like NY that's notoriously tough on starting/maintaining a retail business. Burnout and a lack of 2nd generation ambition are as big a cause as any to their demise.

A good saw shop doesn't have to only focus on saws IMO, most sell many other products and focus on what keeps the lights on. My criteria for a good saw shop is good product lines(maybe more than one, but not necessary), good, knowledgeable techs, can answer my questions about product, don't mind a little product fondling and of course don't mind a few saw chips deposited on his floor.:hmm3grin2orange: Good attitude is a plus, but not necessary for me. I had one shop I used years ago run by one crotchety SOB, but had great product, great service and never let me down. The attitude added a little flavor to the retail experience, it probably wasn't the best shop for the soft clothed types though. Most of the dealers I frequent are OPEs, sell all sorts of gear from logging chains, generators & weed wackers to garden tractors and rototillers, oh and chainsaws. I go there for saw stuff mostly, so they're saw shops to me. It's all good. If it does work and makes lots of noise, all the better.

 

[Lakeside53]

Good post Spike. .

Damn good!!

 

[Cam501]

back on topic... scr*w your winter oil, who cares...

support your local dealer! he's got a huge investment made and needs to make a certain amount of profit to stay in business.

believe me it's much better to have support, than none. I work on all my own equipment, so repair is not a big deal. but no one can do without parts!

general rule of thumb for me is... if it's slightly higher. not a big deal. if it's 2-3x the price. no way! I'm ordering online.

another test is does he have it in stock? If he had it in stock, it costs to have it hanging around and needs to be higher in price. next time your saw breaks on a job... and you need a part RIGHT NOW!

a dealer only needs to be competitive, not the cheapest every time.
there's no excuse for being rude... no one like doing business with someone that rude. that goes both directions.

I can be rude with the best of em, but usually don't start it. someone's got to be pretty rude to me first, before I start acting like an A**

We have both stihl/husky here and the problem we run into is that sometimes places (i dont want to be too rude and mention any names) are cutting prices so much that it's hard to even come close and be competetive. You can't sell stuff and make $10 on a saw and stay in business. For us Lowe's is the least of our competition worries cause on apples to apples they're almost always within $5 or even identical sometimes. As for the rudeness thing, I agree there is no reason to be rude with customers and no reason to get high and mighty just because you might be the only dealer for a particular brand in the area.