Is Solo still around?
Tilton Equipment no longer Distributing Jonsered Equipment
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Here is their latest saw.
[video=youtube;qQTor5R0feI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQTor5R0feI&feature=share&list=PLWqAqAit_t-XA9vI5Y9G1nWilVPWQMwAB]SOLO 880 881 Overview Med - YouTube[/video]
Another upside is that there will be at least a few dealerships liquidating their inventory of parts. I will be watching Ebay.
Why would they be liquidating there inventory of parts? Regardless if they remain dealers or not they will always have access to parts, and will be able to service there existing and new customers.
Its not till a dealer throws in the towel and says %&*^ @% that they liquidate parts, unless its dead old stock, that can no longer be returned.
That's a double-edged question Mike. I remember when Home Depot started spreading. One of the things that really attracted me was the ability to buy high quality tools and merchandise - some stuff that was previously 'only available to the trade'. The pricing was just a bonus. They also had salespeople who really knew their stuff: retired contractors, plumbers, etc. HD has really dumbed down their inventory over the years; perversely, it seems, trying to copy Sears with their house brands, minimum wage employees, etc. (It took 3 Sears employees to get my Sears gift certificate accepted on 'Black Friday' this year).
These stores have been emphasizing lower price, higher volume items, which often correlates with lower quality tools. They use names like 'Husqvarna' and 'Homelight' to bring people in and lend them credibility, but you know that these are products are not the same ones that built those brands. Even Husky differentiates which saws it will sell through these types of non-servicing outlets.
Ironically, HD will sell you a Maktia chainsaw though their rental outlets (special order), but they do not stock it on their shelves. Lowes and Sears sell lower end Husqvarnas that a lot of guys on this site identify as re-badged something else.
So, yeah. Not always. But a chainsaw that these outlets sell is one that I approach with a higher level of caution, unless I have information about the specific model (but I am always open to being pleasantly surprised!).
Philbert
greendohn
firewood hack
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What could it mean?
The Old Amish, who has always carried Jonsered and Echo, had a pretty small inventory of Jonsereds on the shelf the other day. He has, over the past summer picked up Huskys as well as shindiowa displays. He was out of the shop last week when I stopped by to pick up a couple filters. I'll be curious to get his take on it.
I had always thought the Jonsered were 'pro" models only, while the Husky made both "pro" and "consumer" brands?
Heck, I didn't even know about the Jonsered/Husky relationship 'till you boys straightened me on that a while back.
I sure hate the idea of buying anything other than that sexy red-n-black in the future. I've always taken great pride in the fact that the beer drinkin' firewood hacks don't run the Jonsereds 'cause those kind of guys buy their chainsaws at the discount store. Hmmm, what am I gonna' do now, to set myself apart?
The Old Amish, who has always carried Jonsered and Echo, had a pretty small inventory of Jonsereds on the shelf the other day. He has, over the past summer picked up Huskys as well as shindiowa displays. He was out of the shop last week when I stopped by to pick up a couple filters. I'll be curious to get his take on it.
I had always thought the Jonsered were 'pro" models only, while the Husky made both "pro" and "consumer" brands?
Heck, I didn't even know about the Jonsered/Husky relationship 'till you boys straightened me on that a while back.
I sure hate the idea of buying anything other than that sexy red-n-black in the future. I've always taken great pride in the fact that the beer drinkin' firewood hacks don't run the Jonsereds 'cause those kind of guys buy their chainsaws at the discount store. Hmmm, what am I gonna' do now, to set myself apart?
BloodOnTheIce
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Now if you're not a Jonsered dealer and want to sign up instead of signing up with Tilton,
they have to sign up with Husqvarna. So why bother becoming a Jonsered dealer and not go for
Husqvarna if you have to deal with the same company?
they have to sign up with Husqvarna. So why bother becoming a Jonsered dealer and not go for
Husqvarna if you have to deal with the same company?
With a much smaller product offering, I'm wondering if there will be a different set of requirements.
PB
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeah, for starters you won't have to sell Jonsered tractors.
I wish JRed would get more of the Husky line of trimmers. I wonder if we will see updated accessories also? Tilton used to do their own thing and really limited what you could get. Stihl had the right idea, put a license plate on the front of trucks for free advertising. Husky/Jonsered need to catch up to that kind of thinking.
PB
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I don't know where you are, but if it is anything like here, there is only 1 real dealer that sells Jonsered. The other 10 are in auto shops that occupy one shelf, with one saw, and a bottle of oil. But they have been selling them for 20-30 years so they have a stock pile of parts. I don't think they will want to change much and may get out of the saw business if Husky really threatens change.
mikefunaro
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I hear you, and agree largely with what you're saying.
I think in the case of Husqvarna, Echo, and maybe now Jonsered with TSC as was mentioned, they are the store's "premium" brand. There will be plenty of Ryobi, Homelite, Poulan, etc equipment beneath them on the shelves. As long as they are maintained as the premium brand in the store, I think they face slightly less pressure to cheapen the product. There will always be a lower cost option at these stores. Sure, HD and Lowes might want them to stay below certain price points, but overall it's not "build a saw that's going to retail for $120 and put your name on it"
It got slightly more interesting with John Deere and some of those other brands which are basically manufacturing for the box stores. I see that being both more likely and necessary on a lawn tractor that might cost 5 grand at a dealer--that's not going to fly at HD. But on a $300-$400 saw, I'm less worried. Way back when there were all those rumors that a husky 350 from lowes wasn't the same internally as a husky 350 from the dealer...
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
That really sums up what has happened to the brand over the years. They have been willing to accept or sign up "dealers" like that. And the problem is that those types of dealers became the rule rather than the exception. You get to put a pin in the map and they sell a few saws to their buddies, but they go nowhere. Guys like that, and guys that run a shop out of their house after their full time job are never going to do any meaningful volume. I'm sure there are some "great guys" that fit into this business model, but a guy selling a saw or two a month doesn't produce enough money for the mother ship to engineer, build and EPA certify a saw in this day and age.
Some of the other second tier brands, like Dolmar, Efco and Solo, are true independents that have to soldier on with whatever they can accomplish by themselves. It doesn't have to be that way with Jonsered. They already had the engineering might of Husky behind them, now they can share in the marketing might as well.
8433jeff
Aftermarket connoisseur
The sad thing is that Japanese chainsaw engineering is very far from the level you refer to - and I don't really understand why that is....
It doesn't take much of a saw to Banzai, ST. Even an Echo can do that much.
I am in Ontario Canada. In these parts there are several Jonsered only dealerships and one special dealership that only sell Jonsered forestry goods, that all, nothing else but saws and clearing saws. If you are lucky you may get a cold coffee and a pair of socks. When Mother Orange got rid of its Jonsered middle man years ago, the financial commitments to become and maintain a dealer status changed drastically. That move got rid of the part timers and non committed "dealers". The finacial obligation to be a dealer is significant, it was much better back in the day when you only had to sell the forestry line versus it and the lawn and garden.
Fish
Tree Freak
Yes, the only few dealers around here got out totally when the were required to sell the Poulan/Craftsman mowers, when you could sell the same unit
under the Poulan name for half as much.
under the Poulan name for half as much.
Not that the Craftsman line is anything special, but I would sell it if I could. It's amazing how many units are out there under the Craftsman name. People go gaga over that stuff. I'm surprised there are independent dealers allowed up there - or are they "Sears" outlets?
There are smaller, franchised Sears stores in smaller towns. Like a catalog pick up center with selected items on display. Several years back there were a few Sears tool & hardware only stores in some strip malls. Also see Sears and Craftsman stuff at Ace Hardware, Kmart, and Menard's(!)
Philbert
PB
Addicted to ArboristSite
The Craftsman brand is garbage, but people associate it with quality. Most tools are made in China now; ratchets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. If you look at the wrenches towards the back they will be USA, but the newer stuff at the front is in the same packaging (minus the US flag) and commands the same price.
Sears is in financial trouble. Word is they might sell off the rights to the Craftsman name.
Craftsman lawn and garden = AYP = Husqvarna and way to many other "brands to mention" same crap different colours and trim, just some colours are cheaper.
All slapped somewhat together in the USA.
Branding is what gets the premium dollar, even though its the same as the grey/red/green/yellow/blue............mmmm........i most likely have left out a few colors.
One thing nice about Sears is that you do have somewhere to go back to. Some of their stuff is not the quality it should be. I've had issues with the way they honor their warranty on occasion. And I have tried to order parts that were almost as expensive as buying a new product. But if it has the Sears or Craftsman name on it there is a place to take something back to. They do have a parts department (and a lot of IPLs on line), etc. More than a lot of things you buy in a box from some place you never heard of.
I know that this is 'faint praise'. But if you buy something at Walmart, all you really have to go back to is some company name on the box, which may just be an office in New Jersey, etc.
Philbert
I know that this is 'faint praise'. But if you buy something at Walmart, all you really have to go back to is some company name on the box, which may just be an office in New Jersey, etc.
Philbert
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