i think i've upset my local stihl dealer

[Rob D]

So the question is how can the same item cost £600 less in Germany than it does in the UK? Are dealers costs really that much higher in the UK? If you look at prices in the USA they are about half what we pay in the UK so where are the additional costs coming from?

 

 

A lot of the states in the US do not have VAT or the equivalent... (there's 20% straight away).

 

A lot of manufacturing is still done in the US still hence no import/export costs to deal with.

 

For some reason it is cheaper to send from the US to the UK rather than the other way round (not sure why and varies from courier to courier - only a small % but makes a difference).

 

The main thing is that prices are not fixed from the manufacturer to the retailer from country to country - ie. the manufacturer looks to charge what they feel the market will pay...

 

There's not much to stop you from buying a load of saws from one country and importing them here - but where would you sell them? What about warranty back up?

 

 

 

 

[Rob D]

I get the feeling a few people feel the local dealer is a dinasaur but in most cases this is just not true. They are well grounded businesses run with common sense and moving with the times. You may not get what you want this instant but thats life.

 

 

I think the trouble is as in the amazon example you can now sometimes get what you want quickly...

 

 

And I'd say that a lot of small dealers are indeed well grounded in common sense.... but they are not moving with the times... ie. just doing some of the modern basics such as good website, using the internet for advertising etc.

 

 

There's plenty out there who don't use the internet and would rather do things face to face - but this seems to be the older generation... what happens as they start using the internet more/and the next generation come through?

 

 

 

 

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[Rob D]

The idea that a distant internet retailer cannot provide good customer support is flawed.

 

 

I'd agree with that - I buy all my saws off Jonsie - if there's a problem I send them back, they get repaired and sent back to me.

 

 

It's painless and easy - I suppose because I'm used to using couriers... but courier sites are getting better and easier to use to send parcels...

 

 

What happens when a large dealer offers a free pick up/free postage back service with a max turnaround of 5 days or similar? Or less time even?

 

 

I know that won't cover mowers/ride ons but it can't be far off - there's plenty of sites that let you send chains back for a quick turn around on a sharpening service...

 

 

 

 

[Warners]

My policy is that I only perform warranty on equipment that I have supplied.

I will however make exceptions when someone comes in who has moved into the area having previously bought his achine from his old dealer.

But the local guy who bypassed me to buy on the net, but then wants me to repair, is generally out of luck.

 

We buy all our kit from our local dealers, that goes for handheld power tools and mowers, etc. i do this because i want the support from my dealer and to build up a working relationship with them. i know if i bought a tool from a different dealer or online i'd find it embarassing to take in a machine for a warranty issue with a different dealer name on it. I suppose if you do buy a machine from a different source then you should expect support from the supplying source and not to clog up your local dealer. I don't include paid for repairs in this....

[gensetsteve]

Sending a saw by post must cost £8 ea way. Not to mention the enviromental impact of sending stuff by road all over the country. If this extra £16 was payed to the local dealer I am sure they would be more willing to repair kit sold elsewhere.

[sasha.p]

I have had the same response from my local dealer husqi one I am refferring to stuck in their ways and cant be more open to the fact there are more business out there than just theirs I have only purchased two machines there over the years first one was a good purchase second one I had to buy as my hedge cutters packed up in the middle of a job but I had to take my saws in for a few parts here and there and every time I got the you didnt buy this from us thing going on makes me reluctant to go back at all .

 

But I would like to say thanks to abbey garden sales for helping me find the part for my husq blower earlier fantastic customer service there

[ArthurBottlesworth]

Been thinking about this today

 

If local stihl agent refuses to repair a saw because you didn't buy it from him, whats the point of him being an agent?

 

Eventually people will stop buying stihl because ' it's just too much hassle '

 

But I can see the fitter at stihl agent doing a few ' foreigners ' for friends , and eventually he'll realise he can make more money working from home ......and then your local stihl agent will have created his own competition

[Steve Bullman]

Been thinking about this today

 

If local stihl agent refuses to repair a saw because you didn't buy it from him, whats the point of him being an agent?

 

Eventually people will stop buying stihl because ' it's just too much hassle '

 

But I can see the fitter at stihl agent doing a few ' foreigners ' for friends , and eventually he'll realise he can make more money working from home ......and then your local stihl agent will have created his own competition

 

Stihl agents aren't refusing to repair saws though

[gensetsteve]

Been thinking about this today

 

If local stihl agent refuses to repair a saw because you didn't buy it from him, whats the point of him being an agent?

 

Eventually people will stop buying stihl because ' it's just too much hassle '

 

But I can see the fitter at stihl agent doing a few ' foreigners ' for friends , and eventually he'll realise he can make more money working from home ......and then your local stihl agent will have created his own competition

 

I think the problem the dealers have is the labour rate for warranty work is about £20-25 an hour which is tight when you have over heads. Now you dont mind if its for a year on a piece of kit you supplied and made a profit on but if someone is box shifting and killing your business why should you clear up their mess. People often bring stuff in for free repairs but when the years up do their own so its not like you are building a long term relationship with them. I have no axe to grind as we dont serve the public of the streets. I can see it from both sides but people work the system to suit their own needs. Buy cheap long distance get repaired free on the doorstep.

[eggsarascal]

If I didn't service or repair pumps for people' that were bought from else where I'd sit at home three days a week.