Do you buy online or local

[Mr Lee]

I shop local... well say local, not my local as its rubbish. I use one 15 miles from me and buy most things from there as long as they are reasonable. Have started buying saws local also and as said even if its 20 30 40 quid dearer would still buy saw from a dealer. But must admit prices of saws are on the ball and this i buy from local dealer.

 

I do shop online for climbing things and am shocked at price difference. Noticed prices creeping up in a shop i used to think was good priced... it pays to shop around on these things...

Swinny, do you mind me asking who you use local? Most of my work is based near Gisburn and I use a local company in Clitheroe. Great service, able to try goods on (clothing) and handle gear prior to buying and good on pricing compared to online once postage is added.

 

Pm if preferred.

[Taupotreeman]

For my saws and machinery it's my local guys. My Stihl dealer has always looked after me so I'm return he gets the bulk if my business. For climbing gear it's all on line. We pretty much have only one specialist supplier ( a couple cover a whole lot of bases but nothing specific) in NZ as far as I know and that's Rich at Treetools in Auckland. I either ring or email and the stuff arrives next day. Occasionally we'll take a trip up but it's a full day jobby if we do.

 

 

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[Old WoodChip]

I would like to say shop local but youll have to go a long way to beat FR Jones for service, always pleasant to deal with.

Local guy shot himself in the foot years ago, once bitten twice shy:sneaky2:

[Pete Hart]

I buy my kit from Carrs in Bristol. I grew up 8 miles away in north Somerset and went to school with the owners son and daughter.

 

They give me a fair price, look after my machines well, get me anything I need ordered and can post to me next day if I'm not up that way (visiting family and friends).

 

My local shop are a complete rip off, and did the most shocking work on my 088.

They used the wrong sized piston stop on it and put a dent in the top of the piston which cracked and knackered the saw. They had charged my a lot of money to do this and wouldn't accept it was there fault or give me a refund or money back/off. They also failed to fix my hedge trimmers when they wernt working, Carrs fixed it in no time for not very much.

I now hiss at the shop every time I drive past.

 

It's a shame because I would much prefer to pop round the corner like I used to but I'm not supporting clueless, overpriced, donkeys!!

 

 

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[SiW]

My local dealer has been fantastic, if I walked in with a saw he would see if he could do something with it straight away or would sort it as quickly as poss. I know he can't match others prices, he knows he can't, but by providing this service it does sweeten any purchase. Am sure if I walked in with a new saw with a problem it would join the back of a long queue of saws waiting to be serviced, sharpened or repaired. So when my saw has sat on his shelf for a month and not earnt me a penny, his price now seems even better. As for warranty work yes you can take it to any dealer, but it takes as long as it takes for them to fix

[GardenKit]

From the other side of the fence as a local (small) dealer.

 

It is becoming ever more difficult to exist because of low margins driven by the internet sellers and many local dealers have closed their doors because of it.

 

Many of us who are left are striving to maintain reasonable margins and not compete with online sales. I will never match an online price on principal as those who ask me to price match are wanting local service at online price. They can't have it.

 

When they buy from me they are buying a bit of me as well and I have many customers who are very content with this arrangement. They know they can buy the product cheaper, but its the complete package of sales, and after sales service they are after.

 

I am more than happy to lose the customers who are just driven by price, but they may have to wait a while if they need service on something they have bought online, my loyal customers will get preference. And I will not carry out warranty work on anything I have not sold.

 

My prices are fair, very little is sold at RRP and on the whole the prices are not a great deal more than the 'sensible' on line sellers.

 

I dont fall out with on line purchasers, it is after all their choice how and where they buy.

 

I have found over the last few years that many more customers are coming back to buying locally, having found the online experience less than satisfactory (I am talking machinery)

 

The thread so far has done much to malign the local dealers competence, this is indeed a problem. We all make mistakes but sadly some make more than others and I do see work that has been done by some other dealers that concerns me.

 

But i hope that any person is given a chance to put his work right. I often get people in saying that they have had a machine repaired elsewhere and its not right so they are not going back. I think they should, and give the dealer a chance to correct his work.

 

The strap line on my invoices is " If you like our service tell others, if not, tell us"

 

But as to you buying online, or locally it is, "your choice".

[Spruce Pirate]

Always local if possible, especially for saws and the like, but I'm quite lucky with local dealers. I can walk in with a saw and pretty much get a problem fixed there and then unless its major. Yes they're slightly more expensive than the online boys, but money in their pocket puts money into the local pubs keeps one of the local rugby team in the area and so on. If I get a saw from 400 miles away I can't walk in and get instant service like that, and, frankly, I don't really care about their local pub or rugby/football team. That said, if service locally was p*ss poor, I might look on-line.

[Arbtech Tree Services]

GardenKit,

 

Couldn't agree more with your post.

 

I would have loved to place last weeks order locally but was really pushed for money so with heavy heart i went online with one of the 'Next Day Emporiums' (retail premises as well - trying to level the playing field) and tapped away late on Wednesday for a weekend job.

 

Order turned up the following Tuesday - not impressed.

 

Guess where next week's big order is going? Order over the phone and pick up next day on way back from job. The couple of quid extra will be nothing compared to a lost job or being pushed down the line for servicing etc.

 

When buying a product cheapest price wins.

 

When buying a service you get what you pay for.

 

If you need the service after buying the product, you have to consider whether the few quid you saved on the product was worth it in the long run.

 

Just wish i could afford to buy everything locally.

 

Steve.

[Syd_B]

I shop online as much as I can, for normal day to day stuff, and I normally check prices of things I need, its a lot more convenient than trudging around a generic town center and/or mega chain store just to find you cant get the exact item your looking for anyway.

 

The nearest arb dealer is about 50 miles away, but there are garden machinery shops within 10 miles, its just a case of ringing the closest and asking if they have X item in stock, and working outwards, if not going online and looking for it.

 

As others have said, you need to decide if the £50 you save is worth the hassle of not getting your kit serviced in a reasonable time if it ever needs it, or if you are willing to go a little out of your way to sort kit out locally, and normally a lot quicker than internet only, or bricks and mortar shops at the other end of the country.

 

I know its not arb, but recently I went into a candle shop, looking specifically for a few different scents, the lady in the shop was rude and patronizing, and tried selling me stuff that was no where near appropriate for the use. I then went into a £land shop, where the assistant was helpful and polite, and took me strait to what I was looking for, then offered to help me carry the items to the checkout.

 

IMHO, this is the reason a lot of smaller shops are going out of business, not internet market places like amazon and evilbay, or even the ability to compete.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Syd_B

[agg221]

But i hope that any person is given a chance to put his work right. I often get people in saying that they have had a machine repaired elsewhere and its not right so they are not going back. I think they should, and give the dealer a chance to correct his work.

 

I think if you were my local dealer I would be telling a very different story. Unfortunately you're the other end of the country.

 

I've tried three different places locally to me. The first I went back to after repair work, I didn't make any accusation as to what was wrong, just indicated that it had been in for attention (new pot, piston, crank, all OEM, with their labour) and wasn't running how I thought it would. I got accusations as to what I had been doing with it (which were incorrect as it turns out). Second saw the 066 with a 24" bar when I wanted the revs tach tuned and their service person said he hadn't ever seen a saw that big before, which didn't inspire confidence I'm afraid, although as it happens they've just got the new fuel and impulse lines in for me for the 026 as the price was realistic and pick-up isn't too bad in the morning. Third looked at the 066 after it had failed (again) and said it was old, so they couldn't diagnose why it had failed. They just wanted to sell me a new saw - I asked what would happen if that failed too as maybe I had a fuel issue. They said if it did that would be my fault, so the warranty would be void. This seemed like a very expensive way for me to identify a fuel issue, which they agreed with, but weren't prepared to do anything different. Oddly enough they turned out to be my local Aspen dealer but at no point mentioned this fact, which is particularly odd given that I was talking about fuel issues.

 

I would have been quite happy to pay for quality of service. As it happens, my 10 year old car still goes to the main dealers once a year, which is quite a trek and not cheap, but the quality of service makes it a real pleasure and I know it's right when I get it back, and if there are any issues they will have found them. They don't try to sell me a new car, but there's a very good chance that when I need one it will be either through them or at least serviced by them, with parts supplied by them etc.

 

If local dealers can offer something that on-line sellers can't then there is a reason to pay for it. Otherwise, they're not charities and they will go the way that any noncompetitive business deserves to.