Pete, some very valid comments there.
I fully understand the value of internet sales to many of the posters on this thread, but I also see it from the side of SDS.
It has been suggested by many that dealers have to adapt to the modern way and join the internet sales brigade. This will certainly work for some dealers but if every dealership (I think there are around 4000 in the UK) were to do this,the market would be very diluted. Margins would be so tight that natural selection would see the closure of 80% of those dealers.
This would not matter to the internet purchaser of course, he would still get the service he was happy with.
But from my own perspective as a dealer (I am not a Stihl or Huskie dealer) I would sooner concentrate on providing specialist, independant service to the very many local customers who have no wish to buy on the net, preferring the service and advice of the local dealer. (many of these are of course, domestic users, and they are happy to pay a higher price for the complete package.)
So there are the two types of dealer emerging, those who wish to go down the internet sales route, and those who wish to retain the old values of local business. They are distinctly different, and each can be very good at what they do. There is a place, and a need, for both, as there are also two types of buyer.
The problem that is emerging is the one highlighted in previous posts, and which SDS has been slated for. That of warranty.
We have these two distinct dealer types emerging, and each promises to look after their own customers with loyalty. But then comes the crossover, when the internet buyer wants his warranty done by the local man who, like me, is working long hours keeping his very loyal customer base happy.
In my business the majority of this stuff is domestic mowers, strimmers and saws, bought online or from the sheds.
Is it any wonder that we tend to put the non loyal customer to the back of the queue, rather than work find an extra few hours in a crowded week, or put a loyal customer back?
It is our loyal customer base that keeps us afloat, and we will always give them priority. Is this so wrong?