I live just outside a medium sized city in WA. Most of the Stihl dealers here are Ace hardware stores, a new one opened up near me a couple years ago, they are now listed as a Stihl dealer and have a big Stihl sign outside. Today I called them to see if they had a small part I need and was told that they don't sell parts there and suggested I call another Ace store in town (there are several), but couldn't tell me which one(s). I wonder if this is the first step towards seeing Stihl in the big box stores, or if the tweaker I talked to on the phone just could only find his way to the smoking area out back (pot is legal here).