Do Stihl dealers not like to sell saw builders parts?

[Brmorgan]

Despite a couple problems I'm really appreciating my dealer after reading through this thread. They're just happy to see me (or anyone) walk through the door, and rarely don't have or cannot get what I need. I sure do pay for it though. Twice the price I can get some stuff online for.

 

[oldsaw]

Despite a couple problems I'm really appreciating my dealer after reading through this thread. They're just happy to see me (or anyone) walk through the door, and rarely don't have or cannot get what I need. I sure do pay for it though. Twice the price I can get some stuff online for.

I've got an 066 in Kansas City, they order everything, it's a given.

Mark

 

[parrisw]

Well I learned long ago one thing, EVERYTHING YOU HAVE FOR SALE IS FOR SALE. Hell I'll sell you the paint off the wall if your willing to scrap it off,

Or the stuff off your computer screen!!!

 

[Nubota]

I bought my saw from a small shop and they were very good. Helpful for parts, etc. Only problem is they hardly stock anything anymore. I undertsand inventory turns and what not, but it is frustrating if you have to order everything - even basic stuff.

When I bought my tractor, Kubota, the dealer was also a Stihl dealer. So they go outta their way to keep me happy on both fronts. One of the benefits of JD jumping into the fray. The downside is you may not get the expertise of the smaller shops.

The attitude thing always amazes me - you grab customers anyway you can. Even if the OP was taking business away, he is going to get his parts from somewhere, inconvenienced or not - so might as well grab the business you can from him.

 

[teacherman]

My dealer hasn't started comlaining about me ordering litttle bitty parts. THey ordered Stihl Ultra in 1 gal little bottles for me, so I be sure and buy it from them. I have over a dozen bottles of oil now. HOpe it keeps a while. They know I have a ton of saws, and that most of them came from sleazebay. Whatever. I bought $6000.00 of lawn equipment and a hotsaw from them about fifteen years ago, so i figure they should be OK getting me parts.

 

[Pissfirwillie]

Just call Madsen's or Bailey's

Both of these guys will ship you OEM Stihl parts and both have a good inventory of each. Sure, you will pay a little postage, but you are already spending a lot in gas and time driving back and forth to the dealer. Plus, they offer less expensive options for some of the pricey stuff.

 

[parrisw]

Want to hear a funny parts story. Not about saws, about cars. I'm a mechanic. we've been trying to find brake pads for a Daewoo, the aftermarket has tried numerous time and failed, the closest dealer is in Vancouver, so we phoned there today to see if they could send us some brake pads, they said, "ummm we don't have any parts" ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

UMMM soo like do you just throw away this car when it need a brake job???

 

[Martinm210]

Both of these guys will ship you OEM Stihl parts and both have a good inventory of each. Sure, you will pay a little postage, but you are already spending a lot in gas and time driving back and forth to the dealer. Plus, they offer less expensive options for some of the pricey stuff.

I didn't know that, I've made several orders from Bailey's now, but I didn't know I could buy OEM stuff there too. It would be handy to have it all shipped right to my door. Even with my local guy, I usually take half an hour or so off of work to go make my order, then I've got to make a second trip to go pay for it, and finally a third trip to pick it up.

I'll try that next round..

Thanks!

 

[goatchin]

The local Stihl shops around here are decent so far....The one I'm using right now is half Stihl shop and half tire center. Lady behind the desk is a snot but the boss is a good guy to deal with-answers the question and looks stuff up for me. Other dealership is half Stihl and half Kubota dealership-havent resorted to using them yet but bout ready to after today. Called to see how much is was gonna cost for the bottom muffler casing bolts that go into the crankcase for my 046. Lady said for M6x30 bolts....5 dolla' a pop and not in stock...thank you, good bye. I'll try the other dealership and see what there gonna charge. I know for hell sure bolts dont cost that much bc for the farm we buy bags of 25 bolts for $15-20, but of course it gets more expensive when bolts get bigger but come on, $5 for a damn M6x30 get real

 

[Lakeside53]

Both of these guys will ship you OEM Stihl parts and both have a good inventory of each. Sure, you will pay a little postage, but you are already spending a lot in gas and time driving back and forth to the dealer. Plus, they offer less expensive options for some of the pricey stuff.

Balieys maybe.. Madsens,, depends...
Balieys buys from another dealer and avoids Stihl. Madsens is a Stihl dealer and if they get caught risk loosing their dealership.

Work with your local dealer..develop a relationship...

 

[blackoak]

Want to hear a funny parts story. Not about saws, about cars. I'm a mechanic. we've been trying to find brake pads for a Daewoo, the aftermarket has tried numerous time and failed, the closest dealer is in Vancouver, so we phoned there today to see if they could send us some brake pads, they said, "ummm we don't have any parts" ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

UMMM soo like do you just throw away this car when it need a brake job???

You probably should throw it away. My Sister-in-law had a Daewoo and parts are non existence for them. She got rid of hers and it only had around 20,000 miles on it because of the parts situation. I think the company is no longer in business.

 

[blackoak]

Balieys maybe.. Madsens,, depends...
Balieys buys from another dealer and avoids Stihl. Madsens is a Stihl dealer and if they get caught risk loosing their dealership.

Work with your local dealer..develop a relationship...

If you develop a REAL good relationship with your Stihl dealer, you may get a lot of "free" stuff, but you might piss your old lady off.:greenchainsaw:

 

[spacemule]

I know for hell sure bolts dont cost that much bc for the farm we buy bags of 25 bolts for $15-20, but of course it gets more expensive when bolts get bigger but come on, $5 for a damn M6x30 get real

If it's just a regular allen head, you can get them at Home Depot for about $.60 a piece.

 

[Lakeside53]

..And even if it's a Torx IS screw.. $1.20 MSRP from Stihl...

If it was a special order and you had to pay freight.. tough.. IIRC even Baileys charges 8.95 min for freight...

 

[skid row]

Balieys maybe.. Madsens,, depends...
Balieys buys from another dealer and avoids Stihl. Madsens is a Stihl dealer and if they get caught risk loosing their dealership.

Work with your local dealer..develop a relationship...

My stihl dealer is a personal friend of mine and a drinkin buddy. :rockn:

 

[Mama Tried]

I see one of the best songs I ever heard at the bottom of the page, MAMA TRIED. Good tune, Haggard's gold mine song there.

haha

 

[John Ellison]

If it has been awhile since you went in the Stihl (or ?) dealer that you quit because of whatever reason, give them another chance. They have employee turnover like every where else.

I went to a Stihl place after giving up on them several years ago when they would'nt sell me any clutch springs, Mr."we just sell the whole clutch" was gone and replaced by someone who could have been one of the dealers on here. Very knowledgable, helpful, and friendly. I bought 60+ dollars worth of parts and was suprised that some were right about the same price as aftermarket parts. It was nice to find a Stihl place around here that I could give a thumbs up to.

 

[Stihldoc]

You can tell who's busy at this time of year and who's not. Those who are busy are using or repairing their saws. The others whine. I was a Stihl dealer for 17 years in a suburban county near Washington DC. I sold my shop a little over a year ago to my service manager who's 20 years younger than me. No regrets- I loved the business and had great staff but 3 growing boys made it difficult to continue to put in 14 hour days - and often much more during the busy season. I had a great relationship with Stihl. Stihl is a big company- individual dealers don't buy parts from Stihl. Dealers buy parts and whole goods from their regional distributor. My distributor was Mid-Atlantic Stihl in Hillsborough NC. Never have I dealt with a finer organization- their customer service was excellent and their parts fill rate was even better. All Stihl distributors are owned by Stihl and follow Stihl's policies. Stihl does not have a policy that says a part or piece of equipment must sell for a certain price. That's price fixing and its illegal. End of story. Stihl suggests a retail price- that allows a dealer to make a certain amount of profit- but a dealer is free to sell for more or less. I always sold parts and whole goods for retail price (certain exceptions were made for high volume sales customers). Dealer profit is essential- otherwise there won't be any dealers. Stihl also has NO MINIMUM ORDER policies. There are incentives such as a minimum size order (it used to be $2500 but may be higher now) to get free freight. Many times a customer needed a part RFN- Stihl would ship it that same day and I'd sell it and pass along the freight. Customer and dealer happy. If your dealer is whining about minimum orders, that is BS from a dealer that doesn't care about your business. Find one that does. I am no longer a dealer for Stihl, but do service on a contract basis for several local dealers. When I need parts I order them from the distributor and have them shipped to a local dealer. They charge me for the freight and add a pre-agreed percentage to the cost of the parts. They have to make money too. I worked hard to set up this arrangement and it works well for me and my customers. It is unfair to Stihl (or any other manufacturer) to blame them for problems you're having with a particular dealer. If you need parts quickly expect to pay freight costs. If a dealer still balks, find another dealer. Internet sales are banned by Stihl. I never really agreed with this policy, but its their decision to make. Did you ever think about CALLING another dealer? That's a great way to buy parts- chances are that dealer will even ship them to you. I do. Stop whining and do something to improve your situation. If one dealer doesn't seem to want your business give it to someone else. The choice is YOURS- not theirs.

 

[resotek]

Unfortunately, thats likely where this industry is headed. To many dealers refuse to understand, they are in the service industry. Yeah we get a lot of PITA customers that waste a ton of our time. Key is to figure them out quickly and politely explain that you have to get back to work.

Most understand that parts men/mechanics time is expensive. If you want to talk, the salesman is right over there...

Stihl dealerships have to prove to their customers they are worth more money for a reason...service, service, service. I do not understand the mentality of not ordering for days, let alone weeks at a time. I hold back on chains, bars, misc stock parts, just for the fact when a customer walks in and needs a $10 part that I do not have in stock, I can add in 25 or so 84 DL chains...hit my min. order/freight and have that customers parts in the morning.

Granted there are times that I can't. I explain to the customer that I can get it next day, but he's paying the freight or he can wait a day or two and not have a freight charge. Those that need it, pay it...but give them the option.

Otherwise, why not just deal with box stores...order your parts online. Sorry, thats not the service I expect personally nor is it satisfactory for my customers.

Paul... I wish more dealers shared your philosophy! You definitely have it figured out. I laugh every time I see the dealers start complaining on here about their customers. Talk about a screwed up attitude. I know their are bad customers, my father has been a small retail shop for 30 years and I've seen every kind. But, very few businesses, of any kind, are run like the used to be and it's a shame.

-Mel

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Rep given!

Stihldoc

Hay....What's up Doc! :jester: Very well written post! I gave you a Rep for that one!

Dan