EFCO Brand - Please leave me your feedback!

[WetGunPowder]

(How did I miss this thread?)

Philbert

+1

One of our parts suppliers is putting the hit on us and other Jonsesed dealers to sign on with EFCO. With both Menards and TSC (who will be carrying the homeowner Jonnys) only 5 miles up the street-I do't think this will happen anytime soon...............

 

[dboyd351]

On a related note . . . I was skeptical of the Oregon PowerSharp chain before trying it. Now I like it (subject of a different thread.).

One of the objections people have with the PowerSharp system was the initial investment (MSRP $72), including the cost of a new bar and chain. I assumed that we would soon see these come as an OEM option on Sears Craftsman chainsaws, as Sears is big on 'features', and customers would only have to pay any incremental cost of the sharpening cassette and the PowerSharp chain over the conventional chain (same bar cost). Haven't seen them yet.

HOWEVER, I did see that I can get the PowerSharp OEM with certain Efco saws, only by a fluke. Happened to see one copy of an Efco catalog one day in one Menard's, and I am just saw geeky enough to read things like that. I like Menards for certain things, but the average salesperson there would barely know that they sold Efco saws, or the difference between them and the other saws they sell (except for price).

I like a number of the ideas posted. This is another example of an 'advantage' you have, but don't promote.

Philbert

Philbert,
You did a great, objective job on that Powersharp thread. Thanks for doing that. I never really expected anyone from Arboristsite to give the Powersharp a fair try, but you did.
By the way, if you keep your eyes open and want to give Powersharp a try, they periodically have them on sale for a much better price on fleabay and also sometimes at Home Depo. Cheap enough that you're not out much if you don't like it.

 

[angry inch]

Hello.

I am involved with a sister company to Efco (EMAK). This site has been a great resource for me to get feedback from EFCO's core customers. Our marketing team is meeting with the EMAK group (Italy) and it would be great to get some true feedback directly from the customers so I can share any issues and/or strengths with them.

How many of you have heard of EFCO saws/trimmers? If so, where?
What do you like about the products themselves? (lightweight, noise, power, etc)
What seperates brands like Stihl and Husky from EFCO?
What would EFCO have to do to earn your business?
What other complaints or complements do you have for the brand as a whole?
What would you change?

I appreciate you taking the time to read this (and potentially respond). Thank you to the loyal customers.

The goal is to create the best products with the best service at a great price.

Thank you!

Personally I love my Efco 165; actually I am going to buy another one I am looking at a 152.
For what I have seen with all my friends running orange ones these things are just as good with a few things that are better. Such as caps that work as intended and an oilier that only works when the chain is moving. The big fuel tank and oil tank. I would put it up against any other brand as far as power from my experience. I keep saying that red is going to be the new orange. Lol

 

[Philbert]

One of our parts suppliers is putting the hit on us and other Jonsesed dealers to sign on with EFCO.

You are in a funny place. I think that the Jonsered reorganization is a big opportunity for Dolmar to expand its dealer network. However, since you are already a Dolmar dealer . . .

Philbert,
You did a great, objective job on that Powersharp thread. Thanks for doing that. I never really expected anyone from Arboristsite to give the Powersharp a fair try, but you did. By the way, if you keep your eyes open and want to give Powersharp a try, they periodically have them on sale for a much better price on fleabay and also sometimes at Home Depo.

First, thank you for the compliment.

I have seen some close out and clearance deals on PowerSharp as I obsessively swing through the chainsaw areas of some stores. Nice to find; hard to plan on. You are right that if you buy the 'system' (bar, chain, cassette, stone) and don't like the chain, you can still use the bar with any 3/8 low profile, .050 chain. My comment in this thread is that if you buy an Efco (or any brand) with the system OEM, the incremental cost to the manufacturer and consumer is minimized.

Efco is the only brand I know of that offers this option, aside from Oregon's own PowerNow brand (40V battery powered saw). It's another way they could distinguish their saws.

Philbert

 

[Ralph in MN]

A dealer who has a saw

I went to our " local dealer" to look at a 152 0r 156 and he doesn't even have anything in stock!!! I left my name and number for an price in a 152 and 2 weeks later I have not gotten a call. So I bought a used Husqvarna instead.

 

[angry inch]

Maybe NASCAR is a big step right away. But I see you’re in MN so call Donny Schatz world of outlaws sprint car driver Native to ND. Put a add on a sprint car they get a lot of exposer! I bet this could be done fairly cheap compared to NASCAR.
Or just get some of those big old billboard signs all over the road ways, but that’s no fun Dynamic advertising is way more fun. :msp_biggrin:

 

[dboyd351]

I went to our " local dealer" to look at a 152 0r 156 and he doesn't even have anything in stock!!! I left my name and number for an price in a 152 and 2 weeks later I have not gotten a call. So I bought a used Husqvarna instead.

That's certainly one way NOT to make a sale!

 

[chipchop]

late to the efco party

hey,
SO i know I'm kind of late to the party here but, I had a thread about efco's a while back. I have found a local dealer and was in the market for a new saw. I had been running a used husqvarna 268xp and cutting for a timbejack part time. I saw these saws and thought...."nice" I was really excited because I wanted a bigger professional saw and for a good price. Plus the warranty was great. I begged the shop owner to let me try it out because If I liked it I was going to buy it and I was also going to see about an efco sponsorship in a felling comp. because I had never heard of them before and I really liked some of the design features.
I took it home and it ran terrible. I was really rooting for it though so I tried to get it tuned and I couldn't with the caps on the carb. This was winter cutting and very cold out. Needed to be richer but I didn't own it so I didn't mess with it any more. I really like the look and feel of the saws. They feel well thought out and well made. I like the design of certain things better than my husky. i.e. the screw through filter cover on top. The switch in the back. little things but they felt better. But I came away from it scared because it didn't want to pull chain very hard. I berried it in some hard maple and it would just bog to a stop. Again I either had a dud saw. (it can happen and i don't hold that against them) Or it was the carb issue, or it really doesn't want to run like my husky's do.
Either way I had high hopes and was kind of left wanting. I bought a used 372xp, rebuilt it and it's been in service ever since with no trouble and it PULLS CHAIN. I would like to try an efco that was "at the top of it's game" so to speak to see what I thought of it. It didn't come tuned up that's for sure though.
my two cents.
late.
sorry.

 

[Machold]

Sorry you didn't buy the EFCO; if you did, you could get the caps off. The top takes some fiddling but it comes off. The rest is easy. My 165 ran very well from the get-go; I will soon remove the caps.

 

[Philbert]

Looks like the Efco guys is long gone. Left us to 'talk amongst ourselves'?

Anyway, today I was struck by the thought that Efco should partner with Toro. Toro does not have a chainsaw line. Efco does not sell riding lawnmowers. Both are red . . . .

Philbert

 

[8433jeff]

Emak has an extensive line of mowers, not distributed here in the US.

Air filtration, parts availability. Sometimes a wait even from Ohio.

Distributors need a wake up. If a dealer calls in an order, and the distributor sits on it for three days because its not stocked there, you may have doubled the lead time.

I love the saws, easy to work on, any top handle is a PIA but Efcos are slightly worse.

Stop dumping them at places for misfit saws like Northern and Menards. You don't make dealers happy, and then you depend on them to service/warranty them. How much sense does that make? The lack of parts/knowledge from the Olympyk era is astounding. But I can't fault you for not stocking a $175 coil for the oldsters, either. I can fault you for not making one of the new ones work. I hope some forethought has gone into the next line of EPA complaint saws, and hope it doesn't take as long as first thought to get them here.

WGP-they do pay warranty claims quickly, the form is easy. Too much jacking around (send the cylinder, ring, and piston to Ohio) and then get it back 2-3 weeks later. "its OK".

Leave the name. Don't send us the chinsy chinese ones, and advertise. RFD, Speed channel, etc. Time to put out or get out.

 

[ncfarmboy]

Every one of my new Efco's came from factory pig rich. Let me correct that slightly. Out of the 2 I sold they were rich. 165 wouldn't turn over 8500 rpm's 156 was 10,200 rpm's. 181 (mine) 10,000, 8200 (mine) 9,600. When I have time I'm going to check the rest. I'm not a dealer just came across a "lot" of Efco's @ a very good price.
Shep

 

[Philbert]

So I went to Menard's today . . .

I wanted to take another look at the Efco saws (probably the OP's original intent?). This is what I saw:

The saws did not look as nice as on the website. Looked duller, cheaper. Saws were not well marked by the store, or on the saws themselves. Had to look pretty hard to find out that two were 152's and one was a 3500.

Menard's shelf tags only had them marked as '56.5cc, 20"' chainsaw and '51.5 cc, 18" chainsaws. The larger one was not there. The smallest one was not marked anywhere. No boxes (there was stock for most of the other saws) to look for additional information.

One of the 152s had .050 bar and chain. One had .058 bar and chain (had to look twice to verify that). Shelf tags said one used .325 and one used 3/8 chain. The 3500 was missing its chain. Different controls on the two models - took a little playing to figure out that the 3500 has something like STIHL's 'master control lever' (choke at the bottom).

Sales guy thought that the top handled Hitachi next to these saws was pretty cool.

Why would someone choose these saws there, assuming that they were not looking specifically for an Efco saw, unless, maybe they assumed that 'the most expensive ones must be best?'

Philbert

 

[WetGunPowder]

I wanted to take another look at the Efco saws (probably the OP's original intent?). This is what I saw:

The saws did not look as nice as on the website. Looked duller, cheaper. Saws were not well marked by the store, or on the saws themselves. Had to look pretty hard to find out that two were 152's and one was a 3500.

Menard's shelf tags only had them marked as '56.5cc, 20"' chainsaw and '51.5 cc, 18" chainsaws. The larger one was not there. The smallest one was not marked anywhere. No boxes (there was stock for most of the other saws) to look for additional information.

One of the 152s had .050 bar and chain. One had .058 bar and chain (had to look twice to verify that). Shelf tags said one used .325 and one used 3/8 chain. The 3500 was missing its chain. Different controls on the two models - took a little playing to figure out that the 3500 has something like STIHL's 'master control lever' (choke at the bottom).

Sales guy thought that the top handled Hitachi next to these saws was pretty cool.

Why would someone choose these saws there, assuming that they were not looking specifically for an Efco saw, unless, maybe they assumed that 'the most expensive ones must be best?'

Philbert

Box Store...............................Good place for them!

Just like the Hitachi/Tanaka Chicom p.o.s. next to them!

 

[8433jeff]

Menards/Northern has provided the followingbesides a few giggles)(keep in mind some of these folks are driving 1-2-had one drive 3 hours round trip, for warranty work)

3-4 chains on backwards.

The bar/chain cover comes attached with a plastic spacer installed. Twice this spacer has been reinstalled on the outside of the bar; only once was it left on the inside.

Had one that did not have the air cleaner installed-for some reason it was in the bag in the box along with the manual and the afore mentioned spacer.

Seen more than one from Menards with the wrong chain, .325 instead of 3/8's or vise versa. I'm not there every day, and some of this stuff went away without the motherships knowledge. Now there is a "nonsense" or misc. warranty claim for I believe twenty minutes. You are also supposed to check the tune for the 'customer' in that time, with the tach, of course. Sometimes its right on. Sometimes you don't have to get the book out and look it up. Sometimes, its all that and more.

The prices in Philberts picture are under the dealer cost unless you are buying more than a few units, I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking thats the big league territory, about 50-60 units a year.
That doesn't sound like many, and my guy is a little fish in the pond, but he may repair twice that many saws a year. Sells 4-5 new ones a season, plus a few trimmers.

But those are happy folks, almost to the letter. Have a few see them there, and then buy from him, because they want the whole saw, have had them say that "Menards could screw up a one car funeral parade."

I still like to shop there. For tools, sometimes, for small amounts of lumber, plumbing supplies, etc.

 

[Philbert]

Box Store...............................Good place for them!

Just like the Hitachi/Tanaka Chicom p.o.s. next to them!

"P.O.S." ? . . . . OH! You must mean Point Of Sale, right? Like they are right there on the shelf?

(Philbert)

Actually, cheap, big box stores are probably the best advertisement for a good, full service dealer IMHO.

 

[Philbert]

The prices in Philberts picture are under the dealer cost unless you are buying more than a few units,

FWIW - Those were 'sale' prices today. I think that they were marked down around $20.

But I did not see any inventory, and all the saws on the shelf were missing pieces (caps, chains, bar covers, bar nuts, etc.), so you would want to be careful about buying one of the display units.

Philbert

 

[dboyd351]

all the saws on the shelf were missing pieces (caps, chains, bar covers, bar nuts, etc.)

Philbert

Maybe that's why they were on sale!

 

[mikefunaro]

"P.O.S." ? . . . . OH! You must mean Point Of Sale, right? Like they are right there on the shelf?

(Philbert)

Actually, cheap, big box stores are probably the best advertisement for a good, full service dealer IMHO.

This is a bit of a tangent, but ties in with your point. I've been wanting to get it out for a while.

I don't actually think it's that hard to see why box stores are doing so well and don't think its particularly fair to blame the average american for frequenting the box store.

To me at least, a lot of it isn't about price, and isn't about "selection" per se. In most areas the box stores actually have less selection.

What box stores do have going for them is they are OPEN at much more hours than a local small time store.

I don't expect small business owners to give up their weekend. But I cant begin to understand why a lot of small shops are open 9-5 monday through friday and that's it. You need to have some hours on a weekend at least. Some of these shops deal mostly with pros and that's fine. But a lot of people work M-F, and especially if they don't work in town, it can be very hard to get to a store when it's open.

What are you going to do, take a personal day to go to the chainsaw dealer and get some chains?

 

[7sleeper]

I have the 3500 model and like it a lot (after I lost the inside of the cat muffler ). Quality wise seems to be equivalent to my Stihl 180.

7