Stihl being sold in box stores now.

[Goat boy]

Not even close.

The Stihl and Husqvarna (and Echo) saws you see in the box stores today are the SAME saws you find on dealer's shelves.

McCulloch, Homelite, and Poulan (among many others) are companies that failed to keep up with the times, to maintain an image that was attractive to the customers, so the customers went elsewhere. Namely Stihl and Husqvarna.

The companies that manufactured the "good" saws under those names were long gone before the big box store was even a glimmer in some CEO's eye.

What you saw in the big box stores under McCulloch, Homelite, Poulan are LICENSED products. Someone took a cheap offshore saw, slapped the once-great name on it, and tried to pawn it off as the real thing.

Saw, because I don't know if the big box stores are even doing that anymore. I haven't see a new Chinese McCulloch in a box store ever. They tried to bring the name back but I think it failed. Home Depot might still carry a couple of Poulan models but they sell "real" Echo saws now.

Sold out OF box stores is much different than sold out TO box stores...

I once bought a new Poulan at True Value, broke the first day. They did have service but after waiting weeks for a back ordered part I traded it for a Stihl. I was cutting wood for winter and I needed a working saw now.

 

[rarefish383]

I skipped to the end, so if some one already said this or similar, sorry. My friend owns a small engine shop and is a Wright Mower Dealer. He's been trying to get a Stihl dealership for twenty years and they say he is too close to the nearest Stihl dealer, our Southern States. Even though they are in an other County and 15 miles away. Last year, our Ace Hardware store, and my local Echo dealer, remodeled their store and put all the Echo stuff in a back corner. Then made one whole wall Stihl stuff. For several years I've seen Ace advertisements with Stihl stuff in them. They must have made a deal with Ace. The Southern States that was 15 miles from my friends small engine shop, and was too close to him, is in the same strip mall as the Ace, 6 doors down. So much for guarding their territory.

 

[Goat boy]

Unfortunately not to some and it sure does not to Stihl who sold out their dealers when they crawled in bed with Deere. I have watched Stihl screw over long time dealers left and right. It is sad. Locally in a town of 22,000 there were two Stihl servicing dealers. They each were good folks and did good business. About 20 years ago Stihl allowed a third dealer to setup within 0.5 mile of the one that had been there for decades. When the long time dealer got wind of this he put up his middle finger and told Stihl to come get their stuff. He told them some stuff that cannot be typed and I know he actually said it to them. Well the new dealer went out of business because he knew nothing. Then when Stihl crawled in bed with Deere that was another screw to the last servicing dealer. To make matters worse they then allowed Farm and Fleet to sell Stihl. That is a 100% box store cash and carry place. They have a "small engine desk" only in namesake to say they provide service but I will assure you they do nothing. They do not carry ANY parts whatsoever.

I do support and always have supported my last surviving local servicing Stihl dealer.

So my 40+ years of actually servicing and taking care of customers doesn't amount to squat?

In my rural community we had a long time Mom and Pop Stihl dealer that sold lawn equipment (Honda and DR), wood stoves and had a great parts and service dept. Great guy, nothing but top of the line. Catered to a lot of professionals. He had a sign by the counter that said "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten". I bought a wood stove and a DR trimmer mower and all my chainsaw parts and supplies there. Unfortunately his sign once applied to me. Having just moved to the country I hadn't started shopping for a saw yet, the house had a huge wood stove in the basement and I planned on heating with wood. One day I happened to be in the True Value and ran across a Poulan on clearance. A friend had offered to let me cut wood on his property so I bought it. It worked for one day. The next day back at True Value (they did have a service dept.) they said it was under warranty and they would fix it. A plastic part on the throttle trigger had broken. Weeks went by and the part was still on back order. They were also a Stihl dealer, so I said to the owner I need a saw asap winter is coming. If you credit me the full price of the Poulan I'll buy a new Stihl right now. He said I can't give you full price it's a used saw (one day) I'll have to turn it into a rental. Having not just fallen off the turnip truck I'm thinking how much is he going to make renting it v/s the original price??!!! After much debate I said ok refund me the price of the Poulan and I'll go where I should have gone in the first place. He said I can't do that either, it's under warranty all I have to do is fix it. After more haggling he agreed to give me 90% off the Stihl. I was stuck and he was an a**hole and I bought the Stihl. stihltech this is the same 025 you helped me with. When I had to go to the little Stihl dealer to replace the clutch needle bearing, as I stared at his sign in embarrassment I felt compelled to explain to Dean why I didn't buy the saw from him. The moral of the story: Dogwood Lawn and Garden survived for 40+ years even after Lowe's and Rural King came to town. I was not just a customer, we were friends and I was forever loyal long after the "sweetness of low price was forgotten". He recently retired, the store is gone and if I buy a new saw it will not be from a "big box" store and I can only hope the J.D. dealer does as good with the Stihl as they have with my tractor. And NO stihltech, your 40+ years doesn't amount to squat.

 

[wildwes]

We don't have any big box stores around here selling Stihl as far as I know. We have a couple of good Stihl dealers nearby, Amicks and Triad Outdoor Equipment (I think that is their name, never paid attention to the sign) Both of them have always done right by me and gone out of their way to help me, whether I was buying a $2 flywheel key or a $1500 saw, so I shop with them when possible, whether they are a little more or less on price.
The local John Deere dealer, James River, has gotten crappy and been high on prices over the last 6-8 years, so I won't deal with them anymore. There are other John Deere dealers a couple of counties over that give good support and service, and have good prices, as well as a New Holland dealer that sells Stihl. I would happily deal with them if I didn't already have a good relationship with a good loca dealer

 

[scut207]

That is it.

I’ll stop in next time I drive by, not often since my granny passed away, sometimes it was nice to drive the scenic route from Rochester to Great Valley

 

[Bill G]

In my rural community we had a long time Mom and Pop Stihl dealer that sold lawn equipment (Honda and DR), wood stoves and had a great parts and service dept. Great guy, nothing but top of the line. Catered to a lot of professionals. He had a sign by the counter that said "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten". I bought a wood stove and a DR trimmer mower and all my chainsaw parts and supplies there. Unfortunately his sign once applied to me. Having just moved to the country I hadn't started shopping for a saw yet, the house had a huge wood stove in the basement and I planned on heating with wood. One day I happened to be in the True Value and ran across a Poulan on clearance. A friend had offered to let me cut wood on his property so I bought it. It worked for one day. The next day back at True Value (they did have a service dept.) they said it was under warranty and they would fix it. A plastic part on the throttle trigger had broken. Weeks went by and the part was still on back order. They were also a Stihl dealer, so I said to the owner I need a saw asap winter is coming. If you credit me the full price of the Poulan I'll buy a new Stihl right now. He said I can't give you full price it's a used saw (one day) I'll have to turn it into a rental. Having not just fallen off the turnip truck I'm thinking how much is he going to make renting it v/s the original price??!!! After much debate I said ok refund me the price of the Poulan and I'll go where I should have gone in the first place. He said I can't do that either, it's under warranty all I have to do is fix it. After more haggling he agreed to give me 90% off the Stihl. I was stuck and he was an a**hole and I bought the Stihl. stihltech this is the same 025 you helped me with. When I had to go to the little Stihl dealer to replace the clutch needle bearing, as I stared at his sign in embarrassment I felt compelled to explain to Dean why I didn't buy the saw from him. The moral of the story: Dogwood Lawn and Garden survived for 40+ years even after Lowe's and Rural King came to town. I was not just a customer, we were friends and I was forever loyal long after the "sweetness of low price was forgotten". He recently retired, the store is gone and if I buy a new saw it will not be from a "big box" store and I can only hope the J.D. dealer does as good with the Stihl as they have with my tractor. And NO stihltech, your 40+ years doesn't amount to squat.

Flat out Stihl should never have crawled in bed with John Deere and John Deere should never have crawled in bed with Stihl. It was bad for both companies. Deere was too stupid to realize they had a saw line (Efco) that could compete with Stihl. Stihl was smart enough to realize it and wanted to crush the Efco line. They did that at the expense of the loyal dealers they abandoned.

 

[wildwes]

Flat out Stihl should never have crawled in bed with John Deere and John Deere should never have crawled in bed with Stihl. It was bad for both companies. Deere was too stupid to realize they had a saw line (Efco) that could compete with Stihl. Stihl was smart enough to realize it and wanted to crush the Efco line. They did that at the expense of the loyal dealers they abandoned.

I agree 100%
I will freely admit I am a dyed in the wool Stihl man. There are others that I will say are just as good of quality as Stihl, I just like Stihl. Just like I like Ford trucks.
That being said, I have run a couple of the older John Deere saws and Hedge trimmers that were made by Efco (I believe) and the build quality on them was equal to Stihl in my book.
Stihl and John Deere should have stayed separate IMHO.

 

[Bill G]

I agree 100%
I will freely admit I am a dyed in the wool Stihl man. There are others that I will say are just as good of quality as Stihl, I just like Stihl. Just like I like Ford trucks.
That being said, I have run a couple of the older John Deere saws and Hedge trimmers that were made by Efco (I believe) and the build quality on them was equal to Stihl in my book.
Stihl and John Deere should have stayed separate IMHO.

I agree they should. Competition inspires innovation. Look at Ford. Had they not had competition they would have kept building Model T's, I am a strong Ford guy but GM and others made Ford the strong company it is today.

 

[wildwes]

I agree they should. Competition inspires innovation. Look at Ford. Had they not had competition they would have kept building Model T's, I am a strong Ford guy but GM and others made Ford the strong company it is today.

Competition is healthy- part of the problem with schools today is that they spend so much time trying to squash competition and giver everyone a participation trophy.

 

[Bill G]

Competition is healthy- part of the problem with schools today is that they spend so much time trying to squash competition and giver everyone a participation trophy.

That is why we need to support FFA, 4-H , and the county fair systems. You do do get on the big stage in KC, Louisville, or Indy based on simple participation.

 

[wildwes]

That is why we need to support FFA, 4-H , and the county fair systems. You do do get on the big stage in KC, Louisville, or Indy based on simple participation.

You are definitely correct, I went across the stage in Louisville and Indy a few times as a student, and I worked harder to get there than I did for almost anything else in my youth.

 

[Abbeville TSI]

We don't have any big box stores around here selling Stihl as far as I know. We have a couple of good Stihl dealers nearby, Amicks and Triad Outdoor Equipment (I think that is their name, never paid attention to the sign) Both of them have always done right by me and gone out of their way to help me, whether I was buying a $2 flywheel key or a $1500 saw, so I shop with them when possible, whether they are a little more or less on price.
The local John Deere dealer, James River, has gotten crappy and been high on prices over the last 6-8 years, so I won't deal with them anymore. There are other John Deere dealers a couple of counties over that give good support and service, and have good prices, as well as a New Holland dealer that sells Stihl. I would happily deal with them if I didn't already have a good relationship with a good loca dealer

I know all about James River, I use the Burkeville location, they seem fair to deal with. Stihl Corporate I have problems with,though. I don't think I can order parts from my local Ace, their main store is in Roanoke I think. The local Ace doesn't offer service. I have started buying Echo again, 2511t and 3510 saws. Planning on a backpack blower, that will be Echo as well.

 

[wildwes]

I know all about James River, I use the Burkeville location, they seem fair to deal with. Stihl Corporate I have problems with,though. I don't think I can order parts from my local Ace, their main store is in Roanoke I think. The local Ace doesn't offer service. I have started buying Echo again, 2511t and 3510 saws. Planning on a backpack blower, that will be Echo as well.

I don't think James River is all bad, I believe our local one is very poorly managed, and that is where the issue comes in.

 

[JKendrick87]

I’m pretty fortunate where I’m at in Ohio, I have 4 Stihl dealers within a 10 mile radius, and right across the street from my work is a Tool rental shop with that old school feel. They sell Stihl but don’t carry a lot on the shelves, but the boss is a damn good Stihl mechanic and hooked me up on my latest saw a low hour MS 201tc.

 

[JKendrick87]

That is why we need to support FFA, 4-H , and the county fair systems. You do do get on the big stage in KC, Louisville, or Indy based on simple participation.

4-H was one of the best memories of my youth growing up! I learned so much about hard work and responsibility. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to be in it!

 

[sean donato]

Flat out Stihl should never have crawled in bed with John Deere and John Deere should never have crawled in bed with Stihl. It was bad for both companies. Deere was too stupid to realize they had a saw line (Efco) that could compete with Stihl. Stihl was smart enough to realize it and wanted to crush the Efco line. They did that at the expense of the loyal dealers they abandoned.

Definatly agree with you Bill. We have more stihl dealers then you can shake a stick at around here and the deere dealers arnt ones I deal with for multiple reasons, but the biggest one that gave me a bad taste was the 36" bar I had to order for dad's old 084. They didn't have one on the shelf, so they ordered it came in. (Mind you I had to pay for it upfront and shipping costs.) Took it home and it was the wrong sized bar mount. The slot was far too small to fit over the studs. So I took it and the saw back to them and showed them it was wrong. They said I would have to pay a 20% restocking fee since it was special order. Some words were exchanged and I left with that bar. Little time in the mill and the slot was opened up and new oil holes drilled. I'll never go to a jd dealer for stihl parts after that, or really any tractor dealer. The o p e is an afterthought to the primary business.

 

[wildwes]

4-H was one of the best memories of my youth growing up! I learned so much about hard work and responsibility. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to be in it!

I believe 4-H and FFA can have immeasurable benefit for young people, but I would caution you to make sure and ask plenty of pointed questions before sending your child to any overnight 4-H or FFA event today. Both organizations are caving to the woke/politically correct crowd and are changing rather rapidly.
Example- National 4-H policy is currently that members at 4-H camps will be bunked based off of their "gender identity" without consulting with the parents or notifying them if the child is not bunked with their biological sex.
And National FFA official dress standards currently allow boys to wear female official dress.

Not saying that either will be the case at local events- I will not ever take one of my male students anywhere wearing a skirt, if it costs me my job, and I still have a prayer during the invocation at all of the FFA events I sponsor, even if it costs me my job, just that some FFA and 4-H groups are not the same as they were even a few years ago.

 

[JKendrick87]

I believe 4-H and FFA can have immeasurable benefit for young people, but I would caution you to make sure and ask plenty of pointed questions before sending your child to any overnight 4-H or FFA event today. Both organizations are caving to the woke/politically correct crowd and are changing rather rapidly.
Example- National 4-H policy is currently that members at 4-H camps will be bunked based off of their "gender identity" without consulting with the parents or notifying them if the child is not bunked with their biological sex.
And National FFA official dress standards currently allow boys to wear female official dress.

Not saying that either will be the case at local events- I will not ever take one of my male students anywhere wearing a skirt, if it costs me my job, and I still have a prayer during the invocation at all of the FFA events I sponsor, even if it costs me my job, just that some FFA and 4-H groups are not the same as they were even a few years ago.

Oh no nothing like that, I took livestock cattle and pigs and we had weekly meetings with our 4-H club in our county. His mom and I will be pretty protective on anything like that.

 

[bwalker]

Flat out Stihl should never have crawled in bed with John Deere and John Deere should never have crawled in bed with Stihl. It was bad for both companies. Deere was too stupid to realize they had a saw line (Efco) that could compete with Stihl. Stihl was smart enough to realize it and wanted to crush the Efco line. They did that at the expense of the loyal dealers they abandoned.

Efco can't and never could compete with Stihl.

 

[Bill G]

4-H was one of the best memories of my youth growing up! I learned so much about hard work and responsibility. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to be in it!

I hope it is better in your area than what it has become in our area. My mother was our leader growing up. We had 65 members in our township alone out of 80 possible members.