There are alot of variables at play when guys post what they got a saw for on here.
-There are 12 Stihl distributors in the US and they have some affect on what the retail pricing is listed at. My favorite example is the MS660, here in the Northeast where they sell relatively few 660's the price is fairly high. They retail at around 1100$ here in NY, but in the PNW they sell many more 660's they retail for around 950$.
-How long the item has been sitting on the shelf, also plays into the willingness to wheel and deal. Surprising we have to pay for these items, Stihl just doesn't give them to us. After 90 days if the item isn't sold we have to start paying interest on the item anywhere from 1.5-2.5% per month. So if a saw sits for 6 months you're losing money on it.
-Customer loyalty. If a guy walks in off the street, never been in the shop before and demands a deal on a saw it's pretty insulting. For window shoppers and phone calls I keep it pretty close to retail price. I do tell them that if they get a better price in writing, that I will beat it. But it needs to be a written quote not " Don over at such and such will give it to me for so and so." But if it's a regular customer who has spent some cash in the place before, it makes me more willing to make a deal.
-Built in profit, plain simple no dealer makes more than 25% on any whole goods. Most of the time we're hovering between 15-20% profit on any whole good.
So that 1000$ saw we make 200$ profit at full mark up. If I give you a case that's 30$, then a six pack of oil 10$, a chain 20$, and then you want 50$ off retail. Then I'm down to 90$ profit, then you put it on a credit card and I lose between 2-4% or 20-40$ for processing fees. So when it's all said and done I might clear 50$ profit on that 1000$ saw sale. That's why dealers stick retail pricing when they can.
