I think Huztl is leaving out parts purposely to make more money. For every person that complains probably a dozen just buy the missing parts from another vendor or maybe from Huztl. For just a few dollars many of us don't want the hassle.
Huztl have ripped me off!
- Thread starter Matt Hogden
- Start date
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dougand3
Addicted to ArboristSite
I recently bought a topend kit from Huztl on ebay. Theirs was $3 more than other chinese vendors but Huztl had the wrist pin bearing in their kit. Well, kit had no bearing. I complained and they refunded $3 within a day. So, "l'm whole". Would that have happened if I had bought from Huztl.net? I dunno. I think ebay being middleman gives you some extra assurance of fair dealings.
Conquistador3
Le Comte de Frou Frou
A related thing.
Last time I went to my local Stihl dealership they had a series of warnings behind the counter about "counterfeit products" that read like Huztl's kit list minus the 070. A quick look at the local classifieds tells me somebody is buying these kits, throwing them together and putting them up for sale.
Somehow I doubt these bootleggers go to the lengths you people go to make these saws run: their whole budget seems to go in fake Stihl badges. Given the horror stories you report, I'd be really intrigued to see if these counterfeit Stihl's run at all and if they do, how long they last.
Oh, and sometimes these bootleg saws bear no resemblance to the model they are supposed to be, but I guess when you are offered a brand new MS441C-M for the price of a well worn 029 you don't look at thrifling details such as the cylinder shroud. And the recoil starter. And the tank/handle assembly. And the exhaust...
I am also wondering if Huztl/Farmertec isn't following the same pattern as many Chinese vendors, meaning cheapening out their offering once they have made a name for themselves. Most Chinese manufacturers offer several "grades" of whatever they do, from pencils to cylinders, and each grade has a different price tag attached. Given Huztl most likely buys everything from third parties, it wouldn't be hard for them to reduce the grade of some, but not all, components in their kits while keeping their prices the same or slightly increasing them. Note this is honest business compared to what many Chinese firms do, especially when dealing with foreigners with no "boots on the ground" that can walk into their offices and raise Hell.
Last time I went to my local Stihl dealership they had a series of warnings behind the counter about "counterfeit products" that read like Huztl's kit list minus the 070. A quick look at the local classifieds tells me somebody is buying these kits, throwing them together and putting them up for sale.
Somehow I doubt these bootleggers go to the lengths you people go to make these saws run: their whole budget seems to go in fake Stihl badges. Given the horror stories you report, I'd be really intrigued to see if these counterfeit Stihl's run at all and if they do, how long they last.
Oh, and sometimes these bootleg saws bear no resemblance to the model they are supposed to be, but I guess when you are offered a brand new MS441C-M for the price of a well worn 029 you don't look at thrifling details such as the cylinder shroud. And the recoil starter. And the tank/handle assembly. And the exhaust...
I am also wondering if Huztl/Farmertec isn't following the same pattern as many Chinese vendors, meaning cheapening out their offering once they have made a name for themselves. Most Chinese manufacturers offer several "grades" of whatever they do, from pencils to cylinders, and each grade has a different price tag attached. Given Huztl most likely buys everything from third parties, it wouldn't be hard for them to reduce the grade of some, but not all, components in their kits while keeping their prices the same or slightly increasing them. Note this is honest business compared to what many Chinese firms do, especially when dealing with foreigners with no "boots on the ground" that can walk into their offices and raise Hell.
Matt Hogden
ArboristSite Guru
Very true.A related thing.
Last time I went to my local Stihl dealership they had a series of warnings behind the counter about "counterfeit products" that read like Huztl's kit list minus the 070. A quick look at the local classifieds tells me somebody is buying these kits, throwing them together and putting them up for sale.
Somehow I doubt these bootleggers go to the lengths you people go to make these saws run: their whole budget seems to go in fake Stihl badges. Given the horror stories you report, I'd be really intrigued to see if these counterfeit Stihl's run at all and if they do, how long they last.
Oh, and sometimes these bootleg saws bear no resemblance to the model they are supposed to be, but I guess when you are offered a brand new MS441C-M for the price of a well worn 029 you don't look at thrifling details such as the cylinder shroud. And the recoil starter. And the tank/handle assembly. And the exhaust...
I am also wondering if Huztl/Farmertec isn't following the same pattern as many Chinese vendors, meaning cheapening out their offering once they have made a name for themselves. Most Chinese manufacturers offer several "grades" of whatever they do, from pencils to cylinders, and each grade has a different price tag attached. Given Huztl most likely buys everything from third parties, it wouldn't be hard for them to reduce the grade of some, but not all, components in their kits while keeping their prices the same or slightly increasing them. Note this is honest business compared to what many Chinese firms do, especially when dealing with foreigners with no "boots on the ground" that can walk into their offices and raise Hell.
But with Farmertec/Huztl habing tje market flooded, especially on eBay, i believe that they are deliberately leaving out parts to make people buy from eBay so they can make more money.
I call SCAMMERS!
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Big_Wood
westcoast dweller
A related thing.
Last time I went to my local Stihl dealership they had a series of warnings behind the counter about "counterfeit products" that read like Huztl's kit list minus the 070. A quick look at the local classifieds tells me somebody is buying these kits, throwing them together and putting them up for sale.
Somehow I doubt these bootleggers go to the lengths you people go to make these saws run: their whole budget seems to go in fake Stihl badges. Given the horror stories you report, I'd be really intrigued to see if these counterfeit Stihl's run at all and if they do, how long they last.
Oh, and sometimes these bootleg saws bear no resemblance to the model they are supposed to be, but I guess when you are offered a brand new MS441C-M for the price of a well worn 029 you don't look at thrifling details such as the cylinder shroud. And the recoil starter. And the tank/handle assembly. And the exhaust...
I am also wondering if Huztl/Farmertec isn't following the same pattern as many Chinese vendors, meaning cheapening out their offering once they have made a name for themselves. Most Chinese manufacturers offer several "grades" of whatever they do, from pencils to cylinders, and each grade has a different price tag attached. Given Huztl most likely buys everything from third parties, it wouldn't be hard for them to reduce the grade of some, but not all, components in their kits while keeping their prices the same or slightly increasing them. Note this is honest business compared to what many Chinese firms do, especially when dealing with foreigners with no "boots on the ground" that can walk into their offices and raise Hell.
seems to be a trend, strategy is to lure in customers with ebay and then move as much business as possible to a private site where they are boss. that's how the idiots at chainsawr did themselves in for many.
Matt Hogden
ArboristSite Guru
Yeps. I agree.
But Huztl just seem to be doing it on a very LARGE scale. The more i search the internet, the more i see how people have been ripped off by them.
I have decided to buy the missing Huztl kit items in OEM Stihl just so i can finish this saw. It is probably already 20% OEM now anyway. I have replaced alot of the critical parts with genuine Stihl as i built it.
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I like saving a few bucks as much as anyone, and I see the allure of having fun putting one these kits together. With that said if you buy this junk, "and that's exactly what it is" you're somewhat complicit in supporting what are essentially counterfeit goods IMHO.
Matt Hogden
ArboristSite Guru
I agree.
Why was i so silly all those weeks ago? Ahhhhhhhhhh!
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I have so many "kits" aka "basket cases" to put together now without going to China for them.
Big_Wood
westcoast dweller
i've had a bunch of stihls to sell this last year and i sold them all local. wasn't even worth listing on AS cause everyone was buying those knock offs and wanted the OEM saws for nothing too. i almost didn't list the huskies i have listed now but decided to give forum sales another shot. those saws go as far as ruining options in our trading post as some don't waste the time posting saws they can't get much for.
Greenmachine
ArboristSite Operative
Im done with them. They're terrible.
Conquistador3
Le Comte de Frou Frou
That's the big problem, bigger than the cheap Chinese clones themselves: people have come to expect saws to cost a song and dance, and not just homeowner grade stuff.
Around here this is coupled with sellers believeing they are holding on to treasures of the greatest rarity and hence asking near-new prices for, well, pretty beaten up saws, brushcutters and whatever, leading to the second hand power market being effectively dead. Nobody in his right mind is going to pay €250 plus shipping for an Echo CS2600 that looks like it fell off a tree (multiple times) and the rest expect to buy a Husqvarna 372XP in good shape for peanuts.
TimTaylor
ArboristSite Operative
Has anybody else had exactly the opposite experience with eBay? I would rather deal with huztl direct than swim in the dark pool of sharks that circle the money on the bay. Nothing but bad experiences and sleepless nights there, and no protection to speak of as far as I could see, and most won't even post outside of the states.
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Matt Hogden
ArboristSite Guru
Dealing with Huztl direct will eventually end with you losing out mate. The are scammers
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ebay is better as when you do have issues, I have never had a problem not resolved when a case was opened.
bought a 372 kit from hutzl awhile back. of course it was missing parts also, so contacted them got all the part numbers of what was missing and they wanted me to place another order with them and they would send the missing parts with it.
I told them that wasn't going to happen when they messed up my first order with them, I would just source the parts elsewhere if they didn't want to make it right, they did ship the missing parts but suspect they are leaving parts out on purpose also, wonder how many may place another order with them just to get missing parts from there first order.
bought a 372 kit from hutzl awhile back. of course it was missing parts also, so contacted them got all the part numbers of what was missing and they wanted me to place another order with them and they would send the missing parts with it.
I told them that wasn't going to happen when they messed up my first order with them, I would just source the parts elsewhere if they didn't want to make it right, they did ship the missing parts but suspect they are leaving parts out on purpose also, wonder how many may place another order with them just to get missing parts from there first order.
dswensen
ArboristSite Guru
This "missing parts" deal must be a recent problem. I have built three Stihl-copy kits (066, 044, 380), and had no missing parts at all, other than a few screws. In fact I had parts left over (mostly rubber pieces). There WERE a few pieces that were manufactured wrong that I had to replace. From memory; a clutch drum with a bearing surface ID that was too small, and a chain brake spring that had a hook bent the wrong way. I sourced replacements locally and didn't mess with trying to get them from China. Now these were all received and built earlier this year, and I haven't built one in a while.
Quality-wise, not sure how they'll last as I haven't run those saws much, but the parts were all there - for the most part. No complaining about Huztl from me.
Quality-wise, not sure how they'll last as I haven't run those saws much, but the parts were all there - for the most part. No complaining about Huztl from me.
complaining about the quality of counterfeit, cloned, and copied parts or missing parts from a chinese company that is built around the theft of other companies products....
. If your buying a part for pennies on the dollar from a company that stole the design, your getting exactly what you paid for.
. If your buying a part for pennies on the dollar from a company that stole the design, your getting exactly what you paid for. I did it and to some degree am still doing it. I dont like giving ebay a bigger piece of the pie than i get and i sure do like being able to determine when a customer gets to return a part for a full refund instead of the ebay policy of the customer is always right even when they buy new parts, install them, it doesnt fix the problem so lets just return it and ebay forces me to give them a full refund plus i pay shipping both ways. I wont even give feedback as a buyer/seller on ebay anymore...its a sham and anybody that buys/sells on there knows it but they continue to participate anyway.
Nbrcrnchr
ArboristSite Lurker
I can't say I'm not tempted by Huztl, mainly because of the prices of new and well used saws and a case of want not need. When I go on craigslist and see 10 and 12 year old stihl 290s, that haven't run in years, looks like they were run hard and put up wet, wouldn't crank or maybe died in the cut, but all it needs is a new plug and carb adjustment, (maybe, maybe not) and the person is asking $100 of new and wont budge off the price. The asking prices for used saws, at least around me, for non-runners and those that look like they have been well used, are so close to new that you would be better off buying new than buying used and taking the chance that it needs a repair. No wonder people are seriously considering these things. I still try to buy made in USA where ever I can, but when was the last time you saw a Homelite that wasn't made in China and a serious Poulan or McCulloch (although the 5020AV has received some decent review here). Heck even Sears is cratering and is selling China made craftsman hand tools and has sold the name to Black and Decker. Now you can go into a Harbor Freight and find better tools than you used to find at Sears. I have decided my local dealer will get my money as soon as I buy a new saw and it will more than likely be a Stihl. Sorry for the rant.
I have a bunch of Homelites and Poulans that were made in the US but they're gettin' kinda old...
