Echo Dealers?

Rugged made
Advertise with us
Treestuff
Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Echo makes great products. We've got a couple of Echo trimmers that are over 10 years old and they just keep going and going.
I recently bought an Echo ES-210 blower and Im very happy with it.
This past summer my neibor let me borrow his 35cc Echo chainsaw and it worked great. I would say that it is easily as good as my Stihl 021.
All in all, Id say that Echos are just as good as anything that Stihl or Husky makes and they cost considerably less.
 
Brian S said:
Compared to the big three, Stihl, Husky, Dolmar/Efco. At the same price point you get more performance for the $$ with the big three.

Having said that I like my Echo products. I have an old ass SRM2100 trimmer that won't die, a newish CS-440 chainsaw and a Mantis. All are competent performers that are well built. My CS-440 won't win any races compared to a Husky 350 or a Stihl 260 or maybe even a 250 but the quality is there.

Here is an ancient thread with some old info on my 440.
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=59217

My initial impressions still hold up, it is a solid machine.

It does not come out as much now that I have the 026 but I am not about to sell it, smooth, fuel efficient, quiet, easy to start, etc. I don't give a rats a$$ that it is slower than the 026, it is a nicely made saw that has a lot going for it and I like using it. Dollar for dollar, at retail prices Echo is not a great bargain- but threre are large numbers of them for sale on ebay and CL at huge savings, prices you never see for the better brands and that is what makes them a winner in my book. Heck, even if I had paid full price for the 440 I wouldn't feel cheated. It is a quality product, I think once you get yours going you will like it too. If not send it to me so I can keep mine going until I expire.

[Drunken rant /off.]
Click to expand...

About the only saws going as cheap as you can find Echos for are the John Deeres that are currently being sold for great clearance prices.

If I don't find an affordable P&C for the 440, it's going to be sold as a parts saw.
 
Well if you're a dealer then financially it may not be a good line to pick up, depending on your demographic and current line setup. There's really nothing wrong with Echo products. They are pretty good and reliable, but it's like everyone already said, they're in ACE, Home Depot, Craigslist, EBAY, all over the place selling dirt cheap. So what's the point in investing in something you can't even make any money on? I'd look elsewhere unless you have absolutely no lines. I don't think it's ever a good idea to be brand exclusive because there's no loyalty in business. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. The place I work at has Stihl, Echo, Dolmar and Shindaiwa. All I get from Echo customers are people who bought from the internet or some box store looking for a warranty. The hell with them! The manager only warranties what she sold.
 
Chris J. said:
About the only saws going as cheap as you can find Echos for are the John Deeres that are currently being sold for great clearance prices.

If I don't find an affordable P&C for the 440, it's going to be sold as a parts saw.
Click to expand...

PM me if you can't find the parts you need, I'd be interested in a parts saw for future spares.

And you are right, the EFCO/JD CS62 for $345.00 shipped from ebay is almost too much for me to resist.

Brian
 
Last edited:
OK I'll bite. What would you like to know?. We sell Echo as well as Husqvarna and Dolmar. In Canada its a little different because HD is the only retailer for Echo's besides independent dealers. HD must sell at MSRP so our prices are better than HD's because we don't have to follow MSRP.
 
I worked in sales for an Echo dealer and we did well with them in spite of an HD store 6 blocks away. A lot of 'warranty' service work came through the door usually because the tool was not properly set up or the customer had not been properly instructed in its use.When they saw our prices were competitive and we provided service they became good customers. Some went back to HD because "we charged more" but so what. Actually HD did us a favor by raising brand awareness.
I have an Echo trimmer I am very pleased with, a ten dollar garage sale refugee. It needed a carb cleaning.
Volks-man, all straight shaft trimmers turn counter clockwise. It is a safety feature when using a blade, most people are right handed so cut with the left side of the blade. The machine is pulled into the work to reduce the risk of kickback. Try trimming left to right so the debris is thrown away from you.
 
Last edited:
Its kind of funny when people on here say that Echo is bad because they are sold in big box stores, yet Husqvarnas are sold at Sears, so that must mean Huskys are bad too. :dizzy:
Also, around here a lot of hardware stores sell Stihl and you know darned well that some old guy or some highschool kid working in a hardware store has no more understand of how a chainsaw works that does someone working at Home Depot or Sears.
You guys can scoff at Echo all you want, but Ive used their products and Ive always found they are well-made, are dependable and work very well.
 
I don't think HD helped dealers by creating brand awareness for the simple fact that people that shopped for Echo at HD already knew about the brand from seeing commercial landscapers using them. Who do you think put the products in the hands of those commercial outfits? The independent dealer! Once Echo had grown through it's dealers, they decided to get even bigger and put their cheaper models in HD because they knew the people would see that it's an Echo and automatically assume it must be good. It's just like the people coming in wanting an MS 170 thinking they are getting an MS 441 (build quality wise) just because it says Stihl.
 
Like I said I have been approached by them! In this area there are at least 25 stihl dealers in a 35 mile radius which is just rediculous! Husky is at the lowes stores as well as some ace stores with stihl! I am the only guy around with something else besides stihl and husky! However brand awarness has been an issue with what I have with the exception of the commercial guys which is my main buisness in the mowing season but come winter and I do well but could use a drawing card to if nothing else sell more of what I already have in saws! There is a home depot here that is selling some echo but the prices that I found online are higher than dealer pricing so that might be good could be bad! One other thing they have offered me is the bearcat products which I think could be benefical but again just have not been around anything echo that is modern all of them I ever see are Old!
 
flimflam said:
I don't think HD helped dealers by creating brand awareness for the simple fact that people that shopped for Echo at HD already knew about the brand from seeing commercial landscapers using them. Who do you think put the products in the hands of those commercial outfits? The independent dealer! Once Echo had grown through it's dealers, they decided to get even bigger and put their cheaper models in HD because they knew the people would see that it's an Echo and automatically assume it must be good. It's just like the people coming in wanting an MS 170 thinking they are getting an MS 441 (build quality wise) just because it says Stihl.
Click to expand...

For the average homeowner, the stuff that Home Depot sells will do everything they need.
Most people dont need a professional loggers saw or a pro landscaper's trimmer.
Like I said, I bought my ES-210 at HD and for cleaning up leaves around my yard it works great.
I disagree with you about what HD did for Echo. HD put Echo in the mainstream. People will buy the low-end Echos at HD and after many years of reliable service they will likely buy another Echo. Perhaps they will buy another low-end product from HD or perhaps they will decide to buy more of a professional trimmer/saw/whatever from their local Echo dealer. If it werent for HD selling Echos, a lot of those people would have probably never even bought an Echo and would have never set foot into an Echo dealership.
Obviously it works, because Husky is now doing the same thing with Sears and Ive heard talk that Stihl wants to get into selling their products at big box stores.
 
Actually that is why stihl is going into the john deere stores!

New rumour around here is john deere will be buying stihl out in a few years!
 
Octane makes a good point. He's right, Husky has Lowes and Sears, and Stihl is in ACE as well, Grainger, so what's the difference? (rhetorical) And Stihl going into JD is a bad move for the dealers, but good for Stihl as far as 'brand awareness' goes. Stihl is pissing off a lot of dealers with this move. That's why I said it's never good to be brand exclusive because things change and Stihl looks to be in the beginning stages of going the way of Echo and Husky. If they want to get their 18th consecutive sales increase, they have to expand.

Although what Octane says is true, there is a flipside to that. At least Husky can retain it's price value. They are much more strict on their internet sales policy. Echo also has a no internet sales policy for it's dealers but HD can sell online? That's funny! Plus! dealers still sell on ebay for prices a dealer can't even buy it for and they don't get penalized for it. At least Husky and Stihl back up what they say. Echo does not.
 
Yeah, I think I recall reading on here something about how Stihl is going to start making Deere's saws.
If thats the case, I might actually have a reason to consider a John Deere saw sometime in the future.
In the past they were made by Homelite and thats one big reason why I wouldnt own a Deere saw.
It would be interesting if Stihl were bought out by Deere. Especially considering that around here the local Deere dealer sells Echo and the local Stihl dealer sells Case-International, Kubota and Simplicity. :dizzy:
Id be fine with those 2 dealers flip-flopping Echo and Stihl. That way Id have a local Kubota/Echo dealer that would be a 1 stop shop for all my Japanese power equipment needs! :clap:
 
flimflam said:
Octane makes a good point. He's right, Husky has Lowes and Sears, and Stihl is in ACE as well, Grainger, so what's the difference? (rhetorical) And Stihl going into JD is a bad move for the dealers, but good for Stihl as far as 'brand awareness' goes. Stihl is pissing off a lot of dealers with this move. That's why I said it's never good to be brand exclusive because things change and Stihl looks to be in the beginning stages of going the way of Echo and Husky. If they want to get their 18th consecutive sales increase, they have to expand.

Although what Octane says is true, there is a flipside to that. At least Husky can retain it's price value. They are much more strict on their internet sales policy. Echo also has a no internet sales policy for it's dealers but HD can sell online? That's funny! Plus! dealers still sell on ebay for prices a dealer can't even buy it for and they don't get penalized for it. At least Husky and Stihl back up what they say. Echo does not.
Click to expand...
In the case of HD though, one advantage the dealers have is that the biggest Echo saw that HD sells is the ES-440. While the ES-440 is a wonderful saw, its far from being the biggest saw that Echo makes.
So, lets not act as if HD has all the advantages and the dealers are getting screwed.
 
Stihl won't be making anything for JD. They're just available to any JD dealer that wishes to become a Stihl dealer. It's bad for the Stihl elite's that have been with them forever and all of a sudden a block down from them the JD dealer can now have access to Stihl products. Bad move on Stihl.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thats business for ya. If Stihl can sell their products in more places and make more money, they would be stupid not to.
The way Stihl's prices are going, just about the only people who could afford to buy anything Stihl are people who are brand-loyal enough to pay more money for anything that says, "John Deere" on it.
 
Javelin said:
Actually that is why stihl is going into the john deere stores!

New rumour around here is john deere will be buying stihl out in a few years!
Click to expand...

Okay #1, Stihl did not go into John Deere, Each store has to set up independant like any other dealer.
#2, John Deere will not be buying Stihl.
 

Similar threads

L
Echo 501P Questions and Is There A Shindiawa Equivalent
Replies
1
Views
96
esean
E
L
Husqvarna - Still A Good Chainsaw?
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
2StrokeFondler
2StrokeFondler
R
When did Echo get so costly?
2 3
Replies
47
Views
3K
Rugger
R
woodsman
Echo 4010
Replies
0
Views
107
woodsman
woodsman
O
Wanting decent small cheap saw.
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
diver64
D

Latest posts

Back
Top