Extreme Stihl Dealer Dissapointment

[Outlaw5.0]

A dealer does not have to budge off of MSRP. If you expect good service through the entire warranty period, don't get too greedy at haggling. Now the only time I have asked for a discount is if the saw will be modded from the start, and will only buying the powerhead. Usually they want you to sign a waiver also. Also if you don't need any extras, sometimes they will knock off a few dollars.

 

[hamish]

Different levels of dealerships mean different profit margins and bonus for dealers.

For this example I will use actual Canadian pricing and show the difference in cost for a dealer.

Platinum Dealership:
455: $359.99 cost, flyer promo $449.99 w saw box,spare chain and hat, $0 shipping
Saw box: free
Spare Chain:free
Hat: 1.99
Free advertising in the form of a quarterly flyer
3% Annual Sales Bonus

Potential gross profit $85.00, minus 20 minutes shop time for initial set up and fuel/oil costs ($23.00), so a profit of $62.00

Basic Dealership (not full line, doesnt even qualify as a Bronze level dealer)
455: 359.99 cost,flyer promo $449.99 w saw box,spare chain and hat, $15 shipping
Saw box:32.99
Spare Chain:14.99
Hat:1.99
Dealer has to pay for advertising
No annual sales bonus

Potential gross profit $5, minus 20 minutes shop time for initial set up and fuel/oil costs. Best plant some more potatoes.

Either way a dealer has to sell alot of something else to supplement selling saws.

 

[banshee67]

wahhh my new stihl didnt jump out of the box, gas and oil itself up, sharpen its own chain, or start itself.. wahhhhhh .. now i was about to cut these darn trees down and i just learned that i have to hold the saw while it cuts?!whats the point on buying such an expensive saw when it wont even do all the work for you!? on top of that, the stupid dealer wouldnt even knock $100 off after i had their daddy call and yell at them and ask them for me, can you believe them!? screw this, screw stihl, im buying a *insert inferior chainsaw manufacturer brand here* ! wahhhhhhhhh

 

[zich6]

wahhh my new stihl didnt jump out of the box, gas and oil itself up, sharpen its own chain, or start itself.. wahhhhhh .. now i was about to cut these darn trees down and i just learned that i have to hold the saw while it cuts?!whats the point on buying such an expensive saw when it wont even do all the work for you!? on top of that, the stupid dealer wouldnt even knock $100 off after i had their daddy call and yell at them and ask them for me, can you believe them!? screw this, screw stihl, im buying a *insert inferior chainsaw manufacturer brand here* ! wahhhhhhhhh

So, you pay DSRP for all your saws? If not, you just proved my point.

 

[banshee67]

So, you pay DSRP for all your saws? If not, you just proved my point.

if a ford dealership quotes you a price on a new f150, do you expect to drive 30 miles to another one, and demand the same price?
would you get all butthurt if they wouldnt comply with your demands? would you then call Ford motor company and ask them to call the 2nd dealership up and whine on your behalf? i guess im missing the point here...

 

[banshee67]

Further, I never said I was mad at Stihl. I said I was "underwhelmed" (unimpressed) with their ability to influence a dealer.

what kind of way would that be to run a company? if everytime a customer wanted a discount, he whined to a stihl rep, then the stihl rep called the dealer and whined on his behalf? "uhhh hi.. this guy named... uhhh , joe i think it was, wants to know why you wont drop $50 off the price on that there saw.. is there anything we can do to bully you into dropping your price? perhaps threaten you with product shortages or strip you of your stihl brand dealership status? if you do not drop the $50, he said hes going to buy a husqvarna":hmm3grin2orange:

 

[THALL10326]

That is not the case here. In the past all parts orders over $50 would ship UPS for free. I believe it is now $100 which most dealers do several times a week. If I need a prt that the dist has in stock it is usaually at the dealer the next day if I get the order in before 11AM.

Tommy,

Does it take $500 in VA to get free shipping???

Bill

No Bill it doesn't. They want a 2500.00 order for free shipping but parts are included in that 2500.00. As for me, I've ate many small delivery fee's to get a person the part he needs fast. I don't pass on the freight to the customer for usually I feel by joe I shoulda had that part anyway, not the customers fault. I'll always order a few extra's to keep on hand in such cases where I'm caught out of stock. That is by far the best way to build a inventory of parts. I've also place some 2500.00 orders I could have done without to include that part the man wants fast. Pricing is one thing, service is something else. I'll give folks a tuff time when they come price shopping but mostly in fun but on the service end, where the man needs his equipment up and running fast, I'm all for getting it done ASAP.

 

[THALL10326]

Tommy,

I never price things I'm selling on Craigslist or e-bay for the price I need to get - always lower. The primary reason is, inherently, people want a good deal. Like me, they hate paying a list price, or any price (unless obviously superior) they're given for products for which a manufacturer has a "suggested" price. Dealers who ignore this part of human nature do so at their peril.

One could argue that the only "no haggle" read, "take it or leave it" car company, Saturn, went under at least in part by disregarding this philosophy.

Like Blitz, I know the profit margin on Stihl saws is nothing short of huge. There is plenty of room for a dealer to negotiate. That said, you have a right to charge anything you want for your products. I have the right and will find the best deal.

"Penny pinching" is inaccurate. Seeing how good of a deal I can get is a game to me, is fun and I'm very good at it, especially for a $1K product. For instance, I called eight dealers before purchasing the 460. Those who gave me the DSRP and wouldn't budge will not have to worry about dealing with me again. I avoid dealers of nearly anything with "take it or leave it" pricing and attitude. I suspect I'm not alone.

Would you buy a new car for the price given to you by a dealer? I think not. Chain saws are no different.

Lastly, if I have to "bring a full wallet," which I understand to mean pay more than I need to, I won't be visiting you either, nor will I recommend anyone do the same.

Tim

See ya slipped up there, you assume the mark up is huge, it is not at all. Here's a little secret for ya, the average across the board on all Stihl units, take into account the low price home owner units all the way up to the high dollar cut off saws it comes out to ruffly 20%. See that 460 you got 10% off on took almost 50% of the dealers profit away from him. Now you may think screw him and thats all fine and dandy but for me to allow it there's got to a reason. You got mistreated so I would had stepped up to make things right for you had Jim called me. Hell I would had took your word for what happened without Jim calling and match the deal you got the run around on. Even so I don't owe anyone a 10%break at all. Yes its up to me whether I give discounts or not and I give many, not up to the buyer at all. Believe it or not those that don't ask for discounts are usually the ones I give discounts to all the time.

Now you say you aren't coming by well guess what there's a old saying that goes like this, "I never lost a sale I never had in the first place". My favorite though is I might smell your hiny but I'm not gonna kiss it. If the only way I can get a person's business is by taking a beating on price to me thats not selling, thats pretty much giving it away and sadly I don't know many in the give away biz that stay in business very long.

All that aside nothing personal, enjoy that 460, its a great saw,

 

[THALL10326]

You could eat off the dollar menu at Wendys once in a while ya know!:hmm3grin2orange:Help a poor customer out dammit!

Man that hurt, sniffling. Wait a dayumm minute, I do help alot of folks out. How in the hell do you think I get those tips all the time to pay for those yummy meals,:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[THALL10326]

Someone like me to deal with???

"I mean lets face it, you need to get on the other side of the counter" You seem to like making assumptions about what I may or may not have done?

You missed the point again (sigh!) Maybe Makita, maybe not. Maybe anyone of a number of 1st class brands.

Mate, I deal with all kinds of suppliers & don't get any attitude like I do at the Stihl Shop anywhere else! I know lots of guys in my area & they all say the same thing! But, you're probably right, it's probably me lol! Oh, and I've been dealing with some other brands for many years already & still I'm not "pointing at the tag" about them as you put it! In fact, I've been dealing with the guy that sold me the 7901 for many, many years. He is a gem! lovely friendly guy, offers advice that I respect, drops everything to repair my gear if I need it there & then & doesn't even charge me for small jobs. He's been in business for over 40 years, so I guess he knows what he's doing. I spend quite a bit there over time. I'm glad that the Stihl dealer won't miss me, that's a real relief! See, got through that without one swear word! Wasn't hard! :hmm3grin2orange:

Whats the matter man, I'm just haggling with ya, see haggling is a two way street man. I kinda enjoy it myself. Strangest thing though with customers. They come to work ya on price and thats all fine and well but when the table is turned it all the sudden means the dealer is a orenry bas-tard, I love it,:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[THALL10326]

Maybe but he is digging deeper. I can understand the OPs first problem, not getting his saw when the dealer said he would. I'd be peed too. Good thing about Stihl is there are dealers everywhere. Call the "bad" dealers rep and let them know the problem. Problems can't be solved if not known.

His haggling is where the fun starts. I haggle rarely, mostly on trades, used stuff or CL type deals. For some it is common practice. You see the msrp and you ask politely if they can do any better. Somtimes it works, some not. First time customers usually don't get any help but what they make is a relationship for future help/purchases. For the OP to beat up the dealer for not budging on his set prices is being a **********. Don't like his prices, go to another shop or try another brand. Don't whine and moan, move on. If he would have taken the advice given, Tommy would have hooked him up.

I can vouch for you, you don't haggle, hell you don't even hint at wanting a break. Thats why you got the discounts on that load of Stihl you carried home. See I gave you those breaks because I knew sooner or later that muffler screen on that 211 was gonna clog up on ya and I would have me some fun,LOLOLOLOL Remember that thread 2K, awwwwwwwwww the good ole days,

 

[MikeN]

Ms660 - 900.00?

[ Can you believe a new MS660 w/ 36" B&C for $900.00 OTD?? No BS!!]

Can you tell me what dealer that is?

Never mind, I just read the rest of the posts and found it.......

 

[zich6]

if a ford dealership quotes you a price on a new f150, do you expect to drive 30 miles to another one, and demand the same price?
would you get all butthurt if they wouldnt comply with your demands? would you then call Ford motor company and ask them to call the 2nd dealership up and whine on your behalf? i guess im missing the point here...

I guess you too don't read so well either. I called the rep when a dealer told me they ordered a saw and it was 2 weeks late and they continued to give me baloney. I doubt you'd consider that acceptable, or would you?

You didn't answer my question. Do you pay DSRP for your saws, or not?

 

[zich6]

what kind of way would that be to run a company? if everytime a customer wanted a discount, he whined to a stihl rep, then the stihl rep called the dealer and whined on his behalf? "uhhh hi.. this guy named... uhhh , joe i think it was, wants to know why you wont drop $50 off the price on that there saw.. is there anything we can do to bully you into dropping your price? perhaps threaten you with product shortages or strip you of your stihl brand dealership status? if you do not drop the $50, he said hes going to buy a husqvarna":hmm3grin2orange:

The rep relayed a situation to a dealer that I recounted before whereby another dealer treated a customer unfairly, then asked for his help. The dealer has a right to refuse, but in my opinion, that belies a lack of cooperation between Stihl and that dealer.

As you should know, the world's business is lubricated by favors given and favors granted. To ignore that is foolish. In this case the dealer ignored the request from the rep. To me, that says Stihl has less than a good relationship with this dealer if he can't count on them for a favor. Again, I'm not impressed by that. You can be if you want.

 

[zich6]

See ya slipped up there, you assume the mark up is huge, it is not at all. Here's a little secret for ya, the average across the board on all Stihl units, take into account the low price home owner units all the way up to the high dollar cut off saws it comes out to ruffly 20%. See that 460 you got 10% off on took almost 50% of the dealers profit away from him. Now you may think screw him and thats all fine and dandy but for me to allow it there's got to a reason. You got mistreated so I would had stepped up to make things right for you had Jim called me. Hell I would had took your word for what happened without Jim calling and match the deal you got the run around on. Even so I don't owe anyone a 10%break at all. Yes its up to me whether I give discounts or not and I give many, not up to the buyer at all. Believe it or not those that don't ask for discounts are usually the ones I give discounts to all the time.

Now you say you aren't coming by well guess what there's a old saying that goes like this, "I never lost a sale I never had in the first place". My favorite though is I might smell your hiny but I'm not gonna kiss it. If the only way I can get a person's business is by taking a beating on price to me thats not selling, thats pretty much giving it away and sadly I don't know many in the give away biz that stay in business very long.

All that aside nothing personal, enjoy that 460, its a great saw,

You're wrong. I never assumed the mark up was huge and you can't point to anything I've said that indicates that. All I've basically said is I don't like paying DSRP and I've caught a bunch of crap for it. The reality is, most Stihl owners that I've talked to didn't pay DSRP either. I've asked several times and no one wants to give me an answer.

I've also been told by people that you deal with that you don't insist on DSRP either, so I'm not sure what we're arguing about. I paid you a complement in post 79. I've learned that it makes sense to read all posts before I reply.

 

[banshee67]

I guess you too don't read so well either. I called the rep when a dealer told me they ordered a saw and it was 2 weeks late and they continued to give me baloney. I doubt you'd consider that acceptable, or would you?

You didn't answer my question. Do you pay DSRP for your saws, or not?

i read wonderfully, i just have selective vision.
everyone understands you are mad about the 1st dealer leading you on and not following through.. but thats where the understanding stops i think.
i would have never called a stihl rep and had them calling my local dealerships trying to find me the same deal some guy (who doesnt even have the saw in stock and clearly had no means to follow through with the said deal) half heatedly made and couldnt follow through with. the first dealer was an idiot apparently, cut your losses and move on to the next one. no reason to get stihl reps involved trying to finagle a deal for you, that you have no proof ever existed. even if it did.. it was made at a specific dealership in which they are in charge of their profit margins (which you already knew).
you cant see gas for sale on the other side of the highway for 10 cents cheaper, pull into the station on your side and argue that they should sell it to you for the same price..it just wont work. if i was a dealership and had a stihl rep call me on behalf of a customer who was angry i wouldnt give him the deal he wanted.. the stihl rep calling would only further aggravate me and i wouldnt even wana sell the guy any saw at that point

to answer your question, ive only bought one BRAND NEW IN BOX saw in my life, and i bought it from a fine member of this forum here, so ive never actually walked into a dealership and purchased a new in box saw, sorry, ive bought many other things though, one local dealership wanted almost $90 for a 20" laminate bar and chain setup... so instead of calling my stihl rep and whining, i went to another store and bought it there

 

[THALL10326]

The rep relayed a situation to a dealer that I recounted before whereby another dealer treated a customer unfairly, then asked for his help. The dealer has a right to refuse, but in my opinion, that belies a lack of cooperation between Stihl and that dealer.

As you should know, the world's business is lubricated by favors given and favors granted. To ignore that is foolish. In this case the dealer ignored the request from the rep. To me, that says Stihl has less than a good relationship with this dealer if he can't count on them for a favor. Again, I'm not impressed by that. You can be if you want.

Now Zich your getting ahead of ya self there. All dealers are independent, Stihl can ask but can't force them to do much of anything far as pricing goes. Really can't blame the second dealer for refusing not to honor the other guy that gave you the run around. Fact be known Stihl could had told that second dealer listen, sell that man a 460 at 10% off and the next one you order we'll take 10% off. See that didn't happen far as we know. Everyone is tight with their pennies. Now me, I would had said ok Jim, send him on overhere. My goal is to make the customer happy if he's been wronged somehow. I'm gonna call Jim when I get back to work and tell him from now on you send folks like Zich to me so we can makem happy and keep em off the internet,:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange: , messing with ya. Really Zich I don't blame you for being peeved about the first dealer. However you did get your saw at the price you wanted, it worked out in the end. If you posted this thread as a warning for others to somehow hurt that first dealer, or to get even per say, you sorta wasted your time for 99.9999%of the customers I deal with have never heard of AS at all. Same holds true for most all dealers. Hell most dealers I know around me have never heard of AS either. Its a big world man, thank goodness. Go cut some wood man, if you ever need some service for that saw bring her on in and no, no need for a full wallet, I was joking about that the first time, you is a touchy, chill man, its all good,

 

[roncoinc]

If dealers are only making $65 on a saw they better get into another biz..
that means selling over 1500 saws a year wont even pay the bills !!
somethings wrong with this picture..
if i cant get a deal i'm happy with,i go someplace else..theres always one dealer wanting to make some money..
better a dollar made than a dollar lost..
AND a returning customer

 

[Knuckles]

There is a Husqvarna dealer in my area that is $40-50 over MSRP. And considers that their "sale" price. I walked in, looked at that tag and walked right back out. I find that insulting. They must think the buying public doesn't know how to use the internet.

 

[spacemule]

Not right for Stihl to impose upon a dealer to give a price break. If they think the situation warrants it, they should be taking a hit on the sale, not the dealer. Or, at least share the hit. After all, isn't Stihl the one always harping about being pro dealer?