The problem with that is with overhead and shop front. The stuff you buy online comes from a warehouse that doesn't have a store front to pay for. They sell high volume at low prices & make money. Your local dealer cannot stock that same part & sell it for the price while still making money because he's selling one at a time, not one or ten every day. Internet warehouse sales really defeat the old school little town guys. If your dealer has to sell everything at a competitive rate with the internet, then kiss your dealer goodbye. He will most certainly go out of business. Luckily some manufacturers like Stihl & others, will only allow the shop to sell retail. That prevents internet outfits from selling cheaper & putting the little guys out. I have come to accept the price difference, and any chance I get to support the local guys, I do. Same thing with groceries, clothes, etc. A local small town shop really has no chance at competing with internet sales. They simply cannot do it. The personal face to face service is worth something to me.
Nothing stopping any dealer from doing sales both ways, local and over the net.
Smart people adapt to changing conditions, just an historical fact.
Dad gum it! people aint coming into my livery much anymore! Them dad burn horseless carriages! How am I supposed to compete with that???
Sum#####! People aint coming in to get their crosscuts filed and set! What with them infernal engine motorized saws...how the heck do you compete? Dont they know I got bills to pay?
Well, the only complaint left is internet sales tax, looks to be coming real soon now. They are gonna run out of excuses real soon. That not supporting a physical presence dont wash and never did, those parts are stored and shipped from SOMEPLACE real that has your regular normal costs associated with it, building cost, utilities, taxes, etc. Someone wants to do business and they insist on being in a high traffic profile area with the highest rents, etc..they will have to decide if the extra cost is worth it, when maybe they can get half price rents and taxes just by being on a sidestreet a block away.
the best advertising is word of mouth, anyway...
About what is left is honest, real fast fair priced local service. And by fair, charging for a thousand dollar and under saw for OPE repair the same hourly rate as work on a 40 grand truck ...hmmm...
Guess it depends on peoples wallet if they think that is a good deal or not. Me, personally, I couldnt afford to have anyone else do normal maintenance and simple repairs..on anything I own. And judging by the heaps of broken but not needing much in the way of repair OPE out there, sitting behind shops, more and more people are choosing to not get anything repaired.
How long would people keep buying those 40 grand trucks if every other year you had to drop 20 grand in repairs on them? Yet, consumers are supposed to support a similar ratio with their small engine jazz...uh huh, thats real sustainable...I guess for some it is, but I see that evaporating at some point, and people will just switch en masse to the real cheap asian imports, way more than they are now. If the device is priced to be disposable whenever they get a repair quote, the 50% of purchase price, between high labor and jacked up parts, the consumers will for the most part then go to the cheapest disposable.
And just order it over the net.....
