I saw in this months Gardening Which ? that Stihl's online purchasing policy has come under the Consumer Assocation's scrutiny.
Stihl's policy states that you can not purchase Stihl equipment via an online store for 'safety' reasons. Stihl's response includes comments about not wanting to sell Chainsaws to people unless they have been briefed/purchased relavent PPE.
I know that some Stihl stockists will sell online direct to Contractor's especially where the Contractor is known to the Store.
On the face of it, perhaps admirable ? But no mention made of guidance on training, licenses or perhaps guiding homeowners to using qualified & experienced contractors.....
Are Stihl trying to have their cake and eat it ? Clearly they want the sale, but is the issue more to do with Liability and comeback on Stihl rather than anything else?
I beleive there was some case in the US where a homeowner purchased a item (chainsaw) and proceeded to seriously injure themselves. They then sued the Maker (don't think it was Stihl, tho..) saying that someone should have pointed out it was a dangerous item and could do serious injury....;-(
Is this Stihl; protecting their Revenue stream from discounting by online traders; or an attempt to perform due diligence and remove the threat of subsequent court action; or real concern for users of its equipment ?
What do you think ?
Views: 181
Replies
its losing them sales basically , but gives them ''exclusivity ..
it annoys me sometimes as i need a part say a : pole pruner from a cheaper supplier but i cant buy it from them only one of 3 i have bought from before................
they should just stick to doing it on chainsaws really .............. should grinders or circular saws be sold to the public in homebase ?!!
my local stihl dealer (well i say local, 15mi away) is very expensive compared to online stores
but if i travel a tad further to the middle of nowhere (about 45mi) the dealer is cheaper than anywhere on line, so lucky in a way :)
I bought a Stihl hedgetrimmer a few weeks ago, and the safety briefing consisted of :
"Do you know how this works?"
"Yes"
"That's okay then"
Nick
;-) Been there and seen that happen lol
Nick Steele said:
Should keep this underwraps but i have a couple of online companies who i am registered with as a professional trader and they have sold to me online in the past but not over the phone so it does happen. Sthil still need to reduce there prices although it is like the BMW or mercedes of gardening equipment hence the price!