Maintenance parts prices...RIPOFF TOO

Was at Wally World the other day, someone on this forum suggested checking out the mower maintenance parts on seasonal clearance, I was there for other purchases but did check the prices for mower parts.

They were selling those round air filters for certain Tecumseh engines that have been in use since at least '83....about the diameter of a paper towel cardboard tube and 3 inches long...ONLY $4.99 on clearance...regular price was $6.99. Over in the automotive department I can buy a Fram car air filter that has enough plastic and pleated paper to make at least 8 or more of those tiny mower filters, the Fram is a name brand and was packaged in a box, for only $5.44, while the mower filter had no brand name and was in a plastic bag. Nobody is going to convince me this isn't a huge ripoff.

You can not compare prices of an air filter for a car to an air filter for a small engine. The big reason for the price difference is due to how many are sold. There are so many more cars of the same model out there than there are lawn mowers. Compared to the auto market, the lawn mower market is extremely small.

indypower said:

You can not compare prices of an air filter for a car to an air filter for a small engine. The big reason for the price difference is due to how many are sold. There are so many more cars of the same model out there than there are lawn mowers. Compared to the auto market, the lawn mower market is extremely small.

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Sorry, but I disagree with you. As I pointed out, those filters I describe have been sold since the early 80's and fit a huge assortment of all brands of mowers. Show me an '83 model car that uses the same air filter today it did back then....and can you explain why you think a smaller market deserves such a huge markup?

JDgreen said:

Sorry, but I disagree with you. As I pointed out, those filters I describe have been sold since the early 80's and fit a huge assortment of all brands of mowers. Show me an '83 model car that uses the same air filter today it did back then....and can you explain why you think a smaller market deserves such a huge markup?

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It is not a huge mark up. It is the cost of making parts in small quantities for a specialized market. There are millions more cars out there than there are lawnmowers. It's how many lawnmower filters can we sell compared to how many car filters cane we sell. If you live in an apartment, you own a car or maybe 2 cars (yours & the wifes), but you have no use for a lawnmower because the landlord takes care of the lawnmowing. So, 1 couple has 2 cars and no lawnmower. So, how many lawnmower filters will he buy in a year? 0. How many car filters will he buy in a year? 2.

Actually you are both right...
Specialty items for nitch buyers is going to be expensive....
And large volume causes competition, and that forces more reasonable pricing...

BUT you can both get even better pricing by shopping for your needs, before you actually need them...

If you check online, it's easy to do, you will find small engine parts and supplies at wholesale or less...
an example is a drive belt... if you pick one up at your dealer, you may pay 10 to 25 dollars... If you go to an industrial supply you can usually cut that in half... and if you shop around ON LINE you will ind the same or even a much better belt for 1/4 the price OR less...

Parts are not expensive... having them distributed, to where you might look to find them is...
you will just need to know what you are looking for and where to look... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Actually you are both right...
Specialty items for nitch buyers is going to be expensive....
And large volume causes competition, and that forces more reasonable pricing...

BUT you can both get even better pricing by shopping for your needs, before you actually need them...

If you check online, it's easy to do, you will find small engine parts and supplies at wholesale or less...
an example is a drive belt... if you pick one up at your dealer, you may pay 10 to 25 dollars... If you go to an industrial supply you can usually cut that in half... and if you shop around ON LINE you will ind the same or even a much better belt for 1/4 the price OR less...

Parts are not expensive... having them distributed, to where you might look to find them is...
you will just need to know what you are looking for and where to look... :smile:KennyV

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Ken, I agree with some of what you've said, but many who post here are looking for a more than simply parts. They want someone to tell them what part they need and how to install it. If there's a local dealer nearby they want that dealer to have in stock any parts that they can't buy online or at a discount house. I've never understood why people get upset over the cost of a $6 air filter when they use one per year. If you go through hoops to get one for $3 you've saved almost enough to buy a hamburger.

If you think it's important to support local small businesses then do it.

BTW: WalMart doesn't do all that great on pricing for small engine parts, at least here in New Hampshire. With the low wholesale price they're paying the retail is quite high, for which the local small shop is grateful. And, I don't own or operate a small local shop.

jhwentworth said:

They want someone to tell them what part they need and how to install it.

If you go through hoops to get one for $3 you've saved almost enough to buy a hamburger.

I.

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Thats why I said...
"you will just need to know what you are looking for and where to look..."

My point was don't pay $3 for a $6 air filter...
Be a little more organized and buy 6 or more for less than $1.50 each... So what if you have 6 years in your stock, they do not take up a lot of space ... You are going to use them... You will have them when you need them and you will save more than $27.

For normal expendables I do not expect a dealer to have the pieces I need at a bargain price...

:smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Thats why I said...
"you will just need to know what you are looking for and where to look..."

My point was don't pay $3 for a $6 air filter...
Be a little more organized and buy 6 or more for less than $1.50 each... So what if you have 6 years in your stock, they do not take up a lot of space ... You are going to use them... You will have them when you need them and you will save more than $27.

For normal expendables I do not expect a dealer to have the pieces I need at a bargain price...

:smile:KennyV

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You have that right, Kenny....buying in bulk online if possible saves a lot of $$. All my push mowers basically use the same air filter. Someone stated that apartment dwellers who have no mower and 2 cars buy an air filter for each car a year...talk about throwing money away...my Y2K Yukon XL has only had one air filter replacement in it's lifetime (35000 miles currently) and my wife's '04 Buick just got an air filter replacement last year.

jhwentworth said:

Ken, I agree with some of what you've said, but many who post here are looking for a more than simply parts. They want someone to tell them what part they need and how to install it. If there's a local dealer nearby they want that dealer to have in stock any parts that they can't buy online or at a discount house. I've never understood why people get upset over the cost of a $6 air filter when they use one per year. If you go through hoops to get one for $3 you've saved almost enough to buy a hamburger.

If you think it's important to support local small businesses then do it.

BTW: WalMart doesn't do all that great on pricing for small engine parts, at least here in New Hampshire. With the low wholesale price they're paying the retail is quite high, for which the local small shop is grateful. And, I don't own or operate a small local shop.

Click to expand...

"THEY WANT SOMEONE TO TELL THEM WHAT PART THEY NEED AND HOW TO INSTALL IT..."
ROTLFMAO.:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing: I am sure most of the members here have some basic mechanical skills and know-how otherwise they wouldn't know how to even START a mower and check the oil level and add fuel. I went to a JD dealership early in the summer and their parts counter computer was down, the other customers were standing around waiting for the system to come back online so the counterman could figure out what they needed, I walked up to him and showed him the list on my Blackberry memo pad, part numbers, description, etc. belt blades filters etc and his face lit up and he went back to get my parts and rang up the sale, saying "nice that SOMEBODY knows exactly what they need" :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I needed a small sprocket for my JD 56 rider. I could not find one in any of the online salvage yards. My local John Deere dealer ordered the wrong part ($58), so I took it back and another parts person found what I needed somewhere someplace magical I suppose. He told the supplier to fax him an invoice before he shipped it. Meanwhile, I called another JD dealer and that parts person said "It ain't available, have someone make you one". Later the first parts guy calls me and said he got the invoice and the part will cost more to a total of $125. That's why he wanted the invoice asap. In shock I said no. Sitting and thinking, I said "Wait a minute. I have money invested in a Meg-Mo blade system, just replaced the rear axle bearings, replaced the tie rods, replaced the engine, and without that sprocket, it's not going to run". So I called back and asked them to get me the sprocket. Yes it was expensive and it would cost that or more to have one made, but the mower runs great, cuts anything I ask it to, is a fuel miser,and now the $125 is history. While waiting for the second sprocket, I was next door playing in the cranberries. My neighbor has a self propelled weed wiper which uses 1/2 bore sprockets a tad bigger than the one I needed and he said he had more of them in the barn. So I had a back up, but if I used his, I would no longer have a low gear and it would be more stressful on the tranny and engine. But if I had to, I would have used the bigger sprocket. The first dealer took care of me, when he could have said the same thing as the second one so he could wait on the farmer behind me who would certainly order more expensive stuff.