Where are your purchasing your parts?

This is a touchy problem that the internet is making worse.

Firstly the mark up on mower branded service parts is obscene which drives owners into the hands of ebay & amazon.
However part of that mark up covers the losses on obscure & slow moving parts.
So when the volume of people shopping on line for the cheapest possible part, parts for older mowers will no longer become available.
The cost of storing parts for years in a warehouse is astronimical.
So yes you might get your parts for your current mower cheaper but the down side will be having to replace you mower more often .
So it is a balancing act of paying $ 10 more for a part 10 times or paying $ 2000 every 5 years.

The cost price on my spares inventory exceeds my annual turnover in a good year.

For the pushmowers I've been fixing up, I've been getting most of my parts from amazon, just because of Amazon Prime 2-day free shipping. Most of the time it's better priced than jacksmallengines or ereplacement parts (after you add in their shipping rates) or the other online places. The dealership around here is too expensive for me

The problem with online suppliers like Amazon and eBay, a lot of the parts are not OEM.

Jake in CT said:

I think Messicks is the main place online. I went to my local dealer for an air filter, $36..ugh.

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I get some items from Messicks for my Kubota ag tractors but I also buy from the local Kubota dealer. Shipping from Messicks can be expensive. For lawnmower related parts like blades, pulleys, belts and spindles, I go to ASC online. No one beats Agri-Supply on parts, no one.