JOHN DEERE IN THE BACK YARD
- Thread starter HayDR
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thcri
Elite Member
I guess if I was a dedicated John Deere Dealer I would seriously be looking at another line. To me that is like a slap in the face when you have supported John Deere over the years. Home Depot will be able to sell the product cheaper as they won't give the support or service that the dealer was able to give.
I am in the Heating and Air Conditioning business and we have run into the same thing with Sears and Home Depot.
Just me venting some I guess.
murph
I am in the Heating and Air Conditioning business and we have run into the same thing with Sears and Home Depot.
Just me venting some I guess.
murph
mhalla
Gold Member
<font color="green">Are the JD Lawn and Garden tractors at Home Depot really any less expensive? Seems to me they were pretty much the same price at my local JD dealer as at Home Depot.
I'll agree that the dealers may lose some tractor sales, but think of all the parts those 100,000 lawn and garden tractors are going to need over time. At that point people will be seeking out the dealers to keep those tractors running and the dealers will have a crack at future sales with the customer walking through the showroom on the way to the parts department.
Maybe not such a slap in the face after all but a good business strategy?????
Mike </font>
I'll agree that the dealers may lose some tractor sales, but think of all the parts those 100,000 lawn and garden tractors are going to need over time. At that point people will be seeking out the dealers to keep those tractors running and the dealers will have a crack at future sales with the customer walking through the showroom on the way to the parts department.
Maybe not such a slap in the face after all but a good business strategy?????
Mike </font>
thcri
Elite Member
I can sell equipment at 5% and still make more money than I can on parts at 200%. Now if you have to ad all of them warranty forms you have to fill out that even makes it worse. If it is warranty you don't see your money for a long time. I think in the long run John Deere is only hurting themselves. Home depot is not going to set up a service depot so the tractor has to now go to a local dealer. And if I am a dealer and since this business is so seasonal I am not going to have the people to support those tractors coming in and also, if I have 5 tractors to repair and 1 is from a Home Depot sale you can pretty much bet the Home Depot one will be the last one to get repaired, thus hurting their own name. The other thing is for the first two years them tractors will be under warranty and if John Deere is like any other manufacture they only give you the parts at cost. You don't make any markup on them warranty parts and you can wait 90 days before you get your money as a dealer. Sometimes there is even stops on the amount of warranty you can get for labor on each job. To me being a business owner and if the tractor market at all mimiks the HVAC business it is not a winning situation for the dealer but only for John Deere. Home Depot cannot give the support John Deere expects from it's dealers.
Just my opinion, like I said, I would be tempted to take on another line as a backup.
murph
Just my opinion, like I said, I would be tempted to take on another line as a backup.
murph
JDGREEN4ME
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I noticed that Lowes sells the Cub Cadet line and Sears is selling Husky tractors now. I don't think JD is doing anything different than any other company. I can only speak of my experiance with my dealer but he stated they do so little warranty work on lawn tractors they did not see it as a problem. Maybe they will feel different in a couple of years. As for pricing the dealers are selling for the same price as HD in my area. I guess it comes down to the old "Lead, follow or get out of the way" Might not be right but sure seems that is the way it is... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
thcri
Elite Member
JD,
Your absolutely right. It seems every one is doing it. But even though I have a blue tractor in my garage I have always thought of John Deere as being the leader in the industry. They are pretty much the only tractor manufacture that isn't owned by another one. They have kept themselves separated from the rest. Most people are willing to pay more for them because of it. But it is like all of a sudden they are selling to dealers (meaning Home Depot) that no nothing about the CUT industry. You buy a tractor from one guy at Home Depot and the next week that guy is working someplace else. There is no service or back up support and alls they can do is hurt their own name. Your going to have people uspet with their purchase from Home Depot and they will bad mouth John Deere not Home Depot. And you can't expect the existing dealer base to service these tractors.
But your right, it is happening all over the place and in every industry, we just have to learn to live with it.
murph
Your absolutely right. It seems every one is doing it. But even though I have a blue tractor in my garage I have always thought of John Deere as being the leader in the industry. They are pretty much the only tractor manufacture that isn't owned by another one. They have kept themselves separated from the rest. Most people are willing to pay more for them because of it. But it is like all of a sudden they are selling to dealers (meaning Home Depot) that no nothing about the CUT industry. You buy a tractor from one guy at Home Depot and the next week that guy is working someplace else. There is no service or back up support and alls they can do is hurt their own name. Your going to have people uspet with their purchase from Home Depot and they will bad mouth John Deere not Home Depot. And you can't expect the existing dealer base to service these tractors.
But your right, it is happening all over the place and in every industry, we just have to learn to live with it.
murph
warren
New member
Uhhhhh,
I believe the original post pertained to lawn/garden tractors, not CUTs. Nobody, in their right mind would think that any of the major CUT manufaturers would attempt to market their
CUTs via a 'BOX' store.
Read the entire post.
Thanks,
WARREN
I believe the original post pertained to lawn/garden tractors, not CUTs. Nobody, in their right mind would think that any of the major CUT manufaturers would attempt to market their
CUTs via a 'BOX' store.
Read the entire post.
Thanks,
WARREN
Hoeman00
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I see our local JD dealer trucks and the mobile garage set-up at HD all the time.
They were putting together the tractors in the parking lot and doing the prep work.
So the local dealers must be involved in the deal.
I wonder if they get a % of each sale?
They were putting together the tractors in the parking lot and doing the prep work.
So the local dealers must be involved in the deal.
I wonder if they get a % of each sale?
rancar
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<font color="blue">"...They are pretty much the only tractor manufacture that isn't owned by another one. They have kept themselves separated from the rest. Most people are willing to pay more for them because of it..."</font>
Not me. I'm willing to pay more for JD products because of their quality. I couldn't care less if they were owned by someone else as long as they produce a good, quality product.
<font color="blue">"...Your going to have people uspet with their purchase from Home Depot and they will bad mouth John Deere not Home Depot. And you can't expect the existing dealer base to service these tractors..."</font>
Not so. In the Albany, NY area at least and within 50-75 miles of Albany, KC-Canary, Fultonville, NY does all the set-up and servicing of JD lawn tractors that are sold through Home Depot outlets. Home Depot determined it was more cost effective to pay professionals to do this work than relying on a bunch of yahoos in their own employ that don't know much about JD tractors.
...Bob
Not me. I'm willing to pay more for JD products because of their quality. I couldn't care less if they were owned by someone else as long as they produce a good, quality product.
<font color="blue">"...Your going to have people uspet with their purchase from Home Depot and they will bad mouth John Deere not Home Depot. And you can't expect the existing dealer base to service these tractors..."</font>
Not so. In the Albany, NY area at least and within 50-75 miles of Albany, KC-Canary, Fultonville, NY does all the set-up and servicing of JD lawn tractors that are sold through Home Depot outlets. Home Depot determined it was more cost effective to pay professionals to do this work than relying on a bunch of yahoos in their own employ that don't know much about JD tractors.
...Bob
cowboydoc
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First off what they are selling are only the bottom of the line backyard mowers. You aren't going to see the garden tractor type, the 200 and 300 series here. Secondly deere dealers aren't really too concerned about these as there is a very slim profit margin on these as it is even at the deere dealer. Deere sells them at the same prices that the box stores do. These are merely the 100 series that deere put out to put itself into another niche market.
If you're a company that has been around forever you do what you need to move into new markets and create new business. Deere quality isn't going to suffer.
As far as warranty work and everything else the deere warranty is only a year. Most of these will not even see a warranty issue in that time. Even if they do most dealers are happy to do all work. Yes warranty work takes time to get paid but it's a part of the business and you factor it in.
I see it not as a slap in the face but a way to generate a new customer base that deere wouldn't have had. It lets a person get into a low end model. If they need a bigger model then they can go to the deere dealer. I really don't see how anybody loses in this deal.
If you're a company that has been around forever you do what you need to move into new markets and create new business. Deere quality isn't going to suffer.
As far as warranty work and everything else the deere warranty is only a year. Most of these will not even see a warranty issue in that time. Even if they do most dealers are happy to do all work. Yes warranty work takes time to get paid but it's a part of the business and you factor it in.
I see it not as a slap in the face but a way to generate a new customer base that deere wouldn't have had. It lets a person get into a low end model. If they need a bigger model then they can go to the deere dealer. I really don't see how anybody loses in this deal.