Question about Dealers buying/selling out of area?

[ultrarunner]

Not too far from the property in Washington is Kubota Dealer that carries a lot of inventory.

My brother was up for a visit and wanted a price on a RTV and was told they do not sell out of their territory and he should look closer to home... thought it was odd but what the heck.

The last few weeks the same Kubota Dealer that would not sell out of their territory has inundated the local Craigslist 800 miles away with adds that they are the PNW largest dealer saying "We don't match prices because that would mean raising ours"

What gives?

 

[dickfoster]

Not too far from the property in Washington is Kubota Dealer that carries a lot of inventory.

My brother was up for a visit and wanted a price on a RTV and was told they do not sell out of their territory and he should look closer to home... thought it was odd but what the heck.

The last few weeks the same Kubota Dealer that would not sell out of their territory has inundated the local Craigslist 800 miles away with adds that they are the PNW largest dealer saying "We don't match prices because that would mean raising ours"

What gives?

I think it's about servicing what they sell. Yeah some bozo might sell you something cheaper if they aren't planning to see you or give you good service after the sale and some idiots will even buy from them. You usually get what you pay for.

 

[ultrarunner]

On the one hand the had a buyer in the flesh at the Dealership and couldn't help.

Now they are advertising all over the Western United States with equipment they need to move.

Just doesn't make any sense...

Hoping one of the TBN Dealers will comment.

 

[DavesTractor]

Rules for selling out of area differ by brand and by state. And even then, some rules have no teeth in them or are just not enforced. But your specific situation of the WA Kubota dealer advertising heavily 800 miles away and then not being willing to sell defies logic.

I think I know the dealer, but I'll keep that to myself as that probably doesn't really add anything relevant.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I think the salesman could smell he had a window shopper and did not want to waste his time. Not a management decision like advertising might be.

 

[ultrarunner]

Could be but I did follow up with Kubota and the owner and was told their policy is to sell local...

This is why it came as a big surprise to see the Western United States Craigslists and other publications pushing their excavators and skidsteers...

 

[vacman]

I can't speak about tha particular dealer but I can tell you that Kubota doesn't really have control over who you buy from and where they are located. When I was recently shopping, I had several email exchanges with the Kubota regional sales manager. I told him I was comparing a local quote with a quote from Barlows in Kentucky. He said that Kubota encourages a customer to buy locally but where I buy from is my decision.
I'm with Luke. I think they felt (correctly or not) that your brother wasn't going to buy from them anyway so that is their standard response.
Your brother should call the craigslist ad and see what they say.

Good luck.
John

 

[RickB]

I've been a dealership employee for over 20 years and a consumer of farm equipment for decades prior to that.

My experience has been that over time dealerships that sell on low margins over wide geographic areas generally abandon that business model after relatively short periods of time either as a result of pressure from the manufacturer or as a result of simply going out of business. There are exceptions, of course. Dealers that focus on long term customer service remain for decades and often generations.

 

[AxleHub]

I'm not seeing anyone posting a more likely scenario or two.

1. A dealer may likely desire to sell locally . . but the economy is not what many believe it to be. So a dealer could be seeing increased pressure by the manufacturer or by the bank . . to move some machines. Its simple and its easy to consider expanding your sales territory by doing exactly as it was described. This marketing effort could bring in lots of new interest to reduce inventory pressure or for accessory implements . . after all . . A dealer's job isn't to hold inventory . . His job is to sell it. Selling a little cheaper to distant prospects isn't something negative.

2. A second consideration or possibility is your service department is swamped with work maybe someone got hurt or left or just the timing . . and more local sales would mean more tradeins and/or more service work to an already jammed situation . . So you spread out to markets that can absorb product but don't put more pressure on your service department.

3. Maybe a dealer gets wind of dealers in the area over pricing their products . . . so they start hitting those market areas to more equidibly balance the pricing. And sometimes a manufacturer will encourage some dealers to broaden their efforts too. I'm quite certain that Kubota is happy that Barlows is doing well because it helps motivate the other dealers in the region and also helps stimulate other dealerships service opportunities.

My point is . . honest selling and marketing in a local area or in a wider area are both reasonable and good business efforts. Some posters seem to imply its somehow disloyal or poor business practices. My point is . . Think how many of us do much of our own general work on our tractors anyway. Wider marketing is a function of customer response. If you want dealers doing more local service work . . Then stop doing your own and pay them for everything. But you wouldn't want to do that now would you lol.

 

[EddieWalker]

I thought there where a couple Kubota dealers on here that do this all the time. Sell to those out of the area at the very best price possible, making it worth while for the buyer to go this route.

I've been to my local Kubota dealer several times when I was wanting to buy my first tractor, my UTV and a zero turn mower. I spoke with different salesmen every time, and their attitude drove me to other brands. My guess on this is that your brother just ran into a bad salesman who was either lazy, or had something else he wanted to be doing besides dealing with an out of state buyer. I also wonder if it's like buying a car and almost impossible to buy out of state and get it registered in CA? I remember thinking this when I lived there, but the hassle factor was just too much to make it worth the lower purchase price.