Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi,

I'm considering buying a snowblower. But after calling around all I'm hearing is 'None in stock' and "that's it for the season'.

I can't say I'm shocked that there aren't any around at the moment considering the snow we got in Canada the last weekend, but are the manufacturers really finished producing blowers?

Most all snowblower mfg'ers build to a forecast, then tear down their assembly lines to run summer products in late fall/early winter. Once in a while, if it snows early enough, they can extend their forecast and build season. It is very likely everyone except Ariens has ended snowblower production for the season. You should still be able to get Ariens' machines as they can build at any time of the year (build to order not to forecast, and dedicated assembly lines). Right now production is full bore and not slowing anytime soon. Some models may not be available at certain times. Engine supply gets more difficult late in the season.

PK

Snowmann wrote:

Interesting.  I take it Ariens is the biggest manufacturer then?  I would have thought it would be cheaper to keep a factory dedicated then retool.  I did notice that one store I called said that they would have some Ariens in sometime in Jan.  I found it interesting at the time and now I know why.  I guess I'll have to see if there is an Ariens with an Briggs...

borat wrote:

Good point.  I guess it would come down to how much the shipping would be.  Where did you get your Simp from?  I can't find a dealer in Ottawa that keeps them in stock.

thats wierd,here in wi,every where i go tons of snowblowers,

donjag wrote:

Yeah, it's not the first time I've run into stock problems in Canada.  For whatever reason we seem to run out of products when there is plenty in the US.  It's not like it happens often but it does seem to happen.  Almost every dealer I spoke with said that that was all they had for the season.  It's December for God's sake.  How could you have no stock after the first month of Winter? If there is one thing everybody in Canada has in common it's winter.  Comes every year!  I guess they limit the number of units per dealer.

There is some weird sh!t that goes on up here with merchandise.  Take our car prices for domestics.  Maybe this is an over simplification but shouldn't the cars made in Canada be the same price as the US when the dollars are the same?  And what's this crap about we buy less cars so the price is higher?  There isn't a plant that builds cars for just Canada, it builds cars based on demand.  The unit price has nothing to do with region it sells in.

Whatever.  I guess Canadians like paying a lot for stuff, we're used to it with our taxes! :)

Still find it odd that Bombardier doesn't make a snow blower...

donjag wrote:

It's also worth mentioning that we have had atypical snow fall compared to the last few years so I'm sure that spiked demand locally.

fireworks wrote:

I bought mine at a little old tractor repair shop in a small farming community not too far from the city.  Back in October, I was riding my motorcycle and just happened to see this place so I checked it out.  I had been in the market for a new snow thrower and had already checked all the other outlets for almost every brand offered.   They had this brand new 2006 Simplicity 9528  in a container in the back yard, left over from last year.  Got it for $1500.00 Canadian taxes included.   Sweet deal.  When I priced it at the local gouger in the city, they said they had one on sale for $1600.00 plus taxes marked down from $1900.00.  So, it didn't take me long to get back to the little tractor shop to buy the Simplicity. 

You have a valid point about Canadian consumers being screwed compared to our U.S. counterparts.  Fortunately for me, I live only 20 minutes from the U.S. border.  I regularly order products from the U.S.  have them shipped to the parcel handler on the U.S. side then drive down to pick the stuff up.  I've spent thousands this way in the last few months.  With the dollar at or above par, I'm making as many big ticket purchases now so that I won't have to buy anything expensive for a good long while.   The savings are incredible.  I've saved anywhere between 50 to 65 per cent on a variety of goods.  The only duty I've paid was $17.00 on a $315.00 camera that would have cost me near $500.00 if I had bought it locally.  The retailers around here are ridiculous.  I'll give you a for instance.  I wanted an Echo leaf blower/vac.  Local dealer wanted $250.00.  I asked for $25.00 off (10%).   The reply was no can do.  This is after me dropping at least 25K  on large machinery at his place within the last year.  Adiós bud.  I bought it in the U.S. and saved $75.00.  When I called the local dealer for the Classic Deluxe snow cab for my machine their quote $240.00 - no discount.  I bought it from the U.S. for $89.00.   The problem with these dealers is that they want to squeeze every last cent they can out of the customer.  They are used to doing it and don't seem to know that there are very attractive alternatives just twenty miles south of them.   Recently they've begun to feel the pinch and have lowered some prices to keep customer shopping at home.  Too little too late.  After a consumer has been insulted by the local dealers gouging and get a taste of how easy it is to shop on line and have good shipped (usually free) to the border, it will be very hard to get that customer back. 

My last trip to the border was just a week ago.  I couldn't believe the thousands of packages they had on hand waiting to be picked up by shoppers from just this community.  In addition to that, the person I was dealing with told me to take a look at the new vehicles that were waiting to be picked up.  They are handling so many that they leased property to the U.S.  car dealerships  to park the vehicles while the Canadian customers got their paperwork  in order to pick them up.  I counted 35 brand new cars and trucks.  Many of them high end models probably in the $45 to $50K range.   Get the deals while you can pal.    
          

wow.thats incredible,im speechless,dam dealers,why are things more $$$ up there.

donjag wrote:

Greed and complacency.

Greed of the manufacturers foremost, greed of the dealer second, and lastly, a consumer market so used to being screwed that they just accept it.  The latter of which is beginning to change.  It has taken a while for the Canadian consumer to wake up.  Now that they have, manufacturers and dealers had better make some changes if they want to make a living in this country. 

Fireworks-

It is true that some companies have stopped snowblower production.   My friend who works for Simplicity mentioned their production is done and this past weekend they just sent out the last of their factory repaired models (needing minor repairs, bolt replacements, etc. before selling) to the dealers.  There were only about 90 of these, however.

I just picked up the last Simplicity I could find in my county this past week, so the pickings are pretty slim in eastern Wisconsin right now.

iulavey.