Export thread

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.

Click to expand...

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?

Click to expand...

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

Click to expand...

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.

Click to expand...

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

Click to expand...

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.

jross said:

I needed a small sprocket for my JD 56 rider.

Click to expand...

Was this a sprocket for a roller chain??

KennyV said:

Was this a sprocket for a roller chain??

Click to expand...

I am trying to figure out why it was so hard and so costly to get a small sprocket in the first place? Was it for an old model, with very liimited parts availability?

KennyV said:

Was this a sprocket for a roller chain??

Click to expand...

For a drive chain.

JDgreen said:

I am trying to figure out why it was so hard and so costly to get a small sprocket in the first place? Was it for an old model, with very liimited parts availability?

Click to expand...

My JD 56 is 1960's vintage. Most parts are available. Except the drive sprocket. That was from the J.D. website parts lookup.

Roller chain sprockets are not difficult to find...

You need to know shaft size chain pitch number of teeth and key size...
Any industrial drive supplier can find exactly what you are needing with that information...

Roller chain and sprockets are standard parts... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Roller chain sprockets are not difficult to find...

You need to know shaft size chain pitch number of teeth and key size...
Any industrial drive supplier can find exactly what you are needing with that information...

Roller chain and sprockets are standard parts... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

I guess my point is that many people want to be able to order the correct part, at a discount price, without any actual knowledge about the equipment they are working on. In this case; would you expect the local John Dealer to offer the same price as an industrial parts supplier? Would you expect the industrial parts supplier to provide the same level of product knowledge as the John Deere dealer? Bottom line: if you don't know what you need, don't expect the good price. And sometimes you don't get it even if you do know.

jhwentworth said:

I guess my point is that many people want to be able to order the correct part, at a discount price, without any actual knowledge about the equipment they are working on. In this case; would you expect the local John Dealer to offer the same price as an industrial parts supplier? Would you expect the industrial parts supplier to provide the same level of product knowledge as the John Deere dealer? Bottom line: if you don't know what you need, don't expect the good price. And sometimes you don't get it even if you do know.

Click to expand...

It is simple... you only need to know What you are looking for AND where to look... :smile:KennyV

Spare parts always seem to be a rip off, but your machine is better going than stopped so its just preventative maintainence.
Sometimes parts sit on shelves for 20 years.......not a fast moving part like a spark plug.:wink:

yes some are a rip off but if you need the part you will buy it ..I try to shop around for the best prices also...I now make my own air filters cost a lot less

Well like I said before......its no good if it does not work.....better to fix it , scap it or sell it?:thumbsup:

Nobody has mentioned what I consider the first step: get the proper manual(s) (many of which are available online, free) so you can start with a basic knowledge of at least the correct names of the parts.

As someone else pointed out, it also helps to have a feel for when a part may be generic -- meaning you don't have to go through the dealer and pay a premium for a branded part.

Two-Stroke said:

Nobody has mentioned what I consider the first step: get the proper manual(s) (many of which are available online, free)

Click to expand...

You are right about that ... A manual is worth whatever you have to pay... a good parts manual will show you how something is assembled if you have never been inside before... AND how it all should go back, should you forget... always try to start with a manual,..

if nothing else when your told you need the new parts with the improved left hand thread muffler bearings you will know what they should look like.. :smile:KennyV