Thought for discussion if anybody is interested

[jekjr]

I once worked for a man that was one of the top 100 wealthiest people in the US. One day we listening to him talk concerning some financial things in the factory where we worked for him. His parents came to the US right after WWII as immigrants and built much wealth in industry. He made a statement that I will never forget. He said that his father who had built much of the businesses had always said, "I would rather buy 100 one dollar watches than one one hundred dollar watch." In other words many times he would buy what many people said were cheap off brand machines that would get by but not last as long many times as the expensive ones.

That carries over to our businesses like cutting grass. We are taught to always by the best name brands because they are quality...... The idea from his perspective would be buy as cheap as possible to get the job done but it might not have the longevity...... Has anybody else ever heard of this type discussion?

That thought worked for them, they became very successful.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

That makes some sense. In most cases I would rather buy the thing that will last the longest, but maybe sometimes it would be better to buy cheap things. Like for example say you want to buy a mower and can't decide between a $1,000 mower and a $200 mower. Say you don't have to really make many repairs, it just bites the dust one day, and you go through this process 3 times throughout your career, you would save some money since you didn't buy the $1,000 mower that would last you the whole time. But we don't live in a perfect world, so a mower usually doesn't just bite the dust and you have to replace it. Usually things start to break, you fix them, another thing breaks, you fix that, then you might need a new mower. But by the time you get your repair bills it might be the same cost as buying a mower that will last longer. So if I can I will usually buy something that will last a long time unless I won't be using it much at all.

 

[jekjr]

That makes some sense. In most cases I would rather buy the thing that will last the longest, but maybe sometimes it would be better to buy cheap things. Like for example say you want to buy a mower and can't decide between a $1,000 mower and a $200 mower. Say you don't have to really make many repairs, it just bites the dust one day, and you go through this process 3 times throughout your career, you would save some money since you didn't buy the $1,000 mower that would last you the whole time. But we don't live in a perfect world, so a mower usually doesn't just bite the dust and you have to replace it. Usually things start to break, you fix them, another thing breaks, you fix that, then you might need a new mower. But by the time you get your repair bills it might be the same cost as buying a mower that will last longer. So if I can I will usually buy something that will last a long time unless I won't be using it much at all.

It is something that I have turned over in my mind many times as well. Some times you wonder if you fork out the big bucks on something that is going to run a lot of years if you are really coming out rather than buying something that will only last a few years but is a fraction of the price. I had always before hearing that one been taught that the high middle of the price range was usually the best deal. I had always been taught that it would probably be of the same quality of the highest priced but not have a few of the bells and whistles that the more expensive one had which usually would cause problems quicker anyway....... It does make for interesting thought when buying things.

 

[Ric]

I once worked for a man that was one of the top 100 wealthiest people in the US. One day we listening to him talk concerning some financial things in the factory where we worked for him. His parents came to the US right after WWII as immigrants and built much wealth in industry. He made a statement that I will never forget. He said that his father who had built much of the businesses had always said, "I would rather buy 100 one dollar watches than one one hundred dollar watch." In other words many times he would buy what many people said were cheap off brand machines that would get by but not last as long many times as the expensive ones.

That carries over to our businesses like cutting grass. We are taught to always by the best name brands because they are quality...... The idea from his perspective would be buy as cheap as possible to get the job done but it might not have the longevity...... Has anybody else ever heard of this type discussion?

That thought worked for them, they became very successful.

His father said, "I would rather buy 100 one dollar watches than one one hundred dollar watch" and yes that maybe true if your in the market to sell but I don't believe it would be the same when it comes to having dependable and reliable equipment to work with day in day out.

With that said you have to understand that just because someone buys the best equipment for lawn care that he can doesn't mean they're any guarantees it will last forever.

To be successful in lawn care you need two things, A good work ethic one and Good equipment, but most importantly equipment you believe in, whether it's Stihl, Homelite or anything in between it doesn't matter as long as it works for you, does the job and your happy, you're successful.

 

[MowerMike]

There is something called the point of diminishing returns, where additional cost buys you very little in added quality. There is also a lower bound point where equipment is totally unreliable junk that is worthless for use in a business. For example, it is pretty hard to find a decent gas powered walk behind lawn mower for under $200, but for $400 you can get something decent that will be durable and reliable. If you pay $800 for a basic mower it won't be twice as good as a $400 mower.

 

[jekjr]

His father said, "I would rather buy 100 one dollar watches than one one hundred dollar watch" and yes that maybe true if your in the market to sell but I don't believe it would be the same when it comes to having dependable and reliable equipment to work with day in day out.

With that said you have to understand that just because someone buys the best equipment for lawn care that he can doesn't mean they're any guarantees it will last forever.

To be successful in lawn care you need two things, A good work ethic one and Good equipment, but most importantly equipment you believe in, whether it's Stihl, Homelite or anything in between it doesn't matter as long as it works for you, does the job and your happy, you're successful.

Ric I totally agree with you about the work ethic and good equipment. I just thought it was an interesting point of view from a person who made hundreds of millions of dollars and thought that it would be interesting to bring into a discussion.

As I have said on here numerous times in the short time I have been on this board, which I thoroughly enjoy so far anyway, I started up in August from scratch and therefore I had to make the decisions as to what to buy and how much money to spend...... It is interesting to see the different opinions.

 

[jekjr]

There is something called the point of diminishing returns, where additional cost buys you very little in added quality. There is also a lower bound point where equipment is totally unreliable junk that is worthless for use in a business. For example, it is pretty hard to find a decent gas powered walk behind lawn mower for under $200, but for $400 you can get something decent that will be durable and reliable. If you pay $800 for a basic mower it won't be twice as good as a $400 mower.

I agree with you on that point as well MowerMike. That is a very valid point.

 

[066]

I know of a few operators who have bought expensive lawnmowers but have been quite rough in the way they use them thinking that if it cost so much - it will be able to last nomatter what, after a few times in my shop they soon realise that if they slow down & take it easy then repair costs are lower.
Also there are the poerators who buy the cheapest trimmer for contracting & use it with care - the machine is hardly ever in the shop & they think it's the best machine ever built.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I had always before hearing that one been taught that the high middle of the price range was usually the best deal. I had always been taught that it would probably be of the same quality of the highest priced but not have a few of the bells and whistles that the more expensive one had which usually would cause problems quicker anyway.......

Yeah, that's a good point.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I know of a few operators who have bought expensive lawnmowers but have been quite rough in the way they use them thinking that if it cost so much

Yeah, read this thread. It proves that you can buy a top-of-the-line mower (like this Walker), and it might not last, for one reason or another. Before this I had never heard of people who didn't like Walkers: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/walker-forum/13257-mtefi26-snowblower-mower-blower-problems.html. :confused2: