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Me and my dad are running a repair business. I fix the riding mowers, he fixes mostly JD 300 series(316, 318), 400 series(425, 445,455), and JD gators. Where are you repair guys getting your parts? It sets him back a while waiting for JD OEM parts to ship, etc. (Not to mention how outrageous JD parts cost) That's why I don't do JD lol.

I'm not big enough to get on with Stens, Rotary etc.. unfortunately, but I order alot through parts tree with their advantage program, and they're in Austin which is only 4 hours from me. They start off at 10% discount and the more you purchase the more of a discount you will receive.
They aren't a JD dealer though.
I get JD parts from my local JD dealer

For JD parts I use mostly Green Farm Parts as they are lower than the local dealer. On top the local dealer's parts counter is too stupid to understand that only have a landline that can't accept text messages. Like this weekend they have free shipping on orders of $50 or more this weekend.

Scrub depending what kinda annual purchases Stens and Rotary are not hard to get an account as long as you have a tax exemption and a business license.

For me I have only brought $680 from Stens and $2200 from Rotary so far this year. Now of course I have only brought around $12,000 in parts this year from various vendors.

I am just a retiree that has been doing this for 49 years. Buy a lot of parts from where I used to work that is a hardware store that sells Stihl. and Dixie Chopper. I buy a lot of JD parts off Ebay and Amazon. MTD and Husqvarna parts as well. When CC wants $129.95 for one spindle and you can get 3 for $59.95. Have had a few issues with them but sellers have always made them good. We would buy them off eBay or Amazon and sell all three for $159.95. Do a google search for the part you need and someone will have it on Ebay or Amazon.

StarTech said:

For JD parts I use mostly Green Farm Parts as they are lower than the local dealer. On top the local dealer's parts counter is too stupid to understand that only have a landline that can't accept text messages. Like this weekend they have free shipping on orders of $50 or more this weekend.

Scrub depending what kinda annual purchases Stens and Rotary are not hard to get an account as long as you have a tax exemption and a business license.

For me I have only brought $680 from Stens and $2200 from Rotary so far this year. Now of course I have only brought around $12,000 in parts this year from various vendors.

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Hmm, i was told you had to have like 2 or 3K initial order... was i lied too?

Craftsman Garage said:

Me and my dad are running a repair business. I fix the riding mowers, he fixes mostly JD 300 series(316, 318), 400 series(425, 445,455), and JD gators. Where are you repair guys getting your parts? It sets him back a while waiting for JD OEM parts to ship, etc. (Not to mention how outrageous JD parts cost) That's why I don't do JD lol.

Click to expand...

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices.

Hlw49-So you are buying 3 spindles and marking them up 165%!!! That is one healthy mark up.

Rotary, Stens, and Oregon usually require around a $200 minimum order for free shipping. I rarely order enough at one time to meet this minimum. Also, these companies don’t even seem eager to help out small shops. In other words, initially act like they want your business. I do about $7000 in parts purchases per year in a one man shop. I realize they normally have tiered prices based on volume. I don’t expect the best price. I do however, want someone to hustle for my business like I used to in outside wholesale sales for 8 years.

Don’t forget about smaller suppliers like 8ten and Hipa. Going to the Equipment Expo in Louisville, Kentucky next week. Getting hooked up with a new alternative supplier(s) is one of my goals for the trade show.

Scrubcadet10 said:

Hmm, i was told you had to have like 2 or 3K initial order... was i lied too?

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I sent you a PM.

Tiger Small Engine said:

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices.

Hlw49-So you are buying 3 spindles and marking them up 165%!!! That is one healthy mark up.

Rotary, Stens, and Oregon usually require around a $200 minimum order for free shipping. I rarely order enough at one time to meet this minimum. Also, these companies don’t even seem eager to help out small shops. In other words, initially act like they want your business. I do about $7000 in parts purchases per year in a one man shop. I realize they normally have tiered prices based on volume. I don’t expect the best price. I do however, want someone to hustle for my business like I used to in outside wholesale sales for 8 years.

Don’t forget about smaller suppliers like 8ten and Hipa. Going to the Equipment Expo in Louisville, Kentucky next week. Getting hooked up with a new alternative supplier(s) is one of my goals for the trade show.

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Makes up for where I can't get a good discount. I guess if you look at it like that but instead of charging him $389.95, I saved him $230.00. All in the way you look at it.

Scrubcadet10 said:

Hmm, i was told you had to have like 2 or 3K initial order... was i lied too?

Click to expand...

I buy parts from them and never had an order over $100.

Stihl parts are a dealer only items but you can shop around for the best local dealer. Seldom need Scag oem parts as most items or either their respective oem or are available in aftermarket for me. Now Bad Boy is a new line for me to work on but even those engines and transaxle that are not Bad Boy items. Even the spindles and pulleys are becoming available in after market.

As for resale pricing most parts here that are oem I have suggested list price files for. For part purchase outside normal sources it is 20% GPM on items with free shipping or 35% GPM when shipping is involve. Either I got to stay halfway competitive with the locals.

But on some oem parts I can find better pricing outside the distributor network at times. On those parts I usually make a little extra.

And I never sell aftermarket as OEM parts; it can come back and bite you in the tail feathers. You also got to be careful ordering aftermarket parts as some are not even made to spec.

Like the Bad Boy pulleys I got off Amazon. They would have been better pulley except that I had to shave off 1/8" the pulley hub height. Otherwords the manufacture did not allow for the extra thickness of the pulley. Without me modifying the pulleys they would rub on the safety covers.

Tiger Small Engine said:

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices.

Hlw49-So you are buying 3 spindles and marking them up 165%!!! That is one healthy mark up.

Rotary, Stens, and Oregon usually require around a $200 minimum order for free shipping. I rarely order enough at one time to meet this minimum. Also, these companies don’t even seem eager to help out small shops. In other words, initially act like they want your business. I do about $7000 in parts purchases per year in a one man shop. I realize they normally have tiered prices based on volume. I don’t expect the best price. I do however, want someone to hustle for my business like I used to in outside wholesale sales for 8 years.

Don’t forget about smaller suppliers like 8ten and Hipa. Going to the Equipment Expo in Louisville, Kentucky next week. Getting hooked up with a new alternative supplier(s) is one of my goals for the trade show.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's where we have been buying parts. I did discover how good 8TEN blades were, now I put them on everything! Hipa makes some good parts too.

I mostly use Ebay and other online sources like Green Farm Parts, Parts Tree and Jacks small engine.

When dealing with older JD machines sometimes the dealer is the only choice because they have spent the money to retain their NOS parts in warehouses over the years.

As machines age past 10 years there are very few manufacturers who still stock the older parts for them like John Deere does.

Craftsman Garage said:

Me and my dad are running a repair business. I fix the riding mowers, he fixes mostly JD 300 series(316, 318), 400 series(425, 445,455), and JD gators. Where are you repair guys getting your parts? It sets him back a while waiting for JD OEM parts to ship, etc. (Not to mention how outrageous JD parts cost) That's why I don't do JD lol.

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Greenpartsstore or Amazon Prime

mechanic mark said:

Greenpartsstore or Amazon Prime

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So it seems a shop has to be a bit larger to use Stens, Rotary, and Oregon, as a general rule. I was told before opening up to get hooked up with these suppliers. Once I realized the minimum purchase for free shipping, tax exempt rule, and not a significant savings for lower tier sales, I never pursued these suppliers.

Tiger Small Engine said:

So it seems a shop has to be a bit larger to use Stens, Rotary, and Oregon, as a general rule. I was told before opening up to get hooked up with these suppliers. Once I realized the minimum purchase for free shipping, tax exempt rule, and not a significant savings for lower tier sales, I never pursued these suppliers.

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If you have a tax ID number you can get a Stens account and buy tax free. Also Stens has store on amazon. Parts are a few dollars more than if you have an account but not paying $12 shipping makes it about the same price. I have a stens account but if i need one or two parts it is cheaper and faster delivery to order through the stens store on amazon if you have prime

I’ve been using the John Deere parts lookup to check diagrams and part numbers before ordering anything. Makes it easier to be sure I’m getting exactly what I need, especially for older models where things get tricky.

i use the following company for most of my parts

NHC Distributors, Inc.
109 Lakeside Drive
Philadelphia, MS 39350 US
sales@nhcdist.com
Phone: 800-222-8409
Fax: 800-549-7911

Rotary is a great place to start for aftermarket parts. If you wanna be a dealer, American-made with American steel blades and filters, also available in gator style. and most pulleys and idlers are OEM for Husqvarna MTD products. as for JD parts, good luck. I use Hartville Hardware for OEM JD belts and electronics, and I dump part numbers on eBay looking for guys who have enough unloading stock. Ariens I use Ariens parts direct for OEM Ariens parts, Stens forget them they dropped my dealer discounts and wacked me with a $1000 order all at retial 2 years ago and pretty sure they are failing. Power distributors for Briggs and Stratton parts, NGK plugs, Oregon chains, bars, and blades Kinetix oils (great oils fyi). I do this out of my house with a Master Tech from Briggs and Stratton. Sign up for the Power Portal. its free its how you become a master tech Im also a EETC Master tech not free but nice to have. Gardner INC they suck but OEM Husqvarna, Tufftorque, MTD, Kohler, NGK, Redrock turf for OEM Toro parts and Kawasaki parts. Pats smallengines is good for Kawasaki engines and rebuild kits kawasaki does not offer rebuild kits pats puts them together all OEM kawasaki parts. Any OEM part I want I check my normal places but I also check ebay stihl OEM parts I get all of them from ebay there is obviously risk becuse unlike most us good mechanics there are riff raff scum that try to pawn off aftermarket as OEM.

I'm just a retired guy who likes to pick up non-running mowers cheap and fix, clean, them. I usually end up giving them away. I may charge a little if I need to spend too much on parts.

I'm almost 80 now so I took my rear engine Snapper to the local dealer where I bought it. I burned up the deck belt when I didn't empty the collector soon enough. I replaced the drive belt on a neighbor's similar mower - it was a job and that was some years ago. So I didn't want to get into it now. Anyway, they ordered the parts from Snapper 5 weeks ago - still backordered. I asked them if they ever use Stens or Rotary or Ebay or Amazon... The woman at the desk got really indignant that I would ask such a question - as if only Snapper genuine parts are good. I'd rather have any belt than no mower.

Luckily the rider went down in fall. One summer my 21" Cub Cadet with a 6.5hp Kawasaki engine went down in mid-June - head gasket. I didn't get it back for 6 weeks! Grass grows fast around here in June. I ended up having to buy another mower!

I think I'll write to their corporate management and ask them to start using other parts suppliers when the OEM parts are not available.

Tiger Small Engine said:

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices.

Hlw49-So you are buying 3 spindles and marking them up 165%!!! That is one healthy mark up.

Rotary, Stens, and Oregon usually require around a $200 minimum order for free shipping. I rarely order enough at one time to meet this minimum. Also, these companies don’t even seem eager to help out small shops. In other words, initially act like they want your business. I do about $7000 in parts purchases per year in a one man shop. I realize they normally have tiered prices based on volume. I don’t expect the best price. I do however, want someone to hustle for my business like I used to in outside wholesale sales for 8 years.

Don’t forget about smaller suppliers like 8ten and Hipa. Going to the Equipment Expo in Louisville, Kentucky next week. Getting hooked up with a new alternative supplier(s) is one of my goals for the trade show.

Click to expand...

A local repairman would buy extra common parts such as blades, filters, spindles, etc. in bulk, then would sell anything that he did not need immediately for a job to the general public. That way he could get bulk prices. If you needed something else, then he could order and usually have it within 2 or 3 days. He was my go to parts guy for 30 years, but unfortunately he passed from colon cancer.

For specific parts on certain model #

ProPartsDirect and then drive to Turf Depot to pick up the parts to save on shipping and sales tax.

Also shop around internet for common parts like everybody else.

AliExpress, Chinese carbs are 1/10th the price of dealer here. NZ.

Craftsman Garage said:

Me and my dad are running a repair business. I fix the riding mowers, he fixes mostly JD 300 series(316, 318), 400 series(425, 445,455), and JD gators. Where are you repair guys getting your parts? It sets him back a while waiting for JD OEM parts to ship, etc. (Not to mention how outrageous JD parts cost) That's why I don't do JD lol.

Click to expand...

I can’t find any place that beats the price of blades of these guys, especially if keep blades on hand and buy more than one set at a time, plus they have free shipping,

On ebay you can get many aftermarket parts for John Deere and other makes. Go to advanced search and search for the store Midwest Group LLC. They carry many filter maintenance kits for the older mowers and tractors.