Serowbot wrote on 07/13/10 at 16:43:41:

bill67 wrote on 07/13/10 at 14:20:27:


So Bill out of curiousity, you would willingly pay more for a specific part or product because its supporting your local dealer rather then getting the exact same thing cheaper online or through this forum?  Adam Smith would crap out widgets if he heard that  

Phelonius wrote on 07/13/10 at 12:10:48:


LOL    LOL    LOL    

I LOVE IT !

Hashbrown wrote on 07/13/10 at 19:39:39:

Yes I would,When I want something I want it now not a week from now,And a few bucks more isn't going to kill you.And it makes you feel good you support someone you know,Sam Walton family doesn't need any support.

Some dealerships are in fact decent places. I absolutely loved Suzuki City in Biloxi Misissippi, bought my Savage there, had its first service there, could get whatever I needed for an "ancient" GS750T the same day 90% of the time...

Now, I live within 20 miles of 9 dealerships that carry Suzukis. On a good day, I MIGHT be able to get a tire from them, but tubes, sparkplugs, and other consumables? Forget it, special order only. I know 2 that would buy oil filters from me (Emgo brand), repackage them in OEM boxes, sell them to an unsuspecting rube (customer, sorry), keep the box after "servicing" his bike, and repeat it the next time they ran low on filters. They'd get tubes and plugs from us too, retail at the indie shop was less than OEM wholesale to them. The last time I dealt with one of them, I asked for a starter relay, payed my money (plus tax, special order fee and such), waited 3 weeks (they never bothered to call when the part came in, watched them write a received date on the bag when I showed up) and was handed a starter solenoid, not the relay. Had to keep it, no returns on electrical, even electrical the parts kids mis-ordered.

So, **** them AND the crotch rocket they rode in on (from the trailer lot around the back, gotta "look" the part when they show up ya know).

What I know is TRUE about MY Savage: I have more fun "messing it up" than i ever had with it stone stock. Looks better, runs better, sounds better, fits ME better. My name is on the pink slip, the only opinion about that bike that matters is mine.

Oh, and I still hate full gear.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 07/16/10 at 07:47:59:


I beg to differ, Big box stores like Wal are by far the largest employers in the US today thus creating more jobs then all mom and pop type stores combined. This backlash of competition is the invisible hand working to drive down prices which benefits the consumer.  Most large stores only carry one line of in house products like Walmart's "Great Value" the rest is still the same products you would buy at local shops.  The reason for the cheap prices is that Walmart is a price maker to its supplyers and operates on razor thin margins. So your not really getting cheaply made products.  In times of economic turnmoil, these companies provide customers the best bang for their buck which relaxes an individual's monetary spending and helps stimulate growth in the economy.  If you had to pay a premium on everything you bought while your out of work, you would be living on ramen noodles and basic cable. Im not saying that mom and pop shops need to go out of business, there are plenty of people such as yourself who will support them and they are justified on their prices if they produce a specialized product, but don’t expect the masses to negate the basic economic priciple of self interest.  As my boy Adam Smith so eloquently put it…". It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest"

meh...i said it was great for the consumer, maybe not so much for the employee but whatever at least its a job.  better to have walmart pay them rather then Obama.  where else can you get a steady job with benefits (albeit crappy) as a mentally and phyically disabled person.  your only job qualification is the ability to say hello.