Is buying an Enviro Empress on the Internet a Bad Idea?

Why not give the Enviro dealer that's 2 1/2 hrs away a chance? See if he would service it. I was able to buy my Quad stove from a dealer 1 1/2 hrs away on a cash and carry basis (my choice). Whenever I have an issue or question now I just call my dealer and say I bought my stove from you..yada yada. It's good to be hooked into a dealer for the service end of it.

Not to be a spoil sport, but if no one is selling pellet stove locally, what's the availability of pellets? Can you buy for a reasonable price the fuel you need? Demand in some areas is so low that only specialty sellers carry them, and may only stock limited amounts for seasonal sales and will likely be sold out in the next sixty days.

Yes, I would say to investigate the pellet supply big time! My guess is that there may be some new and reasonable sources due to the wood supply down south.

I'd say this about buy a stove over the net - first, research the exact company. How long have they been in business? are they an offshoot of a successful brick and mortar store?

Before I purchased a 2500 pellet stoves, I would consider two things:
1. Am I mechanically inclined enough (or my good friends) to fix 95% of the possible things that might go wrong (with help from the factory).
2. Will the factory help in this matter - a phone call to the factory telling them you like their stove but have no local service - see if they have a tech service person on staff full time to work you through problems and send you parts....NOT tell you to call the mail order place.

Without those two items answered to my satisfaction, I would have concerns.

Web hit a homer concerning mail order purchases of pellet stoves great logical advice

How is someone who spends a million dollars to have a showroom and product with burning stoves compeete with this chit.
I guess we will be the burning showroom and sales people for theis guys.
We will show the stoves spend hours with them and shoppers will order from this company with free shipping.
then we will have to do the warantee work on it.

I would not groan so much if is was at list price plus shipping but below list ($100's below)
Bull chit.

well Rod you make a good point unfotunately I have bid and designed additions only to see my plans and stock list used by another person
what really is amazing I review the plans (PS at that point I stop the reviewing process and hand th plans over to the comissioner to avoid any conflict of interest Also I will not be the one inspecting that job) before issuing the permit and I see my own plans. I get fished all the time as does many other contractors

you are right it had to compete when internet sales has no show room overhead. I would just repair the stoves sold by you I would refuse warranty work on stove sold by others.

However economics dictate, If money id not coming in we all do what is needed to generate income and that might include warranty work on products you did not sell

Might even win over a few customers

Business is business, and the total costs of being in the "mail-order" business are similar to an efficient brick and mortar biz. That is exactly why Amazon has went ten years without making the kind of profits that folks thought would be available.

Whether it is a local dealer, or a mail-order outlet, the cost of doing business is usually 25-30% or more of gross sales.

So folks who are "giving away" stoves are really just giving away their own time and business....there is not ONE successful long term business of this type. In the end, they usually have to do two things to survive:
1. Raise prices to cover actual costs (returns, servicing, lawsuits, etc.)
2. Handle brands from third and fourth tier makers who will sell to anyone.

I know a LOT of people who have made MILLIONS of dollars in the retail stove business. Although these dealers run the gamut as far as price, installation, service and brands....they do have one thing in common - a showroom!

So Rod, don't lament those sales which fall through the cracks...just keep track of the manufacturers who are letting folks do business without a showroom. Then, when those manufacturers come begging to you.....well, you know what to say.

All in all, the stove and fireplace accessory business lends itself much better to mail-order than the stoves themselves......sort of like cars.

Phil, sorry to hear things won't work out this year. Did you contact that Hillbilly Pellet - they are in Ark or Mo and might be shipping into your area somewhere (or have a way to do so).

Another thought on the "direct" - the fact is that a VAST number of people in the country do not have a dealer near them. For that, and other reasons, this is a bona-fide way of selling some products....... Hey, Rod, maybe you and I will coordinate on the "great hearth.com store"........

Philip said:

but my wife complains of being cold even with the thermostat set on 75. Somehow it's just not a warm heat.

Click to expand...

YIKES.... we'd be in our skivies with the stat set at 75. Maybe try a humidifier, especially if the humidity is less than 50% to give a more comfortable/warmer heat.

As per buying over the net, it is a fact of life these days but 'we' always try to buy local. Manufactures want volumn, retailers want a 'resonable' profit, and consumers want the best price often forgetting about service.

Even though I am very mechanically inclined I still want to be able to have something serviced if we are away OR if it is way over my head.

Shipping on such a large item is a factor also. Many shipping companies will only deliver to a commercial business location, so add in renting a pick-up, paying for lunch and brews for your 3 friends to move 250-400#s of stove and get it into your home. Open the 'jack-in-the-box' and HOPE that everything is there and that it was not damaged in transit.

In many cases, manufacturer and retailer relations have gone down the perverbial poop-shoot yet the manufacturer wants retailers to support and service their product. I don't know if I would carry a product that I could not have a restricted territory for a higher priced item like a stove.

I feel badly for all concerned,
-Jim-

Philip said:

I know nobody has a crystal ball, but do you think the price of stoves will go up between now and next summer? I guess I'm asking if I should buy now or wait? And what about white for a stove color. The backdrop for the stove would be a walnut wainscot that's 3' high so the darker color stoves wouldn't stand out as much.

Thanks for your input.

Click to expand...

The only thing I see going down in price is electronics. Everyhing we touch deals with fuel and oil prices. I think demand will remain strong with alternative fuel components and a repeat of the early '70s where you will find a bunch of new players. But on such a short term basis between now and the summer, I doubt you will see much fluctuation.

So to sum it up...YEP.. the prices will continue to rise. You may find better deals in the spring with floor leftovers, just like you see the automobile dealers do, but you may not end up with the exact model you planned on.

Don't think that will be the case with the market holding strong. I think there will be the same end of season frenzie we saw last year. The driving force will be the inventory in the big box stores. Last year it was a 50% dump. It may not affect the independent stores and dumping at the same rate, but there will be a heavy discounting.

I would suggest that you keep an eye on the stoves you want, open your mind and options, keep in touch with the sellers you are comfortable with, and when you are satisfied the deal is in your favor, go for it.

Your situation is unique in that there is a "non-market" at home, you seriously need to find the fuel source, FIRST. Keep in touch with this collection of split heads and pellet heads and plan for next season. You know, you can burn wood and not be shunned py even those who burn a by product.

Jim Walsh said:

Philip said:

I know nobody has a crystal ball, but do you think the price of stoves will go up between now and next summer? I guess I'm asking if I should buy now or wait? And what about white for a stove color. The backdrop for the stove would be a walnut wainscot that's 3' high so the darker color stoves wouldn't stand out as much.

Thanks for your input.

Click to expand...

The only thing I see going down in price is electronics. Everyhing we touch deals with fuel and oil prices. I think demand will remain strong with alternative fuel components and a repeat of the early '70s where you will find a bunch of new players. But on such a short term basis between now and the summer, I doubt you will see much fluctuation.

So to sum it up...YEP.. the prices will continue to rise. You may find better deals in the spring with floor leftovers, just like you see the automobile dealers do, but you may not end up with the exact model you planned on.

Click to expand...

Philip, sounds like you & I are in about the same boat! lol In the south there just aren't many people who even know what a pellet stove is much less anyone who sells or services them. Since I became interested in getting a pellet stove and started asking around about them locally, looking for advice/opinions from local users, I've become sick and tired of receiving that blank look, DUH??, in reply. I've been unable to locate a single person who uses one in this area although I did manage to find three local stores that sell the stoves and two that sell pellets. I've been warned that there is no one closer than Atlanta, about 2 hours away from us, who will service them but like you, I think between hubby & I we can replace/repair just about anything on one that needs it so I decided to take a leap of faith and buy one despite the lack of local knowledge & support.

Like you, I'd never even seen a pellet stove burn until I fired up the used Breckwell insert that I ended up buying off of Craigs List. Haven't installed it yet but hope to get that done next weekend when my chimney liner arrives, had to order that via the internet as well. So, I'll be around here asking all sorts of silly questions since I have no other source of info. on pellet stoves. It's a gamble for us southeners to go this route but I figure that anything that might get me off the teat of the oil company is worth the risk.

If you are interested in the SC suppliers I located just give me a shout and I'll pass along the contact info. The brands I could buy locally are Harmon & Avalon. Our local Tractor Supply sells US Stove & the pellets. Here's a link to a list of pellet producers
http://www.pelletheat.org/3/residential/fuelAvailability.cfm#south. You might try contacting some of the southern ones to find out who distributes their products.

Good luck!
Peg

Maybe I should open a store down here hmmmm..
Whereabouts are you in SC and what dealers have you found

GVA, I'm in Anderson which is about 30 miles southwest of Greenville and about 2 hours from Ashville and Atlanta. Might just be a good area for you. Honestly, when I learned that there was no on around who works on pellet stoves I wondered if I should find a place to learn to service them myself. There has to be people in the area using them as TSC says they sell a fair number of stoves and pellets.

Local dealers:

Harmon
Yoder's Building Supply
Fair Play, SC 864-972-3003

Avalon
Patio & Fireside Store
Seneca, SC 864-888-4413

And, of course, the TSC in Anderson sells US Stoves & pellets. The Patio & Fireside Store sells pellets as well but Yoder's doesn't so only two local sources for fuel that I've found.

Sure, come on down! lol I'd sure welcome someone that knows the front from the back of a pellet stove!

Peg

Yep, that sounds about right. Just under $5 a bag or $249 a ton + tax here as well. That's a bargain as the only other local source wants $5.50 a bag. with no price break for volume.

I called the local Home Depot to see if they could get pellets for me since I know that they sell them up north. The silly girl I spoke to didn't know but said that if I could give her the store number or location of a store that stocked them she'd be glad to check into getting them for me. I didn't have that info. to give her but if someone on here could supply that for you your local store might be willing to order them for you. I doubt there'd be any shipping or anything involved and you could pick them up at the store nearest to you.

The cost thing is tricky. I just paid right at $600 for 200 gallons of #2 diesel. If we don't have any really cold weather & if I keep the thermostat down to an uncomfortably cool setting that should last us about 6 to 8 weeks. If we start getting nights in the 20's and daytime highs lower than my thermostat setting then....well, we'll run thru it like water. Long theory short, I figure we'll definately spend more this year for heating when you factor in the cost of the stove and the install but like most any home improvement, such as insulation, it will pay for itself over a period of years. I'm sure that the cost recovery is simply higher/quicker for folks who live in colder climates since they have a higher annual heating cost to start with. So, it may take longer for my stove to pay for itself but eventually it should.

As for the southern pellet supply I'm gambling that it will improve as more people in the area, who currently burn wood, get older...those baby boomers.....and start looking for an easier way to heat their homes discover pellet stoves. Demand should rise and supply will follow. Some good old fashion competition should be good for pellet prices.

As long as I'm being long winded....our local TSC ran out of a specific feed that I needed yesterday so I drove to the next closest TSC to get some. To my surprise there sat an Englander pellet stove! DUH! Never occurred to me that, with a chain store, one would sell something that another didn't. So, it might be worth calling every TSC in your area to see if any of them carry a brand other than US Stove. Sure wish I'd known because I'd have bought that baby in a heartbeat!


Whew! Need more coffee...
Peg

So has anyone ever used dynamitebuys.com or could anyone recommend an internet shop with Napoleon and Simpson Duravent?