I finally got my new Jotul 500 Oslo, got it home, into the house, connected to the flue, and broke in. Someday, should I have any, I expect I'll sit around the fire and tell my grandchildren all about it.
But there is a moral in the short version of the story. I had shopped at my closest dealer and was ready to write a check. Oh sure, I knew they were charging a somewhat higher price, but if they give good service it's worth it, right? When I asked about delivery they said, "Oh, thats an extra $1.00 per mile each way. If you want it brought inside [Did they really think I might want to keep it outside?] it's another $25 on top of that. Now, with stove, heatshield, screen, fresh air kit, flue (Excel - great product) I was getting ready to write a check in excess of $3,000. My appliance store will deliver a $275 diswasher and haul off the old one free, with purchase but the stove dealer was not content with an already ridiculous markup, but wanted more on top of that in case I didn't want to pick up a 500 pound stove and put it in the trunk of my car!
Ok, I thought, if service is no longer a consideration, I'll just shop on price. Going in the exact opposite direction, and about twice as far, I found a very nice dealer who got me exactly what I wanted. The Oslo at this location was $800 less. No, that is not a typo - $800 LESS for the stove alone! Proportionally less for the options as well. And as I was getting ready to leave they asked if I had fireplace tools. "No," I said, "I meant to shop for a set while I was here, but forgot." So they said to just pick out a set and take it with me, no charge. And a thermometer as well. Sure, I had to take the pickup and trailer to get the thing, but I was going to do that either place.
I would never have complained about the price to the first dealer if they had not been so greedy. Trying to squeeze that last little bit from me cost them the sale.
Mark
Jotul Oslo in Ivory Enamel.
But there is a moral in the short version of the story. I had shopped at my closest dealer and was ready to write a check. Oh sure, I knew they were charging a somewhat higher price, but if they give good service it's worth it, right? When I asked about delivery they said, "Oh, thats an extra $1.00 per mile each way. If you want it brought inside [Did they really think I might want to keep it outside?] it's another $25 on top of that. Now, with stove, heatshield, screen, fresh air kit, flue (Excel - great product) I was getting ready to write a check in excess of $3,000. My appliance store will deliver a $275 diswasher and haul off the old one free, with purchase but the stove dealer was not content with an already ridiculous markup, but wanted more on top of that in case I didn't want to pick up a 500 pound stove and put it in the trunk of my car!
Ok, I thought, if service is no longer a consideration, I'll just shop on price. Going in the exact opposite direction, and about twice as far, I found a very nice dealer who got me exactly what I wanted. The Oslo at this location was $800 less. No, that is not a typo - $800 LESS for the stove alone! Proportionally less for the options as well. And as I was getting ready to leave they asked if I had fireplace tools. "No," I said, "I meant to shop for a set while I was here, but forgot." So they said to just pick out a set and take it with me, no charge. And a thermometer as well. Sure, I had to take the pickup and trailer to get the thing, but I was going to do that either place.
I would never have complained about the price to the first dealer if they had not been so greedy. Trying to squeeze that last little bit from me cost them the sale.
Mark
Jotul Oslo in Ivory Enamel.
