Finding the best price on a wood stove?

[emt1581]

I'm having a hard time comparing prices on a wood stove my wife and I have decided to buy. Seems like a lot of sites have the model we're looking at but no one lists a price and the one or two discount sites I know of don't even carry it.

It's the Avalon Arbor in case anyone knows of a place that sells them cheaply.

Any info would be appreciated!!

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

[Mad Tom]

Search for dealers near you. Call around and get the best price. Your searching websites?. Contact them via email or phone and get a price.

 

[emt1581]

Search for dealers near you. Call around and get the best price. Your searching websites?. Contact them via email or phone and get a price.

That's an idea...but why are stove prices so taboo online?

-Emt1581

 

[Renovation]

Search for dealers near you. Call around and get the best price. Your searching websites?. Contact them via email or phone and get a price.

That's an idea...but why are stove prices so taboo online?

-Emt1581

Meaning no disrespect, I personally find the "why" a waste of bandwidth in this forum. Whatever the reason, you won't find many prices online, and dealers generally do not ship out of their regions. What I did is look up the dealers in my region on the website for the stove I want, and talk to them directly. HTH. If anyone knows a better way, please let me know.

 

[Bobbin]

Some thoughts on pricing:

I understand wanting to shop and compare prices as I know they can fluctuate from one dealer to the next. But I also understand that in times like these with so much information at our eager little fingertips it can be the kiss of death for a dealer to attempt more than a normal mark up on his goods. Rather, I think, it would be a good idea to ask the dealers what sort of guarantee they offer with their stoves, what sort of service do they offer for the price they're asking. Every retailer has a different overhead cost and that is reflected in the retail price they command. But they are in business to sell goods and if they ask too high a price they'll be out of business in no time flat.

I say this because when I was shopping for my last sewing machine I did the "on line thing", too. I wanted to get a feel for the price of the sort of machine I wanted and it was the easy way to compare similar models one to the other. And every single one of the dealers was within about $100 of each other... esp. when I factored in the freight from those with the low ball price. I opted to buy from the local guy I've always used for mechanical repairs to my fleet even though his price was higher and there was sales tax involved. After some thought I arrived at the conclusion that supporting a local vendor who would deliver the machine, set it up properly, and adjust the computer controlled settings to my liking was the best way to go. I would have felt like a real heel if I called him for a repair to it (he's an authorized Juki repair man) without even giving him a shot at bidding on its purchase. Perhaps my situation is different from your intended purchase of a wood stove, because I have a long standing, professional relationship with the dealer, but sometimes the purchase price isn't everything.

 

[branchburner]

Some companies do not allow their dealers to post prices or sell online - I imagine this is to help avoid price wars and help maintain dealer territories. I've seen very little difference in pricing from dealer to dealer for brands like Jotul. Many shops do sell at 10% off the list price - I doubt this time of year you will find anything better, except on floor models or closeouts.

Excellent post, Bobbin. I think anytime you might need service and support, it makes sense to support the local vendor with a slightly higher price, assuming he's a good vendor and will be your advocate should problems arise. Not all vendors offer that support - shopping for a quality vendor often makes more sense than shopping for low price.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree that not too many will post their prices. Woodstock is an exception but that is because the sell direct. They also have an excellent line of stoves.

 

[Bobbin]

With respect to the sewing machine purchase, the official Juki website doesn't include prices. But I contacted several authorized dealers for prices and found they were all in the same basic ballpark; larger dealers in more metropolitan areas were the lowest, but freight on something heavy and bulky is not inconsequential. Granted, industrial sewing equipment isn't as heavy as a woodstove, but it's still a couple of hundred pounds. And after purchase service is more important on machinery than it may be on a woodstove.

 

[raybonz]

I agree that not too many will post their prices. Woodstock is an exception but that is because the sell direct. They also have an excellent line of stoves.

I read that Woodstock is coming out with a dual cat/non-cat stove and I am interested in that.. Considering a new stove and the asoapstones always look great.. I think the Hearthstones look even better but I believe they are non-cats and I like cat stoves for the control you get on warmer days..Seems the Woodstock stoves are not troublesome and needy when it somes to parts/repairs and that appeals to me.. Didn't you visit there recently and if you did have they mentioned this new stove? VC now has that technology but I haven't heard much about how well it performs..

Ray

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree that not too many will post their prices. Woodstock is an exception but that is because the sell direct. They also have an excellent line of stoves.

I read that Woodstock is coming out with a dual cat/non-cat stove and I am interested in that.. Considering a new stove and the asoapstones always look great.. I think the Hearthstones look even better but I believe they are non-cats and I like cat stoves for the control you get on warmer days..Seems the Woodstock stoves are not troublesome and needy when it somes to parts/repairs and that appeals to me.. Didn't you visit there recently and if you did have they mentioned this new stove? VC now has that technology but I haven't heard much about how well it performs..

Ray

Ray, we did go to the Woodstock factory and saw the new stove. It still did not have the final design so there was no soapstone but we got to see the stove in operation and it looks pretty darned good to me. They expect to have it on the market by Spring.

Ray, I'll send you some pictures via email

 

[raybonz]

I agree that not too many will post their prices. Woodstock is an exception but that is because the sell direct. They also have an excellent line of stoves.

I read that Woodstock is coming out with a dual cat/non-cat stove and I am interested in that.. Considering a new stove and the asoapstones always look great.. I think the Hearthstones look even better but I believe they are non-cats and I like cat stoves for the control you get on warmer days..Seems the Woodstock stoves are not troublesome and needy when it somes to parts/repairs and that appeals to me.. Didn't you visit there recently and if you did have they mentioned this new stove? VC now has that technology but I haven't heard much about how well it performs..

Ray

Ray, we did go to the Woodstock factory and saw the new stove. It still did not have the final design so there was no soapstone but we got to see the stove in operation and it looks pretty darned good to me. They expect to have it on the market by Spring.

Ray, I'll send you some pictures via email

Got the pics and sent a return email.. Thanx!

Ray

 

[grommal]

The only way to get the true prices is to go to the store and haggle. It's just like buying a car, where even the dealerships who claim to go by some posted price will end up haggling anyway, but hope some customers will just pay the posted price without negotiating.

I found a $400 spread in price for a particular stove and a $200 spread in the charge for delivery, set in place, and removal of old stove, after some negotiations at multiple shops. The cheapest stove price was not at the same place as the cheapest delivery price, but armed with that info I convinced one dealer to give me the best price on both.

Bottom line is that you need to do your homework and, unfortunately, the legwork that currently goes along with it.

 

[begreen]

Call around to all the dealers, but don't expect miracles. Waiting until the peak of season, when there is a tax credit incentive pushing sales, is not the best strategy for bargain shopping.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

IMHO, this is the worst time of year to buy. Wait until spring, end of season etc etc.. We found prices at the three different stove stores that carried what we wanted varied as much 35% from high to low. We paid about $100 more for our Homestead than the first and most expensive dealer wanted for a Tribute. We originally wanted the Tribute in Flat black, then at the dealer we bought from, it was cheaper in enamel, but like I said, for $100, we stayed with flat black and went up a stove size. We bought in April. You always want to compare apples to apples, total installed cost of the same stove same options.

 

[grommal]

Call around to all the dealers, but don't expect miracles. Waiting until the peak of season, when there is a tax credit incentive pushing sales, is not the best strategy for bargain shopping.

Good point, BG. I should have mentioned in my post that it was Feb-March when I was shopping.