question about my new stove

[bonesneeze]

Greetings All,

I've been doing a lot of reading and preparing to join the ranks of the woodburning community. I've bought my new stihl 290, dropped 9 trees in my yard, built a couple of Holz Hausens. I went down to my local dealer and bought a stove (a Morso 3440) and had them install a metal chimney (will have a few questions about that in another thread). I visited several dealers and I went to see the one I went with because they were a Morso dealer. On my first visit the dealer recommended a stove for my situation and gave me a price. He advised that the price was probably going to go up later in the summer as the foundries would enter their new season. I of course waited and when I did order my stove the price did increase by almost $300. I wrote it off to procrastination and my own stupidity. They have since come in and installed the chimney and dropped off the stove. They didn't install the stove because I'm working on a slate hearth that isn't ready yet. The stove was/is on a pallet in with a cardboard wrapped around it, packaging in pretty ratty condition. Only one nylon strap around it and the cardboard cover ripped and all. I took the cover off to have a look at the stove and it looks in excellent shape. What I did see though was the date code on the box as being built in 2006. The serial number on the box and stove match. The rear heat shield looks like it had been removed as the heads show shiny silver where the screw driver meets the screw head. The pallet shows signs of black paint. I'm not worried about being covered by warranty as I'm buying it new from an authorized dealer. My question is, should I feel somewhat taken advantage of by getting hit with a product price increase when the distributer and/or dealer apparently got the stove maybe a couple of years ago? Is there concern that the stove may be prone to rust as it looks like it was possibly touched up after sitting for a couple of years?

Thanks for your help and comments...great site!!

Paul

 

[Nic36]

I bought my first stove this year. I noticed that the pallet it came bolted to also had some black paint on it. So, my stove must have been painted while it was on the pallet. Maybe yours was too.

If it was re-painted later for something like surface rust, I would not be happy about that. You can always call the dealer and ask about it.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

yeah, probably just box rub on the shield screws, most of us run the units down the assembly line on the pallet they will eventually ship on. so paint on the pallet is not really a sign that someone has "touched up" the stove.

 

[bonesneeze]

Its not the outside of the screw head that has been rubbed off, its the inside where if you use a power drive and you have the tork set too high and it slips and buggers up the head. The indication of the screws being removed is inside the head where the tip of the phillips screw driver would go. These screws hold on the rear heat shield. On the heat shield are the rating and serial number labels for the stove. That is why to me it appeared that the shield was removed to touch it up sometime after it left the factory.

 

[fossil]

Is it possible that what you're seeing are tool marks from assembly...black anodized screws driven in at the factory? Rick

 

[Opportunist]

My Oslo that I bought last month was made in 2007.

Gee, do you think a complete stranger that intends to make money from a sale would ever recommend a stove (that they've had sitting in stock) just to get rid of it at a larger profit? You mean they may not have had your best interest in mind? How strange.

If you think you've been taken advantage of. The nice thing is that you don't have to ever buy from that store again. You could even recommend that anyone you talk to about it not buy anything there.

 

[bonesneeze]

It may be acceptable practice in the industry. That's why I thought I'd check in here where industry professionals might weigh in. I don't fault anyone for maximizing profit, especially in this day and age. When you hear "if you order now you'll avoid the usual price increase that occurs when the foundries do their new castings for the upcoming season" and then you get hit with the price increase and get a stove that's been sitting for two years its a little harder to swallow. Doesn't seem real honest to me. I guess a lot of businesses don't have stock sitting around that long. If I bought a brand new 2006 car in 2008 it would be at a considerable discount. Demand is up (although supply is not necessarily down) now as witnessed by the cost of pellets, cordwood, etc so prices are at a premium. They did good for their bottom line, got a stove at 2006 prices and sold it at 2008 prices but they did have to store it for two years too. I don't have proof that anyone touched the stove up and someone that works at a foundry says its common to have paint on the pallet so that is good enough for me. My two concerns are 1) will the stove begin to rust prematurely as it has sat for some time without being used and 2) I just wanted to check opinions about implementing price increases for new stock on old stock.

 

[Todd]

Most dealers sell old stoves at a discount not an increase. I'd call them and ask why you were sold a two year old stove for the same price as a new one.

 

[micah]

When I bought my new stove before it left the dealers shop he when around with a screw drive to make sure the heat shield screws where all tight. He also when around and made sure that all the welds where good and gaskets were all sealing right. My be your dealer did the same thing. Nothing worse than getting it home and have some screws loose do to vibration of shipping and want not.

 

[BrotherBart]

Most dealers sell old stoves at a discount not an increase. I'd call them and ask why you were sold a two year old stove for the same price as a new one.

Me too. That is a crock. If he just said "This is what I want for the stove." that is one thing. If he stuck you for an increased price with BS that is another.

 

[Nic36]

Just out of curiosity, I had to go check the label on my stove I installed in April and it was manufactured Oct 07. I would ask what was up too.

 

[bonesneeze]

The local dealer is doing the install and I did plan on asking about it. They dropped the stove off last Thursday and did the chimney install so it sits in the corner till I get the floor ready. Thats a whole other nightmare. I ripped up the carpet and tile where I was going to lay down slate and found the sliding door to the deck had been leaking so there is some rot on the floor and in the walls where the flashing wasn't quite up to par. The door needed replaced anyway so that meant a trip to Lowes for a new door and more prep work than originally anticipated.

I'm not necessarily busting on the dealer yet...could be the distributor that was sitting on it for two years and maybe they passed the increase on the local dealer. It was the local dealer that had the story about the increase due to the foundry's new season. Its not an easy nut to crack...I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt but on the other hand, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck!

 

[boostnut]

There is a posibility that your stove was used as a floor model. Our local dealers dont usually display the heat sheilds, could have been removed and re-installed. I would inquire if this is the case and find out if the $300 upcharge can be refunded as a result. What is the worst that could happen, he gets offended, refuses to finish the install (which you hopefully have not yet paid him for) and you have to find another installer. Could be worse. Good luck!

 

[bonesneeze]

I found a sticker from the freight company on the cardboard box that the stove was in. I wrote the company and asked about tracking the package. They e-mailed me a copy of the bill of lading and it did ship from distributor in VT to my local dealer on August 5th. At least I can have a little more trust in my local guy so that's a relief. I'm still going to ask why I'm paying a price increase on a two year old stove..can't hurt!

 

[Secondary Combustion]

New to the site and have found a wealth of info here. Hope I can give a little insite on what I know may have happened.


I work with a well known woodstove company as a vendor and yes the stoves are sometimes put onto pallets during the assembly phase (easier to work with being flat). This would possibly be one explaination for why there was black paint on the pallet. Also the scratches could have been done by poor assembly or maybe the stove was ordered by other dist. then returned and you are just getting lucky (or unlucky).

Maybe the Moroso (new season) charge was to ship from other dealer? Seeing that most big name guys are 3-5wks + out - and he didn't want to lose sale?

My 2cents.

 

[gpcollen1]

It may be acceptable practice in the industry. That's why I thought I'd check in here where industry professionals might weigh in. I don't fault anyone for maximizing profit, especially in this day and age. When you hear "if you order now you'll avoid the usual price increase that occurs when the foundries do their new castings for the upcoming season" and then you get hit with the price increase and get a stove that's been sitting for two years its a little harder to swallow. Doesn't seem real honest to me. I guess a lot of businesses don't have stock sitting around that long. If I bought a brand new 2006 car in 2008 it would be at a considerable discount. Demand is up (although supply is not necessarily down) now as witnessed by the cost of pellets, cordwood, etc so prices are at a premium. They did good for their bottom line, got a stove at 2006 prices and sold it at 2008 prices but they did have to store it for two years too. I don't have proof that anyone touched the stove up and someone that works at a foundry says its common to have paint on the pallet so that is good enough for me. My two concerns are 1) will the stove begin to rust prematurely as it has sat for some time without being used and 2) I just wanted to check opinions about implementing price increases for new stock on old stock.

Your car analogy does not work here. It is a brand new stove so just kick yourself for not buying it when you should have..

Now, if the design has changed and you are getting an 'old' stove, maybe you have a gripe...

 

[bonesneeze]

You could say the car analogy doesn't work but I think its a pretty good analogy. There are many examples of car models that haven't had a design change for a couple of years. The brand new 2006 would not have the price of a 2008 if stored outside as most are. I doubt you'd find one as the dealer would drop the price until it sold well before two years expired. On the other hand, some new car models bought new, unused and stored in controlled conditions appreciate in value. The key things are use and storage. I have seen many rusted old stoves and one of my concerns is that the stove may have started to exhibit signs of rust if it wasn't stored properly. If stored in a controlled environment, wrapped with some desiccant inside the packaging, it would probably not be damaged. I'm not sure about stoves but many metal items you buy get a coat of oil/lubricant on them to keep them from rust/corrosion. Cook stoves or grills require that you use them a couple of times empty before you cook in them to burn it off. On the other had, if stored in a humid environment in the ripped up packaging as mine was delivered in, surface rust requiring touch up could very well be likely. As I stated, the reason given for the impending price increase was due to the foundries new casting season. The story didn't fit the facts.

 

[begreen]

If that were a 2006 Prius, it would still be commanding a high price at the dealers, regardless of storage as long as the car wasn't in any way damaged. It's simply a matter of supply and demand. The stove market is very hot right now. By late Sept., it will be absolutely frenetic.