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I am in need of a new lawn mower, maybe I should buy one soon. I have had Craftsman lawn mowers for years and never had a problem. I can not understand how Sears goes out of business but stores like Target, and all those still stay in business. Go in them stores and no one is them either. Better quality in Sears.
John T.
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(03-25-2017, 10:52 PM)JTTHECLOCKMAN Wrote: I am in need of a new lawn mower, maybe I should buy one soon. I have had Craftsman lawn mowers for years and never had a problem. I can not understand how Sears goes out of business but stores like Target, and all those still stay in business. Go in them stores and no one is them either. Better quality in Sears.
Nothing special about their mowers. They are just mtd mowers but sometimes with sales and coupons etc you can get them at a good price but don't pay more for one of theirs. I bought my 46" cub cadet at depot on clearance for $800 with a free mulching kit (that doesn't fit my mower).
I don't understand target either. Their profit margins must be huge because their stores are always empty. Never seen more than two cashiers at one time either. And it seems every time I try to go to target for something I end up at Walmart because target has such a small selection. So I skip target all together most of the time.
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That's weird, because the Target stores around here are clean, well staffed, and always have a lot of people shopping.
And I avoid Walmart unless there's not other real choice, especially for certain bulk items. Walmart seems to be the same everywhere, right down to the bicycle shorts and tattoos.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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Yeah our targets are nice and clean they just don't carry much that we buy. When we moved here in 89 there was little in the way of shopping because the blue laws years ago stymied commercial development and it has taken decades for the recovery. When walmart was built it was a good thing as there wasn't much else and we don't live in the sticks. The blue laws kept retail in the downtown areas.
The target closest to us is fairly new and was lid out as a super target but built as a regular store. They didn't do enough business so they sold off the property where they would have expanded. Their food prices are high as well. Milk runs $1.50 more than anyone else and double what Aldi charges. We would shop at target more if they had the inventory and better pricing. Even though sams and aldi are another 20 minutes away it's still cheaper to shop there... I'm just waiting for the day they start closing stores here though a few do very good business the majority here dont.
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Target sucks from what little I've seen in there stores.
Steve
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WaterlooMark 02/9/2020
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(03-26-2017, 10:00 AM)TDKPE Wrote: That's weird, because the Target stores around here are clean, well staffed, and always have a lot of people shopping.
And I avoid Walmart unless there's not other real choice, especially for certain bulk items. Walmart seems to be the same everywhere, right down to the bicycle shorts and tattoos.
That is my experience too. Though lately they have gotten rid of the 6 items or less lines and replaced them with self-checkouts--something I will not use.
But overall I am happy to shop at Target. And our local Sears is well-run, well-stocked and clean.
A funny thing about snow blowers and lawn mowers. Husqvarna, a company that became famous for their motorcycle engines and chain saw engines, sells mowers and snowblowers using third party engine suppliers. They used to use Tecumseh, but Tecumseh went out of business. I don't know who they are using now--probably Briggs & Stratton.
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Husqvarna uses briggs and I think kohler. A couple years ago there were the last two big mower manufacturers that being MTD and AYP. Before that you had murray,noma etc
Of the two AYP made the better quality product but was a little more expensive. But husky bought AYP a few years back.
What's funny now is that the murray name is owned by briggs. Now briggs makes some mowers and is not only supplying other companies with engines but they are competing with their low end products.
Back when I worked at my friends mower shop we had a marker board with all the parts to order... Many different manufacturers up there with their own list of items to order from different suppliers. And I don't miss tecumseh engines. They had a horrible magneto and points system. Was very finneky to set the points using a test light, so you never changed points in them... Their air filters were notorious for letting dust in around the rock hard seals. It's like they were designed to fail after 2 to 3 years.
As for walmart ours are very different from store to store. The one the in town isn't very good but the one down the road is better and carries more. The store in Saginaw was one of the larger test stores when they started the polished concrete floors and larger inventory. Arlington is the test market for most retail stores and they had the first Mega Mart which was the precursor to super walmart. They had a seperate section in the front with rental spots for other stores etc. Now just a really big super walmart.
I oonly go to one when I have to and for many things there isn't really anywhere else to go. Fertilizer is almost half the price of home depot...
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Honda makes lawn mowers and their engines power the Black Max line of mowers.
They also make snowblowers.
They seem awfully expensive compared to the other brands however.
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Well, my poor little 24" NOMA 2-stage snowblower is almost 25 years old, with a 5 hp Tecumseh Snow-King engine, and it's still going strong. We get around 100" a year on average, and that poor little underpowered machine just keeps on chugging. Original plug. Yearly oil changes. Grease and chain lube when I think of it, like every few years. I'm careful not to lug the engine. MTD made it, I think.
I'm ok with cheap, though it really should'a had a 7 or 8 hp on it.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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Honda makes good stuff but imo overpriced and they don't stand behind their warranties which is why the larger mower shops don't carry their stuff here anymore.
Noma was the Canadian subsidiary of Murray. Good stuff at the time but much harder to get parts for. Tecumseh had a huge overhead valve engine years ago. Was a horizontal shaft engine about 3' tall. Good engine but the valve guides were notorious for wearing quickly. The fix was to replace them with automotive bronze guides.
