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Buying Equipment Online:

It is spring, and we are aware that the majority of online equipment purchases are soon on their way. We want you to get the product you need but without any hassles. Spare a minute on your lunch break or this evening to find out what you should look for and learn some online purchasing tactics.

It’s hard to tell what is what and who is who when buying online. In the equipment and attachment marketplace, it is especially hard. With the difference between a nightmares online purchase and a seamless one being very hard to tell upfront, you may be worried about whether or not you will end up with a poor product or one that never shows up. How can you tell?

Skidsteersolutions.com has over the years become the name that anyone can trust. Whether you purchase or not…we guide customers and all visitors towards solutions and results that meet their needs, even if it means sending them to a competitor. This is not something that many companies will do but this is what we value – honesty and integrity. Here is what you should look for when purchasing equipment online.

What Makes a Great Online Supplier by Skid Steer Solutions?

Authenticity:

The most popular method of entering the online attachment and accessory business is to buy one attachment and be hopeful it sells by duplicating it across every Internet sales channel possible (primarily eBay). Maybe they even took a few pictures of it with a newly founded name. Don’t be fooled… In many cases you are buying a name brand attachment that had it’s name ripped off and a new name stuck on in place of it. Building a website and online business is a tough job. Seriously, it isn’t easy and it takes a lot of time to develop products that customers want, that they can find, that will purchased at extreme customer values and making sure all of the while the website is working across every device, browser and version. These are just a few of the tasks, so when you see a Internet business that doesn’t look the part, they likely are only try to play the part and will cut corners at your expense. When you have invested in an online business like we have, you don’t cut corners. We need every one of our customers to have a great experience and that is what we strive to achieve. This leads us to the second attribute to look for.

Proven Track Record:

• 5 years in business – We recommend more thorough research if they have been in business for any time less than five years (see below points).
• Testimonials? Don’t see them… DON’T BOTHER.
• Could you find more than their website? Facebook… Youtube?
• It’s important to read reviews, ratings or find out where the equipment is coming from.
• Bradco attachments are notorious for their quality, however not everyone selling this brand of equipment is actually going to support it. You can find Bradco attachments on almost any website but make sure they have it in stock or have the buying power to have it shipped to you in a reasonable amount of time. If they can’t do this or beat around the bush, just go to the next guy or look for a different brand. When looking for a different brand, don’t be surprised if you see a Bradco attachment with a new sticker on it calling it something else. We won’t lie to you and tell you we have something in stock and can have it to you in two weeks just to get the sale. When you call a company like Skidsteersolutions.com, we will tell you what we have and what we can bring in for you, lead times, shipping time and pricing all UPFRONT. If you go anywhere else, demand the same.

Response time:

• Is there a Dedicated Expert Personnel available when you call? If a call back is promised, you should hear back within the hour.
• What did you hear when you called? Emailed? Was the company professional and were they able to answer your questions. Lots of these companies pretend to be experts of the industry but only know the surface details of the product. What’s up with that? If they don’t have a deep understanding of the product, think about the service you get when the not so rare event of part replacement or warranty issues occurs. If they don’t understand the product as well as they should during a purchasing event, don’t expect much understanding of other situations.

Warranty:

If you see a weak warranty or one that promises a lot upfront but ends up being a lot less when you follow up and read thoroughly behind, that business is likely using misleading advertising methods just like this all over their website. We have seen it time and time again, and we have been fooled before as well. Look into their warranty and scrutinize their honesty and integrity based on things like this. Slimy advertising methods should never be used when advertising a warranty that warranty is there to protect you, not mislead you to think you are protected just to take your dollars a bit easier. We think you matter and so does your experience,

Shipping

10-days or don’t bother because they likely aren’t stocking the unit they are saying is their “biggest seller” and will likely be drop shipping from a supplier who is just barely keeping up with the demand from real dealer and online suppliers. Keep in mind; even companies who inventory do rely on drop shipping for when items are out of stock. This occurs with seasonal products usually before the season and just as it closes. For example, Skid Steer Solutions won’t have Snow products in until October and in January most of the inventory will be sold. No business can hold product as expensive as these units for longer than a few months.

Testimonials

“Take the time to read through their reviews.” – Robert Leib (President of Skid Steer Solutions).

We can’t stress this enough, whether you are on eBay or on a website, find reviews and read them to understand the experience you can expect. You may be sold on the big game played upfront, but if you don’t see reviews on the products you are interested in then you would be taking a greater risk purchasing from that company. Not every product is going to have reviews because many are new or not high volume items. This is why we stress looking at multiple items across the online store. We guarantee every review you find on our website is authentic and from a real customer. Our customers email their reviews and post their reviews to our website on a daily basis because sometimes we ask, but most of the time they do it because they want everyone else to enjoy the experience they had when they chose to do business with Skid Steer Solutions. So look… and do a “deep dive” before making the purchase of equipment that you need to put bread on the table.

Website Interface:

If you are looking at an online business and their website looks like it is from 2004; what do you think their facilities, logistics and manufacturing process is like?

When making a thousand or more dollar purchase online, you need to be able to demand the best from the company you are purchasing from. If you run a business, it only gets more serious when purchases are made. If you have a small to medium sized equipment need and you are looking online, we ask that you come to us first. If we don’t have it, we can bring it in a reasonable amount of time or if we can’t do that or you aren’t satisfied completely, we will GLADLY guide you in the right direction.

Next Article…

For the next newsletter and hopefully for the rest of spring, we will be taking a look at some of the most popular attachments and discussing what to look for when purchasing a particular attachment. Considering the season change and the Snow receding up the hilltops (except for in the East), we feel we can provide some guidance before we all begin purchasing our spring equipment. Why not start with one of the most fun - the brush cutter.