bought any 2-stroke lately?

[yukonjack2]

2 stroke oil ?-whats the deal?
Before I have a stroke getting angry at the merchants here in MI, I'll throw it out there for you guys. ?Anyone buy any OEM 2-stroke recently?
Well, let me tell ya - its out of control, and not by MFG either - MErcury Opti, Yamalube, and XD100 are all in the $35+ range around here. ?Semi syn - premium plus, xd50,... is 20-25+ depending on its sale, last years stock,...etc. ? So, I have yet to find one dealer in the area(state even) that will carry these oils in a drum and sell ya in bulk(bring your own jug type thing)? ? I found 3 dealers down south on the net - that will sell mercury prem plus, yamalube, and xd50 for between $11.50 and $14.50 a gallon. ?So all the oil co bashing out there -point it at your local dealer ripping you off -
someone please prove me wrong - I want to buy locally, but not at those markups. ?

PM me seperately for the details.

Jack

[dartag]

Jans had a sign on the counter for bulk Preium Plus for 13.00 a gallon i think.. i got mine at BPS earlier this year for 14.99.   i don't think you can use that in an OPTI  though.. call them they may have bulk OPTI oil...  wonder if you have to be dealer to buy a drum???  might be worth looking into..

ss

[yukonjack2]

I stand corrected - Jans is the only one I have seen -

merc prem plus - 11.99/gal  while it lasts
xd100 - 29.00/gal  while it lasts

they ordered pre price increase, so its going up again after this drum is gone. 

Anyone else know of any bulk sales dealers?   I called around to a few and go no help at all, so Jans is the only one so far!

thanx

[fowlmouth]

Pangborn marine in midland (on M-20) sells it, not sure what it costs though. I'm pretty sure stryker's on wixom lake does too.

[robtheboatman]

We sell bulk oil.  If you call and ask for part's, and tell them what kind you need, they will give you a price.
Rob

[yukonjack2]

Thanks Rob -
I'll call and check it out.? I sure hope they are competitive is all.? Others in the area as I find out sell bulk, are less costly than oem packaged, yet still much higher than other marinas in the south.? I would like to keep the $$$ here in Michigan, but not at unreasonable margins.? I have to beleive everyones commercial bulk cost is fairly equal, so it just irritates me as to the large discrepancy.?

I digress - looking for an extra set of plugs just in case, while travelling to Ky lake next month . Jans quoted me $13 ea (for a darn spark plug), and the local auto parts store quoted $4 ea, but I have to buy a box of 6.? Whats up with 3X profit margins??

Seems we could all get along with reasonable prices and reasonable margins -? tired of paying too much lately.? just my $0.02 worth

[djkimmel]

Spark plugs usually cost more at the marinas - they are often more like the top of the line plugs the outboard motor manufacturers recommend. I would imagine the marinas pay more too since they don't have the same volume as a car parts place. Some of the newer high tech outboards use more expensive, specialty spark plugs. They give you a choice, but recommend the high tech spark plugs.

Even fishing tackle is priced in multiple tiers for tackle shops based on volume of purchases.

[yukonjack2]

Dan:

I would agree with that logic if it were the case (being in sales and all), but we are talking same items here.  This was not a marina - on the water type thing, it was a major dealer in the area.  ANd this was not a high end vs equivalent situation - this was, I'll look up the number for ya and ordr it cause they don't stock marine plugs at the auto parts, but can get-em thru the distributor.  So, I ask again - if its not a volume thing, then wou'ldn't you want more business of folks coming to your marine dealer for parts and repair keeping the cash in the local economy, rather than price gouging them for a few bucks?  doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Jack

[djkimmel]

I'm thinking it will come down to a difference in the sales volume. Sell more items and you can charge less. Sell less items and you have to charge more.

Doesn't mean you have to buy there. You can always point out the price you can get somewhere else if it is within proximity and the exact same item. Sometimes companies will match it and sometimes they can't. Like I said, there are different cost levels to various distributors based on their purchase volume too. Not to maybe make up that much difference, but that is only one factor.

I try not to pay more than I have to either, but convenience and availability might make me pay more at times. I don't think a lot of companies are trying to price gouge people on purpose. Every company has to charge enough to cover cost and overhead.

[yukonjack2]

This is my last post on this - Dan, those true economic fundamentals only hold true in a perfect environment - and we do not have that here in this case of the plugs - its unrelated to volume, overhead, fixed costs and the like, or these guys need some new management. 

On the oil situation - I called wonderland as suggested above - BRP xd50 was $22.00/gal bulk, $51.00 for 2.5 gal($20.40/gal), soory Rob, you are about 50% too high.  If any one wants the info where to get it for less than around here, PM me. 

Thanx fo rthe patience guys, it just get me so wound up paying too much for no reason whatsoever.

Jack

[djkimmel]

I don't have all the answers. I wish I did. I know we are paying more for gas than some states - often southern states. Of course, some of those states have a lower cost of living and lower taxes too. I've been told they have less cost into getting the product into their state when I ask about the difference in prices.

I would love to pay less for everything. I know my earnings are going up much slower than the cost of everything related to this sport, so I feel some of the frustration too. But I've known for years that some things cost more from one source than another. Always been that way.

We can choose to buy where ever we want or can. Give the local people a shot and then decide, but it doesn't do any good to get upset with them. They are charging what they think they need to to stay in business. If people don't buy at their prices, they may have to drop them, and maybe not if they just can't.

You can't compare a price on something a local company charges under one set of taxes, regulations and procurement cost to a completely different state and expect them to be the same. If you can get the product cheaper out-of-state by finding it, factoring in shipping and taxes you should be paying, it's a choice to buy it that way.

This has been happening for years and years with mail order (BPS), and then the Internet and the big chains pushing out the little guys. As this happens more, it means it is more likely that the local business has to charge even more for what they sell to make enough to cover overhead from reduced volume of sales. So when you have to buy local, you will probably pay more.

It seems like understandable consequences to me. I still say you can mention the price you can pay somewhere else, but before you quote 11.50 a gallon from down south, add in shipping and tax if you can realistically get the product through mail order, because your true cost is not 11.50, but more like 15 to 17 or more per gallon if you have to have it shipped. No where near 50% difference.

And if you have to travel long distance to get the product, then again, you true cost goes up with that too. I'm just adding this in because it isn't fair to the local dealer to compare only part of the true cost to his price.

Sometimes, I have mentioned a price I can get and sometimes the local company has matched it although I have always included the total cost to me (shipping and any other cost to actually get the product) not just the item cost to show I'm being fair and figuring out my true cost comparison, not an unrealistic ideal.

I guess if you have two local companies and one is cheaper, that's different. There are usually reasons, but I don't just assume one company is greedier than the other. I just find a company who's employees I like and trust, and then work with them. I don't throw away my money either, but if they ask, I'll tell them why I buy something somewhere else if I choose to do that.

In some situations, you need a local company that knows you are loyal too them so they are loyal to you. A marina, when you own a bass boat, is a good example. Doesn't mean you have to throw money away, but there is some give and take.

[yukonjack2]

Politically well said - I would like to be loyal to a local vendor - I beleive in keeping in the community I live in first, then branch outward from there - even at a little premium, bur not that much - just a frustrating situation thats not gonna get better anytime soon.

[dartag]

gas in milford was  2.75 a gallon this morning.. add a gallon of oil and you are talking about  150.00 to run 50 gallons of gas through your boat..   Kent Lake ( 10 mph speed limit )  is looking better all the time..

[dcain]

Why would synthetic go up?? It's not made from pertoleum>>

[MBell]

Why would synthetic go up?? It's not made from pertoleum>>

I think it is made from petroleum.
-Matt

[VinceR]

Let me preface this by stating that I patronize my local dealer/sponsor/sometime employer for most (if not all) of my marine specific needs, when ever possible. I do buy the general mechanical parts (such as spark plugs for my outboard) from the local auto parts retailer. The manual gives the correct part number, and I can order by that number.

In the case of spark plugs , it is absolutely about volume. For instance, take Champion QL78V spark plugs. These plugs may sell for as much as $15.00 each at a marine dealer. They are about $6.00 at major auto parts retailers. Some of the larger marinas will occasionally sell some of the more popular plugs at sale prices.

The reason is that the auto parts retailer (a national chain outlet) purchases Champion plugs (nationally) by the tens (maybe hundreds) of thousands per month. The marina may purchase several hundred in a year. It doesn't matter what the plug number is, or that they may only sell three sets of QL78Vs in a year. What matters is the total number of Champion plugs that they purchase.

?

[yukonjack2]

Sounds to me like the marinas need a buying lesson then - hit the auto parts for plugs!  Do you patrons a service, rather than charge outrageos prices!

Jack