Regional variation in Tractor Supply pricing on log splitter?

[paredown]

Regional variation in Tractor Supply Black Friday pricing on log splitter?

I found this out by accident, after someone posted on another forum that Tractor Supply had their Country Line 25T splitter on sale in their current Fall Sale for $799.

I went to check our local store (I have been considering this as a possible purchase).

At our local store (Zip 10970)--the same splitter is advertised as Regular price $1099, on sale at $100 off/ so a whopping $999 in our local market (checked stores as far as Milford, PA since that is striking distance away). So $200 more!

Intrigued, I checked a second location--a place I know a zip for (Leesburgh VA where my MIL lives). It is advertised as $999 regular price but now $100 off for their Fall Sale, so $899--$100 cheaper.

The original poster didn't disclose his store, but posted a screen shot of his purchase in Western Pennsylvania--sure enough, confirming the $799 sale price that he paid.

This is supposedly "on sale" for the same "Fall Sale"--and our local sale price is fully $200 higher than a different location.

Anyone else seen evidence of this sort of variation?--as far as I can tell Home Depot (for example) runs national ads with consistent pricing, although not all items are available in all markets.

Anyone interested in checking their local stores and reporting the price they get offered?

(I went back and forth about where to post this--not really a "Good Deal" --not really general discussion, so this seemed best. Mods--move if this would be better somewhere else...)

 

[vavet]

$899.99 ($100 off) here in Central Virginia.

 

[Aaron_W]

$1099 with $100 off so $999 at my store in Northern CA.

 

[paredown]

Confirmed the lower price at a store outside Pittsburgh.

Seems crazy to me, So the heartland gets better deals than the coasts?

 

[vertguy]

$799 with the $100 off in SE WI.


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[Eric29]

$899.99 with free Assembly and hydraulic fluid (a “$90 value“) the ad says.

Western NY

 

[redwrench60]

I’ve noticed this with several retailers. Anytime you look something up and it either asks you to use your location services or enter your zip code you are being price adjusted to your area. I think retailers charge according to the local economy.

It’s $799.00 here in East Tennessee

 

[58Yeoman]

$799 ($100 off) in East Peoria, IL store.

 

[930dreamer]

$899.99

Was $999.99
Save $100.00

Amarillo, TX

 

[Wyoming09]

$799-$100 off in West Michigan

 

[paredown]

I’ve noticed this with several retailers. Anytime you look something up and it either asks you to use your location services or enter your zip code you are being price adjusted to your area. I think retailers charge according to the local economy.

It’s $799.00 here in East Tennessee

Yes--it's like the old days when many items were made in the Eastern states, and the ads would read 'prices higher west of the Mississippi'.

But this is a made in China item, ship to store--one would think it would be cheaper to actually drop ship 40 miles from the NJ docks than Pittsburgh or other places.

And the wedge is not insignificant--surely any kind of measure of selling costs can't explain a $200 surcharge (effectively 25% more on the $799 sale price--and it sure stinks of price gouging to me.

While there may be more people in our area with 6 figure incomes there are a lot of us barely hanging on, especially since since the "Great Recession".

Thanks everyone for responding--my lovely wife is going to start a tweet storm (I hope).

 

[superduty1]

$999 in southern California (Moorpark)

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[bimmerteck]

Yes--it's like the old days when many items were made in the Eastern states, and the ads would read 'prices higher west of the Mississippi'.



But this is a made in China item, ship to store--one would think it would be cheaper to actually drop ship 40 miles from the NJ docks than Pittsburgh or other places.



And the wedge is not insignificant--surely any kind of measure of selling costs can't explain a $200 surcharge (effectively 25% more on the $799 sale price--and it sure stinks of price gouging to me.



While there may be more people in our area with 6 figure incomes there are a lot of us barely hanging on, especially since since the "Great Recession".



Thanks everyone for responding--my lovely wife is going to start a tweet storm (I hope).

Likely has less to do with freight costs and more to to with the costs of the real estate the store sits on. Operating a retail store in a more prosperous area costs more for both real estate and keeping employees.


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[kythri]

$1099.99 regular. $100 off for $999.99 in Junction City, OR

 

[desertdog256]

$999/$899 in Louisiana

 

[unknownroad]

Likely has less to do with freight costs and more to to with the costs of the real estate the store sits on. Operating a retail store in a more prosperous area costs more for both real estate and keeping employees.

Gotta be more to it than that... the Tractor Supply out here is mostly surrounded by vacant land and dollar stores, where there are vanishingly few employers that pay more than minimum wage (not that TS ever has more than two employees on duty at any given time) and it was still in the middle of that price range.

 

[Aaron_W]

Likely has less to do with freight costs and more to to with the costs of the real estate the store sits on. Operating a retail store in a more prosperous area costs more for both real estate and keeping employees.


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Yeah, I'm thinking there are probably a lot of factors. Employee salaries, real estate costs, actual shipping costs, sales volume, local taxes, local competition, incentives etc.

In an earlier TSC post, several similar ag supply store chains were mentioned that I've never seen or heard of. Locally the only chain store TSC has to compete with is Ace Hardware, the others are independents or small local chains with only a few stores. I'm sure there is a lot more competition for them in the farm belt so prices have to be more competitive.

It could be something as simple as the company providing an extra discount to the stores that sell X amount of a product, or some stores sitting on too many of a product.

 

[finn]

Retail prices aren’t determined by what it costs to produce and ship an item so much as by what the regional competition is selling like products.

It’s capitalism. TSC I’d under no obligation to price things the same in all regions in which they compete, so why get your undies in a bundle over it.

If you don’t like the prices at your local store, you are free to shop elsewhere, or move to an area with a lower cost of living.

 

[vavet]

It’d be interesting to find the line where the price changes. I wonder if stores on the expensive side of the line, maybe only 5 miles away, would price match.

 

[mike93lx]

1099 with no sale up in central MA

 

[seber]

$999.99 and no sale discount in East Texas where there is no competition within 60 miles.

 

[paredown]

1099 with no sale up in central MA

$999.99 and no sale discount in East Texas where there is no competition within 60 miles.

Yeah, I think the sale ended on Sunday--the ones I checked this morning are all back to regular price.

 

[paredown]

Retail prices aren’t determined by what it costs to produce and ship an item so much as by what the regional competition is selling like products.

It’s capitalism. TSC I’d under no obligation to price things the same in all regions in which they compete, so why get your undies in a bundle over it.

If you don’t like the prices at your local store, you are free to shop elsewhere, or move to an area with a lower cost of living.

Agree it's not an "obligation", and I did work in retail for a lot of years, so I understand "zone" pricing/geographic pricing--I have just never seen that kind of variation on (what to me) is a pretty high ticket item. Freight did used to play a factor, and I don't think it is about local property values/wage rates since that area around Leesburg is a total boom town, high wage, high property value area, and barely missed a step during the recession.

It is 'charge what you can get away with' pricing IMO--it seems old-school and self-defeating--like it or not, the internet has made the US one market for lot of goods--even cars. A pricing strategy like that seems guaranteed to piss off people who are paying attention.

 

[jd_1138]

They're only $899 here in NE Ohio. They also have a different brand, a Champion 25 ton, for $899 too but it says engine brand in Champion. It's probably a rebranded Honda clone.

The County Line one has a Kohler. I'd go with that model.

My local TSC seems to leave its equipment out in the rain. Not sure I'd buy one from them if so. But definitely pick one up if you need it; it makes splitting wood way way easier, and you're saving a lot on energy over the winter.

 

[sk farmer]

the manager at my tsc says prices on larger items are made at corporate level base on competition in the area. lots of competition, lower price. no competition, higher price. managers may be able to price match though.

 

[finn]

Agree it's not an "obligation", and I did work in retail for a lot of years, so I understand "zone" pricing/geographic pricing--I have just never seen that kind of variation on (what to me) is a pretty high ticket item. Freight did used to play a factor, and I don't think it is about local property values/wage rates since that area around Leesburg is a total boom town, high wage, high property value area, and barely missed a step during the recession.

It is 'charge what you can get away with' pricing IMO--it seems old-school and self-defeating--like it or not, the internet has made the US one market for lot of goods--even cars. A pricing strategy like that seems guaranteed to piss off people who are paying attention.

So maybe I should be ragging because She’ll is charging $2.67/gallon in my town, and $2.05 in Texas? I spend more on gas in one year than a splitter, which is a one time purchase.

Cars are the same: it’s not uncommon to have regional discounts.

 

[Ign]

Damn if I could get it at $799 less the 10% coupon I got in the mail yesterday I might actually return my neighbor's splitter to him

But yeah, shows $999 at 87401

Hell I once found if I used a Seattle zip for my local store on AutoZone's website the price was less, regardless of the shipping address. I was ordering online because no store stocked this wiper motor anyhow.

 

[paredown]

So maybe I should be ragging because She’ll is charging $2.67/gallon in my town, and $2.05 in Texas? I spend more on gas in one year than a splitter, which is a one time purchase.

Cars are the same: it’s not uncommon to have regional discounts.

Naw, complaining about gas prices is like complaining about the weather.

It was pretty funny in our local market though--NJ used to have dramatically lower gas prices (and no self-serve by state law), and a huge number of NY residents used to cross over to buy gas. Could be as much as $ .30- $.40/gallon difference.

Then Chris Christie passed a bill that raised gas taxes in NJ--almost as high as NY, and the prices pretty much equalized overnight.

The result--big and permanent lines at the local Costco who have discounted gas--one of a very few places in NY that discount.

 

[paredown]

Same nonsense again on the Black Friday ad--three different "SALE" prices for the identical splitter depending where you are in the country:
$699
$799
$899

So my local store's sale price is the regular price in two thirds of the country--a full 25% higher. It would be cheaper to buy from a distant store and pay Truck Freight to my door!

We tweeted about this--got an instant response saying they have a "Price Match Policy"

This means just calling the regular customer service number, nothing special and with no choice that appears to deal with this sort of pricing issue. I banged around until I found a live human.

Short version--the Customer Disservice rep has to call the local store while you are on the phone, and it is up to the Store Manager whether or not they will honor the lower price(!)

She made a mistake by first asking him to match the $799 sale price despite me being very clear that I was looking at a $699 price. The store agreed to match the first lower sale price--so $799.

On the second call, they would not agree to match the $699 price.

Despite making noise that there was a price match "policy"--it is completely at the discretion of the individual store manager.

I'm going to Home Depot for the Champion just because I will not support a company that runs this kind of pricing policy.

 

[redwrench60]

That’s pretty annoying. Hate to have to play so many stupid games just to buy something. That’s no small price difference either.

 

[Buckaroo5]

Have been looking for a log splitter for a cabin with a wood burning stove I just purchased and had my eye on the County Line 25 ton with the Kohler engine from Tractor Supply. I have been looking for a used one but prices seemed pretty high on Facebook Marketplace - currently six used County Line 25T not too far away listed between $1500 - $700, averaging $1125.

I just noticed the location related pricing difference at Tractor Supply and found this thread. In our area (central Ohio), the current sales price varies between $1050 - $1400 with the lowest being in more rural areas with Rural King's located nearby - a very signficant difference in my mind. So I just bought a new one for $1050 which is located on the way to the cabin. I am going to pay attention to this on other future purchases from Tractor Supply - thought I would pass the info along.

 

[jonshonda]

You can buy a vintage axe for $5.

 

[Buckaroo5]

You can buy a vintage axe for $5.

Yes, back in the day. I am an old man now. That kind of stuff is for the young pups...long on brawn and short on money.

 

[Wyoming09]

Showing $1149.99 in 49315 (Byron Center, MI)

 

[ycgoat]

That is a useful thread revival. It appears the price change is different for different pieces of equipment I have a property 2 hours from where I live and for the above log splitter the price near my property is at or above the price near home, but for a 6' landscape rake it is $150 less near home than near the property.

 

[JeepYJ]

I have about 10 TSC stores within an hours drive in any direction. Their pricing on the same item varies wildly depending upon the store selected. I seldom shop there because they are higher priced than their competitors most of the time.