Support Your Local Welding Supplier? Think Twice.

[KenS]

I had an interesting experience today that really makes me consider who will get my business.

I have been looking to equip my garage with welding equipment. I pretty well settled on the new Miller 212 which I can get complete with running gear and a new 122-cubic-foot cylinder filled with C-25 for $1,625 ($1,395 for the machine alone). However, I have found an older-- but like new-- Millermatic 250 which, if I can get for the right price, may buy instead.

At any rate, I also wanted a portable unit for light sheet metal repair and I found a two-year old Lincoln Pro-Mig 135 with a bad wirefeed motor for next to nothing.

I called the Lincoln and they said the motor was $132.30.

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"Okay, can I order one?" I asked the Lincoln factory rep.

"Sorry, you have to order through a dealer," was the response.

So much for Lincoln factory support, I thought.

So off I drove several miles to my local Lincoln dealer, a friendly Airgas distributor.

"Could you tell me how much is a wirefeed motor for a Lincoln Pro-Mig 135," I asked the parts counter manager.

"They go for $400," he immediately responded dead seriously without so much as a blink.

"Wow-- that's more than the cost of the unit new," I replied.

"Yep, that's the way it is," he retorted.

Hhhmmmm.

"You know, Lincoln quoted me $132.30, but said I would have to order through a dealer."

"Well, get me the code and I'll see what I can do."

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Is this Standard Operating Procedure for the industry?

Do I have any options to purchase welder parts over the internet?

Am I just having a bad day-- and correspondingly bad attitude, or is there something wrong with this picture?

Before I plop down major bucks for the Miller, I want be sure I'm making a sound decision.

Comments welcome.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Why not contact Lincoln direct and have them try to splain the clear discrepency? Perhaps you just chose the wrong peterhead to talk to?

 

[goodfellow]

Why not contact Lincoln direct and have them try to splain the clear discrepency? Perhaps you just chose the wrong peterhead to talk to?

Agreed!!! Most LWS' I've dealt with are top notch and don't gouge the customer because word travels fast in these circles. I'd call another Lincoln dealer and get a price quote. If you still don't get a reasonable price call Lincoln; given your story they'll probably send you a new unit at a discount just to make up for the bad experience.

 

[ilikebeer]

There was a day when you could complain to the owner or manager but, since corporate idealism takes further hold your best option is never go back there again.

It happened to me purchasing a Allen Bradley part the local guy didn't have catalog or any means of looking the part up and wasn't going to get off his stool. This would be like McDonalds having no idea what a Big Mac is.

It's my belief never to reward this kind of behavior by never buying anything from there again.

 

[toxicz28]

Short of gasses, I wont buy anything from the local welding supply company. Try www.weldingsupply.com I got a new handle/lead for my 110v Lincoln mig machine. You're just going to need the p/n. It'll make searching for it alot easier. Good luck.

 

[Vicegrip]

There was a day when you could complain to the owner or manager but, since corporate idealism takes further hold your best option is never go back there again.

It happened to me purchasing a Allen Bradley part the local guy didn't have catalog or any means of looking the part up and wasn't going to get off his stool. This would be like McDonalds having no idea what a Big Mac is.

It's my belief never to reward this kind of behavior by never buying anything from there again.

i still take it as far up as I can then never go back. i called one true D head and let him know the high 5 digit $ commercial contract I just signed with a competitor after he did not return 2 calls and only contacted me after I called upstream of him.

 

[ilikebeer]

Good for you Vicegrip. The only thing with calling them back and trying to stand your ground is just being labeled in some way.

Believe me they will just try to justify why you really didn't buy from them other than they stink.

 

[chad s]

Short of gasses, I wont buy anything from the local welding supply company. Try www.weldingsupply.com I got a new handle/lead for my 110v Lincoln mig machine. You're just going to need the p/n. It'll make searching for it alot easier. Good luck.

Yea, and those guys have an awful attitude over the phone. They dont want anything but internet orders, and seem to know very little about what they sell. Its sad, but when all of our suppliers are like this, internet based with no real human contact, when your in a bind, your supplier wont be able to help you out.

I'll gladly pay a bit more to support the local welding shop. They really know what they sell, and can back it up. I want to keep those guys in business.

 

[Stanger]

Miller/Hobart has FAR better customer service. They bend over backwards for me.
Grant

 

[jimvannoy]

All I get at the local welding dealer is gas refills on my cylinders.

 

[toolfreak]

I only buy gas and wire from the one local welding supply since they are the only ones open on Saturdays. I tried to deal with them when I bought my synchrowave 180 and millermatic 251 four years ago and they quoted me list price on both. I guess they figured I was just some dumb kid just dreaming since I was only 23years old. Two weeks later when I got my machines delivered from Cyberweld.com I went down to the welding store and bought gas they looked a little dumbfounded.

I deal with the other welding supply in town when I can since they treat me pretty good. I bought a plasma cutter from them and they treat me good on consumables. I needed some stainless tig rod for a little project and the guy just gave it to me since I didn't need a whole package. You might want to try a different welding store if you have one fairly close.

 

[toxicz28]

Yea, and those guys have an awful attitude over the phone. They dont want anything but internet orders, and seem to know very little about what they sell. Its sad, but when all of our suppliers are like this, internet based with no real human contact, when your in a bind, your supplier wont be able to help you out.

I'll gladly pay a bit more to support the local welding shop. They really know what they sell, and can back it up. I want to keep those guys in business.

I'm for the little guy, and the "no human contact" may be so, but take a 50 pound can of 5/32" 7018 with shipping from their site, and double it! That's what my local guy tried to charge me. And yes, I do have an account and was dealing with them for a few years at this point.

 

[Red Green]

I think you just had a bad counterman. I have yet to deal much with the "New" local welding supplier (AGA got bought out by Linde then Airgas). The counter man that was at AGA knew what he was talking about and was very helpfull. I have been less impressed with Airgas.

 

[Franz©]

I've dealt with the same LWS for over 40 years, ad they get 90% of my business. The remaining 10% is now going to other vendors because of price.
There are 5 other supliers in town, and at any of them I'm just another idiot at the counter who they really don't give a damn about serving. The state of the industry flat out *****. The worst are the out of state owned local branches.

As far as the Millermatic 250 is concerned, DON'T BUY IT!! That is the absolute leading contender for WORST MACHINE Miller ever built. Even Miller's sponsored sites have threads about how bad that machine is. Miller knows it, Miller won't support it, and Miller revised the machine to the 250X but won't retro all the 250s they sold.

Check around with independants for a replacement motor for the Lincoln if you really want to rebuild it.

 

[KenS]

Gentlemen:

Thank you all for your replies. I may have been a little hasty in my post, but was still in aftershock. The dealer in question is both a Lincoln and Miller distributor. After I got the Lincoln wirefeed motor question answered, I had wanted to begin negotiating on the Miller. Needless to say, I no longer have confidence in that dealer.

However, I was able to get some excellent advice at another LWS. The store manager there is in his late 50s and was a weldor all his life until his company off-shored leaving him high and dry. After a few minutes of talking with him, you know he'd rather be staring through a No. 10 at a puddle stackin' dimes. (When he talks welding, the drool kinda collects in the corners of his mouth.) He made up for the other ringer.

I really would prefer to support a LWS since somebody has to pay for the convenience a bricks and mortar store offers. But I still have trouble coping with some the cockiness out there.

Franz, thanks for the heads up on the 250. I figured I couldn't go wrong with anything Blue, but I guess even that's not true. I see your posts here and all over other welding and machine forums and figure-- even if you are little crotchety-- that:

1. You read a lot and are a terrific poser, or

2. You speak from long experience and really know your stuff.

My personal preference the is the latter, and I've come to value your opinions.

Thanks again all.

 

[Junkman]

Crotchety comes with age and experiace..

 

[dragginbalz]

Short of gasses, I wont buy anything from the local welding supply company. Try www.weldingsupply.com I got a new handle/lead for my 110v Lincoln mig machine. You're just going to need the p/n. It'll make searching for it alot easier. Good luck.

Those guys are my LWS, I don't purchase anything from them!

( I guess it doesn't help that I work for the competition)




t

 

[Franz©]

Crotchety comes right after creaky and rattle when ya go up & down the stairs. You do have to watch the foamin at the mouth though, it leads to addleminded and then they haul ya off and shoot ya if yer lucky.

I wouldn't get too nervous about any LWS goin under real soon, the real money is in gas fills and consumables. Mine just spent around 2 mil on a bulk gas and filling setup for their one store. I gotta get over and take some pictures of that setup. Shouldn't be a problem since I been around there since before the son who manages the place was born, got a hunch he thinks I work for the company.

 

[eschoendorff]

Franz, thanks for the heads up on the 250. I figured I couldn't go wrong with anything Blue, but I guess even that's not true. I see your posts here and all over other welding and machine forums and figure-- even if you are little crotchety-- that:

1. You read a lot and are a terrific poser, or

2. You speak from long experience and really know your stuff.

My personal preference the is the latter, and I've come to value your opinions.

Thanks again all.

You're right... it's option #2.

 

[PAToyota]

For years I went the mail-order route because my LWS was like the story you relate. Really didn't want my business. Acted like taking my money was doing ME a favor...

Then got to dealing with another LWS - ironically, the local Airgas place around here. They have gone way out of their way to be helpful. Tuned up an old MIG machine at no cost (just needed some tweaking, no parts) and hooked me up with the Hypertherm rep when he was in their store to go over my machine (again, a used unit). Those two experiences alone made me a solid customer and they've provided quite a bit more advice through the years. I could probably save a bit of money online, but couldn't find this kind of service for any price.

Just my experiences.

 

[rsanter]

I have bought lots of stuff from 2 of the local welding supply places.
a couple of weekends ago I needed something that they could order but I wanted that day so he sent me down the road to an industrial supply place that did have them in stock.
one place I wanted to buy a welder and showed them a price I got from the internet and they said they could not do that but they countered with a price that was only $10 higher.
so far Im not doing too bad with them, and no I am not a 'big' dollar customer

bob