Lawn Mower Buying Guide

Our ("my") local lawn mower specialist shop also has many used devices on offer. Serviced. With a warranty. At very affordable prices, and the new devices are not marked up exorbitantly either.

I will then buy the new mower from the dealer on site - when I eventually get the garden shed. Driving time: 8 minutes, maximum.

I will probably buy a used lawn mower - Swabian frugality. The resource is already there anyway, the device works. What more do I want? And I also save money.

The man knows his stuff, he really has expertise, and puts effort into helping the customer.
He was also kind enough to get my found "wreck" fully running again. For little money.

That’s where I will buy, so that such shops can survive.

Besides, I don’t feel like buying at the hardware store (or on the internet) and saving 50 or 100 euros only to take the mower later to the specialist shop for maintenance. I find that embarrassing. I can’t do such things. I won’t maintain the mower myself, I have much better things to do in life. The thing goes into the trunk, off to the workshop. Done.

Best regards Thorsten

In this specific case (lawn mower), I knew exactly what I wanted and what to look for. I did that and saved about 150 euros compared to a comparable model at the hardware store (not a specialist store). Those 150 euros weren’t worth the advice at the hardware store to me, so I decided to do without it right away.

Precisely because of this hardware store advice, I changed my mind from a petrol mower to a battery-powered lawn mower. This decision/advice cost me 180 euros, since the lawn mower was discarded after 1.5 years. In the end, the advice is 90% focused on the company’s sales/profit optimization and not what the customer really wants, and that’s exactly why I don’t like advice and prefer to read the necessary knowledge on the internet (e.g., tests and Amazon reviews). Of course, there are also salespeople who really advise, but you first have to find them. I then try to avoid Amazon and Ebay when shopping online so that profit and taxes stay in the country. In this case, my new lawn mower came from the online shop of a smaller hardware store chain around the corner from my parents.

Reading up and researching yourself never hurts. I had already mentioned at the beginning that it became a Viking for me. Why? Because the dealer in the neighboring town sells Viking. If it had been Honda or Husqvarna, it would have been one of those. But that with the necessary knowledge about the device. Just as this dealer would have advised me on nothing but Viking (could have), while he advised me very well regarding the model and was competent, the hardware store salesperson (if I had found someone in the hardware store) would have promoted whatever had the highest margin.

that was not meant to be derogatory either.

I didn’t take it that way either.

reading up and inquiring for yourself never hurts. I already wrote at the beginning that I ended up with a Viking.
Why? Because the dealer in the neighboring town sells Viking. If it had been Honda or Husqvarna, it would have been one of those.
But that comes with the necessary knowledge about the device.
Just as this dealer would have advised me to nothing other than Viking (could have), while he advised me very well and was competent regarding the model, the hardware store salesman (if I had found someone in the hardware store) would have pushed what has the highest margin.

Since my wife also worked/is working in a hardware store in her current professional life, I’ll comment on this section with the standard phrase of my law lecturer: "It depends."
My wife (as far as she told me) did not receive sales targets and also does not know the margin differences of individual products. Of course, she was happy when customers decided on a 1,000 euro patio furniture set (though she does not know how much margin is made from it).
Well – since the second child, she has “only” been working on a mini-job basis and is therefore only at the checkout. (The plan was actually to re-enter as a specialist staff, but that also failed in part-time due to the daycare hours/opening times of the store) Maybe it will change again.

It depends on the employee’s previous professional experience in the hardware store. Is the employee someone with a professional background (gardener / landscape gardener / employee with technical background) or has been long active in this area. I would also not want to underestimate trained apprentices of a hardware store.
If someone without practical experience is hired, they can only pass on knowledge from the “internal trainings” or knowledge they have learned over time from colleagues. For cost reasons, a hardware store is interested in someone without practical experience, as they are paid differently than a “specialist worker.”

Today it looks like this even here (approx. 8,000 inhabitants), as it does in larger cities; of course on a much smaller scale. Those who survive with their offer are (still) family businesses where the property is owned, and a good reputation has been built and maintained over generations. I am grateful for this because these family businesses live customer care and that is why I shop there as well.

I have to be honest, I don't care one bit. I see no added value locally. Rather, it is more the case that I get fooled or taken advantage of locally than on the fiercely competitive internet. On the internet, Amazon can't sell me a 2-year-old Samsung TV as a new model because I can see the information myself on the manufacturer’s website. In the local store, they even claim that they are right about the current model when you open the manufacturer’s page on your phone. Furthermore, I have a job that benefits from the internet boom. We build machines that transport large products or build systems that are needed in every warehouse logistics. If there is no store locally anymore, my job is not affected by it. I find local shops acceptable only if they really offer added value compared to the internet. For example, when I can really touch or try the parts or simply just touch them. You can almost lump all the salespeople together; they don’t want to sell me the best product for me, but the most profitable one for the seller. In truly super deluxe specialty stores, you might still find real advisors who really take their time and don’t want to sell you the most expensive device. To be honest, this happened to me exactly once in the last 5 years when buying a projector. I had two appointments with him, the first time with my partner to see what was available. Then "let's see" with two offers and a week later went there again with a buddy and sat there for another two hours watching a movie. We clicked back and forth between 2-3 projectors. You could tell the seller and owner was genuinely interested in his products. In the end, I bought a projector from him— even cheaper than on the internet. The parts are not exactly cheap if you want something decent. I am still enthusiastic about the projector today! Back to the topic of lawnmowers: I spoke with my father, who clearly advises me against all the "hardware store stuff." He has a Husqvarna for 1,500€ (bought two years ago) and says it’s just junk and constantly clogs. But he is also a difficult customer, as his lawns should rather be measured in hectares. He offered that we could first use his lawnmower until we buy something decent next year. He has a few more mowers in his portfolio. We have a real specialist dealer for lawnmowers locally, but I will probably only look there later, when we really need it.

I find local shops acceptable if they really offer added value compared to the internet. For example, when I can actually touch, try out, or simply just feel the items.

Yes, all these chains that today more or less unanimously dominate every cityscape (sad, they all look the same): no added value. I often buy such things that they have there on the internet as well.

In the local hardware store of a big chain: After several years in Velbert (construction, living) I know my "regulars" there. There are very good people there, whom I turn to with questions (and I also wait 30 minutes sometimes until the person is free).

The lawn mower (agricultural machinery) store here where I go: That creates added value, I definitely support them.

At the electronics market of "trust": Ditto *hardware store*, I know the AL Hi-Fi/TV guy well now and he knows me. I always get good advice there. The last TV he sold me: great recommendation, great price (cheaper than on the internet). Otherwise, I talk to them, possibly show a website: I immediately get the internet price, often even 5-10% less. So why order on the internet when you can support local jobs by buying?