Assembly Charges- What A Ripoff!!

[bigjim]

Bought a Try-Bilt Snow Thrower from Lowe's. Most they had were on display with a "convenient" $25 assembly charge. I was using a 10% off coupon so I wanted to keep it cheaper so I took of of the only two they had boxed. Took it home and the "assembly " consisted of tightening handle knobs, attaching chute (three clamps), and attaching the chute aimer (removing cotter pin and then reattaching it). Took

10-15 minutes . I know I received all the parts (Some on display had the replacement shear pins taken, the key was missingon some). Unit came oiled I added gas and it started on second pull. I think it will be fine . It's the 5.5 hp w/electric start 24" with the bigger intake. Not bad for $550+tax. Icant wait for snow!!

[professorpaul]

There ARE people out there who can't deal with mechanical things, believe me...

[Carpenter]

And... they buy snowblowers?

[Toller]

You are complaining the machine was too easy to assemble? Or are you complaining that a fee you didn't pay was too high? Or something else?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sure, why not? My MIL can handle a snowblower, but would have problems with some assembly.

And $25 is really not a big deal even for the small amount of work needed. Store have a lot of overhead so the price of opening the container, assembling, disposing of carton, etc, the cost is not out of line, IMO.

[hallerb]

A good friend assemles stuff for sears. sure some grills etc are a snap while others take a lot of time and are a PIA...

the assemble fee tends to be a flat one for all models.

i will ask about snow blowers when i see him tomorrow.

theres also added liabilty costs if say a bolt falls out of the new blower and hits someone or some thing.....

[Al Bundy]

"Carpenter" wrote in news:1159842160.284130.211380 @m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

Yea, they do!

Guy looking at arc from thrower chute across yard. Wonders what the stream section of red snow is. Maybe because it's new paint in the chute. Hour later. Can't find Rover.

[Rudy]

YOU wait for snow, we're headed for Arizona !

R

[bigjim]

[Charlie Bress]

Lots of folks say that. We lived in Tucson for a while. South of us toward Mexico the elevation gets high enough to put snow on the ground. If you head north as my daughter did to go to school at the U of Northern Arizona you will find a whole different world. The school is in Flagstaff at over 6000 feet. So much for Denver and its "mile high city". As I recall, Flagstaff averages over 10 feet of snow a year.

Charlie

[Sev]

That's awful- and you'd think_the dog_ would have more sense, noisy as those things are- perhaps it was sleeping in a snowbank? A guy a block from me lost finger in one last winter, in spite of all the warnings they plaster everywhere...

[bungalow_steve]

Yea, but it's hard to tell how much assembly is required, I recently bought a lawn mower at HD, as you removed it from the carton is "self assembles" itself, it basically unfolded itself like the mars land rover, but I remember buying a bookcase that took 40 minutes and was a PITA.

Which brings up the question, when assembly rates in China are 50 cents an hour, why the heck are we assembling anything? It seems we are doing more self assembly now then in the past when labor rates where much higher and automation was much lower, I haven't figured out that one....

[Charlie Bress]

If you pack it smaller, you get more into the same size shipping container. That makes it cheaper to ship on a per unit basis.

Charlie

[Al Bundy]

"Sev" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Easy Sev. Was just a big fictitious ha-ha. As far as the guy a block over, it's his own neglectful stupidity. He got away cheap and should look at it that way.

[hallerb]

my good friend who assembles snowblowers gas grills mowers etc for sears says some blowers take 45 minutes to put togther after you have done a bunch, plus they get rid of all the packing and help load the blower in your vehicle...

it can be hard work and a bargain for 25 bucks

[bigjim]

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Hmmm, I think that is why they are in business, to make a profit.

[i_never_shake_stuff]

and they get ripped off.

[bigjim]

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Excessive? Maybe, maybe not. Some people would rather pay the money that have to assemble anything. It is their choice to make, not yours or mine. If people are willing to pay $25, it is a fair price. Capitalism at its best.