A sad day here in Easton, PA

[parunner58]

The last privately owned appliance store in Easton PA has announced it will be closing after 77 years in business. This is the store we bought our Frigidaire FL from. He is the local Maytag, Frigidaire dealer. The GE and Whirlpool dealers all closed in the mid 90's. The next closest ones are about 10 miles in Nazareth or about 10 miles in NJ. What is closing them down are all the Lowes(2), Home Depot(3), Sears(2).

http://www.pennlive.com/business/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/business-1/1188878793209820.xml&coll=2

 

[63getelevision]

The Melange

I have a 1963 copy of the college's yearbook,(naturally, I can't put my hands on it at the moment)there is a store ad and message, they sold Magnavox, and who knows what other products. Would that possibly be it? I am sorry about the news, all our appliance stores are history also, especially Forget's--our Magnavox dealer.

 

[washertalk]

(sigh)
I miss the smaller places too.
Big Box stores are not fun or desirable to shop in.

 

[appnut]

It is sad.

 

[frigilux]

I'm lucky to live in a very small town with three indie appliance dealers: Whirlpool/KitchenAid; GE & associated brands; Frigidaire/Maytag. I've purchased appliances from all three over the years, but prefer the Frigidaire/Maytag dealer, so he gets the lion's share of my business.

You want to keep your indie dealers in business? Buy from them, even though it's a little more expensive. The service you get is worth the extra bank. When I had a problem with my Frigidaire DW, my dealer was at my door the next day, and a new machine was installed the day after that---at his insistence, not mine.

Experienced that kind of service from the big boxers, lately, kids?

 

[petek]

There are still two or three small independents here. I'm only familiar with the one a few blocks away from us and he seems to be doing a good business with a lot of Miele and LG along with the some WP and I think Frigidaire. His prices are reasonable as well. Mom bought her current WP washer from him a few years back to show support rather than get another Kenmore. Since then HD has opened a large store here and numerous other mega furniture appliance stores have opened but it hasn't seemed to hurt his business. I think the emphasis on Miele may be helping to set him apart from the rest.

 

[petek]

Oh and the other thing,,he took away her old one and delivered and set up her new one as part of the purchase, that also made a difference.

 

[irishwashguy]

Mom and Pop appliance stores........I Love them!!!!!!

I am sorry to hear about what is happening in your neck of the woods.The Maytag dealer, who was litarally four blocks away for nearly sixty years plus closed and became just a service company that can order appliances if need be. In the Portland area, we are lucky that we have several indy appliance stores, one of which is Standard appliance, Hamilton's , and Reigalman's to name a few. I reciently picked out and bought a new Bosch dryer for a friend of mine, they were great, and gave me a great deal on it as well. They even told me they appreciate my purchase very much, and even know me on a first name basis now that I have bought from them. Word of mouth is a great way of advertising. I have refered friends to them reciently. They still have free delivery, unlike the big boxes that charge upwards of 60-70 bucks.Plus they have live applainces in their store for you to try. I was encouraged to bring a load of wash in to try it out if I wanted too.That is service if I have ever seen it.

 

[runematic]

In my small county we have at least 9 independents (including my place) and HD, Lowes, & Sears. If you drive to the next county over they have many, many more indies. It's a tough business. Profit margins are shrinking every day. Products aren't what they used to be. The manufacturers would rather sell to the big boys and cut them sweetheart deals. The small dealer does really have it rough. The biggest thing when you go to a small store though is that usually you're dealing with someone who has a vested interest in the business. At my place you always deal with one of the owners (my dad, brother, or me). Loyalty of today's customers is almost non-existant. We have some loyal folks, but most people will go to the next competitor to save $5. As an example, a year or 2 ago, I had a long time customer come in & price a new SideXside & dw, and then they went shopping, everywhere. I was about $135 cheaper on the refrig then the next lowest place, but about $25 more on the dw (but had a lower-priced install, so it was at least a wash). They bought the refrig from me but went to the other place to buy the dw. I tried to explain to them that I was overall lower priced, but she was focused on the $25 more in initial price. To top it off, they wanted us to install the DW they were buying elsewhere, since our install price was a lot less ($40 vs. $99). We politely refused. That didn't go well & she couldn't understand why I wouldn't install a DW she bought somewhere else. That's why this business is so fun. I could go on & on.

 

[oxydolfan1]

We have a few indies left here, believe it or not.

My favorite had a surprising upsurge in sales when he changed the name of his store from "**** Appliances" to "**** Appliance Outlet"!