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Huntington, IN | Anyone out there have much experience with this place? We just found out last week that there will be one coming to our town. It's really kind of exciting as the closest farm store is 30 miles away right now. Sure will be nice to have one in town. |
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Washington, Kansas & Lincoln, Nebraska | Orschelin is OK, but not as impressive as Tractor Supply. |
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| Larry, just from some of the posts on here that's not saying much. When I was a kid TSC was Dad's favorite place to get stuff even if the store was 100 miles away. TSC is gone now completely from this area. I think the nearest TSC store here would be about 250 miles away. Campbell Supply is my favorite store but it is only in SD and a couple stores in NW IA. We also have pretty good Runnings stores with a bit different variety but many of the same brands as Campbell Supply. (Dura-Start, Dura-Life, Harvest King, Mystik, etc) On identical products Runnings tends to be higher priced in many cases. Not always so it pays to shop around. Runnings came in here and took over most of the Country General/Quality stores. My uncle moved to McCook NE. I've never been in it but he likes the Orschelin store there. |
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Kansas | If you don't have one local and 30 miles away is the closest you are going to be tickled pink.
Compare them to any other farm store like a tsc or a gemplers and they are substandard at best.
From my experience with our local one, the biggest problem is head office. For some silly reason these people seem to think that Kansas has the same needs and wants that missouri does, where they are based out of. Always a sale on bird seed and hummingbird feeders.
Thier pipe fittings are cheap made low quality material. They never seem to carry enough of high use items and always have shelves upon shelves of town person stuff, like hummingbird feeders and bird seed.
They cater highly to the hobby farmer or back yard gardner. As for serving a farmer, nothing to get to excited about. I hope your experience is different than mine. It has been 3 weeks now since I left a gripe message waiting for a return phone call. Last time I complained I had the gal on the other end plum pe'od at me. True, I was as nice as a grizzly bear rudely awaken from hibernation. Then again, how happy would you be if the store manager was rude and insulted your crippled, senior citizen dad?
I rate them as a 2 bit joke.
jmho
Rich
Edited by Rich 8/28/2007 08:38
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South Central Kansas | Orscheln is okay, as are TSC stores. WE live about 30 miles from WIchita so there are two TSC stores there on the east and west sides. The Orscheln stores are usually in the smaller cities. Derby has an Atwoods that has a lot of farm and ranch stuff, they really cater to the horse people and hobby livestock raisers.
The best farm store I have ever been in is in Emporia, Kansas.........Bluestem Farm and Ranch Supply. Privately owned, they stock stuff you can rarely find elsewhere. Diveline parts and shields, tire chains and repair links. All sorts of tools....a much better selection then the chain stores. I buy jeans there too.If you're ever going through Kansas on I-35, get off in Emporia and check it out, it's only a couple of miles off the road.
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Southwest MO | We have an orschelen in town, its nice to have, only place in town I can buy spray fittings. Ours compares pretty good to the TSC in Joplin, which isnt that big.
There are privately owned stores in Carthage and Springfield called Race brothers that are much better than any Orscheln, TSC or Atwoods I have been in. |
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North Cental Mo. | What Rich said. We have two about 20 miles away, and they sell more candy than anything.
Roy |
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north central Oklahoma | The local TSC here caters to the urban cowboy type with a big 5 acre yard. They don't carry stuff for "real" agriculture. Then again, every time I go to my local Deere for parts, first answer to almost every part request is we'll have it in the morning. If TSC had the same overnight service from a larger parent store with more inventory, they could likely compete. It would also help if they hired some labor that knew a little bit more than just what aisle the nuts and bolts are on.
Last time I went in to TSC looking for replacement spray tips. They carry very little of anything, Had maybe a bag of 5 tips of several different color tips, needed 40 or more. 5 tips would cover most people lawn tractor drawn booms. Chemical mostly overpriced (especially RU) but since city folks don't keep up on chem prices, they think they are getting a good deal vs. buying it in smaller bottles at SLOWES.
Edited by Cowboycorn 8/28/2007 09:34
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Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577 | Totally agree. Our offices are one block from them, and we still go to a "real farm store" 11 miles away. |
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| I agree. They cater to companion animals and acreage owners. The most frustrating thing about ours is that they are always out of stock on many items - I don't know if that is a corporate or local issue. Ours is not nearly so good as it was 15 years ago. I hope someone from Orscheln's reads here. |
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| Rich, Rich, Rich, you can't p o the store people and expect to get helped.  TSC in Salina is great compared to the local O-S**T store. But then any O-S**T store in Kansas is better than this one. If item is not on shelf, ask when one will be in, reply is "I don't know". Are more ordered, "I don't know". When will you know, "When the truck shows up we see what they sent". Don't you know what you ordered, "We get whatever they load on the truck". These answers were from the manager of the store. I know many don't like to go to an implement dealer, but here JD is cheaper and quicker to get things than the O-S**T store. |
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Kansas | When you gonna get it in?
When truck gets here.
When will that be?
Well, sometimes at 8, most definitely before 5:30 although last week it was after 6 so we didnt' unload till the next day, usually before noon but lately been after 1.......blah blah blah.
Can I order it?
Yep
When will it be here?
Next week
6 months later.............
Is it here yet?
What here yet?
Yours, mine, and Kellys are all in bed together and are all a joke. Your right, it's not the help. The help here are good as gold. It is corporate. They are a joke. A real joke. Call that 800 number and they purr like kittins if you give them a compliment. Tell them about a gripe and you get an answering machine to an extension number and that person will not return calls or they cannot get you off the phone fast enough.
It was a far superior store back in the day when it was known as plainsmens supply.
The TSC store in Kearney is just awesome to me after being in that joke for orschelns. I can't even fathom how orschelns survives in that town with a tsc and all the dealerships around.
We also have a dilemma locally that we can't keep a manager for more than 2 to 3 years and they are either out the door on thier own or corporate told them to go look for a new job.
I wish that store would go bankrupt and someone would buy them out. Thank goodness we still have ace locally. They are usually higher on prices but when you want it today, it's worth it. |
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East Central SD | It sounds like things are about the same everywhere. The farm supply stores seem to cater to the urbanites and hobby people. Around this area the Tractor Supply has gone down hill and I don't even stop at them anymore. Locally we have a Runnings and it isn't too bad but they never stock enough seasonal stuff, i.e. sprayer fittings in the spring, electric fence supplies in the fall, etc. More often than not they're out of something I was after. Also a gripe of mine is when a sale flyer comes out it's full of stuff like horse sugar treats, tea towels & tampons.... why not more farm supplies?!? We would sure miss it if we didn't have a Runnings but if I seriously need farm supplies I drive the 50 miles to a Campbell Supply in Sioux Falls - they're a great store... with helpful employees.
Guess this doesn't tell you much about Orscheln's, does it ? :-). |
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Lapel, In | They are o.k. Here locally, a little more focused on real agriculture than TSC is today. Of all the ag stores,I like Rural King better than any others due to the way they stock in large numbers. Quality Farm & Fleet WAS top. Too bad one SOB CEO brought the whole company down. |
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Washington, Kansas & Lincoln, Nebraska | Went into TSC yesterday and bought 2 gallons of Trimec plus paid the sales tax for less than the cost of one at the local garden center!!!!! |
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EC Kansas | I agree about Bluestem Farm & Ranch, great help. If they don't have it you don't need it!! |
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Texas | Larry NCKS - 8/28/2007 07:02
Orschelin is OK, but not as impressive as Tractor Supply.
Wow, first time I ever heard anyone refer to a TSC as "impressive". You guys need some better vendors. |
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Roaming the plains | As in they are out of it. No matter what you need. Can't find the prices on most stuff and nobody ever working the floor.
TSC is very open about there target customer being the sundowner / hobby farmer. But can luck into a few things there. |
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Breckinridge Co. , Kentucky | Orschelns in Tell City is a nice newer store, just like all TSC's are more towards hobby and gardeners. I do like them because sometimes when the dealers are closed I can get what I need later in the evenings. Next closest store for us is Rural King and while I like getting some misc. items there, it is just a larger version of the other two. |
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thumb of Michigan | Rich,
Be very careful of what you wish for. All of the stores that Quality Farm and Fleet bought( country general, fisco, ct farm and country, and a few others I can't remember now) pulled them under. Now all we have is TSC which is short for "tough sh!t charlie".
I was in a Orsclen store in Greenfield, Indiana and I was impressed. I believe you can tell how poor our TSC stores are. |
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| Kevin, I've been to the Sioux Falls Campbell Supply store 6 years ago or so and was very impressed. The Sturgis store was still in it's infancy. They have added on since it was built and have more stuff and more variety than ever now. Campbells has a lot of real farm and ranch supplies, and lots of stuff for town oriented people too. They used to contract the tire and automotive work out, now they do it inhouse. Another good store with only 2 locations in western SD is Motive Parts in Rapid City and Belle Fourche. |
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Owings, Maryland 38.6856 N 76.6752 W | Thanks for rejoining the clan Rich, good to have your opinion on board...................Joe |
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East Central SD | John - a year or two ago they expanded. The back part that used to be warehouse is now part of the store too. I always hate when a store remodels - takes me a while to find stuff again :-). Kevin |
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| I remember as a kid Orscheln in Colby had a sale on 50# stock salt blocks. Dad called some neighbors & took their orders. Dad figured we would get a ton of salt for us and the neighbors. We got there, they had 6 50# blocks, and no rain checks. That's how they operate. Anything that is on sale will be sold out. The worst is bolt/nut/washer sales...I carry more lbs. of bolts in my shed then they do. Oh well, I guess it's better than nothing.
Edited by denverdave 8/28/2007 21:33
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| Those are farm supplies, one for when your hungry as horse and can't get home, one is for wiping your hands, and one is for daming up oil spills on the work bench, you determine which is which.  |
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Mid Michigan | When your only choice is a TSC store or "nothing" I much prefer our TSC in St. Johns Mi. They have a LOT of stuff in there for farms. I don't know what you guys are trying to buy that they don't have but they seem to have a lot of what I need. Oil, filters, grease, 4 inch perforated tile in 250 ft lengths, and all the connectors and T's. Carhartt and Walls coveralls and clothing, boots, socks, jeans, tarps, tarp straps, tools, drills, welding supplies, air compressor, paint, paint guns, sockets, hydraulic oil, hoses, fittings, bolts by the pound. List is endless. I have bought so much merchandise there in the last five years it isn't even funny. They have great 3 point implements for small utility tractors. I just bought one of their 6 1/2 foot disks and it is very heavy and nice. We bought glyphosate there this year for $11.50 a gallon. I bought some of their chore boots for myself and my dad. Chore gloves by the ten pack. I have bought 1000 feet of tile this year. They sell pellet stoves and pellets, feed for animals. I have NOWHERE in this area that sells all this stuff. To compare them to any dealership around here is ludicrous. If I want to spend $275,000 dollars this year on a new red, green, blue, or orange tractor or combine, I will be at a dealership. If I want to buy some of the thousands of handy items that are sold at TSC I will go there. Comparing a farm store to a dealership is not fair to either one. I can't buy a new tractor at a farms store and I won't spend 4 times the retail price to buy wholesale items at a dealership. |
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Washington, Kansas & Lincoln, Nebraska | Well, the majority is against us on this one. But I'm glad someone else sees the good in TSC as well. |
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Fruita CO | -in town here is Murdoch's, pretty good store other than it's on the other end of the valley, & not that handy to get to. the NH/Agco/Kubota/whatever else dealer has a Ranch-Rite store, but you can bet you'll pay more then anywhere else there...there was a Country General that was pretty good until they had their meltdown, & the Fruita CO-OP tries, but just can't quite ever compete. My old work belt finally gave up last year, so I stopped at CO-OP to see what they had...the only belts they even had were in a Montana Silversmith glass case, silver-tipped Coca-Cola cowboy beauties, but nothing that resembled a work belt I could put my old JD buckle on.
Ron in CO... |
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Fruita CO | ronm - 8/29/2007 07:52
but you can bet you'll pay more then anywhere else there...
Ron in CO...
Holy crap, I'm coming down w/plowboy syndrome!!! |
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Grabill, Indiana | We not so loving called the Orscheln in Perry, Iow the "Out House" because they always seemed to be out of what we needed.
My other big gripe about Orscheln is the manner that they use their aisles as warehouses. What a pain to walk around pallets of merchandise.
Jim |
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Colby, Kansas | would use the one in Manhattan, KS as a practice bombing run. They were once out of #50 connecting links for MONTHS! Here in a town of 50,000+ people we have to figure on driving 20-40 miles to get anything. A TSC is being built but I imagine they will cater to the suburbanites as well.
Back home we use to have Wheelers in McCook, then CountryGeneral, then something I don't remember, and now its Orschelins's. They always have a good supply of baby chicks and gummybears. The one in P-burg did save us one evening on a trailer tire after the co-op had closed, but otherwise resembled the one in McCook.
I heard others talk about how impressive Bluestem in Emporia is, I've never been there. One of my favorite places to buy stuff when were on the road is Bultman Supply Co. in Hugoton, KS. They have almost everything and have saved our butt numerous times, nice people to work with.
Lucas
Edited by LHaag 8/29/2007 14:28
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Kansas | You drove all the way from McCook to here to buy a low grade tire? You must of really been hard up........and on a sunday afternoon.
How long ago was this just out of curiosity?
Originally years ago it was a plainsmen supply or also known as a Bailey Plainsmens before orscheln took it over. I remember the wheelers you mention that was over in Norton.
Anything, Even the tsc's that the guys are not pleased with, is better than orschelns.........Unless you live in town and have a dozen bird feeders. Then it's your store of choice.
I see it's on sale again this week in the ad. |
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Colby, Kansas | About 2 summers ago my Professor and I were on our way back to Manhattan from planting research plots on Dad in northern Decatur Co. We had a 6000 series Deere tractor and soil probe on a flatbed. Threw the tread off a trailer tire just west of Stuttgart. It was around 5 so we unhooked the trailer on the side of 36 and exceeded the speed limit to try and get to the COOP station in time. We didn't quite make it and were forced to go to the land of gummy bears and chicks (the feathered kind).
We were doubtful that they would have a tire for anything other than a 2-wheeled garden cart. So we had a MacGyver plan in order, we were going to see the nice Korean lady at Loves, buy all the chewing gum they had, chew it while driving back to Stuttgart and using the gum and tree leaves fashion a tread that would get us to Downs or Beloit (not likely to work, but more likely than getting a tire).
Wheelers in Norton and McCook were both great stores, they were based in Grand Island so I think they had a better grasp on the real world. We are fortunate in that we have some other options, C&K Distributors in McCook if you can afford them, and Lords Hardware in Indianola, they have been in business for around 135 years (for real).
Glad your back Rich, always interesting to know whats going on over in Phillips Co.
Lucas
Edited by LHaag 8/30/2007 15:16
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Orscheln Farm & Home
