Ok, I just have to chime in here. I was a hairdresser for 33 years and now I am working with my husband in his snowmobile repair business. Having told you that - I now have to stand up for small business owners. Like someone else said, you are paying for what they know.
Do you have the time and know how to fix your machine?
Do you have the parts in stock?
Do you have to pay the insurance on the building and liabiliy insurance in case someone should slip and fall(God forbid)?
When you take a machine in for repair, any kind of machine, yes, they give you a rough estimate, but if it is within a resonable amount over, they fix it. Do you know how long it takes to try and get hold of someone to get the OK to go ahead and fix something? Many times, it could be fixed and ready to go while waiting on a return call from the owner. Then they say, go ahead and fix it...A major waste of time. What I have learned to do is to ask what the top dollar for repairs is that they are willing to pay. Many times it is way under that, sometimes a little over.
I guess I should stop now, I feel like I'm on a soap box and should get off.
But, just remember that us small business owners don't get the big breaks that big corps do. We don't get the big discounts when ordering parts because we can only order what we think we will need.
Sorry if I am going on and on about this, but we all need to be informed shoppers. I don't mean to upset anyone and I hoped I didn't.