Snow blower clearance: wait till next year

We've had snow on the ground for all of 2009 YTD in the Northeast, and as a result I've been making good use of my Ariens snow blower that I bought two years ago at a 30% off clearance sale.

I've read that the stormy winter weather has driven snow blower sales up high double digits over the past year, which certainly makes sense when I consider how many times I have used my snow blower this winter. With that in mind, I recently went to Lowes and Home Depot to see what they had in stock and what they were offering in terms of discounts this year.

First up was Home Depot, where they only had one "electric snow shovel" in stock for sale with no discount. That is certainly a sharp contrast to the full lineup of 30% off discounted models that Home Depot had on display both outside and in the indoor seasonal section when I bought my snow blower there two years ago.

My next stop was Lowe's, where there were also no models on display outside as there were two years ago, but Lowe's did have a decent selection of John Deere and Husqvarna models for sale at 10% off.

Unimpressed, I chalked it up to a classic case of the supply and demand economic model, where price balances the demand by buyers and the supply provided by the seller. In this case, I say wait till next year and hope for a mild 2009-2010 winter if you're looking to buy a snow blower on the cheap.