Festool Price Increase - Now with handle correction!

[Andrew Ledbetter]

This site has some information about the Festool factory in Germany.
http://www.highlandwoodworking-blog.com/weblog/archives/2007/05/festool_comes_to_highland_and.html

 

[Ned]

Woodenfish--

Hilarious!

..hand built by white lab coat wearing pampered organized union workers...

A hyphen or two would help us avoid misunderstanding your description as racist. 

Ned

 

[spikfot]

Are Festool products hand built by white lab coat wearing pampered organized union workers with government funded PhD's listening to chamber music who enjoy free healthcare, retirement welfare payments, vacations in the south of France and company provided complimentary dog grooming services amongst a list of benefits in order to keep up with production demands or are they assembled by computerized robotic machine's in a modern factory and for the most part never feel a human touch until the first time the systainer is opened by a joyous purchaser having a religious moment?

The lab coat guys control the robots with iris-reading wraparound hologram projections.
lastly, each systainer is fumigated with a potent opiate gas and hermetically sealed.

 

[Ned]

I just looked at the price list.

Here are two items I didn't expect to see:

561086  Circular Saw ATF 55 E  Not Available Now  325.00
561087  Circular Saw AT 65 E  Not Available Now  395.00

Is this an error, or are the older models coming back?

Ned

 

[Brice Burrell]

I just looked at the price list.

Here are two items I didn't expect to see:

561086  Circular Saw ATF 55 E  Not Available Now  325.00
561087  Circular Saw AT 65 E  Not Available Now  395.00

Is this an error, or are the older models coming back?

Ned

Selling off old stock??

 

[Dan Uhlir]

  I don't like it at all. Why is the vac handle going up 70% ? That seems very sketchy to me, shenanigans I say. The only up side I can see...I can tell those people who thought I was nut's for buying festool, was actually a bargain.Really I, and certainly some others would like to know the justification for raising the vac handle 70% i don't think it's R&D and certainly not marketing could it be materials ? I doubt it. I would like an expanation, for that one. Dan

 

[pteubel]

561086  Circular Saw ATF 55 E  Not Available Now  325.00
561087  Circular Saw AT 65 E  Not Available Now  395.00

Is this an error, or are the older models coming back?

I think something was lost in the translation. They should have put "No Longer Available".

 

[Ned]

561086  Circular Saw ATF 55 E  Not Available Now  325.00
561087  Circular Saw AT 65 E  Not Available Now  395.00

Is this an error, or are the older models coming back?

I think something was lost in the translation. They should have put "No Longer Available".

I think you're right but "Not Available Now" is in the column labeled "Current Price", and the column with 325 USD in it is labeled "April 1 2008 Price", so there isn''t internal evidence that it is an error in the listing.

 

[vteknical]

Hi Dan,
Good thing, that we received a two month headstart before the price increase.  Most companies surprise you on Monday.

Yeah, the Ct handle is excessive.  Now that I have a printable list, my WAF should be no problem. ;D 

Hun, buying now is actually an investment!

Who am I kidding, there isn't anything left for me to buy except consumables and the DOMINO BABY!

 

[brandon.nickel]

I bought the boom arm last year before the price increase, but I got the handle when I bought the vac (2+ years ago).  I wish I'd kept the original catalog from 2005.  It would make me feel better about how much I spent back then vs what it would cost me today...

 

[mntbighker]

I bought the boom arm last year before the price increase, but I got the handle when I bought the vac (2+ years ago).  I wish I'd kept the original catalog from 2005.  It would make me feel better about how much I spent back then vs what it would cost me today...

Thanks to Brandon for pointing out what I was thinking this morning. The bright side to the increase for those of us who have a few Festools is since they hold their value well, they will now be worth more than they were. Of course by the time I can afford my Domino and CT they will cost quite a bit more. Unless craigslist is as kind to me as it has been in the past.

--Mark

 

[Steveo48]

Or they could move production to the US and take advantage of the imbalance.

[/quote]United States Festool sales likely accounts for a small percentage of Festool Global sales.  The US market at the moment is not large enough for Festool to make that investment. 

That's why it's in everyones interest that Festool USA sell more tools.   Then they can begin to expand their US catalog to offer more tool options.  [/quote]

Wow, it's killing me to be nice and not comment any more on this one : 

 

[Bob Marino]

Or they could move production to the US and take advantage of the imbalance.

United States Festool sales likely accounts for a small percentage of Festool Global sales.  The US market at the moment is not large enough for Festool to make that investment. 

That's why it's in everyones interest that Festool USA sell more tools.   Then they can begin to expand their US catalog to offer more tool options.  [/quote]

Wow, it's killing me to be nice and not comment any more on this one :   
[/quote]

Festool USA  is a fast growing and large market for Festool. They feel they are not even close, nowhere near close, to attaining the market share potential here.  I would not be surpised if somewhere down the road, the tools for Festool USA will be manufactured here.

Bob

 

[festoolgolfer]

  I don't like it at all. Why is the vac handle going up 70% ? That seems very sketchy to me, shenanigans I say. The only up side I can see...I can tell those people who thought I was nut's for buying festool, was actually a bargain.Really I, and certainly some others would like to know the justification for raising the vac handle 70% i don't think it's R&D and certainly not marketing could it be materials ? I doubt it. I would like an expanation, for that one. Dan

i agree, i didn't really think it was worth $68 when i bought it but at $116 for approx $10 in materials they can keep it. ??? ???

 

[Ray Newman]

For those of us who are (or were) interested, I wonder what the mythical & mysterious Kapex will cost?....

 

[Markus K.]

The Kapex...

Last year (April) I paid 1100 Eur incl. Tax and 5% off. This Year they would take 1200 Eur. But I'm really interested in the American Price, normally they're cheaper than in Germany.

 

[Woodenfish]

Festool USA  is a fast growing and large market for Festool. They feel they are not even close, nowhere near close, to attaining the market share potential here.  I would not be surpised if somewhere down the road, the tools for Festool USA will be manufactured here.

Bob

Bob, I wholeheartedly agree. Too often times we as Americans get these horribly wrong, crazy and ludicrous ideas planted into our heads that America has become inferior and the economy is in crisis. Nothing could be further from the truth. The underlying economic principles in our nation are very strong therefore our economy can ebb and flow with events. The elasticity of the general market, its up's and down cycles is what creates wealth. If the market always went up we would all lose money.

I guess that perhaps there is some major concerns with cost of labor and productivity in the German culture. If Festool like many other World corporations wish to stay within the worlds oldest free market economy they will need to be competitive. I for one do not believe that they wanted to increase their prices over and over as they have for the past several years. That is not good for business anywhere. The facts are that many foreign owned corporations are seeing the value of being in the US as manufacturers. Americans typically work far longer hours and have far fewer vacations and are more easily entered into the workplace than in many European countries which increases our business productivity and the workers wealth. The German work system, like many European countries, is entirely inflexible which is part of the reason their economy is suffering from high unemployment and is unable to deal with downturns or recessions very well. Hopefully Americans will see virtue in self-reliance by building personal success instead of government becoming our nanny and ruining our way of life.

 

[henry1224]

If Festool increases the price of their products and still maintain their high level of quality,would you still buy their tools?

The other option would be to slash production costs, quality will suffer.

Would Festool outsource production to third world countries? Black & Decker ,Dewalt, Panasonic, Makita

Would you now buy from Harbor Freight just for cost?

 

[Steve Jones]

Any tool will take a certain amount of time to pay for itself and then start making me profit (or extra profit) the TS55 (had for about a year) has paid for itself about 20 times so far. The domino is tougher to calculate since my shop would be set up very differently without it (I'd be cutting mortices and tennons or finding another alternative) but has paid for itself 3 or 4 times. If prices went up (or more to the point when they do go up) the tools must still pay for themselves.

By the same token, I use a reciprocating saw from Harbor Freight (I pay $15.00 for those when on sale) and would not dream of buying a festool reciprocating saw should one become available, at $15.00 I don't care what happens to the tool, if someone leaves it on site, breaks it, drowns it cutting plastic waste pipe under someones sink, whatever, for $15.00 it's the perfect tool for the job (I'm bragging on this little gem to show I'm not totally hooked on the green side).

I guess my point is (or one of them) that it's the middle of the road tools that are expensive, something honestly expensive (but very well built) and something honestly cheap both have a home in my shop, But the current crop of (for example) B&D's pretending to be Dewalt's are not welcome (I can't afford a $100 circular saw, but I CAN afford a $440.00 circular saw)

 

[Dan Clermont]

If Festool increases the price of their products and still maintain their high level of quality,would you still buy their tools?

Yes! we all complain about tools being manufactured overseas and the poor quality. I'll pay 100% more for a precision made tool I can use for years to come.

People in the US pay way less for Festool's compared to  people in other countries around the globe.

Dan Clermont