Festool PRICE

[ireland]

Hello my freinds just tought I would drop this bombshell on you

Festool is in the almost 50% cheaper states than it is in europe including GERMANY

So the next time you buy festool it might make it a bit easier

but if that still does'nt do the trick and your thinking of explaining to the wife how you spent all that money on ( MORE TOOLS she says )

Just remember my golden rule

ITS  EASIER    TO    ASK  FOR    FORGIVENESS  THAN    IT  IS    FOR    PREMISSION

 

[alg]

In my case, it might be easier but the consequences are steep.

 

[graphex]

Are non-Festool tools 50% more than they are in the states too?

 

[swedish wood]

Hi ! I live in Sweden and you might think that the prices are better here since Sweden is close to Germany and Festools product are made in Germany , well take a look at this very short price comparison:

TS55 saw : In Sweden 880 USD - in the States 475 USD
Domino: In Sweden 1190 USD - in the States 750 USD

So you guys in US are lucky............! 

 

[ireland]

Are non-Festool tools 50% more than they are in the states too?

To answer your question yes more so than festool, I have heard that part of the reason why is because of the quality.
For eg a dewalt chop saw made in Mexico is cheaper than one made in Germany. Festool though is strictly made in Germany is'nt it ? so its probably more to do with the size of the usa market compared to the euro, for instance woodworking as a hobby would'nt be as big over here than usa.

So consider yourselfs very lucky ;D ;D

 

[brouder]

Graphex,

I recently paid the Euro equivalent of $815 for a Lie-Nielsen No. 7 plane here in Germany, which is available in the US for $400. All LNs are about twice the price in Europe. Even taking transport, import tariffs, and the weak dollar into consideration, it's still quite a hefty difference in price.

 

[Terp]

Graphex,
  Now, can't you purchase those directly through the US websites?  I know his hand planes don't require a UL listing.  No worries about the plug fitting the outlets either?

 

[Ned]

Don't assume that Festool the manufacturer is making ton(ne)s more money in Europe.  We don't know their distribution system, how many middlemen are involved, or what kind of markup the middlemen and retailers expect.

Don't assume the Euro retailers are getting rich.  We don't know their costs, but I strongly suspect that they are much higher than an American mega-store.

 

[Dan Clermont]

Graphex,

I recently paid the Euro equivalent of $815 for a Lie-Nielsen No. 7 plane here in Germany, which is available in the US for $400. All LNs are about twice the price in Europe. Even taking transport, import tariffs, and the weak dollar into consideration, it's still quite a hefty difference in price.

So what would happen if I bought that plane for you at about $275 Euro's and shipped it to you as a gift? What would it cost then for imprt duties, taxes, etc?

Dan C

 

[Frans]

Import duties and VAT can indeed be avoided here in the Netherlands if someone would send that plane as a gift. The package needs to be specifically labeled as being a gift. Unfortunately, companies are prohibited from marking their goods as gifts, and are obligated note the value of the goods so our tax collectors can easily write out their invoices   

If I were to order anything expensive from the US, I would indeed have it sent to a Dutch friend of mine living in Texas, who would then send it to me as a gift. With a nice ribbon wrapped around it.    This way, all I pay extra is the bit of shipping within the US, which usually isn't much compared to shipping to the Netherlands.

I do suspect there is a limit to what they accept as being a gift though, sending a nice solid tablesaw as a present might raise some questions.

We've got a lot of public servants here who do nothing all day except for pestering good citizens...

 

[graphex]

Many states in the US actually have use tax laws which mean that you technically have to pay state/local taxes on items you order from other states (or countries). The problem is that nobody really knows about them, there are very few auditors to enforce them, and it is the responsibility of the purchaser to essentially calculate them and tell the state and local government what they owe.

To me, it seems the worst of all worlds - you have this tax that you don't really know how to calculate that is different for every state, county, city, and locality. You have to calculate it yourself (which, in terms of value of time, is often more than the actual amount paid) but because nobody really does that, the city/county/state doesn't really even get a worthwhile amount anyway. Yet you could still get serious penalties if you got 'lucky' and were 'the guy' the city decided to make an example out of.

Personally, I'd rather have someone telling me how much I owe at the time of purchase and be done with it. When I reported my purchases to the city government this year, my accountant laughed and said I was probably the only person in the city to do that.

 

[Frans]

Personally, I'd rather have someone telling me how much I owe at the time of purchase and be done with it.

Not if the VAT rates are around 20% as they are across Europe.

 

[Steveo48]

And we gripe about taxes in the states!

Where I live, real estate taxes are $1647.00/ $100K of valuation.  I teach 11 miles down I-75 and the same taxes are $653/$100k of valuation.  Those people gripe about their high taxes .

Are festools cheaper in the USA because of the competition of other foreign imports?  No or lesser tariffs?  Just not the room for w i d e r margins?

Personally, I'd rather have someone telling me how much I owe at the time of purchase and be done with it.

Not if the VAT rates are around 20% as they are across Europe.

 

[Bob Marino]

And we gripe about taxes in the states!

Where I live, real estate taxes are $1647.00/ $100K of valuation.  I teach 11 miles down I-75 and the same taxes are $653/$100k of valuation.  Those people gripe about their high taxes .

Are festools cheaper in the USA because of the competition of other foreign imports?  No or lesser tariffs?  Just not the room for w i d e r margins?

Personally, I'd rather have someone telling me how much I owe at the time of purchase and be done with it.

Not if the VAT rates are around 20% as they are across Europe.

Steve,

I don't gripe over taxes BUT I gripe about real estate taxes...in NE NJ. How about $14,300.00 a year for a 1600 square foot, 1 bathroom house on less than 1/4 acre? :'(
As regards Festool USA's prices - about 5 years ago, they had a major price reduction!
  Bob

 

[Dixon Peer]

Regarding the tax discussion (a digression I'd say), the "use tax" is another way of collecting sales tax.  When the purchase is out of state or out of the jurisdiction of the governing authority that one lives in, one is then supposed to pay a "use tax" equivalent to the sales tax percentage.  I think anyone that does that is crazy, but whatever.

Now, regarding real estate taxes, no other place in the country (USA) can compare with New Jersey.  My wife and I are currently paying (are you ready?) $35,000 per year, and that tax is going up by a modest 6 percent this year we're told.  If that isn't ridiculous, nothing is.  Makes Festool pricing seem tame by comparison.

 

[Bob Marino]

Regarding the tax discussion (a digression I'd say), the "use tax" is another way of collecting sales tax.  When the purchase is out of state or out of the jurisdiction of the governing authority that one lives in, one is then supposed to pay a "use tax" equivalent to the sales tax percentage.  I think anyone that does that is crazy, but whatever.

Now, regarding real estate taxes, no other place in the country (USA) can compare with New Jersey.  My wife and I are currently paying (are you ready?) $35,000 per year, and that tax is going up by a modest 6 percent this year we're told.  If that isn't ridiculous, nothing is.  Makes Festool pricing seem tame by comparison.

Dixon,

The real estate tax issue here is a digression, and not to belabor the point, NJ RE taxesa re so bad, NJ had a net decrease in popuation last year. In my town, Glen Ridge, when the kids finish high school, the For Sale signs are out on the lawns..
Bob

 

[Peterm]

Now, regarding real estate taxes... my wife and I are currently paying (are you ready?) $35,000 per year...

I don't want to add to taking this thread any more OT, but I'm curious - when you refer to Real Estate taxes are these taxes that are levied when you sell a property, or an annual charge that goes to your local (state?) authority and so pays for public amenities (street cleaning, lighting, refuse collection etc...) - and the bureaucrats in public office, of course

I'm in London UK, and we have a 'council tax' paid to our local authority that's levied to all home-owners based on property value. Just curious as to how it works in the U.S.

Thanks, Pete.

 

[Bob Marino]

Now, regarding real estate taxes... my wife and I are currently paying (are you ready?) $35,000 per year...

I don't want to add to taking this thread any more OT, but I'm curious - when you refer to Real Estate taxes are these taxes that are levied when you sell a property, or an annual charge that goes to your local (state?) authority and so pays for public amenities (street cleaning, lighting, refuse collection etc...) - and the bureaucrats in public office, of course

I'm in London UK, and we have a 'council tax' paid to our local authority that's levied to all home-owners based on property value. Just curious as to how it works in the U.S.

Thanks, Pete.

Annual charge .

Bob

 

[Dixon Peer]

Right, annual charge for living in a place like Summit, New Jersey.  Sorry about the off topic subject here, but someone else started it.  The sale of your house, in New Jersey, brings with it more taxes.  The last house we closed on here cost us 31,000 dollars in transfer tax (goes to the State and County) and 13,000 dollars in tax to the City for its "affordable housing" obligation that is imposed by the State of N.J.  The State seems to think it OK to tax me because I'm in the business of building houses, but to leave my neighbors in town without this burden because they work on Wall Street. 

My wife and I started doing tear downs back in '88 long before it was so reviled in the media.  I think we do nice work, and you can see it at Peercon.com.  Anyway, the "affordable housing" tax is what they refer to as an impact fee.  I am still trying to figure out how taking a house down and replacing it with another has an impact on the local, state, or federal government, other than good.  The taxes on the new home, in the case of the above, are $38,000 per year; the taxes on the house that was removed to make room for the new one were $16,000/yr.  Seems like a positive impact to me, but I'm penalized for it.  I could have a few Kapex saws for the $13,000, right?

Oh, and also, there was a "millionaire's" tax when we bought the property that cost us $11,000.  Thank you ex governor McGreevy.

 

[graphex]

Well we're 'off topic' here, but I guess this thread started off as a review of how our festools cost more elsewhere and then how other tools also cost more outside the US for some reason, then the affect of VAT versus sales/use tax, and now will hopefully degrade into a through discussion of globalization, offshore accounting, and macroeconomics.

I, for one, love paying taxes. I only wish my tax rate was higher. I'm thinking that I might try to buy my next Festool from the UK, pay the VAT for it, see if I can fit some export/import duties in there, and then pay my state's use tax on it, and avoid writing it off as a business expense so I can still pay income tax on it.