Festool Recon Topic (compiled)

Cordless Jigsaw CARVEX PSBC 420 EB-Basic is now posted (D-handle, cordless, no batteries or charger)
 
GoingMyWay said:
The last 2 tools didn't last long!  The CT 48 E Dust Extractor just posted.

Dang!  I'd been waiting on that PSC 420 all day and took a short break from refreshing like a crazy person.  Guess it wasn't meant to be!
 
Interestingly enough (to me, at least), the PDC is listed despite the Trion PSB 300 not selling through yesterday.  It appears that they have a desire to rotate through to keep the offering fresh if the sun sets on a tool that isn't moving and there are still others in the queue.

Also interestingly enough, there is a Metric Installer's Organizer Set (with the M-89-Org systainer) listed in the queue today.  First time that I personally have seen a non-power tool listed in the Recon.

I almost regret posting that, as I have a selfish desire to grab it myself, but I'm surely not the only one who saw it.

Considering that there are (or were) at least a half-dozen of those left at my local Acme, maybe they're just buying them back from retailers and selling them on Recon, or doing the same for stores that closed up shop last year?
 
Always.. Always check (read) the exact item you are buying.. and after it gets delivered open the box inspect the item. If you find anything missing you can get it addressed by their sales dept. Couple of my recent purchases i found some items were missing.. ensure what you ordered is what you got.
 
Blues said:
Always.. Always check (read) the exact item you are buying.. and after it gets delivered open the box inspect the item. If you find anything missing you can get it addressed by their sales dept. Couple of my recent purchases i found some items were missing.. ensure what you ordered is what you got.

This is always a good point.

My Trion PS300 was missing one of the two blades that it was supposed to come with.  As one of the lower-priced consumables for the product, I just let it slide, as the staff time and shipping far outweighs the price of the single missing blade.

If it had been a missing TS or HK blade, much different story.

My Domino was missing the trim stop.  It took a little while to get a replacement because they were out of stock at home base, which may explain why it was missing in the first place.
 
GoingMyWay said:
Installation Organizer Kit - Metric Version just posted.

Interesting caveat on that kit:
"Note: This is an open box item and minor cosmetic/surface scratches should be expected.  Item has complete scope of delivery.  Non-returnable, all sales are final."

I was waiting for it to post up, expecting to pull the trigger.  Then I did like I always do and waited until it was available to start researching it.  Doesn't appear to include anything that I don't already have other than PZ drivers.
 
squall_line said:
I was waiting for it to post up, expecting to pull the trigger.  Then I did like I always do and waited until it was available to start researching it.  Doesn't appear to include anything that I don't already have other than PZ drivers.

I've kind of wanted one of these since they were released - for whatever reason, I just find this set appealing.  But I've never been able to go through with it for exactly the same reason (down the the PZ driver being the only thing I don't have). I still think it's a pretty set, though.

Edit:
I just looked closer, and per the scope of delivery, this set appears to be missing the nut drivers.
 
Dr. P. Venkman said:
Edit:
I just looked closer, and per the scope of delivery, this set appears to be missing the nut drivers.

I have a hard time reconciling "This item has complete scope of delivery" with the incomplete "Contents:" listing.

For "only" 20% off instead of the usual 25%, I would probably call FUSA and ask before pulling the trigger if I was truly that interested.

I definitely agree that it's a pretty set.  I think the Large Centrotec Installer sets (of which a new version has been released in EU but not yet in NA) are prettier, especially the older version in the TLoc with the captive drill index/set. :)
 
squall_line said:
I have a hard time reconciling "This item has complete scope of delivery" with the incomplete "Contents:" listing.

For "only" 20% off instead of the usual 25%, I would probably call FUSA and ask before pulling the trigger if I was truly that interested.

I definitely agree that it's a pretty set.  I think the Large Centrotec Installer sets (of which a new version has been released in EU but not yet in NA) are prettier, especially the older version in the TLoc with the captive drill index/set. :)

I took it to mean "despite what normally comes in the set, the complete scope of delivery is listed in the item description below," but that may not be right.  Agree that I wouldn't purchase it without confirming.

Yeah, if they re-released that Centrotec set, I would jump on it instantly.
 
I’ve not done the math here but there has been a substantial amount of items which have sold through the Recon site since late last year.  Am I the only one who wonders why there’s such an abundance of reconditioned tools?  For me, it seems people either tried them out and were displeased and returned them or there’s a whole lot of quality returns, both of which set off warning bells in my mind, at least for the specific tools which have sold in abundance.  I like a sale like the next person but I’d almost want to chart the quantities of each tool and stay away from those which had high volume of Recon ...
 
I'm not sure there's as much to worry about here as you might think. For one thing, Festool keeps its tool designs for a long time. Many of the tools you can buy today have been available in the same basic form for a decade or more, with only minor tweaks for usability improvements every few years. Given that Festool's warranty is so broad, this suggests that they're overall fairly confident about the durability of what they're selling: if things were falling apart, it would be a much bigger problem for them than the customers and would likely prompt design changes. (And despite what a lot of people seem to think, it's actually pretty hard to plan obsolescence into devices with widely-varying usage patterns such that they will predictably fail after their warranty expires but not before.)

The other big factors are that because that warranty is so broad, and covers wear-and-tear during the first three years of ownership, people will be more inclined to send tools in for service or replacement for relatively trivial issues resulting from hard usage that they likely wouldn't have bothered with if they had to pay for it themselves. Combined with their turnaround time guarantees, this is going to result in some number of tools that will be replaced rather than repaired, leaving the old tool to be reconditioned and resold. The no-questions-asked 30 day return policy also likely contributes to a number of tools being "borrowed" from dealers and then returned with light usage for a full refund. (I would especially expect this with more specialized tools that people need infrequently.)

The last thing I would note is that the Recon site doesn't seem to go through all that many units in the average day. We're talking dozens at most in a highly active day, likely, based on how long they last and how many people we know are buying them just from posts here on the FOG. We notice them all because we're a bunch of crazy fanboys paying close attention, but in the grand scheme of things, for a company that does north of $400m USD in sales every year, this is barely a rounding error.

My gut guess would be that the higher volume of Recon tools relative to the past is largely an artifact of the brand being much better-known than it used to be, and the number of people picking up hobby woodworking having spiked due to the pandemic.
 
I agree with [member=71910]Cypren[/member] .  The other thing that I keep in the back of my mind is that some of the older tools that come into people's hands may also be NOS (New, Old Stock) from retailers that closed their doors.  I don't know what Festool's sell-through policy is with their dealers as far as obsolete/discontinued tools and stock returns vs. discounts, but we all know that discounts at dealers are almost impossible to come by unless a tool has been discontinued or sitting on a shelf for a long number of years.

I think some people have gotten tools with > 3 year old production dates through Recon.  Those sometimes appear to be in better shape than some of the tools that were produced within the last 3-4 months which often looks used and appear to be from the 30-day guarantee.

As far as the specialty "use it for a project and return it" tools, that's the going theory on the Planexes (Planixes?) when they show up on Recon.  I can't see someone buying a CXS for a single project just to return it when they're done, but I can definitely see that with a Planex.  The CXS is likely more of a "just didn't fit my needs" sort of a return, or a warranty return that didn't get turned around in time.
 
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