Festool Recon

[BBorch]

Just an FYI.  All sales at the Festool Recon website are final. It is in very fine print. In other words, no returns. 
This contradicts the Festool website stating a 30 day return for any reason.

I recently got a Domino 500 that was less than acceptable condition and performance. And the game begins......

 

[Cheese]

I think that no return policy refers to cosmetic issues only. Within the last year I purchased a MIDI I that was damaged in shipment. Upon arrival, I took a photo of the shipping box and a photo of the damaged item, contacted Festool and the same day they sent me a return label and sent out a new vacuum.

 

[pixelated]

That all sales are final is the third item in the FAQ. Not exactly hidden fine print.

The first item in FAQ lays out the 1 year warranty

It also states that the tools may be used or dealer returns and that they may have been serviced to bring them up to new tool specs.

If it's not functioning correctly, that should be covered in the warranty.

 

[squall_line]

Just an FYI.  All sales at the Festool Recon website are final. It is in very fine print. In other words, no returns. 
This contradicts the Festool website stating a 30 day return for any reason.

I recently got a Domino 500 that was less than acceptable condition and performance. And the game begins......

The Festool 30-day return policy is on new tools only.

I made a similar mistake on Recon when I was on the fence between a corded HK55 and the cordless HKC55.  I still have them both, but the HK55 hasn't seen any use beyond making sure it runs.  That reminds me, I really need to list that...

As others have stated, the final-sale policy is on the Recon website, and if there's actually something wrong with the tool functionally (rather than "it doesn't behave as I expect it to"), they will warranty it out if they have another RECON unit in stock to replace it, or they will refund you if they don't have any recon replacements left.  That last point is also important: if a Recon tool comes to you broken or in unusable condition, the replacement will also be a Reconditioned unit, or a refund if they don't have any in stock, at Festool's discretion.

 

[Ron B]

I always assumed Recon were items returned under their 30 day warranty, or excess inventory returned by dealers because of new model, etc.  However, my son very recently purchased a 1400 router from Recon that had been heavily used and had a manufacturing date of 2016.  With inventory shortages I doubt if a dealer had that old of stock in inventory.  What else does Recon sell?  If something failed under the 3 year warranty, it is fixed and returned to the original purchaser so would not appear on the Recon site.  If I return an older tool out of warranty for repair, decide the repair quote is too high, and abandon the tool, are these junkers repaired and then sold under Recon? 

There is a lot of difference in something used for 30 days and something used for five or six years. 

 

[squall_line]

I always assumed Recon were items returned under their 30 day warranty, or excess inventory returned by dealers because of new model, etc.  However, my son very recently purchased a 1400 router from Recon that had been heavily used and had a manufacturing date of 2016.  With inventory shortages I doubt if a dealer had that old of stock in inventory.  What else does Recon sell?  If something failed under the 3 year warranty, it is fixed and returned to the original purchaser so would not appear on the Recon site.  If I return an older tool out of warranty for repair, decide the repair quote is too high, and abandon the tool, are these junkers repaired and then sold under Recon? 

There is a lot of difference in something used for 30 days and something used for five or six years.

I remember reading about that situation some time last summer, too, with another father/son pair.

"Recon" stands for "reconditioned".  It can be anything from a tool returned completely unused during the 30-day period through a tool abused and returned during the 30-day period to a tool abandoned or deemed not viable to fix by the owner or even a tool that was replaced during warranty and then re-sold after refurbishment.  I would guess that once in a while the Recon offerings also include new-old-stock from a dealer that closed but had a good relationship with Festool, but that seems to be pretty rare.

If not for the "abandoned or deemed not viable to repair" tools, you probably wouldn't see RS2, RAS115, and other "rare" tools on the Recon website.

The tools are supposed to be reconditioned to like-new usability (though not necessarily like-new appearance), but with a one-year warranty because they are confirmed used tools.  How they get to the point of being reconditioned is from a pretty wide funnel.

 

[Ron B]

Thank you Squall_Line for the explanation.  My 1400 from Recon was almost new, as were some of the other items I purchased.  I was just surprised at my son's 1400 manufacturing date being so old.  Heck, my drywall gun was like new and was 50% off Manufacturing date was the current year-probably one of those returns from a guy that abused the 30 day no question ask policy and had one job to do.

I think Recon had better discounts and items before the supply line problems.  I guess it is just luck of the draw. 

 

[cdconey]

Not sure if this pricing structure still holds true, but back in the day Festool reconditioned tools were 10%, 20% and 30% off list. 

You could judge what condition the tool would be in before you received it.

10% off was nearly new, 20% cosmetic wear,  and 30% definitely showed signs of use, but was serviceable. 

The only issue i have had with Recon purchases over 20 years was when I ordered a ETS 150/3 and received a ETS 150/5.  Decided to keep the /5, even though Festool offered to return it and replace it when one was available.

I've also sent back a CT Midi purchased from Recon which failed within the 1 year warranty window, came back repaired.

 

[4nthony]

However, my son very recently purchased a 1400 router from Recon that had been heavily used and had a manufacturing date of 2016. 
...
There is a lot of difference in something used for 30 days and something used for five or six years.

That was one of the reasons I added catalog years to the Recon Slack messages. If you were to buy this PDC18, there's a pretty good chance you might be getting a SKU and batteries that are ~6 years old.

But then you've got something like this Rotex 90. The SKU has been active for at least 10 years. How old is the product you're buying?

There could be active SKUs that don't make it into subsequent catalogs meaning this is by no means an exact science.

It would be nice if Festool would group their Recon products by manufacture date or give some other indication of a product's vintage.

 

[BBorch]

Last thoughts on Festool Recon......

I have been a loyal customer and have had past problems with Festool Recon units.  I am grow weary and tired of the games.  There has been previous post by others with bad Racon units.  One of them was a completely disassemble unit, a box of parts was sent to the customer.  How can this pass the Festool quality inspection?????  Festool quality is not what it used to be.

On there other hand, Axminister Tools offers sale prices on new Festool. In the past the sales prices have been within $5-$10 of the Festool Recon price and free shipping over $100.  Beware $800 and over your may need to pay a duty import tax, depending on your business.  Axminister has been in business for over 50 years.  I purchased from Axminister in the past and plan to continue in the future.

I am done with Festool Recon and wish everyone the best of luck....  BBorch

 

[squall_line]

I'm sorry to hear that you've had these issues.

That said, with all things, caveat emptor.

Axminster is located in the UK.  Recon only sells to the US.

Axminster is forbidden from selling and shipping to the North American market, although plenty of people have found ways around this.

That said, there is no guarantee that you will receive a US-market 110V tool (if it has a plug-it cord, this is not necessarily a huge deal, but most of the more expensive tools are hard-wired), no guarantee that you will be able to register the tool for the warranty, and as you pointed out, duties and imports may apply.

To claim that a purchase from Axminster is easier and "safer" than a purchase from Recon is dangerous advice to be putting out.

 

[4nthony]

Received a CXS 18 Kit today. One of the included batteries is throwing a fault when placed on the charger. The kit was also missing the Keyless Chuck and the Angle Adapter.

I'm a fan of buying tools from Recon but my last two purchases have had problems. These seem like simple things that any competent QA person should've noticed.

Maybe there should be a Recon Problems thread. I'd be curious if there's a growing trend of issues with Recon purchases or if these are just one-off random issues.

/rant

 

[onocoffee]

Received a CXS 18 Kit today. One of the included batteries is throwing a fault when placed on the charger. The kit was also missing the Keyless Chuck and the Angle Adapter.

I'm a fan of buying tools from Recon but my last two purchases have had problems. These seem like simple things that any competent QA person should've noticed.

Maybe there should be a Recon Problems thread. I'd be curious if there's a growing trend of issues with Recon purchases or if these are just one-off random issues.

/rant

I'm interested to hear what FT CS is going to do to rectify your situation.

 

[4nthony]

I'm interested to hear what FT CS is going to do to rectify your situation.

Customer service replied to my email saying they would be sending a replacement battery along with the missing chucks.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Customer service replied to my email saying they would be sending a replacement battery along with the missing chucks.

That's good! Now you can see if the battery was failing because the charge was too low, in which case you can charge it up a bit with another battery and then try it again in the charger!

 

[4nthony]

That's good! Now you can see if the battery was failing because the charge was too low, in which case you can charge it up a bit with another battery and then try it again in the charger!

How does that work?

I remember seeing a random video where someone used alligator clips to connect batteries together but I don't remember the specifics or which contacts connected to which. I'll have to research it to see what the connections are for these batteries.

I have a battery tender for auto batteries that can supposedly repair batteries. I would've thought that the Festool charger could've done the same?

 

[luvmytoolz]

How does that work?

I remember seeing a random video where someone used alligator clips to connect batteries together but I don't remember the specifics or which contacts connected to which. I'll have to research it to see what the connections are for these batteries.

I have a battery tender for auto batteries that can supposedly repair batteries. I would've thought that the Festool charger could've done the same?

For most tools if the batteries fall below a certain threshold the charger can't "read" them to charge accordingly.

Putting a bit of juice into them is trivial and simply requires identifying the negative and positive terminals, and connecting a wire from a good battery to the flat one for a few minutes pos to pos and neg to neg.

I did this with my Mirka batteries that were DOA, and after a couple of minutes they had enough charge to be read and charged properly, and have performed stellar since.

 

[4nthony]

I wonder if the recent terminations mentioned in the “Festool Live is Dead” post also carried over to warehouse/shipping/QC staff?

Received a CXS18 Basic today and this has been like my 3rd or 4th consecutive Recon order that has had either missing or damaged parts. In this case, the chuck and belt clip were not included.

Fortunately, Recon CS is pretty good about sending replacements, but seriously, someone managed to toss a new manual in the box but didn’t notice the missing chuck?

 

[MacBoy]

These bad experiences need to get to the attention of the Festool USA leadership. The one described by @4nthony is not a unique outlier.

Specifically the CEO needs to be aware of an increase in disappointing fulfillment and delivery.

They already have the metrics via our engagements with the Customer Service center. Dashboards, reports, etc.

We as consumers and fans tend to give Festool a break on these things. We chuckle and say “it’s an anomaly”.

We have discretionary money to spend, and it’s time for us to use our 360º influence on Festool USA to improve their act.

 

[Chainring]

A couple of years ago, I purchased a brushed CXS off recon and it was supposed to be the current one in a Sys3. As in, the SKU on Recon was on the main FUSA site. What I received was a Sys3 with a older CXS, the one with post type batteries. Everything had been used and quite a bit. I contacted Recon and told them it was not what I ordered. They sent a return label, then refunded me when they received the unit. Other than that, all other tools purchased off Recon have been perfect.