Reconditioned tools from Festool
- Thread starter yfd48
- Start date
Every now and then Festool runs a reconditioned tool program. At that time you purchase through your preferred dealer.
Depending on condition the tools usually sell at 10, 20, or 30% off the original price.
It's a bit of a waiting game until the next sale comes around.
Ken
Depending on condition the tools usually sell at 10, 20, or 30% off the original price.
It's a bit of a waiting game until the next sale comes around.
Ken
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- Jan 22, 2007
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- 11,163
If I had to guess, I'd say it'll be a while until another recon sale. Festool was able to move a lot of reconditioned tools during the Connect event at their USA headquarters in September.
In a way, Tyler did say they were working on a new format for the recon sale in 2017. So to answer the original question, what they have done in the past has been flawed depending on your perspective. The format will be different, in what ways nobody knows yet. As to when, does 2017 narrow it down for you? 
That's how I interpreted Tyler's statement, though I'm not sure that's how he wanted it interpreted.
That's how I interpreted Tyler's statement, though I'm not sure that's how he wanted it interpreted. yfd48 said:
I can't speak for the sale they had during the Connect event - I wasn't even aware of it until I read it here - but prior to that, I bought several recon'd tools. As others have mentioned, those sales didn't hit during any specific time of year. In fact, I am not sure they even happened every year. I believe it was dependent on how many items they had in their recon stock that would drive when the sale was.
The way it worked was that a handful of Festool dealers would participate. There was an online list of inventory, supposedly in real time, that some dealers posted on their site but you could not purchase direct from Festool or submit an order online. You had to get a hold of your dealer via phone or email and they would then have to submit the order to Festool. As you can imagine, there's a bit of lag in that process so if by the time you saw what you wanted, someone else may have also contacted their dealer and submitted an order for the same tool before yours, you'd loose out. I think I recall the online site saying if there was low inventory next to the item so it would give you an idea if you were competing for a "rare" or low-stock item.
I tried to work with one very well regarded dealer on here for this sale and frankly, I could tell he was overwhelmed and it was a huge pain in the butt for him.
During the recon sale, popular tools would go quickly and occasionally, there would be more of the same tool that would pop up later in the sale so it was always worthwhile to keep checking the list. The tools I remember getting on the sale were a planer, a domino, a Ti 15 and a CT mini. Most of those were 30% or 20% off and honestly, the only thing I could ever tell was used was the CT mini which had a tiny amount of dust in it. I would buy festool recon'd tools again in a heartbeat, especially at 30% off.
Dave
Cheese
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DaveZ said:
That explanation sums it up nicely. [thumbs up]
During the sale several years ago, my local Rockler, Woodcraft, ACME & Seven Corners Hardware stores either declined to participate or were unaware of the sale. So the first challenge was to just find a participating dealer. Then the dealer needed to have a sense of urgency when placing an order or you would never "win" an item. It was ugly...
I also don't think there was a lot of monetary gain involved from a dealer perspective. Rather like the current Pro 5 dilemma. A lot of babysitting and hand holding for the delivery of little product.
The good thing is that as long as the 30-day return policy is in effect, there will be a sale at some point. [big grin]
