rockler to sell Festool

[HowardH]

My local Rockler rep told me today that they will be selling Festool beginning in August.  They will be dedicating about 10 feet of shelf area to the line.  He also said they will be stocking a lot more than Woodcraft since they are corporate owned stores and not franchises where the franchisees may not have the money to buy a lot of inventory that they can afford.  Should be interesting to see if their customer base will accept such a high end product line.

 

[Toolpig]

Yikes!  I imagine a lot of the ISA's will take a hit.

TP

My local Rockler rep told me today that they will be selling Festool beginning in August.  They will be dedicating about 10 feet of shelf area to the line.  He also said they will be stocking a lot more than Woodcraft since they are corporate owned stores and not franchises where the franchisees may not have the money to buy a lot of inventory that they can afford.  Should be interesting to see if their customer base will accept such a high end product line.

 

[HowardH]

One would think so but I think guys like Bob and Shane have developed a good following by providing great service and that what Festool is all about.  It would be handy, though to pick up an accessory from time to time if you don't have time to wait 3-4 days.  My tool purchases will still be through Bob.   

 

[Dan Uhlir]

    What's Rockler? dan

 

[Paul Franklin]

Wow
What a mistake that is, for us here in the NW, both our Rockler stores are the worst run woodworking stores. They are the Walmart's of woodworking. The staff in one of the stores I am not sure if they even know what time of day it is. My woodcraft store has only one guy that is good with they line the rest don't seem interested.

I think its a shame if they do start carrying it, I for one would not buy from them. Don't get me wrong I do buy from Rocklerm, but not Festool.

Paul

 

[Bob Childress]

Well, when Rockler sells Festool it will be just like Woodcraft or other local dealers who jumped on the bandwagon. "Look, we have Festool!"

"Okay, explain to me which accessories will help me do XXX with my TS55.""

"Doh."

True story:

Went to a local dealer to see the DX93 sander. Salesman says "Want to try it out?" I say sure. After much tooing and froing finds a piece of wood and an abrasive sheet. Then looks at the CT22 on the floor, looks at the oval dust port on the DX93 and says: "Well, I guess we can't hook up the dust colleciton because we need an adaptor." Good-bye.

Might be okay for buying sandpaper but otherwise I'm not too excited.

 

[Matthew Schenker]

I also have a story with a "Good-Bye" ending...

I went into a local Festool seller, and wanted to take a look at the HL 850 E planer.  They didn't have it, but they had the DeWalt DW680K.  I said something like, "No, I'm interested in the Festool."  The salesperson says, "You know, they are really the same planer, just a different color."

Good-Bye.

Matthew

 

[woodshopdemos]

I also have a story with a "Good-Bye" ending...

I went into a local Festool seller, and wanted to take a look at the HL 850 E planer.  They didn't have it, but they had the DeWalt DW680K.  I said something like, "No, I'm interested in the Festool."  The salesperson says, "You know, they are really the same planer, just a different color."

Good-Bye.

Matthew

Matthew,
  That is the scary part and so often heard. I happen to have an outstanding Woodcraft store. I listen in on their presentations quite often. They do a pretty good job.
  As to Rockler, I love the store for what they offer, but major lines seem to come and go. They had CMT router bits and a few months and catalogs later, only the blue was offered. I doubt if Rockler is going to make a dent into ISO representation. That is the beauty of the Festool pricing. All sales sources are equal as far as th price goes...so you can buy from the person who knows the product and can serve you best. If Festool were not priced that way, Froogle and AMazon would be Festool resellers and CS would be zilch (metric 0)

 

[Bob MN]

As long as they offer free shipping and great service. Not having to pay sales tax will keep people coming to the ISA's. At least I will.

Yikes!  I imagine a lot of the ISA's will take a hit.

TP

My local Rockler rep told me today that they will be selling Festool beginning in August.  They will be dedicating about 10 feet of shelf area to the line.  He also said they will be stocking a lot more than Woodcraft since they are corporate owned stores and not franchises where the franchisees may not have the money to buy a lot of inventory that they can afford.  Should be interesting to see if their customer base will accept such a high end product line.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

My local Rockler stocks and sells some rather expensive router lifts and tables by Jessum.  I would think people willing to spend on those may also see the value of Festool products.  But I would rather continue to deal with ISAs who really know the Festool products they sell.  Besides, my nearest Rockler or Woodcraft store is >20 miles one way from my home.  If they don't have the item I need in stock, a telephone call to an ISA gets the products to me quicker.  I am more likely to go to Rockler for a particular piece of wood to accent a project or a router bit or clamps or finishing supplies, not major tools.

Dave R.

 

[warpedbored]

I don't know which Rockler stores some of you have been shopping at where you have gotten such terrible service.  I can tell you that if you don't get good service at a Rockler store the company wants to know about it.  I work for Rockler and I hear day in and day out how much better our service is than the other woodworking supply stores in our area.  It will take a little time for Rockler associates to get up to speed on Festool but in our store if we don't know the answer to a question we call up our Festool rep and ask him.  Our customers don't go away without an answer.  Rockler has made a major investment into Festool  products for demos alone.  We have about 15 feet of prime wall space and probably 50 sf of floor space dedicated to the product.  I believe that Rockler is in the product line to stay.  Here is a link to a Rockler blog on Festool. http://www.rockler.com/blog/index.cfm
I would like to thank the Festool owners who have come into the store I work in.  They have been very patient with me while I am getting to know the product better. 

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I have no complaints about the customer service and help that has consistently been offered to me at my local Rockler's store (west side of Cleveland, OH).  But they are not yet experts in Festool products.  It remains to be seen what my local store will become regarding Festool.  And what they will stock.  When I last visited my local Woodcraft store (SE side of Cleveland), they were already a Festool dealer, but they had very limited stock and even less knowledge than the recent newbies at "my" Rockler store.  I also have a 3rd dealer in my locale, Hartville Hardware, who was among the first to become a stocking dealer in USA.  They carry a decent amount and variety of inventory, but even after a couple of years, their in-store staff were not that knowledgeable about Festool products.  [Soon they should have their Fall tool show special which I will likely attend.  In the past they have had a Festool factory representative demonstrate various Festool products and help people to make product choices and address particular user issues.  I have found those sessions most helpful to my learning curve, but the local store staff aren't in the audience because they are selling whatever product by any manufacturer is of interest to any customer.]  So I remain of the opinion that there is no good substitute for the excellent independent dealers who participate on FOG, and plan to continue to give much of my business to them.

Dave R.

 

[HowardH]

I went to the local Rockler store at lunch and they had a very complete display of not only the tools, but the accessories as well.  He said any Festool purchases would also qualify for the Rockler club benefits program which is for every $200 spent, Festool included, you get a $20 gift card.  Sales tax is still 8.25% so it's no big deal and I would rather buy from Bob anyway.    He wasn't sure if the company would continue that to include Festool.  So far, only 3 guys have bought anything from them but they bought a boat load of stuff.  I still think the staff is less than enthusiastic but time will tell.  First time I have seen a boom arm in person and I can see why everyone is gung ho about them. 

 

[Bob Childress]

I don't know which Rockler stores some of you have been shopping at where you have gotten such terrible service.  I can tell you that if you don't get good service at a Rockler store the company wants to know about it.  I

My illustration of salesperson ignorance was not at a Rockler store. I don't have a Rockler store anywhere near me, so I can't comment. But I buy a good bit of hardware from Rockler on-line.

It is my considered opinion (probably wrong, of course) that upselling from DeWalt, say, to Festool is not going to happen. People will come in looking for Festo or not. So really, the edge goes to the sales people who know the product and its application. Every Rockler and Woodcraft associate should be required to log in to this forum 2 or 3 hours a week for a while. They will soon pick up on the finer points of the products. 

 

[warpedbored]

Good advice Bob.  I am doing just that.  Rockler also encourages their employees to buy Festool.  They believe it is easier to sell a product that you own some of yourself.  Today I took my new TS 55 and MF 1080 table  for a spin.  I'm impressed.  I am building some laundry room cabinets out of melamine for my wife.  Even with the standard blade it cuts melamine with perfectly smooth edges.  I could use some tips though on getting sheet goods down to a more managable size faster though. 

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I suggest you check out John Lucas' posts here and at his Woodshop demos site, and the manual by Jerry Work, too.  There are many posts on FOG about aids for supporting sheet goods and for rapidly and accurately positioning the guide rails for cutting with the TS 55.  Try the search function using key words.  It works pretty well, too.

Dave R.

 

[tvgordon]

I just viewed Rockler's monthly ad online.  I thought it was kind of funny that under the photo of the Festool tools it read "lowest price guaranteed".  It's true but still a little deceiving to those who don't know that all dealers charge the same price.
Tom.

 

[warpedbored]

I agree but Rockler will match prices on any power tool.