Seems Festool will be sold at Lee Valley now

Good news for a lot I think, they say every item festool sells will be available on line except the air tools and router bits, this could be bad news for a lot of dealers. I tried to place an order last weekend but could not find a dealer with everything I wanted. If I can go to one place and get it all thats where I`ll be.
 
Wow, it's kind of funny seeing the Festool tab on their website.
I buy the majority of my hand tools, and bits from them, get a lot of hardware as well.
They have really fast shipping to NY, for just the regular rates.
 
I wonder how they'll work out the US / Canada pricing given that they ship to both?

This is great news for me as I order almost every month from Lee Valley.
 
I thought I read that Festool will only be sold by Lee Valley to customers in Canada.
 
Rob Lee has been a member here for a long time , but only in lurker status. He recently "delurked" (last week) in  another thread and is now listed as a Festool dealer with a corresponding color change to his user  name. Yes, he commented that they will only be selling Festool in Canada.

I am sure he will chime in here soon.

Seth
 
Richard Leon said:
I wonder how they'll work out the US / Canada pricing given that they ship to both?

This is great news for me as I order almost every month from Lee Valley.

Hi Richard -

Festool distribution agreements prohibit shipping across international borders, so our sales of the Festool line will be limited to Canada. Tanos, however, we can ship to USA.

Cheers -

Rob
 
Tim Raleigh said:
Richard Leon said:
This is great news for me as I order almost every month from Lee Valley.

...and I thought I was bad... [big grin]

I think you're both VERY good.... ;D

Cheers -

Rob
 
Thanks Rob. You're not making things easier for me you know! :) maybe it will be two orders a month now!
 
As a very loyal customer of both Festool and Lee Valley, I have mixed feelings about this.  ???

Four years ago, I would have been very happy with this announcement. Now, I am not so sure. That's because, four years ago, the only dealer that could sell Festool in Canada was Haffle and their knowledge and support of the product line was (with a couple of noteable exceptions) abysmal. Now, there are dealers in Canada, such as Dan Clermont, who went out on a limb and provide excellent Festool support who will probably be hurt by this competition.

 
Frank Pellow said:
As a very loyal customer of both Festool and Lee Valley, I have mixed feelings about this.  ???

Four years ago, I would have been very happy with this announcement. Now, I am not so sure. That's because, four years ago, the only dealer that could sell Festool in Canada was Haffle and their knowledge and support of the product line was (with a couple of noteable exceptions) abysmal. Now, there are dealers in Canada, such as Dan Clermont, who went out on a limb and provide excellent Festool support who will probably be hurt by this competition.

As one of the earliest Festool dealers, I was always concerned when I read that a new dealer was entering the fray. My rep just kept telling me that the more dealers there were, the more our sales would increase. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but he was correct. The landscape has changed since those days (2003 as I recall), but when there are a limited number of dealers, I suspect additional points of distribution will, up to a point, increase sales for everyone.

Jim Ray
 
I'd be interested in some of those Festool training things you folks down south seem to go to down at my local Lee.
 
JimRay said:
Frank Pellow said:
As a very loyal customer of both Festool and Lee Valley, I have mixed feelings about this.  ???

Four years ago, I would have been very happy with this announcement. Now, I am not so sure. That's because, four years ago, the only dealer that could sell Festool in Canada was Haffle and their knowledge and support of the product line was (with a couple of noteable exceptions) abysmal. Now, there are dealers in Canada, such as Dan Clermont, who went out on a limb and provide excellent Festool support who will probably be hurt by this competition.

As one of the earliest Festool dealers, I was always concerned when I read that a new dealer was entering the fray. My rep just kept telling me that the more dealers there were, the more our sales would increase. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but he was correct. The landscape has changed since those days (2003 as I recall), but when there are a limited number of dealers, I suspect additional points of distribution will, up to a point, increase sales for everyone.

Jim Ray

I am glad that you posted this.  I was down in your neck of the Virginia woods this past weekend  [thumbs up] and actually had some discussions with people about this exact thing.  Competition when things are equal except for one deciding factor to be determined is a good thing.  Dan provides excellent service in my opinion based on the reports of people here.  He doesn't have to worry about competing on price with other dealers.  Those who perform or out perform in the area(s) that they can control will rise to the top, just like Jim's company did.

Peter
 
I've bought just about all my Festool from Dan across the continent having never even met him face to face.  Supreme level of service and dedication to his customers imo.  I don't think he has much to worry about. 

LV carrying Festool creates more awareness in the marketplace, and especially with Festool, adds credibility which will push many off the fence.  This announcement is good for all.
 
I guess I'm quite fortunate, as Dan's shop is about a 20 minute drive from my home  [big grin] Earlier this year a local tool dealer began selling the Festool line. I just had to grind them  ;D

I was in there showing another customer how to use a ts55 - he thought it was just an expensive skil saw! so I'm yappin away and look around, there's the sales guy watching me LOL

Dan's got nothing to worry about, his service and knowledge is absolutely the best. You can also try out some of the tools at his shop.

And say hi to buddy his dog - don't trip on him walking in the door!
 
To me this is wonderful news! I bought my first Festool tools in Germany. We brought them back on the plane as carry on luggage, except the guide, which had to go as oversized luggage. We sure got some looks when we went through security and we got to go through the enhanced security process. (I'm sure it's not every day a family comes through the airport with a router and track saw but everything fit in the Systainers!) Customs agents were great too and gave me the best duty rate they could find on the books. I wired my garage as 220V so that I could use them, but that was easy to do.

Later on, my vac came from California because that was the only dealer in North America.

Even later still, I added an orbital sander, cordless drill and a larger router but I was able to get those here in Edmonton.

I always thought that if LV sold power tools, Festool would be a good match. I'm glad others agree. Now I'll be able to do more of my shopping in one store!
 
Tom welcome to the Festool Owner's Group from a fellow Canadian.

You are the first person that I have heard of in Canada that has owned Festool tools longer than I have.  But, I knew that there must be some, and it's good to hear from one of them.
 
In my humble opinion, competition is always good.  Given that pricing is out of the equation, and all the dealers are on equal footing,  knowledge, service and stock availability will be the determining factor.  In the end, I think the overall increased greater exposure to the Festool line of tools will benefit all dealers.

Demetrius
 
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