SysPort pricing thoughts---

[PeterK]

The Systainers start to work best IF you go the full system approach. Meaning--- we really need the SysPorts. (Realized this when I went to Festool in Indy and saw racks of SysPorts) Then ready access to the contents of a top opening box becomes so much easier but--- so pricey if you don't make your own. I wish Festool rethought the pricing on the SysPorts. This is one item that should be offered at their cost including shipping as a finishing item to "the system". I don't complain normally about pricing on Festool stuff but the SysPort is really up there for what it is. I know shipping is a large part of the price just like it is on the long rails. Seems that they need to be offered in a knock-down version (maybe they are - never asked) to keep shipping low. One does not realize they need the SysPort until they develop a collection of the tools. By then they have a significant investment and Festool has made a fair profit. Just seems like a logical item to offer at as low a price as practical as a "reward" for the multiple purchases and as a reason or temptation to continue the tool addiction. Yea I am dreaming.  [smile]  In my shop, most of my Festools reside on shelves to provide fast access since I don't have the ports. The SysPorts would sure make my life easier but I would need 4 to hold my stuff and I just can't justify $2300 for them and have other things to build instead of my own versions at this time. Come on Christian - a special offer to your loyal FOGgers!!!    How about a "group buy"?

 

[Chris Hughes]

They are nice, but lower on my list of must haves.  After meeting a class full of Festool nutballs I found out my collection is woefully lacking.

 

[score0matic]

Compare it to a Snap-on, Mac box of the same size?  I am asking a question that I don't know the answer to.  If sysports are the same or less.  I dont think there is an issue, however if sysports are more $$$ than these Top Shelf tools then I would have to say you are right.

Craig.....checking this out further

EDIT:  WOW and I thot Festool was $$$$$$$ they don't hold a candle to snapon

 

[justinmcf]

for what the sysport is, it is grossly over priced.
i have made my own from mdf.
i dont understand why people spend so much on festool accessories when they can make their own.
the sysport and vac boom arm are a perfect example.

regards, justin.

 

[JohnDistai]

Mwuhahahaahahaaahahaaha mwuhhaahahahahahahaha mwuahahaahaaahahahahah - (Festool laughing all the way to the bank).

I just bought a handful of tools.  I really find the systainers to be a pain.  I have to stack, unstack, shuffle, restack, move, and then find a clean spot to open the thing, remove the tool, and then place the systainer somewhere.  It is really inefficient unless you have the sysport.  I think they realize that and that's why they charge so much.

I've noticed a trend with Festool.  The higher the convenience, the higher the price.  They aren't stupid and they realize that time is money, so they charge for that.  That's their prerogative, and it is consistent with my other recent posts.

One thing that puzzles me though.  Why does it seem like systainers are some sort of "prestige" item that elicits envy from others.  They are merely plastic boxes that are a pain to handle unless you have the dough to get the sysports.  I'm puzzled.

 

[vkumar]

John,

I will be happy to take the systainers off your hands.  I wlll even pay for shipping.  Seriously.

Back on the subject, I have seen the work done by many here and in others in ww forums so will be making my own version  sysport in the near future.

Vijay

 

[score0matic]

John

 

[mouppe]

I think sysports are expensive and would not buy one when I can build one quite easily. But are they out of line with general tool storage in the market? At Canadian Tire they sell a tool chest- with drawers- for $600 plus. Probably slightly inferior quality too. Canadian Tire was just the first retailer that came to mind when I looked for a comparison. Mind you, I wouldn't buy that one either!

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/ToolStorage/MastercraftMechanicsToolChests/PRD~0580818P/Mastercraft%252BMaximum%252B26-in.%252BSix-drawer%252BCabinet.jsp

More importantly, and this is a personal bugbear, Festool really need to do something about the pricing in Canada. Most Festool products now cost over 20% less in the US than in Canada given the Canadian dollar strength. Apple change their prices every three months to eliminate price discrepancies between the two countries. This is much fairer for dealers and does not encourage consumers to cross the border to buy their goods. Even accounting for customs duty, the saving is too compelling to ignore. I try to buy from my local Festool dealer because I want to support his business, but recently I have been heading south to buy the big Festool items and I just buy the accessories locally.

So come on, Festool, how about a mid-year price adjustment?

(Rant over.)

 

[Wood_Junkie]

I don't have any Sysports, and won't (probably) ever buy any.  They're just boxes with wheels and drawers... and lotsa cash.  It pains me enough to buy empty boxes for over $60...

With that said, I recently finished making my own built-in sysport style thing under my workshop tabletop (pics to be posted at some point... shop is embarassingly messy).  Cost me about $100 for slides and plywood and holds a lot of plastic boxes.  I made them the depth of two Systainers (so they're vertical, as well as front-back).

As convenient as a real Sysport?  Heck no!  I have to remove each Sys to get into it's contents (they're set very close together so the lids can't open).  The trade off of only needing 6 sets of drawer slides was that I have two levels that are double-stacked.  So to get to my hole drilling unit, I have to remove my router which sits in front, then the rear-stack, and finally the router bit box that is the top of the stack...

Mine:  Space efficient, fairly convenient *storage*... not so convenient *access*.  Not mobile at all.

I think the Sysports provide all of these.  You are not buying a logical and cost effective shelving unit.  You are buying *convenience*....  Mobility, access, and storage.  It's like when Domino's (the pizza place, not the holy tool) came into being.  You weren't paying for their crappy pizza, but rather the novel and great idea of delivered food.

PS:  'fore you say 'What a dummo setting them so close together', I only had 24" of depth to work with, and 1/4" to spare width-wise... I'm pretty proud I have 16 Systainers in the space of a sink base cabinet for a hundo-bucks.  [smile]

 

[JohnDistai]

I'll build one so I can learn how to build something worthwhile and so that I can experience the supposed nirvana of the item of envy, the systainer.  It was tough enough justifying the boom arm.  There is no way that I could justify buying one of these.  However, I *would* buy one if the price were lower, say $300.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Sell me your unwanted systainers, not Craig.

Once again like so many times over and over, why keep pissing and moaning about the price?

It is what it is, if it is too much found another route, or buy something else.

I would buy sysports vs. building them.  My time spent doing it would be more then just buying one.

I really don't have a need for one, I don't think I would be wheeling it in and out of my trailer or anything like that.

 

[PeterK]

Instead of buying 4 at current price, I will probably try making them and using the savings to get the Kapex so Festool will still make money.  ;D

Being lazy, I would purchase them but needing 4, it is just too much money and on the flip side, needing 4 will take me too long to build them. While they are pricey, I really am not shocked at the price as they are quite well made factoring in the slides, casters and such.

Like John, at $300 they are a no brainer. The more time I spend fighting with stacked Systainers, the more I find myself trying to find the easy solution. Guess my post is just an expression of frustration in a severely space limited shop. I will quit whining and start designing my version of the port.  8)

Please don't take this as any kind of bashing of Festool.

 

[Tim Morris]

They are nice, but lower on my list of must haves.  After meeting a class full of Festool nutballs I found out my collection is woefully lacking.

I'm just curious who you are refering to as nutball?

 

[PeterK]

Thought about it some more. Don't tell Craig but - I am on my way to Nebraska tonight to "borrow" his for a long term usage test. I promise I will post a thorough review when done!!   [wink]

 

[score0matic]

Where is that Shotgun toting Smiley when you need it [eek]  my 2 yr old, played havoc with some the other day.
Eden w/ Sharpie Vs Systainers

And my 9 yr old is using a sys2 for her "littlest petshops"
[blink]

So Peter, your threats don't scare me [big grin]
Craig

 

[jonny round boy]

Festool really need to do something about the pricing in Canada. Most Festool products now cost over 20% less in the US than in Canada given the Canadian dollar strength. Apple change their prices every three months to eliminate price discrepancies between the two countries. This is much fairer for dealers and does not encourage consumers to cross the border to buy their goods.

Yes, but sneaking through customs with an iPod is a heck of a lot easier than with a Sysport...

[big grin]

 

[cje]

So this thread is about complaining about the price being the problem of a solution of something that I think is the real problem.....

Forgive me for this rather cryptic start.
Let me first introduce myself briefly at this 2nd or 3rd post here.

After a short while of lurking I joined this useful group and as a relative beginner in woodworking I learn a lot.
Projects in the past were doing the interior of my house-boat (still unfinished) and some rough furniture stuff for the children.
That made me decide to buy festool, because my motto is that developing your own skills using professional tools is cheaper than hiring the professional. After all, even if a project  fails the first time, the tools are still there. I'm nearly 50 YO, as my forum-name suggests, and might become a grandfather in the not so long away future.
So I started to think about creating wooden toys.

Now about the sysport/systainer/pricing thing.

The systainer solves the problem that stacked systainers are not accessible (at least their contents aren't).
So Festool came up with the sysport, that provides drawers to enable the owner to open systainers individually.
Isn't this describing that the real problem is the systainer?

I've read Steve Jones' thread Home made systainer and basis system and one of my plans is to adopt his idea with a slight modification: all boxes will have a drawer, so I can access the tools any time. I will make inserts for my tools. I move them to and from the boat, and having sysports in my garage and in the boat doesn't make sense.

Whatever way I look into it, the sysport is curing the symptom. Curing the problem requires redesigning the systainer. Of course, adapting the systainer concept to an all-over drawer thing would kill cash-cow that  sysport might be right now. But, IMHO, it is the ultimate solution.

CJ

 

[butzla]

Having built 3 sys-ports with almost $500 in materials and alot of time invested,  $575 for a Festool built sysport is not a bad deal.  Festools are built way better (steel!),  are lockable, have high end drawer slides and casters.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd just go out and buy them.  Time is money.

 

[Chris Hughes]

Not you Tim. [eek]  Affectionately, all of my brother Festoolers that are pretty much "all in" with Festool.  To my friends in this area I am Festool crazy, while compared to my class I was a piker. 

 

[PeterK]

From day one, I have thought the same as CJ. For shop use, a single drawer Sortainer would be SO much nicer. Could just stack them on the 4 wheel cart and effectively have a SysPort. Might not be as useful to the people who travel with their tools but would be the perfect answer for us shop guys. Would work really nice on shop shelving.  An option at time of purchase of a Systainer or single drawer Sortainer would be fantastic - even if I had to pay extra for the feature. Might not be any cheaper in the long run versus a SysPort but the small incremental price would be far easier to accept. I currently have 2 stacks on the little carts for things like dominos, accessories and such but it is getting old restacking them. I did purchase a few 4 drawer Sortainers and a Tanos 5 drawer as I like the large drawer and these work really nicely on the little carts. Have my jigsaws and other items in them. Very easy access. Many of my Systainers reside in the attic as I store the tools mostly on shelves. Keeping them for when I might sell the tools to upgrade later.

So there you have it - We need a single drawer option.   [smile]