The commonly perceived value oriented vendors are not necessarily the cheapest.

[Cheese]

I was looking for a pair of Bessey STE300 vertical supports for an upcoming project. The Felder group offered these items for $82 each but thinking that they were probably being sold at a premium because of who they were, I decided to search for a better price.

After awhile I stumbled upon Grizzly offering the same item which I was surprised that they would sell because of the premium associated with the name of Bessey ...then I saw the price Grizzly was asking for the same items...$136.

Seriously...?...a $54 price differential because you're...Grizzly?

Bottom line is buyer beware, be it Target, Amazon or Grizzly.

 

[peter halle]

It is pretty interesting how often that happens especially if you add in shipping.  Over the past year I have been buying clamps because in my work as a carpenter/contractor I really didn't have a need for many bar clamps.  I decided to go with Dubuque clamps and each time I ordered I had to a spreadsheet to compare costs.  Harry Epstein always had the best selection and price, but their shipping costs were so high that it always knocked them out of the competition.  If I was local to them it would have been great.

Peter

 

[Cheese]

To your post Peter...when I went to order the items from the Felder Group, I noticed that they were not in inventory and would take 6-10 weeks to ship. Add in another 7-10 days for shipping and I most likely wouldn't receive these for 3 months.  [huh]

So the Bessey items are coming from Europe and even with the freight charges, the items still cost less than if purchased from Grizzly.  [cool]  I've ordered from these folks before and the goods are in my hands within 10 days or less.

 

[Packard]

Before I retired, I would be called upon by our tool room to locate purchase some items.  Most of these were available from the giant catalog companies (companies that distribute those huge catalogs).

Most of its items in those catalogs, were what I called, “lazy buyers” buys.  That is, they were convenience items that were invariably available for a lower price if you bothered to look.

Those Grizzly accessories items fit in that category. 

Our tool room manager knew that our purchasing agent would buy from the easiest place to find it. If it was a one-off purchase, that was fine.  It did not make sense for our purchasing agent to spend an hour looking for alternative sources in order to save $30.00 or $50.00.

Grizzly undoubtedly carries those items as a convenience to their customers and at a selling price that makes sense for their business model (which is selling capitol equipment.

Graingers is the epitome of “convenience” shopping.  I can almost guarantee that any item for sale on Graingers is available at a lower price elsewhere (identical items, not re-branded knockoffs). 

So the over-prices item from Grizzly that offends your sense of value, is a busy purchasing agent’s friend.  They don’t have to spend an hour looking for it.

You have to remember that the furniture manufacturer’s purchasing department buys fabric, foam, sewing machines as well as woodworking equipment.  An item that you or I would spend 10 minutes looking for, might take them an hour as they are not as fluent in the woodworking aspect of the job. 

It is good that you pointed this out.  I would say that Graingers, MSC, Grizzly and other “big catalog” companies are chasing a different buyer than you for the accessories.  They are happy to sell you some expensive piece of equipment, but the accessories are more of an accommodation to the customers from their perspective.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I often find the same thing with Amazon, though maybe not to such a degree.
The free shipping can make a slightly higher price work out better than other sources.
Sometimes Amazon is literally cheaper too, especially on items that have several vendors. It not an every time thing though. Other times people are willing to pay a little more, just to get multiple items from a single source.
I prefer to buy locally for larger or more expensive items, but it seems that fewer of them have "stock on hand" like they did a few years ago. It looks like the "shipped to your door" (often the next day) has become popular enough to hurt retailers.

 

[peter halle]

A perfect example is that you can buy Grizzly Tool items thru Home Depot at a higher price.  But you can use your Home Depot card for "your convenience".

Peter

 

[thudchkr]

To your post Peter...when I went to order the items from the Felder Group, I noticed that they were not in inventory and would take 6-10 weeks to ship. Add in another 7-10 days for shipping and I most likely wouldn't receive these for 3 months.  [huh]

So the Bessey items are coming from Europe and even with the freight charges, the items still cost less than if purchased from Grizzly.  [cool]  I've ordered from these folks before and the goods are in my hands within 10 days or less.

I happened on these clamps when I visited A&H Turf and picked up a couple. The STE118, (3000mm size), is what I got, paying $65 each for them.

I just checked and found them listed on their website,https://ahturf.com/bessey-ste-telescopic-support-rods/ for $50.63 each. Shipping runs a little over $40 which, considering their size, I consider acceptable. I’m definitely happy with the ones I picked up and I’ve always been happy in my dealings with A&H Turf.

 

[Cheese]

I happened on these clamps when I visited A&H Turf and picked up a couple. The STE118, (3000mm size), is what I got, paying $65 each for them.

I just checked and found them listed on their website,https://ahturf.com/bessey-ste-telescopic-support-rods/ for $50.63 each. Shipping runs a little over $40 which, considering their size, I consider acceptable. I’m definitely happy with the ones I picked up and I’ve always been happy in my dealings with A&H Turf.

Thanks for that... [thumbs up]...I only ordered a pair of the support rods because I wanted to see how well they worked out for me. If I need more, I'll definitely purchase them from A&H. When I googled Bessey STE300, A&H never popped up, now I know why. They refer to the clamps by their imperial size and not their metric size.

I've also been happy with the products I've purchased from A&H, they're my go-to for Blum stuff.

Also noticed that they now refer to themselves as A&H Specialties instead of A&H Turf.

 

[Billy_b]

Thank you for turning me on to the Bessey Ceiling Support Rods! Last year I paid $120 on Amazon for These knock off rods: Support Pole, Steel Telescopic Quick Adjustable 3rd Hand Support System And while they do the job of holding plastic up I would not trust them with any more material than that! I will be getting four of these Bessey Rods ASAP.

On a more ugly note, I recently found out that many of Infinity Tools router bits are just made by City Tools Co. out of Taiwan and can be purchased under the ZUQ name. or directly from City Tools Co. Infinity did my company a big wrong by advertising a deal from website to receipt and never sent the other item to us, only the cheaper one in the set. They called it an "error" (this was during holiday shopping deals 2024) when this happened, all comparing the City Tools bits to Infinity and they are exactly the same top to bottom. Infinity is just slapping their logo on mid-grade bits/hardware, no R & D, along with a insane markup. If they see a descent 3D printed Idea (IE. Magsnap) they can have a cheap China company spit it out in two weeks time, any of us can do that if we order 100 of them.