US / Canada Fixed Pricing vs the rest of the world

Dan Clermont

Festool Dealer
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Jan 22, 2007
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I realize in North America we all pay the same price. Prices overseas are much, much higher but do dealers discount over there?

Curious Dan

 
Not really - and the big difference in price between the states and here in europe is one of the main reasons we feel so ripped off here.....

Unless of course you are the type who enjoy's paying double!!
 
Where are you from that you feel you're getting ripped off?  It's not in your profile.  Why don't most foggers fill out their profiles more fully?
 
Actually, the prices in Canada are different than those in the USA.  The prices that Hafele (who have a Festool monopoly in Canada) charges are hard to find.  When I have managed to find the prices, they seem to be about 10% higher than the USA prices -but still a whole lot less than the rest of the world appears to be paying. 

From what I have seen, the discrepency is not unique to Festool.
 
we pay significantly more for all tools whatever the make in the uk

if you want a few tools its better to take a cheap flight to the usa and get them delivered to the hotel

festering is uk based his language is a dead give away
 
festeringtool said:
Not really - and the big difference in price between the states and here in europe is one of the main reasons we feel so ripped off here.....

Unless of course you are the type who enjoy's paying double!!

Wait a minute......

Iggnint Protectionist American here.

Don't cha have cradle to grave social programs and Health care?

4 week or better Vacations.

Functioning mass transit?

And a amazingly strong Euro?

And aren't these subsidies paid for with taxs?

So festool pricing isn't really the issue  but the taxs applied?

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Per
 
Per, at least for Canada, I am comparing our prices to those in the USA before tax

Yes we have higher taxes, and yes I am happy to pay them for some of the things that you mention.
 
Frank Pellow said:
Per, at least for Canada, I am comparing our prices to those in the USA before tax

Yes we have higher taxes, and yes I am happy to pay them for some of the things that you mention.

Ahh, here we go off topic, but Frank, help me here please.  My bosses wife, from Beuuuteeeeful Hamilton, Ontario told me the OUTRAGEOUS taxes paid on alocohol and tobacco paid for Canadian national health (at least they did 20 years ago).

Also, the same boss bought me a gift after a vist to his Canadian in-laws, a set of 6 marples chisels.  I gasped, thought he had paid a fortune then.  He laughed, said no, they were only $35.00 USD there, a huge bargain. 
 
dirtydeeds said:
we pay significantly more for all tools whatever the make in the uk

if you want a few tools its better to take a cheap flight to the usa and get them delivered to the hotel

That's right for those tools that you think you don't mind the warrantee being void
that often comes when buying abroad.
 
Steveo48 said:
Frank Pellow said:
Per, at least for Canada, I am comparing our prices to those in the USA before tax

Yes we have higher taxes, and yes I am happy to pay them for some of the things that you mention.

Ahh, here we go off topic, but Frank, help me here please.  My bosses wife, from Beuuuteeeeful Hamilton, Ontario told me the OUTRAGEOUS taxes paid on alocohol and tobacco paid for Canadian national health (at least they did 20 years ago).

Also, the same boss bought me a gift after a vist to his Canadian in-laws, a set of 6 marples chisels.  I gasped, thought he had paid a fortune then.  He laughed, said no, they were only $35.00 USD there, a huge bargain. 
I am certain that the alcohol and tobacco taxes do not raise nearly enough to cover the cost of our health care.  The taxes that raise the most money in Canada are income tax (both federal and provincial) and sales tax (both federal and provincial -except in Alberta) and I expect at a portion of all these taxes go towards our health care programmes.

I don't find the liquor taxes to be OUTRAGEOUS and, as far as I am concerned, you cannot make tobacco taxes high enough.

I wish that I could find some Marples chisels for that price.  He was lucky.
 
mhch said:
dirtydeeds said:
we pay significantly more for all tools whatever the make in the uk

if you want a few tools its better to take a cheap flight to the usa and get them delivered to the hotel

That's right for those tools that you think you don't mind the warrantee being void
that often comes when buying abroad.
In the case of Festool, I would take the risk.  The warantees are good  :) but the tools are even better  :).  I have never needed to use the warantee on any of my Festool tools.
 
mhch is correct regarding warranties

psalode uk will not carry out any work on a tool not purchased in the uk

the same goes for dewalt and i believe makita as well

i dont know about festool uk for sure, but i do know that no german dealer will ship to the uk so it is reasonable to assume that festool uk would have a similar policy

i suspect that with UL in america (i assume UL is a body that sets safety standards) would make it difficult for festool usa to work on festool gear not purchaced in america
 
safety (however defined) is the goal of the bodies charged with the responsibility

american worm drive saws with no riving knife will not currently get a CE rating and american dado blades wont either

on the other hand, as i understand it, the UL in america wont licence festool "plug it" fittings

UL and CE marks are issued by very serious and dedicated people in their respective countries. they may come to different conclusions but NONE of them are idiots and should be respected for carrying out their duties

i dont believe these serious people are protectionists or zenophobes, their specific terms of reference almost certainly would prevent this
 
Let me elaborate a little so my position is not misconstrued as Euro socialist bashing.

I don't believe Festool or any company for that matter would charge more

in any market unless that was the Legitimate cost of doing business.

For me to believe that the high cost even in Germany for Festool products

is not a matter for Festool rather then where you  rest your head.

I was just stating by conjecture with absolutely no basis of fact the

possible reasons for the high prices elsewhere.

As I have said before a good tool is a good tool

Per
 
As a brit living across the pond it took me a long time to get used to the prices here nearly everything is a LOT cheaper ! not just tools ! ;D
 
I think the reason the US pay a lot less than Europe for the same tools is quite simple - the USD is so weak at the moment that if Festool charged the correct price at the correct exchange rate, their sales in the US would be minimal at best (50% price increase, anyone?). Festool are actively trying to 'break' the US market, so they will have to absorb the impact of the weak dollar to sustain sales levels.

I reckon that Festool don't make much (if anything) from US sales at the moment, and that the US market is effectively being subsidised by other markets.

I'd say that's also the reason why some in the US feel the new release tools are too expensive (i.e. the discussions that have gone on regarding the relative costs of the OF2000 & OF2200, and the MFK700 vs. OF1010) - Festool simply can't afford to lose money on the newer tools, so they are more realistically priced than the older ones.
 
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