Grizzly Tent Sale

[LRod]

[snip irrelevant stuff]

I think that's all you need to know about it.

[brianlanning]

I'm considering a trip to misourri this summer for the grizzly tent sale. I've always wanted to see the store anyway. And since I'm gearing up to add some machines to the new gar... shop, I figured the tent sale would be a good time to go. It's July 16 this year.

SWMBO shocked me today by suggesting that it may make more sense to get all the machines I want in one shot. The idea being to get a flat bed uhaul trailer and make the trek there and bring back a shop full of tools ourselves to avoid the shipping costs. Even with having to pay sales tax, it could be a significant savings. I immediately thought of the tent sale.

So I was wondering if anyone had been to one of their tent sales. I'm sure it's an exercise in insanity. How does it work with the larger machines? Do you put your name on it or something? What is the sales tax at the springfield store? Is the sale worth going to or do 10,000 people show up for 10 machines? What kind of discounts are generally offered? Are we talking half off or only like 10%? And is there a wide variety of machines or just what's on the outlet link of their site? If parts are broken or missing, are they good about replacing them or do you have to pay for the parts because everything is as-is?

I'd like to take a flat bed trailer since I'm after the new 21" band saw. But if I have to take the machines to the trailer onsey-twosey, then leave them to go back in, I'd have to get the closed trailer so I could lock it up. Do they assemble a watched group of tools in a loading dock area where I can load them all up at once with their help?

My wife says that it must be a good sale for that many sane men to stand in line at 4am. :-)

brian

[Mark & Juanita]

While you are there, make sure you spend some time at BassPro as well -- very cool place.

... snip

How does she know they are sane? ;-)

[Haven't been to the tent sale, have been to the store several times (in-laws live in that area)]

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Lee Michaels]

I have had a couple friends go to these tent sales.

Total insanity is a good description. All good deals vanish in the first few munites with 20 angry, excited men trying to buy each good deal. It makes christmas shoo\pping look tame by comparison.

I stay away.

But if you go to the store, you may get a good deal on some stratch and dent machines. I got a good deal on a metal bandsaw and some handtools this way.

[Joe Wells]

Missouri, son, Missouri. You can pronounce it seventeen different ways, but there's only one way to spell it.

She's a keeper.

I've done similar. One nice thing about Grizzly's web site is they have the dimensions of the boxes the machines are in. I'm so obsessive that I actually measured the cargo dimensions of my Durango and figured out how best to load all of the stuff. I came home with a contractor's saw, long rails for the fence, a 6" jointer, a bench-top drill press, a dust collector, and a small compressor in one trip.

You poor bastard.

My son and I go every year.

Man, you ain't kiddin'. Sometimes it takes over an hour just for the cashier's line.

They're tagged. If you want something, you take the top copy to the cashier.

What is the sales

Last year it was 6.6%.

Oh, it's much more than 10 machines. Of course, a fair percentage of those are large-shop type iron. There are usually three large tents just for the machines.

It depends on what's wrong with the machine. The discounts on good-enough-to-run gear are good, but not breath taking.

It runs the gamut of their entire line. Generally, whatever they can't sell as new.

It's all as-is. Their parts department is pretty good, but I've never tried to get parts on the day of the tent sale. I have a feeling that they get rather overwhelmed.

Who do you think is going to walk off with your 21" bandsaw? There will be plenty of trailers and pickups full of unattended iron.

Well, it's a lot of fun besides the deals. There are usually some trucks/tents from other manufacturers like DeWalt, PC and so forth and they generally have good sales as well.

But all of that aside, how many places have stuffed bears, lathes, an indoor fish pond, saws, suits of armor, jointers, swords, mills, guns, sanders, and guitars under one roof? I mean besides Tom Watson's place.

[LRod]

I thought there were only two ways to pronounce it: Mizzuree and Missourah. A coworker of mine and I once had an argument about it as he continually mispronounced it. I asked him how many "a"s there were in Missouri. He promptly replied, "the same number as there are 'e's."

[Lawrence L'Hote]

...and different parts of the state have different preferences. FWIW some town names suffer the indignity of mispronunciation. Like Auxvasse, Mo. or Hayti, Mo. to name just a few. Larry

[Joe Wells]

Well, OK, maybe not seventeen. But along with Missouree and Missourah I sometimes hear Misery and Miserah.