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[Bill]

Surely what of what one is paying for is "excusivity" (yes, it's a word, I didn't think it was, but I checked). One can generally trust a retailer to know precisely what they are selling, and pricing accordingly. If one diamond ring was only priced $500 more than another, it might not appear as shiny. But make the difference $5000, then people will go wow. I think some of the retailers have more fun selling things having exclusivity. Some people can surely justify Festool tools on their features, and some can probably justify them on other basis. I don't think sellers care why you buy. Just like anything. YMMV.

[Bill]

That was suposed be *part* of what" ... beginning typist here.

[krw]

Funny, I read that in.

Exclusivity? How so?

Everyone under the sun seems to be selling Festool (weird since, according to all reports they make almost nothing on that investment). Diamonds are a whole different thing. There is no way and individual can realistically compare diamonds. Ever notice how the commercials say "He bought it at Jared", not "The South-African Blood is better than..."? The sizzle is in the retailer, not the product. (It can't be - diamonds are only valuable because of DeBeers' monopoly.)

There is something to what you say, though. Moons ago, Seagram's profits were declining in the growing population of liquors. Rather than cutting prices to increase sales, they increased marketing and

*increased* price to sell as a premium brand. No one gives rot-gut at Christmas but they do give "top shelf", or whatever Madison avenue can pawn off as "top shelf". Their sales boomed. Business schools are in the business of teaching this stuff.

I think there is more than some Seagrams in the Festool brand but, unlike Seagrams, it really is better stuff. 2X? To many, the answer is, obviously, "yes".

I don't buy your implied comparison between Festool and DeBeers, though. ;-)

[Bill]

Nobody makes anything on anything these days. Check how much federal income tax was actually paid by your favorite multi-national corporation last year. Hint: Just because you can see it in a financial statement doesn't mean it was paid.

[krw]

Well, now we're on a different subject altogether but I'll counter with "GE". ;-)

I'm not talking about after-tax profits, rather top-of-the line margins. I've been told, on tools they're lucky to get 15% and maybe half that on Festools.

I don't think it's odd that Festool would have such small margins, rather what's odd is that it seems everyone wants to carry them. There are four WW stores in the Atlanta area (that I know of). Three carry Festool (the fourth, Peachtree, is heavy into Bosch - the whole product line). One of those (Highland) seems to carry every Festool and accessory, in stock. 110" track? "No problem, wait a minute and I'll get one?"

[Leon]

Talk to me when you think you might consider a Festool sander. Especially the Rotex sanders.

[Leon]

Spring loaded indexing protrusions on the face of the Domino. Used to index the cut referenced from the edge of the board or a previously cut mortise.

The later type has lock away paddles.

[Leon]

Well this might be true if you buy tool to collect tools. Festools have helped me make more money.

[krw]

It'll likely be some time. Really, they're about the only other Festool I'm looking at. I'm really shy about buying anything where there's a lock-in. That's why I grew a beard. ;-)

[krw]

Ah, thanks.

[krw]

I suppose, but I know a lot of tradesmen who have the grungiest tools going. ;-)

Making sawdust is too fun to have to do it for a living. I thought what I do for a living was the best hobby, too, until I did it for a living.

[Swingman]

Generally a good reason for that. The guys who work for them will trash any tool in short order, so the rational is to buy cheap, and often.

Generally speaking, only those who work for themselves, and have to buy the tools they actually use, will take care of them.

[none]

Completely agree! After buying a Domino, my biscuit cutter sat on the shelf unused for two years. Sold it this past summer with a box of

2000 biscuits for $50. Yup, I certainly lost money on it, but after the Domino came on the scene, I really don't care. The Domino is so easy to use and such a pleasure to use that it virtually eclipses all like tools that came before it.

[none]

I agree. Everything that I liked to do that led me into doing it for a living all reduced how much I liked doing it.

[none]

On Thu, 05 Dec 2013 22:47:02 -0600, Leon

Just out of interest's sake, how many times have you replaced the bit(s) for your Domino. I know you would have used more than one size of bit, but considering that much of your construction is similar, I'd guess there's one bit size that you prefer?

[Jeff Mazur]

Wrong - you like doing "it" as much as ever. It's the other baloney that became part of the package that stinks. Administrative tasks. Collecting on bills. Dealing with difficult or downright unreasonable customers. Here are words to live by:

Every job sucks when it's yours.

Work is work. That's why they call it "work" - if it were that much fun, we'd have to pay our bosses to let us do it.

[none]

On Sat, 7 Dec 2013 18:28:03 -0800 (PST), Jeff Mazur

Touché!

[Leon]

Lock-in?

[krw]

Don't get me wrong. I love my job (hasn't always been true) but I just can't do it as a hobby. After 50hrs a week, it's just fun to continue. It's one of the reasons I like woodworking. It uses many of the same skills but it's quite different.

[krw]

I didn't like the biscuit cutter from day one. Even though it's supposed to be a decent one (PC), I can't stand using it. It's noisy (it's an angle grinder, after all) and sloppy.