Festool - pricing issues?

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

AJB Temple

Finely figured
Joined
13 Oct 2015
Messages
3,760
Reaction score
1,125
Location
Tunbridge Wells
I was in my local trade tool dealer today. Smallish shop packed to the rafters. He has recently started to stock Festool and previously told me that he can't make money from it. So I asked what had changed and the answer was "nothing".

He said he is selling Festool for about the same price as he buys it. So it makes no margin but does help to bring people in. He depends on his annual rebate, which obviously depends on how much he sells. He said some dealers eat into the rebate and effectively sell at a loss at the point of sale.

Most of the stuff had small Festool cash back offers.

This does not strike me as a sustainable retail business model.
 
I think these small retailers are a brilliant resource (my local one has really good quality kit and consumables, and they do tool repairs) but they have to match on-line prices. We will lose these places and the convenience they provide, (and the services like repairs and advice) if we just buy on-line.

I think Festool is an odd thing to choose as a loss leader.
 
I have to buy any and all Festool stuff online so I'm pretty well versed in pricing practices. Tools tend to be much of a muchness price wise but it's the accessories and consumables where they make their money. Take papers for a sander as a good example; the price difference for those between sites can be pretty vast even though they're neck and neck on the sander itself. I saved about £100 stocking up on discs by getting a Rotex from one site and the discs from another. Wouldn't fancy being a bricks and mortar shop trying to compete with that.

I asked in Shetland's biggest toy shop if they'd considered stocking Festool and, besides the "they're overpriced rubbish" remark, the guy did mention they couldn't as they'd have to hit a certain monthly / annual turnaround which was highly unlikely up here.

Oh, and then you get the likes of FFX who don't stock everything they list online; things with an eleven working day delivery for example come straight from Festool in Germany. That looks like a good business model... only if you can find folk willing to wait that long or not notice the long lead time.
 
I think that sometimes. But years ago when I first started out I bought Elu kit which was very expensive at the time. 30 years on and ALL of it still works and is still in use. Festool may be like that.

I am not a brand queen and will buy what I think is the best tool for what I want. So my track saw is Mafell. I think the big Bosch is better than the Festool chop saw for me, my sanders are Mirka. But Festool do make good stuff and they have a lot of fans.
 
I was talking to one of the Festool reps a while back and he said they were having problems with the big suppliers like FFX selling stuff for less than they paid for it, the profit came from the rebate at the end of the year, the more they sold the bigger the rebate. Obviously meant smaller stockists couldn't compete on price. He said Festool were trying to sort this out.

I actually preferred Festool before they got in trouble for price fixing as it was the same price everywhere, no discounts available. You bought from whoever gave you the best service which is how it should be, even the most moral among us go to the big box stores if the saving is big enough.

I think Festool have lost their way a bit. They used to be way ahead of everybody with dust extraction, ergonomics etc but the competition have caught up. Festool are lagging behind on the cordless front now because their range is so small.

At least they finally admitted the Kapex problem was real after denying it for years, mines on it's third motor in 5 years.

https://festoolownersgroup.com/index.ph ... iter-saw.0
 
topchippytom":adh9wftj said:
Not good 2 motors in 5 years is not quality


You seem to have a real problem with festool... its pretty decent gear most of my stuff has gone on for years, midi is on 7 years and still works as good as day one.

I wish i could say the same for the gear i had, that all got nicked. alot of which festool replaced for a small fee, even upgraded naked tools i had purchased to the full kit 2 batteries and a charger. which they explained was to help me get back on my feet.

They have released a few clangers and are a bit behind on the 18v stuff. But they have produced some of best tools in the industry the domino machines are just something else! I can join up and glue a full hardwood door in a half an hour, without any expensive tooling and large machinery.
Which ten years on in an exposed location is still perfect!

adidat
 
I am like AJB having some Festool and some other brands chosen on my requirements at the time. Buying my first Festool as TS55 was a revelation compared with the other circular saws I had at the time. I think other manufacturers have upped their game in recent years and Festool have shot themselves in the foot occasionally.

My local supplier no longer stocks Festool as the business requirements were in their opinion too onerous, and they are not a small company. I do like buying locally even if I have to pay a few pounds more as they provide a high level of product knowledge and support and over the years I have got to know the staff. If they close or stop doing retail where will I buy stuff at short notice and get a reasonable discount?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top