You lucky, lucky......

[cerbie]

I have finally capitulated, given in (given up more like....) and submitted to the forum.
I have been reading with ever growing envy the machinery you lot over there can obtain, and the prices you can obtain them at. Unfortunately I live in France - and it's a bit different here.
This very afternoon I have been to order a small TS and mortaiseur, both FOX (because of the condition of my wallet - empty) you would not believe the grief/prices it entailed. In fact I'm getting more and more depressed just thinking about it, think I'll go and open another bottle of wine...................

 

[woodbloke]

Cerbie - welcome to the forum.....what, no Axminster, Rutlands, Tilgear etc, there must be the French equivalents somewhere? Depending on where you are in La Belle France it might be cheaper to hire a wagon for the day and fill it up with some toys from Axminster.
Still, least the vino's cheap :lol: - Rob

 

[greggy]

hi cerbie, welcome to the forum. dont be jealous of us over here its not very often that we get bargains (cheap), cos after talking with friends from all over the globe we pay the highest for our power tools, the weather is allways lousy, the majority of people are ignorant, so thats why when someone on the forum, gets a bargain we are all very pleased and envious, if you shop around in france example ebay.fr you will get some bargains too. good luck.

 

[George_N]

Hi Cerbie and welcome to the forum. If you stick around and read a few more posts you will soon realise that here in the UK we tend to look enviously at the lower prices paid by our cousins across the atlantic and share the same sort of feelings you have. I guess it has a lot to do with the size of the market for these sort of tools in each country. I know that this doesn't help but then you get good French wine at much lower prices than we do.

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

Hi Cerbie, Welcome to the Forum. Perhaps you can buy Auriou Rasps cheaper than us and we can do a deal

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the club! ... in both senses!

Bet you're getting overcharged for the Fox gear too! But then a pallet delivery from Axminster will cost about £300 I suppose

Don't suppose you live anywhere near Geneva do you?

 

[andrewm]

Let me be the first to welcome you to the forums Cerbie. We really are quite a friendly bunch and I am sure others will be along in a moment as well.

Interesting to hear what you say given recent threads on the difference in prices between here and the US.

On a more serious note you don't say in what part of France you live but I don't think a day return on the Le Shuttle is that expensive at this time of year and I believe Axminster have a showroom in Kent or is it Sussex so really quite close once you get to Dover. If you are in the market for serious equipment you could do worse then buy there. Contrary to what some would wish we are in the EU so no duty to pay when you take things back with you. And it will run of the same voltage. Nowhere near the problems we have with bringing back from America.

Now, this here bottle of wine that you have just opened. It wouldn't by any chance be the sort you can pick up from the local vineyard for around E3.50 would it? What, about two quid? The sort that we would pay at least six pounds for over here. :-( Swings and roundabouts I guess.

Andrew

edit: five replies between starting to write this and posting it.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I've always found, cerbie, that if you drink enough wine, nothing else really matters :lol: Welcome.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Scott]

I've always found, cerbie, that if you drink enough wine, nothing else really matters :lol:

Excellent outlook on life there! Man after my own heart! :lol:

Cheers

 

[Jake]

Axminster have a showroom in Kent or is it Sussex so really quite close once you get to Dover.

Sittingbourne, so 45 minutes or so up the A2 from Dover.

 

[mambo]

welcome

 

[Waka]

cerbie

Welcome to the forum.

 

[RogerS]

then you get good French wine at much lower prices than we do.

...and better charcuterie, and bread, and fresh fish, and fresh fruit and vegetables and...and...and...

anyway, welcome to the forum Cerbie.

 

[manso]

Don't despair, compared with B&Q etc., I find the French bricomarches excellent, especially for choice of hardware - I pick some up most times I'm over there. I think, too, that portable power tools (consumer grade)are, if anything, cheaper in France, at least in my experience.

 

[StevieB]

Welcome! There was also a recent article in one of the ags about how cheap timber is in France - especially oak. They even recommended taking a trailer and doing a day trip so its not all bad news!

Steve.

 

[9fingers]

Hi,

Welcome aboard. I thought that France was the home of KITY woodworking machinery. I certainly recall passing a building with KITY emblazoned on the side a few years back when on holiday in France.


Good Luck

Bob

 

[Amateurrestorer]

Cerbie ,welcome to the forum. First of all let me tell you how beautiful France is ,I have spent the last 20 grand vacances there ,surfing , skiing, sunning and supping (drinking) you are a lucky person as for the business with the tools c'est la vie if they were cheap and available over there then it would indeed be paradise!

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Cerbie

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[cerbie]

Thanks for the welcome.

As for the questions you raise, I live in southern Burgundy, in the middle (it seems) of nowhere nearest town being La Clayette, about 45 mins west of Macon and I suppose about 2.5 hour drive to Geneva.

Overcharged for the FOX stuff? The 254 dia. T/S at 700 sterling in UK, I was quoted 1379 euro here - about 950 of your english pounds. No, that is not what I ordered - that was the small T/S which looks strangely like the Ryobi 1525SC. What about the morticer you say.
Well I wanted the bench top Fox F14-651, and sure enough there it was in the brochure, same model number, but non monsieur it is 370 Kw not 500, and non it comes with one chisel not 4, along with other discrepancies. Cost? 319 euro - 220 sterling.

Getting depressed again, but if anyone is interested in asking any questions about this place, I would be happy to give you real time answers, because the number of questions I shall be asking..............

 

[promhandicam]

Thanks for the welcome.

As for the questions you raise, I live in southern Burgundy . . .

Hi Cerbie and welcome.

I think that the answer to your problems is simple.

Find out from your local vigneron what good / cheap wine he has available (you are in the heart of the wine growing area for goodness sake!) - take orders from all the connoisseurs on the forum - add your percentage - drop off at Axminster's in Sittingbourne - and return with lots of woodworking goodies! If there is really such a big price difference it might be a nice little earner.

Salut!

Steve