Lee Valley Cyber Monday- well that went fast

[Malcolm Schweizer]

So I now own almost every Wera screwdriver ever made. That was cool. I had said just yesterday that it was time to upgrade my screwdrivers. I had tried their electricians drivers and loved them. I had a small shoulder plane in my cart and I think 15 min into the sale it was sold out. In 30 minutes they went from 6 or 7 pages of stuff to only 2. Wow.

Well, if we have learned anything from this year's sale, it's that Veritas isn't screwing up much any more- not many blemishes on sale this year. :-)

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Up early packing for a trip and logged in just to see what's left. Lo and behold, the small shoulder plane is back available. I bought it and it went to sold out again. Someone must have cancelled their order. Well I'm happy now. The one thing I was hoping for was a small or medium shoulder plane.

[Frederick Skelly]

I was a little disappointed this year. For the first time ever, there wasnt a single thing I wanted on sale.
(OK. So maybe I have been a little TOO addicted to their delightful tools over the last few years.:D )

Oh well, there's always turning accessories and tools...... :eek:

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Yes, pickings were slim this year, but what they had in the way of Veritas tools I already owned, and as my collection (read: addiction) grows, there will be less chance each year that something will come up that I don't already own. There were some good deals like the spokeshaves and the shooting plane. I'm glad they added the Wera drivers so there would be something left after the blemish tools sold out.

I really thought they would have a plough plane or two after the conversion to the new model.

[Jim Belair]

Everything is on sale when you pick up a gift card. So I did.

[john zulu]

Yes, pickings were slim this year, but what they had in the way of Veritas tools I already owned, and as my collection (read: addiction) grows, there will be less chance each year that something will come up that I don't already own. There were some good deals like the spokeshaves and the shooting plane. I'm glad they added the Wera drivers so there would be something left after the blemish tools sold out.

I really thought they would have a plough plane or two after the conversion to the new model.

I too have NO clue what to get this year. Pretty much happy with my set of Veritas and LN :D

[Robert McNaull]

I went the gift card route, I don't spend money on tools very often and ther was nothing in my need category. Almost bought a dovetail and tenon saw but decided I would buy their offered set with a discounted gift card rather than 2 of the 3 saws individually. I was a little disappointed in the selection of tools but they offered some good deals, just not on anything I was looking for. Their spoke shaves are sweet but I already own a functional spoke shave (finicky, but functional) so that made dropping $70 on something I rarely use versus a set of chisels I am holding out to get either PM-V11 or Japanese.

[lowell holmes]

I have a set of Wera screwdrivers hanging on the wall behind one of my benches. They get a lot of admiration and only occasional use. :)

[Simon MacGowen]

At least they are just screwdrivers. I know of several woodworkers who own some fancy dovetail saws and planes who rarely do handwork. The high-end saws are pristine and the teeth are sharp...because they aren't used by any standard. The planes are well kept and again not much used at all.

Tool makers have done a great job in enticing people to own their tools with their beauty and use of materials (e.g. brass and exotic handles). The good handwork I have seen (and a lot of it) usually comes from those who use their tools a lot. The most well-known figure among them, of course, is Paul Sellers who uses mostly older tools.

As for the Cyber Monday sale, I woke up this morning and got a gift card plus a few regular items to justify the shipping cost. I need no more saws or planes and I only buy what I can put to use on a regular basis. I am not a tool collector no matter how tempting a good looking tool is. The gift card will come handy when I need to buy gifts -- not tools! -- during the next free shipping event.

Simon

[Ryan Mooney]

Picked up a Record 20C at the TFWW "vintage" sale.

Didn't see anything I was lusting over badly enough to pull out the wallet that was still in the queue at LV although a couple of items did give me pause.

[Prashun Patel]

Learned my lesson from last year: don't buy tools you don't need because they are at a discount. Buy the gift card - the biggest one you can afford - and combine it with free shipping events for the times you DO need something.
Then, sell what you bought because it turns out not to make you a better woodworker.
Then kick yourself for not buying the tool you really need which was on sale at the Cyber Monday event.

[Pat Barry]

Thanks for the reminder. Bought the dovetail saws for basically half price.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Learned my lesson from last year: don't buy tools you don't need because they are at a discount. Buy the gift card - the biggest one you can afford - and combine it with free shipping events for the times you DO need something.
Then, sell what you bought because it turns out not to make you a better woodworker.
Then kick yourself for not buying the tool you really need which was on sale at the Cyber Monday event.

The circle of life!

The Wera drivers were around 25% off. The gift cards are around 15% discount. If you were going to buy screwdrivers anyway, it's a better deal. If you really did not see anything you wanted, then the gift cards are a good deal. I came close to buying the $850 gift card, but I value my marriage.

[Doug Ladendorf]

I picked up just some odds and ends. Wish I could have gotten the Wera ratchet set. It not in the budget. Their screwdrivers are my most used and they are great.

[Patrick Chase]

Thanks for the reminder. Bought the dovetail saws for basically half price.

You WHAT? Those things are already a steal at $69 imo...

[Pat Barry]

You WHAT? Those things are already a steal at $69 imo...

LOL - I misread the regular price. Thought it said $99. Oh well, I was planning to buy them at regular price anyway.

[Frederick Skelly]

LOL - I misread the regular price. Thought it said $99. Oh well, I was planning to buy them at regular price anyway.

They're nice tools. You couldnt go wrong. I have them.

[Patrick Chase]

They're nice tools. You couldnt go wrong. I have them.

Same here. I even have two of the 14 tpi rip dovetails (one filed rip, the other for playing around with "hybrid" toothing).

[Hilton Ralphs]

For once I resisted buying stuff I didn't know I needed until they were on sale.

For me purchasing with an ever devaluing currency, every dollar saved helps so the free shipping events are my friend. This year I decided to first test the purchase of a physical gift card to see if shipping applies. It doesn't so I was ready to NOT buy any tools but just a gift card.

If anyone is interested in German tools like Wera (for you Malcolm), the prices on Amazon Germany are often half that of any stateside retailer. For starters they won't charge you their VAT which is included in the retail price and the shipping is pretty cheap. This year for BF week, they offered a 20% discount on various tools and I was able to land (shipping, duties, taxes etc) the tools for exactly the same price as normal retail.

Lee Valley seems to have dropped the Wera line altogether now.

Ok enough babbling from me.

[Ray Selinger]

I bought bevel up smoother. Midnight comes early on the wet coast. As is my luck , I had recently bought a 4 1/2" bevel down, they were on sale,too The Wera Philips are great screwdrivers , maybe the best you can buy,however the Wera Robertson are only handled tent pegs.

[Matt Renaud]

I was online at 23h59 hitting refresh. I managed to score a BU smoother with the PMV11 iron! Took all the self discipline I had not to checkout my full shopping cart which had the rip tenon and the LA block.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I was online at 23h59 hitting refresh. I managed to score a BU smoother with the PMV11 iron! Took all the self discipline I had not to checkout my full shopping cart which had the rip tenon and the LA block.

The force is strong with this one.

[Patrick Chase]

I was online at 23h59 hitting refresh. I managed to score a BU smoother with the PMV11 iron! Took all the self discipline I had not to checkout my full shopping cart which had the rip tenon and the LA block.

I guess it's better than participating in the Black Friday "running of the idiots" at the local Wal-Mart?

[Simon MacGowen]

Perhaps one day Lee Valley would consider announcing all its sale products ahead like many retailers do and people can decide if they would want to stay awake at 12 AM to try their luck.

I got a gift card in its Cyber Monday deal the next morning and I was glad that I did not wake up to check out what they had to offer, because even if I had, I would still have got the gift card only.

Simon

[Matt Lau]

Thankfully, I'm on the West Coast--so it's 9 pm for me.

I ended up mainly buying some masking tape (for guitarwork), hole saw set (for inevitably running wires, etc in the office), hand vise (for dental labwork) and some work lights for stocking stuffers.

Nothing sexy for me. Guess that I have most of what I need? Maybe that's a good thing.

[Patrick Chase]

Perhaps one day Lee Valley would consider announcing all its sale products ahead like many retailers do and people can decide if they would want to stay awake at 12 AM to try their luck.

One potential problem there is that a sufficiently clever programmer/woodworker might create a 'bot to snap up all of the pre-advertised tools they want right at midnight.

There are technical mitigations they could use to prevent that (for example use captchas, or create dedicated "one-time SKUs" for the sale items so that the botmaker doesn't know what to target) but those mitigations have their own downsides.

[Simon MacGowen]

Sure the issues of crawlers and bots must be addressed properly. I think they were already using a different product coding for the Cyber Monday items.

The switch is more a strategic matter than a technical one for Lee Valley.

Simon

[Kevin Hampshire]

I really enjoy Lee Valley's Cyber Monday as it is.

The items I'd want to buy usually sell out in minutes.

If they posted the items earlier, some ePay resellers would probably get everything. Lee Valley still uses Cyber Monday to offer some exceptional (and very limited) deals which has allowed me to get some of their tools that I wouldn't normally have been able to get.

[Ray Selinger]

I have been a Lee Valley customer since the late '70s, when the sale flyer got to me in northern BC, they were always sold out. Now being on the wet coast I just have to stay up until 9:00, not much past my bed time.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Hmmmmm- what's this? Looks like wifey took the hint about the cyber Monday sale on gift cards. Looks like I will be buying a plow plane soon. 348972

[Hilton Ralphs]

Good on you Amy! Hope it's a $1000 version.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Good on you Amy! Hope it's a $1000 version.

Wishful thinking, but my wife is frugal to a flaw. I would be thrilled if it were $100.

[Brett Luna]

Mine...one I ordered for my very own self...came in the mail a few days ago. The Wife® has been good for one over the past few years, so I figured I'd order one at Cyber Monday pricing to supplement it. Then there's my birthday coming up in February...hmmmm.