Sawstop price increase

[Stan Calow]

I got an email from Rockler this morning saying that Sawstop prices will be increasing and to buy before Feb 1 to beat the increase. I am not surprised there would be a tariff-related increase, but wondered if we should assume other imported tools will be getting a similar increase at this time. Anyone have more details?

[Matthew Hills]

I thought Sawstop was made in Taiwan and wouldn't be subject to the tariffs.
(the increase looks like the annual Festool adjustment)

Matt

[Art Mann]

I don't think Taiwan is excluded from import tax increases but even if they were, the price would still go up due to the principle of supply and demand. Grizzly raised their prices months ago.

[Reinis Kanders]

I bet this is the same ridiculous increase that Festool does every year for no good reason. Even though official inflation has been as low as it gets for the last decade or more.

[Jens Hoffmann]

Why do you think this is tariffs related? Raw material prices, especially steel, has been going up like crazy - couldn't this just be related to that?

[Kevin Smira]

another Festool annual price increase (for no other reason that they can and they do) guess here...though I continue to own Festool and will continue to buy when the tool suits my needs :)

[Art Mann]

Festool (and Sawstop for that matter) is not really in the business of making tools for people. They are in the business of maximizing shareholder profits. The fact that they have to make tools to make profit is incidental. The management at either business will set prices so as to maximize profit. That is the reason for raising prices. If they raise prices too high, then few people will buy their tools and profit will go down. They set prices exactly where they will make the most profit, not sell the most tools. That is the law of supply and demand and that is how business works.


I bet this is the same ridiculous increase that Festool does every year for no good reason. Even though official inflation has been as low as it gets for the last decade or more.

[John Goodin]

A tariff increase was supposed to go into effect on January 1 but has been postponed until March 1 while negotiators try to work things out. I am not sure of the list of products but I seem to remember it was extensive.

[Nick Decker]

I thought Shiraz (or somebody else) said that the tariffs would affect Chinese machines but not Taiwanese. I could be wrong, of course.

[Art Mann]

As far as I can tell, all Grizzly cabinet saws have all gone up in price, regardless of origin. The new tariffs have resulted in increased the price of all saws, regardless of origin. This is completely predictable.

[Greg Parrish]

Is saw stop not produced in the USA? Thought they were a USA product.

[Rod Sheridan]

Is saw stop not produced in the USA? Thought they were a USA product.

If I remember correctly they’re made in Taiwan.....Rod

[Simon MacGowen]

Is saw stop not produced in the USA? Thought they were a USA product.

SS technology was invented by Dr Gass in the USA. He and his investors had the saws produced in Taiwan, which by the way is not subject to the current round of tariffs. With or without tariffs, any manufacturers or vendors can prices prices.

May be soon one can buy a Made in Germany tablesaw with the SS technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DWVdcmRD44

Simon

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Why do you think this is tariffs related? Raw material prices, especially steel, has been going up like crazy

Because of the tariffs??

[Stan Calow]

The information I can google up says Taiwan was not exempted from tariffs.

[Richard McComas]

From what I have read this if the first increase since 2008 can't complain about.

Plus, SawStop was bought by the company that owns Festool. Festool has (without fail) has a price increase every year. I suspect that’s that may happen with SawStop now.

Last time I went to the grocery story it seems most stuff was up too.

[Simon MacGowen]

The information I can google up says Taiwan was not exempted from tariffs.

Are we talking about woodworking machinery or other products (like steel which Taiwan is included in the tariffs)?

Many Taiwanese businesses are considering moving their production back from China to Taiwan to avoid the tariffs targeting at Chinese goods, including machinery,

Simon

[Reinis Kanders]

Festool (and Sawstop for that matter) is not really in the business of making tools for people. They are in the business of maximizing shareholder profits. The fact that they have to make tools to make profit is incidental. The management at either business will set prices so as to maximize profit. That is the reason for raising prices. If they raise prices too high, then few people will buy their tools and profit will go down. They set prices exactly where they will make the most profit, not sell the most tools. That is the law of supply and demand and that is how business works.

It does not have to be that way and that is a simplistic way of looking at it. Plenty of companies that do things differently. Just look at the Amazon, they do not pay dividends and build a business with a long term perspective and not that long ago had a 1T market cap.

[Art Mann]

Yes, it has to be that way. Your mistake is in assuming that dividends are the same as shareholder profits. People own stocks in order to make profits through capital gains much, much more often than they do to receive dividends or interest. You can bet that Amazon has very powerful computers that analyze the market every single day to set prices at a point that will maximize profit. There is ample evidence that this activity goes on without direct human intervention. It is that buried in their system.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Sawstop table saws are made in Taiwan.

Taiwan is not subject to the additional Tariffs like those that are applicable to China made products.

All Grizzly table saws did NOT go up in price. Some Taiwan made ones were kept the same price, some had a very modest increase $25 or so, and the Chinese made ones were adjusted with a partial Tariff increase (we ate some of the tariff increase to keep the business flowing). Many of the Grizzly machine prices were actually reduced for 2019.

[Prashun Patel]

“Same ridiculous increase...for no good reason.” Actually prices often stay lower for manufactured goods than they should in many consumer goods because the market won’t bear it.

My manufacturing business eats many years of cost increases to the detriment of short term profit because to not do so would mean lost sales.

The decision to raise prices is not made as cavalierly by actual business owners as armchair quarterback consumers would like to believe.

[Simon MacGowen]

Sawstop table saws are made in Taiwan.

Taiwan is not subject to the additional Tariffs like those that are applicable to China made products.

All Grizzly table saws did NOT go up in price. Some Taiwan made ones were kept the same price, some had a very modest increase $25 or so, and the Chinese made ones were adjusted with a partial Tariff increase (we ate some of the tariff increase to keep the business flowing). Many of the Grizzly machine prices were actually reduced for 2019.

This shows misinformation is widespread in the internet world. Deepfakes should be our next worry.

Simon

[Chris Parks]

But the internet is always right!

[Nick Shattuck]

Yes, it has to be that way. Your mistake is in assuming that dividends are the same as shareholder profits. People own stocks in order to make profits through capital gains much, much more often than they do to receive dividends or interest. You can bet that Amazon has very powerful computers that analyze the market every single day to set prices at a point that will maximize profit. There is ample evidence that this activity goes on without direct human intervention. It is that buried in their system.

Thank you Mr. Econ 101 for your over-simplified assuming posts on this subject.

You are absolutely wrong about Amazon changing prices rapidly. Feel free to use camelcamelcamel and the like to verify for yourself. The truth is, products on Amazon rarely change prices monthly, let alone daily.

[Doug Dawson]

Thank you Mr. Econ 101 for your over-simplified assuming posts on this subject.

You are absolutely wrong about Amazon changing prices rapidly. Feel free to use camelcamelcamel and the like to verify for yourself. The truth is, products on Amazon rarely change prices monthly, let alone daily.

I have several hundred items in my amazon "saved for later" queue, and get on the order of 30 or 40 price changes per day. Some items change prices on a daily basis, or even more frequently than that. Often the changes are less than a dollar, but sometimes the changes are quite dramatic.

I don't use those aggregators, because they're too intrusive (and from your description, they don't seem very useful.)

[Nick Decker]

Keep in mind that many of those "Amazon" items are being sold by other vendors. They can price them how ever they want, just using Amazon as a marketing tool.

[Doug Dawson]

Keep in mind that many of those "Amazon" items are being sold by other vendors. They can price them how ever they want, just using Amazon as a marketing tool.

Some of the most dramatic price change deals I've gotten are from items shipped/sold by amazon itself, like a Jet air cleaner for US$277, or US$150 off a Starrett straight edge, etc., and this was in no proximity to sale days, and these were not warehouse items in any sense, they were brand new in the factory packaging (actually the Jet had been drop-shipped from JPW.) I'm currently watching a Llambrich chuck, it's sold by amazon and it's fluctuating all over the place. Know your prey.

The third-party vendors tend not to be as demonstrative, at least with the kinds of things I buy (which however are quite varied.)

[Chris Parks]

I have several hundred items in my amazon "saved for later" queue, and get on the order of 30 or 40 price changes per day. Some items change prices on a daily basis, or even more frequently than that. Often the changes are less than a dollar, but sometimes the changes are quite dramatic.

I don't use those aggregators, because they're too intrusive (and from your description, they don't seem very useful.)

How do you keep track of price changes and remember what price they were to what they are now. You can't possibly remember every single price and as I have never used "saved for later" as I can't see the point does Amazon track price changes for you when they are saved?

[Doug Dawson]

How do you keep track of price changes and remember what price they were to what they are now. You can't possibly remember every single price and as I have never used "saved for later" as I can't see the point does Amazon track price changes for you when they are saved?

When you log on and check your "shopping cart" they give you a list of what prices have changed on what items since you last logged on. When a book you wanted was 32 bucks yesterday and it's 15 bucks today, that is certainly noticeable. I'm old, but it's not getting _that_ bad... That's amazon, not some 3rd party vendor, BTW.

[Larry Frank]

I look at price history with CamelCamelCamel website. You can also set a price and have it notify when it hits or goes below that price. The site is down right now due to server problems.

[Doug Dawson]

I look at price history with CamelCamelCamel website. You can also set a price and have it notify when it hits or goes below that price. The site is down right now due to server problems.

With items sold by amazon, there may be different prices for different users. This is well-known. Never having used that aggregator, I don't know how it accounts for that. Sounds like it doesn't?