For all you Tormek fence sitters...

[Jeff Geltz]

Word has it that this will be the last time that Hartville Tools (hartvilletool.com) will be offering the Tormek at a sale price. Apparently they are being threatened to either discontinue the practice or loose their distribution rights. The current sale ends on March 31. Get your orders in on their web site before the price fix is in.

[Bob Wingard]

I would highly recommend HARTVILLE (especially at these prices) over SharpToolsUSA !! !! !!

[RichMagnone]

Apparently they are being threatened to either discontinue the practice or loose their distribution rights.

Never intended to incite a war - deleted

[Jeff Geltz]

Ahhh... free market pricing at its best! I love artificially inflated prices.That is my thinking. Perhaps Jeff Farris can comment on how the free market seems to preclude sharpening systems?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

A discussion on free market probably belongs in the off topic forum, but since its here, I'll add my two cents. Every product sold is price fixed. The four P's of marketing are product, place, price, and promotion. The manufacturer decides where and for how much his products will sell. Tommy Hilfiger doesn't market in Walmart because he doesn't want to sell his clothes that cheap. Do you really think it cost $75 more to make a Hilfiger shirt? The guy who designed the Tormek wants his product in a specific market and price point. Its certainly his right to do so.

[Bob Noles]

Just glad I got mine a few weeks ago at Hartville's 20% discount. I almost held back on the Tormek because of the high price, but with 20% off, temptation over ruled. :D

[Gary Herrmann]

Great. Complicate my life. I was just about to do the slow grinder and wolverine thing...

[Michael Gibbons]

I still don't get it . By the time a unit gets to a distributor the manufacturer has already received the amount of profit he or she was expecting to make. I beleive that it should be up to the individual dealer to determine how much profit they want to make once they have paid the manufacturer. So if Hartville tool was able to get people to buy the grinder at 20% more than everyone else, more power to them. I've heard of this business practice " buy high,sell low ,make it up in the volume". Maybe that is what Harville is doing?

[Roy Hatch]

Don't get too excited. Take a look at their price.

[Jeff Geltz]

Yep. Look at it. 15% off list is something you're likely not to see again. Buy the Tormek at a wood show and they might throw you a DVD on how to use the tool...

[Brad Olson]

Don't get too excited. Take a look at their price.

You need to know the right "handshake" to get 15% off the price.

[John Lucas]

A discussion on free market probably belongs in the off topic forum, but since its here, I'll add my two cents. Every product sold is price fixed. The four P's of marketing are product, place, price, and promotion. The manufacturer decides where and for how much his products will sell. Tommy Hilfiger doesn't market in Walmart because he doesn't want to sell his clothes that cheap. Do you really think it cost $75 more to make a Hilfiger shirt? The guy who designed the Tormek wants his product in a specific market and price point. Its certainly his right to do so.

Dennis,
Wrong! The manufacturer can only suggest a final price. The mfr. must sell to all dealers at the same dealer net. It is then up to the dealer to sell at any price. There are times when a dealer will sell for a very low price and elect to make the profit on collateral sales. Cameras have been sold that way in NYC for decades. Having been a mktg vp for a photo mfr, I know how exacerbating the practise can be to those dealers who sell at "suggested" list. Those "mom and pop" stores have mostly faded away. We might not like that but fact of life these days. If a mfr tries to control the end price or cancel a dealer for selling at a different price, that is unlawful. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is an old law but still is the basis for non-price fixing.
As for tools, I buy all my tools from the local dealer if there is quality service available. It is more important to me to have equipment that works right than just the lowest price.

[Reg Mitchell]

well its still over priced at 30% off in my openion.....ummmmmmmmmm guess I'll keep doing it the old fashion way.... and

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Dennis,
Wrong! The manufacturer can only suggest a final price. The mfr. must sell to all dealers at the same dealer net. It is then up to the dealer to sell at any price. There are times when a dealer will sell for a very low price and elect to make the profit on collateral sales. Cameras have been sold that way in NYC for decades. Having been a mktg vp for a photo mfr, I know how exacerbating the practise can be to those dealers who sell at "suggested" list. Those "mom and pop" stores have mostly faded away. We might not like that but fact of life these days. If a mfr tries to control the end price or cancel a dealer for selling at a different price, that is unlawful. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is an old law but still is the basis for non-price fixing.
As for tools, I buy all my tools from the local dealer if there is quality service available. It is more important to me to have equipment that works right than just the lowest price.

John, you're coming on a little strong with the "Wrong!" statement don't you think? Obviously I'm not wrong because this is a standard business practice. Manufacturers pull their product from a retailers who won't comply with their conditions of sale all the time. Whether it is good for small business or the consumers is a different argument.

I'm no lawyer, but it is my understanding that the Sherman Antitrust act protects consumers from businesses who seek a monopoly. In this case, Tormek is simply one of many sharpening systems available to the market. The Antitrust statues would only apply if the company that manufactured Tormek tried to buy all the other sharpening systems and control the market for them.

[Mike Henderson]

It's been a long time since I took marketing classes, but I think I remember that there are laws against price fixing. That is, the manufacturer has to sell to all buyers (retailers) at the same price, for the same volume and conditions of sale. Beyond that, the manufacturer cannot legally control the price the retailer sells at. If the retailer wishes to sell at a loss, for example, the manufacture cannot prevent it.

Now, in the real world, the manufacturer has a lot of ways of punishing retailers who deviate. For example, the manufacturer may offer discounts based on something that the deviant retailer does not do (such as provide service). But a manufacturer who refuses to sell to a retailer for no reason other than price fixing would probalby run afoul of the law, and for good reason.

Mike