My Woodcraft store just got some class!

[John Miliunas]

I stopped at my local Woodcraft store on the way home from work today, in hopes of finding some "Driftwood" color dye. (No luck, BTW) I strolled in, as usual, and just hung a quick left over toward the finishing supplies. Didn't find what I was looking for. Wandered over to the "closeout" racks and struck out there, as well. Chatted with one of the guys for a bit and started heading out. Just as I was waving to the guys at the counter registers, my eye caught a familiar light green. "No, it couldn't be!", I thought. Sho 'nuf. There sat, in all their glory, a couple stacks of Festool systainers! :confused: Huh? The only tool they had out was the plunge saw, guide and the table, but there were cases with sanders and such, too!

I asked one of the guys what the scoop was on the Festool. He said something to the effect, "Have you heard of them before?" Well, by the time I left, I had given HIM an education on Festool, as well as one of the customers checking out at the counter! They said there's a rep coming in a couple weeks to train them on the finer points of the tools. Heck, give me a few days and I'd sell enough to put a dent in their inventory! I didn't see any pricing and didn't ask. I'll stop back next week and see if I can't get more detail(s) on their pricing structure. Should be interesting, though I still think my "supplier" will continue to be the same one I've always had! It would, however, be interesting to know if the whole Woodcraft chain is going to be stocking them and, if so, at what kind of a price point. Guess we'll see. I'll post an update as I find out more. :cool:

[Bob Marino]

Well, they aren't all that new to the stores.

Some Woodcrafts, McFeeley's carry them now, more of the big guys will later on I guess. My limited understanding is that no store will stock and sell the tools directly. Orders will be sent to the main office in CA and shipped from either the east coast or west coast warehouses. Prices aren't negotiated by the ISA's. Since Festool will have more Independant Sales Agents (ISA's - both single agents and stores), access to the tools will be easier for the customer.

Bob

[Dave Arbuckle]

We've had them in the Dallas store for a couple, maybe three months. Like Bob said, they aren't stocked in the stores, and prices are the same as listed on the web site.

Dave

[John Miliunas]

Well, they aren't all that new to the stores.

Some Woodcrafts, McFeeley's carry them now, more of the big guys will later on I guess. My limited understanding is that no store will stock and sell the tools directly. Orders will be sent to the main office in CA and shipped from either the east coast or west coast warehouses. Prices aren't negotiated by the ISA's. Since Festool will have more Independant Sales Agents (ISA's - both single agents and stores), access to the tools will be easier for the customer.

Bob

So, if I'm reading you correctly, that simply means that the stores will just be accessible order points, right? It may be nice to be able and get one's mitts on a tool, in order to get a "feel" for it, I suppose. Well, FWIW, I still think I'm going to keep my favorite "supplier" of those tools! It ain't broke, so why "fix" it?! Thanks for the info, Bob! :cool:

[Steve Roxberg]

So if Woodcraft has a 10% off sale, like they do twice a year. Does that mean I can pick up my Festool for 10% off as well? :confused:

[Bob Marino]

So, if I'm reading you correctly, that simply means that the stores will just be accessible order points, right? It may be nice to be able and get one's mitts on a tool, in order to get a "feel" for it, I suppose. Well, FWIW, I still think I'm going to keep my favorite "supplier" of those tools! It ain't broke, so why "fix" it?! Thanks for the info, Bob! :cool:


That's essentailly correct, except that most stores and some ISA's will/do warehouse and sell the accessories and consumables directly to the customer. Thanks for the vote of confidance ;)

Bob

[Bob Marino]

So if Woodcraft has a 10% off sale, like the do twice a year. Does that mean I can pick up my Festool for 10% off as well? :confused:


Not sure, but I don't think so, at least not directly. Also remember I am only a sales rep for Festool, not an employee, certainly not authorized spokesman.

Bob

[Julie Wright]

WOW, and I thought I lived out in the country.
Our Woodcraft has had Festool for as long as I can remember.

[John Miliunas]

WOW, and I thought I lived out in the country.
Our Woodcraft has had Festool for as long as I can remember.

Julie, must be a pretty classy store! :cool:

[Bud Duffy]

I havnt seen any in the "local" Woodcraft about 75 miles away, but then again that is how far everything is for me. :rolleyes:

[Jim Becker]

Almost all Woodcraft stores are independently owned franchises at this point--there used to be a bunch of company stores in addition to franchises. (If you have a spare half-million you, too, can own one...) While the majority of stuff that each store carries comes from the Woodcraft distribution system in WVA, owners can certainly make arrangements to carry/make available things like Festool.

Even if I was in reasonable distance from the "local" Woodcraft and they carried the green and black line, I'd still buy Festool from Uncle Bob! :D But the touchie-feelie thing would certainly be welcome when making a decision. Of course, then you feel obligated to buy something at the store... :rolleyes:

[Greg Heppeard]

Hmmm seems like I was wrong about Festool...I dodn't think that anyone would buy them so I didn't stock them...That will change soon

[Walt Pater]

I noticed a full array of Festool goodies at a WW'ing store near me-complete with a "back room" with a plunge saw + ROS set up & hooked up to a shockingly quiet Festool vacuum. Nice stuff.

[Steve Roxberg]

Hmmm seems like I was wrong about Festool...I dodn't think that anyone would buy them so I didn't stock them...That will change soon

Greg,

Wrong, Festool controls the distribution and doesn't allow a dealer to stock inventory. They are only sales agents, and can't control their own prices, or so I've been told.

[Greg Heppeard]

Steve,
Could be, I don't remember the details about selling Festool, I only know that we were offered some kind of deal. I'm going to check on the details Monday

[John Miliunas]

Steve,
Could be, I don't remember the details about selling Festool, I only know that we were offered some kind of deal. I'm going to check on the details Monday

Greg, I'm sure that would be a great addition to your store lines. BUT, I'm *still* buying MY stuff from BOB! :D Seriously, they're great tools and if any of your regular customers are into high quality and want the best, they certainly can't go wrong with Festool. Selling the first one might be a bit tough, but after that, it's a piece of cake. :cool:

[Dennis Peacock]

John,

Your just LUCKY is all.....there is not a single woodcraft store in the entire STATE of Arkansas......My closest Woodcraft store is either Oklahoma City, OK or St. Louis, MO or Tulsa, OK (Bob Lasley territory)........If "I" want to go to Woodcraft, it BETTER be for a REALLY good reason.

Consider yourself very fortunate to have resources that are "local" to you that you can count on.

[Dennis Peacock]

Greg,

I'm with John on this one....if you ever buy your first Festool tool, you will often times wonder WHY you didn't buy one of those a long time ago. To me....there is nothing like a tool from Festool and never has been a sales rep like Bob Marino...... :)

[John Miliunas]

Consider yourself very fortunate to have resources that are "local" to you that you can count on.

Hey Dennis. Yes, I do consider myself fortunate in having them nearby. (My car can just about drive *itslef* there! :D ) They don't always have what I'm looking for, but can usually accomodate me. They've also been pretty good to me, as well. I know most all the guys in there and they make me feel welcome, even when I leave without purchasing anything (...on those *rare* occassions!). I do, however, try and plan ahead, so that I can visit on the way home from work. Otherwise, it's about a 45 mile drive for me. :cool:

[Thomas Walker]

I'm very impressed with the Festool system engineering, but I find their distribution requirements to be a good example of German stubborness (arrogance). Sort of like BMW's (which I have one of) refusal to put cup holders in their cars during the early 90's. After all, "people should be enjoying the privelege of driving their finely crafted cars -- not enjoying a cup of coffee while getting somewhere". They finally gavve in when they realized they couldn't sell a car in America without one.

Likewise with the inventory decision. Don't you think they could sell more if it was possible to go to a store and walk home with a nice new tool? And if they sold more, maybe the price would go down a bit.

Also, what's in it for the store? How much incentive is there for the customer to order from the dealer since he can't actually get it there. Won't many (most?) people go home to think about it and look at the website and end up ordering directly?

Plus, this means the customer is going to have to pay the shipping cost, and it means that Festool's will likely never be part of a sale since the store is just getting a commission.

And finally, the customer will have to pay tax in addition to shipping if he orders from Festool because of the sales rep in the state.

It seems like it would be nice of Festool to offer it as an option for independent sales reps that wanted to work that way, but it doesn't make sense for selling through a store like Woodcraft.

Sorry for the rant, but I just went through this. I saw the tools at Redmond's in Atlanta, but I didn't order from them since I couldn't really see an advantage for me in doing that. Before everyone starts pointing out how important it is to support your local vendor, I agree - to a degree. I purchased because of the glowing remarks on the forums, not because of Redmonds, and it seemed like just adding another step in the process where the order could get mis-communicated or lost.