Purchasing a SawStop...

[Edward Garrett]

Well, based on all the posts here and from what I have read over the past year, I think it may finally be time to start the process of purchasing a SawStop. Today I contacted two separate retailers I found on the SawStop website, and I was not at all impressed with their knowlegde of the saw nor the price they quoted me (for the 3HP w/52" rails: $4,187 + $550 delivery + $284 tax = $5,021)....a bit of a shock when the annual Fine Woodworking "Tools & Shops" edition has the "street price" at $3,200.

Clearly SawStop is limiting their vendor-base for business reasons (which I have no argument with - business is business). But before I start saving and then invest upt to $5K I want to make sure that I am not overpaying and I want to have confidence in the person/store I buy from...

I am wondering if anybody has been "creative" in ordering their SawStop, i.e. has ordered directly from the manufacturer, or been especially pleased with a local dealer (near/around northeast PA)?

[Ben Rafael]

I looked into sawstop last summer. The only places I found that discounted them at all were east of the mississippi and none of them would ship to the west coast. The discounts were about 7% and only a couple would do it.
Go to the sawstop website and get their list of distributors and just call them all to find the best price. Dont bother calling any in the west, they would not discount the saw.

[Will Blick]

I agree that SS is limiting sales drastically by charging "whatever" price.... the Saw is expensive enough vs. the other "best" cabinet saws on the market. When you toss in no discounts, YES to sales tax and outrageous shipping costs, I know it made me shy away from SS. I think Grizz is one of the few makers that truly understands the hobbiest market in this regard. I share your frustration.

[Dave Verstraete]

Edward
At Woodcraft in August(before their price increase) I paid 3,199(3 hp 1phase) + 369(52" rails) + 99(Ext. Table)+ 229.99(Mobile base) + State sales tax. The local Woodcraft store delivered it to me ( 10 miles or so) at that price.

[Scott Myers]

I paid about the same as Dave did, except I paid about $300 for the mobile base and I paid $3100 for the saw, so it was about a wash. But I had to pay over $400 shipping from Oregon to Ohio. Hey, I agree, paying for a Sawstop is enough to make you cringe and cry uncle. But it's the only game in town if you want the Sawstop technology. And it is a beast of a saw.

So far, I think the SawStop fence itself is in the "OK" range. I am still working with the fence as I just got my saw all adjusted and up and running 2 days ago, so I haven't spent enough time with the fence trying to get it perfectly straight yet. If I had it to do over, I might look into seeing if a Powermatic fence, with it's machined tube faces, would work with the Sawstop rails, or some other good fence. But like I said, I don't have enough experience with the fence yet to really give a good opinion. SawStop said they would replace the fence if I can't get the issue resolved to my liking, so I can't fault them for support! I described the problem in whole on my post below.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=97096

Other than this one little issue, the saw and SawStop's technical support have been GREAT.

[Mike Heidrick]

The Oct 1st price increase went from $2799 to $3099 for the 3hp single phase version - do not pay more than that. Any more than that is a dealer gouge.

Shipping and tax is a killer. I paid $350 in shipping to IL - to a Woodcraft! not even to my house! - and almost $300 in tax back in 10/2006. all that and I still drove 80 miles round trip to go get it.

I like my sawstop fence a lot - It has the best rule site I have used - really easy to read teh fence setting - it is about a billion times nice than the Jet super saw (or whatever it is called - I call it a Hybrid 3/4 cabinet saw) fence my buddy has.

[Don Bullock]

I looked into sawstop last summer. The only places I found that discounted them at all were east of the mississippi and none of them would ship to the west coast. The discounts were about 7% and only a couple would do it.
Go to the sawstop website and get their list of distributors and just call them all to find the best price. Dont bother calling any in the west, they would not discount the saw.

That's the first I've heard on anyone "discounting" a SawStop. When I bought mine no one in the whole country had a lower price because SawStop was controlling the retail price. All dealers were "required" by SawStop to charge the shipping fee to their store by SawStop as well, but a few found a way to get around that somehow.

If you to decide to buy one, check to see what "extras" that the dealer will do for you. Some will uncrate the saw, check all the tolerances, and set it up for you. Mine did all that plus he placed it on the mobile base I bought from him and he didn't charge me the whole fee for delivering it to my home.

Once you get it home you're going to enjoy using it.

[Dan Lee]

I was able to negotiate 'free' out of the crate onto the mobile base and lift gate delivery service.

[david kramer]

Here's a way to get a discount, but you're probably not going to like it ;).

Like everyone else I paid list for my SawStop. But I bought a couple of other machines at the same time (DC etc.). I asked a couple of dealers to quote me for the entire order and they all quoted me list for the SS and steep discounts on the other equipment, in order to get the business. Hey dealer's got to eat too, but I'm sure the margin on SS is pretty healthy. So SS held the line on their price, dealer made a tidy profit on the deal, I got my workshop tricked out at a nice discount, all above board. Win win.

So the trick to saving money is ... spend even more money!

David

[Danny Burns]

Deflation should kick in right about ......

[NICK BARBOZA]

Here's a way to get a discount, but you're probably not going to like it ;).

Like everyone else I paid list for my SawStop. But I bought a couple of other machines at the same time (DC etc.). I asked a couple of dealers to quote me for the entire order and they all quoted me list for the SS and steep discounts on the other equipment, in order to get the business. Hey dealer's got to eat too, but I'm sure the margin on SS is pretty healthy. So SS held the line on their price, dealer made a tidy profit on the deal, I got my workshop tricked out at a nice discount, all above board. Win win.

So the trick to saving money is ... spend even more money!

David

I did the same thing too! painful but saved a bit of money. i got my stationary planer the same time and they took care of me. I spent in the same range of Scott M and Dave V back in early '08. I went to Western Tool Supply, unfortunately they closed their store up here about 2 months ago though... im planning to call the corporate office and give them a piece of my mind...

Cheers,
Nick

[Dave Hale]

Bought mine at the Woodcraft in Wilmington, DE (no sales tax). It was shipped from their parent store in Downington, PA for a very reasonable price (liftgate).

[jason lambert]

Bought Mind form Force Machinery in NJ. He was very fair with the price I know he stocks all the models he has about 5-20 in stock so if you pick it up you might minimise the shipping. Might be worth a phone call talk to Jim.