Soooo, is Festool cheaper in Germany?

[Darl Bundren]

My folks are going over there this summer, and there are a couple of tools I'd like to own. Does anybody know if it would be cheaper to buy and ship from over there as opposed to purchasing here in the States? And, how widely available are Festool products in Germany?

[Jim Becker]

Do remember that power in the EU is 240v 50 hz...

[Bob Marino]

My folks are going over there this summer, and there are a couple of tools I'd like to own. Does anybody know if it would be cheaper to buy and ship from over there as opposed to purchasing here in the States? And, how widely available are Festool products in Germany?

Darl,

The Festool USA prices are way, way lower than elsewhere in the world, including Germany.

Bob

[Steven Evans]

I would guess they are cheaper as there would not be international shipping. Though they can get a lot of systainers in a oversea container. The euro is strong compared to the US dollar right now as well but if your not earning euros it won't help much. Would can find foreign prices on the web. There are european based ebay sights and stores. Though I can not remember how to pull them up. I have come across them doing searches for shaper tooling. They are not in english FYI.

[Steve Rowe]

Bob is correct. Festool prices are much less in the US than in Europe. I was in Switzerland in January and you are much better off financially getting them in the US. There are some notable exceptions in that not all of the Festool line is available in the US.
Steve

[glenn bradley]

Depends how much it would cost to have the voltage conversion done . . . .

[Dave Falkenstein]

I wonder if Festool products purchased outside the USA are covered by the normal Festool-USA warranty???

Perhaps it would be a good thing to buy in the USA, even though we buy tools that are not made in the USA. Since Festool products are actually a better buy in the USA, that provides a stronger incentive to spend money in the USA.

[Bob Marino]

I wonder if Festool products purchased outside the USA are covered by the normal Festool-USA warranty???

Perhaps it would be a good thing to buy in the USA, even though we buy tools that are not made in the USA. Since Festool products are actually a better buy in the USA, that provides a stronger incentive to spend money in the USA.

Dave,

Good point about warranty coverage. I guess, techically the answer is no, but the bigger problem is that Festool USA would have to order and stock different parts for tools that are not available here.

Bob

[Darl Bundren]

Ooop! There is that whole electricity thing, isn't there? Thanks for the replies, and being so gentle with pointing out what to some are obvious issues

[Ken Milhinch]

Here is an example for you to ponder. Festool 150FEQ Rotex sander.

In Germany 505.75 Euros which is about US$684
In Australia A$825 which is about US$688.

So what price in the USA ?

And then you have the voltage issue which is important.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Here is an example for you to ponder. Festool 150FEQ Rotex sander.

In Germany 505.75 Euros which is about US$684
In Australia A$825 which is about $688.

So what price in the USA ?

And then you have the voltage issue which is important.

And the answer is - $440.00 in the USA, no shipping and no tax (if you buy from the right source).

[Mike Cutler]

Ooop! There is that whole electricity thing, isn't there? Thanks for the replies, and being so gentle with pointing out what to some are obvious issues

That's an easy issue to overcome. There are multitudes of converters avaliable.

It would have to be something that Festool offered that I believed would never come to the US. Parts, warranty, and compatability issues might make the $$$ saved "penny wise and pound foolish".

[Brian Dormer]

It's possible (note that this is an educated guess at best) that Festool might make the motors such that they will run on ANY power standard anywhere in the world. The engineering to do so isn't all that difficult. Depends on how the designers decided to do things in a built-one-for-everywhere .vs. build-different-for-EU.vs.US decision.

So maybe all you need is the right cord and you'd be all set. A Festool rep (if you can catch one at, say, a WoodCraft demo) might know.

Then again - you would have to declare the tools when you come back (and pay duty). And the airlines are getting picky about overweight baggage.

How importing the tools might impact your warranty is unknown....

In the long run - unless the tools are WAY cheaper across the pond - it's probably not worth it.

[Tom Quatsoe]

5 years ago 1 dollar would get you 1.1 eurodollars.....today you only get 0.75 eurodollars. Next, most companies do not hedge against currency fluctuations and allow local pricing to remain relatively stable or are slower to change then the currency moves. So, as the dollar de-values against the euro our price in the USA has stayed about the same. But if you travel to Germany and trade your US Dollars for Euros, now you have to make up for the devaluation in the dollar instead of the company. So, for now, buy locally at very good prices and remember it is the opposite of a few years ago when you needed to travel abroad to get relatively cheaper prices.

Or said more simply, the cost of shipping is a smaller factor then currency changes.

Oh yeah...I also saw that Burnstool.com has free shipping on Festool. I have never bought from them, but it looks like they might save you a few $. I have had good experience ordering from Mcfeelys.com.

Good Luck

[Dave Falkenstein]

[QUOTE=Tom Quatsoe;568407...[FONT=Arial]Oh yeah...I also saw that Burnstool.com has free shipping on Festool. I have never bought from them, but it looks like they might save you a few $. I have had good experience ordering from Mcfeelys.com...[/FONT]

As far as I know, Festool dealers and Festool-USA ship any order over $150 free. And it's mighty easy to get a Festool order over $150. Smile.