On Sat, 14 Oct 2006 17:22:32 GMT, "P.I._Maine"
wrote:

Thanks to all that have replied to this post!! You've most definately
answered my question and I'll be buying the Jet mini as soon as the price is
right. $329.99 shipped through Amazon is a great price compared to other
places I've checked for the mini vs. Problem is I passed up this lathe when
it was priced at right around $280 (though my brain is telling me BUY BUY
BUY) so I may hold off and check it out at the woodworking show we've got
coming up in Portland, Maine at the end of the month.
(http://www.woodworksevents.com/) Many Thanks! Jeff

Good choice-

Another thing to look into is floor models. If you've got a little
time, it can really pay to make several visits to your favorite local
tool store, and watch for their floor models going up for sale-
especially near the Christmas shopping season, when it might be the
last one in stock. I've gotten a lot of good deals that way,
including my Delta Midi lathe- $260, marked down from $380. It was
missing a live center for the tailstock, which I talked them into
replacing with the one from a larger Delta at the store, and had one
broken handle- which got me a $20 off, and Delta mailed me two
replacements, and an extra tool rest (not sure why, but I didn't
complain) as soon as I got home and called them. Not everyone can get
one, of course, but if you keep looking, they seem to be availible
fairly regularly. Don't forget to haggle a bit- the price tag on
things in the box may be set, but those display prices are set by an
employee's best guess, and if there's anything substandard going on-
even just loose bolts or fingerprints, they'll knock more off the
price to make room for new stuff.

I'm sure Jet has a similar policy re broken parts on floor models.