Barry responds:

Yeah, it is, partly because it amounts to about half the mark-up the
retailer
gets for stocking and selling the saw (mark-up on tools in the major table
saw
price range run from maybe 11% to 17%).

The question is, from what number?

I've got several large dealers, including the actual bricks and mortar
for two large web vendors, in the neighborhood. The webbie's stores
actually resemble indoor flea markets more than a spiffy retail
operation like Woodcraft. In fact, the floor demos at one of them are
often put together finger-tight! Both stores were in business before
the web as discount tool dealers, both also have Home Depot stores
across the street.

Both web vendors sell brands like Delta, Powermatic, and Jet locally
for 20% less than the other guys, often at lower prices than Amazon /
Tool Crib. The last time I checked, neither web vendor had filed as a
503(c) with the IRS. G


I don't know how they do it. Power tools in general have lower margins than
hand tools and accessories, and the larger the tool, generally as above, the
lower the margin. Of course, there are always exceptions, and some of these
small dealers may band together to get a special deal better than that the
larger dealers get (sure!). It's also possible that they stocked up when the
manufacturer was offering the dealers a sale.

I don't see an HD across the street as necessarily a negative for a tool
dealer. Increases interested traffic in the area.

Charlie Self
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." Sir Winston
Churchill