On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 21:02:57 -0700, brianlanning wrote:

I'm considering a trip to misourri this summer for the grizzly tent sale.

Missouri, son, Missouri. You can pronounce it seventeen different ways,
but there's only one way to spell it.

I've always wanted to see the store anyway. And since I'm gearing up to
add some machines to the new gar... shop, I figured the tent sale would
be a good time to go. It's July 16 this year.

SWMBO shocked me today by suggesting that it may make more sense to get
all the machines I want in one shot.

She's a keeper.

The idea being to get a flat bed
uhaul trailer and make the trek there and bring back a shop full of
tools ourselves to avoid the shipping costs. Even with having to pay
sales tax, it could be a significant savings.

I've done similar. One nice thing about Grizzly's web site is they have
the dimensions of the boxes the machines are in. I'm so obsessive that I
actually measured the cargo dimensions of my Durango and figured out how
best to load all of the stuff. I came home with a contractor's saw, long
rails for the fence, a 6" jointer, a bench-top drill press, a dust
collector, and a small compressor in one trip.

I immediately thought of
the tent sale.

You poor *******.

So I was wondering if anyone had been to one of their tent sales.

My son and I go every year.

I'm
sure it's an exercise in insanity.

Man, you ain't kiddin'. Sometimes it takes over an hour just for the
cashier's line.

How does it work with the larger
machines? Do you put your name on it or something?

They're tagged. If you want something, you take the top copy to the
cashier.

What is the sales
tax at the springfield store?

Last year it was 6.6%.

Is the sale worth going to or do 10,000
people show up for 10 machines?

Oh, it's much more than 10 machines. Of course, a fair percentage of those
are large-shop type iron. There are usually three large tents just for the
machines.

What kind of discounts are generally
offered? Are we talking half off or only like 10%?

It depends on what's wrong with the machine. The discounts on
good-enough-to-run gear are good, but not breath taking.

And is there a wide
variety of machines or just what's on the outlet link of their site?

It runs the gamut of their entire line. Generally, whatever they can't
sell as new.

If
parts are broken or missing, are they good about replacing them or do
you have to pay for the parts because everything is as-is?

It's all as-is. Their parts department is pretty good, but I've never
tried to get parts on the day of the tent sale. I have a feeling that
they get rather overwhelmed.

I'd like to take a flat bed trailer since I'm after the new 21" band
saw. But if I have to take the machines to the trailer onsey-twosey,
then leave them to go back in, I'd have to get the closed trailer so I
could lock it up.

Who do you think is going to walk off with your 21" bandsaw? There will be
plenty of trailers and pickups full of unattended iron.

Do they assemble a watched group of tools in a
loading dock area where I can load them all up at once with their help?

My wife says that it must be a good sale for that many sane men to stand
in line at 4am. :-)

Well, it's a lot of fun besides the deals. There are usually some
trucks/tents from other manufacturers like DeWalt, PC and so forth and
they generally have good sales as well.

But all of that aside, how many places have stuffed bears, lathes, an
indoor fish pond, saws, suits of armor, jointers, swords, mills, guns,
sanders, and guitars under one roof? I mean besides Tom Watson's place.

--
Joe Wells