Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

As soon as you see the prices double just before the sale. I suspect that
with a 5% discount off power tools the profit is probably cut in half.

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?

Maybe weak but if you are really serious about buying the tool this discount
may be just enough to close the deal.

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?


Jewelry has 40% to 80% off sales and more because they mark it up 300%.
Clothing is often 50% off at end of season because it will not sell next
year. Markups are huge on clothing.

Tools don't work that way. Doubt you will ever see a 40% off unless it is
something that is discontinued. This years router bit and clamps will still
be in style next year. When I was in the hobby industry, dealers paid list
minus 40%. Distributors paid list minus 50% - 10%. Over a certain order
size 50-10-2 was common.

Hi NEM,

Sale? It doesn't even take a sale to suck me in.
Just bought me the Grizzly 1023SL on the 31st
because of the $100 price increase on the 1st.

Clever *******s.

Now I have to figure a way to unload 462 pounds
off the truck & get it into my basement.

SWMBO just smiles.

Lou

In article .com,
Never Enough Money wrote:

Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?

Never Enough Money.... a reality check. I have sold equipment for
years and even owned my own tool store. The tool market is so
competive you were lucky to make a solid 8 to 10% margin on machinery.
You sold machinery as a loss leader in order to sell the accesories
that did have a respectable profit margin. I can tell you from the
heart, making a living selling power tools and woodworking supplies is
damn hard work with little money rewards. There simply is not enough
profit and margine to offer such a deep discount. If you think I am
full of it....buy your own store and good into business yourself.
Discount everything 40% and sell everything below cost and see how long
you can stay in business. Believe me people have tried and next thing
you know they are filling for Chapter 13 and closing shop.
good luck...
Mike

On 3 Jan 2005 16:24:54 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

That does not even pay for the 9.75% sales tax. A 20% is a good sale,
but 50% (clearance) off retail is much better.

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?

That's BS! I am a WMH dealer and there is nothing with as little as 10% markup
except some very pricey high end machines, mostly metal working. We are not
forced by WMH to sell at any price. He's right about Amazon as they do sell
awfuly cheap. Leigh at MarMachine

writes:

A friend is the owner of the local Woodcraft store. He regularly shares his
cost with me. The markup on power tools is mighty thin. When Woodcraft
does their 10% off sale on Delta, or Jet, the store is losing money on every
sale. It's a national campaign that they must participate in. I don't know
if HQ reimburses them or not. Many times the prices on Amazon are lower
than his cost. He said they make their money on everything else in the
store.


"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
roups.com...
Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

For exampkle, Woodpeckers just offered memebers of their e-mail "club"
the Precision Router Lift for $269 rather than the regular $289. That's
just under 7%.

Is it me or are these "sales" a bit weak?

I very much doubt your store owner is losing money on those sales--they are
usually co-op ventures between Woodcraft, the manufacturer/distributor and the
store.

Mark-ups on power tools generally range from 17% to, maybe, 23%, depending on
company, state of the market and competition. Anytime a sale knocks off more
than 10% or so, it becomes a break even deal--gross mark-up is NOT profit--with
luck, but if Woodcraft backs off its 5%, that eases things at the store level,
at which point Woodcraft would expect the manufacturer to back off a couple
percentage points on their charges.

Power tools were marketed intensely, with competitive throat cutting before the
Chinese entry and things have not gotten betterfor the companies (which is part
of the reason that just about all U.S. production capacity for such tools is
now gone: the rest will leave within 5 years, IMO).

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 22:03:20 -0600, "bob"
wrote:

A friend is the owner of the local Woodcraft store. He regularly shares his
cost with me. The markup on power tools is mighty thin. When Woodcraft
does their 10% off sale on Delta, or Jet, the store is losing money on every
sale.

So how come another independent dealer 15 minutes from my local
Woodcraft ALWAYS sells Delta for 10% less than Woodcraft?

Should the indie place a collection plate near the door? G

Barry

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 22:03:20 -0600, "bob"
wrote:

A friend is the owner of the local Woodcraft store. He regularly shares
his
cost with me. The markup on power tools is mighty thin. When Woodcraft
does their 10% off sale on Delta, or Jet, the store is losing money on
every
sale.

So how come another independent dealer 15 minutes from my local
Woodcraft ALWAYS sells Delta for 10% less than Woodcraft?


Not everyone can purchase for the same price. Delta used to have different
discount levels for purchases across its line, based on the amount
purchased. The dealer in our area had a list for those willing to wait and
split his discount.

Don't want to get into franchise limitations, co-op advertising, overhead
.....

I'm going to use my Menards 11% coupon for some shop supplies....

I doubt that Woodcraft is losing money on their 10% sales. Otherwise,
they'd be out of business.

Are you guys nuts? The reason there are so many tool retailers and
manufacturers is because there IS money in it. Their margins ain't that
thin.....

It's a volume versus price trade off and they opt for lower volumns.

Regarding these thin margins reported from retailers (e.g. Woodcraft),
I suspect year end kick-backs just like car dealerships get.

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
Are you guys nuts? The reason there are so many tool retailers and
manufacturers is because there IS money in it. Their margins ain't that
thin.....


It's a volume versus price trade off and they opt for lower volumns.

Regarding these thin margins reported from retailers (e.g. Woodcraft),
I suspect year end kick-backs just like car dealerships get.


You really sound like you are guessing here. I can assure you "many" car
dealers are not making their money selling their cars either. The new cars
sales at many dealerships are simply at break even at best. Big volume
sales however generate a lot of business for the much more profitable back
end of the business. The mechanical shop, parts department, and body
shop/make ready department get a piece of the pie on every unit sold and
repeat retail business in those departments generate much nicer profits.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 06:42:05 -0800, Never Enough Money wrote:

Are you guys nuts? The reason there are so many tool retailers and
manufacturers is because there IS money in it. Their margins ain't that
thin.....

It's a volume versus price trade off and they opt for lower volumns.

Regarding these thin margins reported from retailers (e.g. Woodcraft),
I suspect year end kick-backs just like car dealerships get.

Having worked in a Woodcraft store, I can tell you that the higher the
listed price of the item, the less the margin. In addition,
Woodcraft stores are franchise stores and get their stock from Woodcraft
HQ. There is more to margin than what the store pays and what the item
sells for, for instance rent of store space heating/cooling/electrical,
local taxes, payroll, shipping costs, interest on loans (unless you
coughed up a half mill or more in cash to open your franchise) for
starters. At the end of the day/month/year, the cumulative margin on all
items sold must at least pay for all expenses. The employee discount
didn't apply if it reduced the price of the item below store cost (not
even considering all the above). In this case the employee price was
store cost. None of the major power tools qualified for the full employee
discount because of this. For example, a unisaw might have a margin of
$100 before expenses and you might sell one a month. This is a whopping
$1200/year profit which you get to use to pay for all the aforementioned
expenses. OTOH, items like plastic glue bottles might have a markup of
200%. These things are what keeps the stores in business, not the heavy
iron. When there's a sale on these big ticket items, it reduces the
margin to a point where you can only hope customers attracted by the sale
also buy a bunch of small stuff and/or accessories.

- Doug

--

To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard)

On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 08:23:01 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:


Not everyone can purchase for the same price. Delta used to have different
discount levels for purchases across its line, based on the amount
purchased.

I seriously doubt the Woodcraft chain is not part of some preferred
price package, especially since Delta seems to do campaigns with them
on a monthly basis.

Barry

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 15:16:18 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


You really sound like you are guessing here. I can assure you "many" car
dealers are not making their money selling their cars either.

Correct, they're LEASING them at big profits.

Barry

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 15:16:18 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


You really sound like you are guessing here. I can assure you "many" car
dealers are not making their money selling their cars either.

Correct, they're LEASING them at big profits.


You think? There are VERY few dealerships that own their vehicle
inventory. Not unusual for a typical dealership in a large city to have
floor plan interest costing them 5 to 10 million a year. I suspect that the
company carrying the note or lease is making the real money.
When shopping for a new car, look at the state inspection stickers. The
oldest sticker will indicate the car or cars that have been costing the
dealer month after month in floor plan interest. When I worked for a
dealership the average vehicle cost the dealer about $300 per month to have
it sitting on the lot and that was simply interim interest that he was
paying. That was in the mid 80's With a modest inventory of 400 vehicles
and the price of cars being double that of 20 years ago the expense add up
quickly. Many of the leases are backed by an outside finance company and
the dealer simply gets a commission on the lease so to speak.

I just bought a Jet drill press on Amazon. The normal price is $399 but
Amazon had a one day sale with an extra $17.50 off and then there is
the standing $25 off any tool over $199. On top of that I get a $100
rebate from Jet having already bought another tool in their discount
scheme this quarter so the net price of the drill press is $256.50. I
did a similar thing with their air filter and got a tool that is
normally $250 for $125 after all the discounts ($50 off, $25 standing,
$50 Jet cash back).

So yes there are some really good deals on tools on occasion. These Jet
tools are exactly the same as the Delta models.

Now compare my tools deal with the price of a dishwasher or a washing
machine. For $800 I get a piece of crap that has a cabinet made out of
thin steel, a cheap motor, bearings etc and is produced in vastly
larger quantities. What gives here? I just spent $100 on a part to fix
the clothes washer door lock and another $15 on wheels for the
dishwasher china basket.

Compare the cost of the machine tools to even the type of hand tools
they sell in Home Despot. Its quite amazing the amount of iron and
steel you get for your money. Then take into account the fact that
Amazon is paying for the shipping which is not cheap on the bulky items
and is presumably making some sort of profit.

Bottom line is that the tools themselves must cost next to nothing to
produce or the system simply could not work.

The big cost in machine tools is table saws. My Unisaw cost me as much
as all the rest of my big tools put together. OK so it has a pricey
Baldor motor but the margins on the rest of the machine are way better
than those on the bulk of $400 workshop tools. I can see a way that a
company could make a profit on those, but no way can I see how a $400
band saw makes money.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 17:16:02 -0800, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:

The big cost in machine tools is table saws. My Unisaw cost me as much
as all the rest of my big tools put together. OK so it has a pricey
Baldor motor but the margins on the rest of the machine are way better
than those on the bulk of $400 workshop tools. I can see a way that a
company could make a profit on those, but no way can I see how a $400
band saw makes money.

Just remember that the Woodcraft franchises must get their inventory from
Woodcraft HQ, and Woodcraft HQ ain't in the biz to be a non-profit entity.
In otherwords, HQ sets the sets the cost and the sale price for every
item they supply, and if there is a big fat margin on heavy iron because
of volume purchasing or whatever, it ain't the franchisee that gets the
bulk of it. There's a reason Woodcraft went from corporate owned stores to
franchises. In a way, it's a form of outsourcing the expensive outlet
part of the biz.

- Doug

--

To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard)

"Phisherman" wrote in message
news
On 3 Jan 2005 16:24:54 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

Seems the woodworking retailers consider 5% off a sale. When are we
going to see 40% off good tools?

That does not even pay for the 9.75% sales tax. A 20% is a good sale,
but 50% (clearance) off retail is much better.

Once in a while you can score. I went to OSH one time and there was a bunch
of power tools on sale marked clearance 50% off regular price. One of the
items was a scroll saw that had a regular price of $120. When they scanned
the price it came up on the computer as $99 and they gave me 50% of that and
they had counter coupons for $10 off so I ended up with a new scroll saw for
$49.


--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.

Ba r r y wrote in
:

On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 08:23:01 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:


Not everyone can purchase for the same price. Delta used to have
different discount levels for purchases across its line, based on the
amount purchased.

I seriously doubt the Woodcraft chain is not part of some preferred
price package, especially since Delta seems to do campaigns with them
on a monthly basis.

Barry

I'd be surprised if they weren't taking a markup of some kind at the
franchisor level.

Patriarch

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 08:23:01 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:


Not everyone can purchase for the same price. Delta used to have
different
discount levels for purchases across its line, based on the amount
purchased.

I seriously doubt the Woodcraft chain is not part of some preferred
price package, especially since Delta seems to do campaigns with them
on a monthly basis.

But do the stores buy directly or from the franchise, where they split
advertising, etc?

I'll also bet that Woodcraft isn't the preferred customer that a BORG is....

"Doug Winterburn" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 17:16:02 -0800, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:

The big cost in machine tools is table saws. My Unisaw cost me as much
as all the rest of my big tools put together. OK so it has a pricey
Baldor motor but the margins on the rest of the machine are way better
than those on the bulk of $400 workshop tools. I can see a way that a
company could make a profit on those, but no way can I see how a $400
band saw makes money.

Just remember that the Woodcraft franchises must get their inventory from
Woodcraft HQ, and Woodcraft HQ ain't in the biz to be a non-profit entity.
In otherwords, HQ sets the sets the cost and the sale price for every
item they supply, and if there is a big fat margin on heavy iron because
of volume purchasing or whatever, it ain't the franchisee that gets the
bulk of it. There's a reason Woodcraft went from corporate owned stores to
franchises. In a way, it's a form of outsourcing the expensive outlet
part of the biz.


Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are exploited by
their franchiser.

George notes:

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 08:23:01 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:


Not everyone can purchase for the same price. Delta used to have
different
discount levels for purchases across its line, based on the amount
purchased.

I seriously doubt the Woodcraft chain is not part of some preferred
price package, especially since Delta seems to do campaigns with them
on a monthly basis.

But do the stores buy directly or from the franchise, where they split
advertising, etc?

I'll also bet that Woodcraft isn't the preferred customer that a BORG is....


Woodcraft and Rockler and Woodworker's Supply may not be as "preferred" as a
borg in some areas, but sit back and think about how many Unisaws, PM66s and
JTAS10s the borgs sell, as compared to those sold by the above three. The same
holds true for ALL the upper end woodworking tools, not just the big power
tools.

Most large items are bought through the franchisor: the individual store
wouldn't be able to swing the weight that, for example, WSC can with 60+ stores
to supply. Even with the contracted franchise percentage, the store normally
does better to buy through its franchisor. And in many instances, it is
contractually obligated to do so. And on smaller items, the company may do its
own importing, locating and importing tools and accessories that the individual
store cannot even afford to look for. When I left Woodcraft, they had four of
the best product managers you're ever likely to find, and these guys spent a
lot of time overseas, searching through old contacts and making new ones. Most
U.S. stuff was handled by phone,but for first time buys in Germany, or England,
or Taiwan, or mainland China, or elsewhere, face-to-face often works better.
Not all of those great router bit deals come in over the transom.

Charlie Self
"A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to
the ground." H. L. Mencken

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 07:19:35 -0500, George wrote:

Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are exploited by
their franchiser.

OTOH, a franchise owner with his own dough invested in a store may take a
little keener interest in how the store is run than a company employee
with no monetary investment. AFAIK, most franchises survive. I worked in
one that failed but another was opened in the same city by a guy that
already owned a franchise in another city, so it can't be all bad.

- Doug

--

To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard)

Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are exploited
by
their franchiser.

....and just like McStores everywhere if it weren't for the franchiser
they wouldn't be in business, have any business or have a clue how to
profitably run their business. That is why people buy franchises
instead of just starting their own hamburger store or woodworking
supply store. Nobody twisted their arms ya know.

Dave Hall

Dave Hall responds:

Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are exploited
by
their franchiser.

...and just like McStores everywhere if it weren't for the franchiser
they wouldn't be in business, have any business or have a clue how to
profitably run their business. That is why people buy franchises
instead of just starting their own hamburger store or woodworking
supply store. Nobody twisted their arms ya know.


Add to the other benefits the reputation of the franchisor, something that
takes time and care to develop. Too, not all the outfits I mentioned are
franchise arrangements--I'm pretty sure all the WWS stores are owned by the
corporation.

A lot of buyers might ask themselves if they'd patronize store called Joe
Nobody's Wood Tools & Supplies with the same confidence they have buying at
WCS, for example. Franchisees are seldom exploited: it takes big bucks to get
into the bigger franchises, including gaining the abiity to sell Big Macs, but
the returns are often fabulous. If the franchise buyers feel so exploited, one
has to wonder why so may buy multiple franchises. All five Texas Woodcraft
franchises were owned by one guy a few years ago. Probably still are.

Charlie Self
"A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to
the ground." H. L. Mencken

Charlie Self wrote:
Dave Hall responds:

Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are
exploited
by
their franchiser.

...and just like McStores everywhere if it weren't for the
franchiser
they wouldn't be in business, have any business or have a clue how
to
profitably run their business. That is why people buy franchises
instead of just starting their own hamburger store or woodworking
supply store. Nobody twisted their arms ya know.


Add to the other benefits the reputation of the franchisor, something
that
takes time and care to develop. Too, not all the outfits I mentioned
are
franchise arrangements--I'm pretty sure all the WWS stores are owned
by the
corporation.

A lot of buyers might ask themselves if they'd patronize store called
Joe
Nobody's Wood Tools & Supplies with the same confidence they have
buying at
WCS, for example. Franchisees are seldom exploited: it takes big
bucks to get
into the bigger franchises, including gaining the abiity to sell Big
Macs, but
the returns are often fabulous. If the franchise buyers feel so
exploited, one
has to wonder why so may buy multiple franchises. All five Texas
Woodcraft
franchises were owned by one guy a few years ago. Probably still are.

Charlie Self
"A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both
ears to
the ground." H. L. Mencken


In talking to our local woodcraft dealer about tools, he is very
concerned about Amazon. He told me that his markup is 10% or less on
power tools. The specials are financed by the manufacturers (in
coordination with corporate). The fact that you could get a dewalt
belt sander for a lower everyday price, 20% off, $25 off ($125 purchase
or more they ran for a while), free shipping, and no sales tax caused
him to scale back on stock levels of these types of tools. Final price
turned out to be approx 50% of list, and this is just one example.

Sometimes I go for the price, sometimes I pay $25-$35 more because we
are paying for the knowledge of the store personnel which have really
come in handy. Also of note is their 1 year guarantee versus 30 days
at amazon.

Joe

From raw material to finished product, a Porter-Cable 3 1/4'th HP
router (just an example) is making somebody somewhere plenty of money
or making plenty of people a little money.

If the margins are so thin, it's because the salaries are too high.
Which brings us to outsourcing.....

I'd bet if all of us simply stopped buying routers for six months, we'd
see some sales. We'd also see some industry consolidation. Why do we
need Milwaulkee, Porter-Cable, Ryobi, Festool, DeWalt, Hitachi, Bosch,
Makita, and others) when 3 or 4 would be plenty? Supply and demand
would work.

Sorry, I wax political. My apologies.

BTW, I'm not so sure I'd beleive the 10% markup the Woodcraft guy is
stating -- it's not wise for a retailer to be telling the world what he
makes.....unless ... you can guess.

Problem develops when corporate's aims and estimation of what the franchise
should be or do is at odds with local reality. Some chains take the
advertising money, yet demand the individual store buy a minimum quantity if
they want to qualify for the discount which will allow them a profit on
what's going to be placed on national sale.

Neat deal. You put up the money and hire a boss....

"Dave Hall" wrote in message
oups.com...
Answers my question. Just like McStores everywhere, they are exploited
by
their franchiser.

...and just like McStores everywhere if it weren't for the franchiser
they wouldn't be in business, have any business or have a clue how to
profitably run their business. That is why people buy franchises
instead of just starting their own hamburger store or woodworking
supply store. Nobody twisted their arms ya know.

Dave Hall

Ok, lets start with your salary...

John Emmons


"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
From raw material to finished product, a Porter-Cable 3 1/4'th HP
router (just an example) is making somebody somewhere plenty of money
or making plenty of people a little money.

If the margins are so thin, it's because the salaries are too high.
Which brings us to outsourcing.....

I'd bet if all of us simply stopped buying routers for six months, we'd
see some sales. We'd also see some industry consolidation. Why do we
need Milwaulkee, Porter-Cable, Ryobi, Festool, DeWalt, Hitachi, Bosch,
Makita, and others) when 3 or 4 would be plenty? Supply and demand
would work.

Sorry, I wax political. My apologies.

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 11:33:50 -0800, Never Enough Money wrote:

Sorry, I wax political. My apologies.

BTW, I'm not so sure I'd beleive the 10% markup the Woodcraft guy is
stating -- it's not wise for a retailer to be telling the world what he
makes.....unless ... you can guess.

The folks running the register (computer terminal) can find out exactly
what the franchisee cost is for the item as well as the listed price. The
big ticket items are truly only marked up by a small margin. Not sure
what the HQ cost is and how much the item is marked up there on the way to
the franchisee.

- Doug

--

To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard)

here's a note on franchises....from a small business website:

A lot of people in the franchising field will tell you that franchises have a
failure rate of about 5 percent, compared to the 30 to 50 percent failure rate
of independent entrepreneurs.

You should be aware, however, of recent studies that question the 5 percent
rate. For example, a 1995 study by Dr. Timothy Bates, a professor at Wayne
State University in Detroit, found that the franchise failure rate actually
exceeded 30 percent and that franchises made lower profits than independent
entrepreneurs. Dr. Bates' study also found that the average capital investment
of franchisees was $500,000, compared to $100,000 for independent
entrepreneurs.

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
From raw material to finished product, a Porter-Cable 3 1/4'th HP
router (just an example) is making somebody somewhere plenty of money
or making plenty of people a little money.

If the margins are so thin, it's because the salaries are too high.
Which brings us to outsourcing.....

Um salery affects "net profit" not gross profit. Typically margins are
figuted on gross profit not net profit. Many more things can affect net
profit that salary.


I'd bet if all of us simply stopped buying routers for six months, we'd
see some sales.

To see a sale you have to have a buyer..

We'd also see some industry consolidation.

Possibly.

Why do we need Milwaulkee, Porter-Cable, Ryobi, Festool, DeWalt, Hitachi,
Bosch,
Makita, and others) when 3 or 4 would be plenty?

Because none of them are exactly the same and not every one wants the same
thing.

Supply and demand would work.

Yeah, the fewer choices the higher the prices. The higher the demand the
higher the prices.

Sorry, I wax political. My apologies.

BTW, I'm not so sure I'd beleive the 10% markup the Woodcraft guy is
stating -- it's not wise for a retailer to be telling the world what he
makes.....unless ... you can guess.

The 10% mark up is quite common for small power tools. Keep in mind that
this 10% mark up affects gross profit and is indexed against the published
dealer cost. If the dealer buys 10 at a time of an item he may also be
eligable for a discout himself when he buys. Depending on which inventory
accounting method the dealer uses, this profit may or may not factor into
gross profit or the "marked up price". For the ease of accounting this
discount in volume purchasing adds to the net proifit rather than the gross
profit.
As for it not being wise to tell the world, welcome to Capitolism. Some
one always lets the "secret" out. Really not a secret.

"Eag111" wrote in message
...
here's a note on franchises....from a small business website:

A lot of people in the franchising field will tell you that franchises
have a
failure rate of about 5 percent, compared to the 30 to 50 percent failure
rate
of independent entrepreneurs.

You should be aware, however, of recent studies that question the 5
percent
rate. For example, a 1995 study by Dr. Timothy Bates, a professor at Wayne
State University in Detroit, found that the franchise failure rate
actually
exceeded 30 percent and that franchises made lower profits than
independent
entrepreneurs. Dr. Bates' study also found that the average capital
investment
of franchisees was $500,000, compared to $100,000 for independent
entrepreneurs.

Undercapitalization is the single greatest cause of failure in small
businesses, that's for sure.

I think the proper term for that practice is called FLEASING

Tillman


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