Thread: Tools prices going through the roof?

Dear Russell,

Yes - my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw that the new price for the little Cigweld Weldskill 130A Inverter Welders had gone all the way from being $299 in all of the Sales Catalogues just a couple of months ago, up to $399 in one hit... That's a 33% price-hike in just 2 months!..

Tools such as these are obviously being manufactured in China in order to be sold at the lowish price that they were selling at to begin with, so I guess the Retail Prices at this end are somewhat susceptible to movements in the Exchange Rate. While that's obviously the main culprit for forcing up the price on your generic Drill Press, I still find myself scratching my head thinking that the Importer is either stupid (because in spite of the poor Exchange Rate, I reckon there'd be some real bargains to be bought up in China at the moment from Factories that now suddenly have their backs to the wall...), or that the Retailer is using the general hub-bub of the "Global Economic Crisis" to "Gouge" - which they could easily do if they saw every other Retailer doing it, and if they were selling sufficient other gear to prop-up their overall sales enough to let them play this little "Sorry, Bad Exchange-Rate Mate" game with the prices. If it was me, I'd be waiting for a couple of months, because I reckon that one of the Retailers is going to "flinch" and break-rank in order to survive, and that the rest of them will have to follow suit in order to maintain their place in the Pecking Order. In other words, they will have to ignore Percentage Target Mark-Up Margins and instead just aim at prices that will get people reaching for their wallets again...

Now, for the type of tool that I mentioned - a name-brand Welder - these are not Generic Tools. ie. They are not being knocked up in a brandless factory somewhere that is prepared to sell to allcomers in any colour you want (as long as it's a full-container load), with a little indentation for a fake-brand sticker somewhere on it. Instead, they are being manufactured in either a Chinese factory actually owned by the Tool Manufacturer in question itself, or under Contract by a freelance but high-quality Chinese Factory. In either case, however, I would have thought that hikes in the Manufacturing Cost would have been limited by either Ownership of the factory by the Tool Company, or of the Contractual Obligations of the Freelance Factory that is making the Tool for the Company. Having said that, however, in either case I guess both types of arrangement know their Manufacturing Cost in Chinese Currency, and that's what they're aiming to cover with their price hikes. Nonetheless, I reckon that they'll still have to flinch away from unrealistic Target Percentage Margins in a couple of months' time, and thus drop prices again...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

COULD THIS BE GREED???note banks are keeping interest rate cut. get even and look around for old stock , or get second hand, good luck bob

Believe it or not the weldskill range from cigweld is made in those noname factories in china, that is why they are a third to half the price of the reall name brand welders. I work for a cigweld reseller and that is what the rep told us.

Robert

Not just tools, but timber also.

Yesterday I went to a local Mitre 10 to buy some timber for a little maintenance project I'd planned and costed less than three weeks ago. I got a big shock when I saw that the price of the timber had risen by more than 50%.

Easter gouging?

I decided the project wasn't that important after all. No sale.

Try not to buy anything major for at least a month.Then we would see some sale prices.If everyone did this at the same time it should work.Abit like going on strike.

The retailers are feeling the pain too.
Sales are down but the overheads are still the same. To keep the doors open and staff employed they have no choice except to increase prices. It is a vicous circle because they have to raise prices and this drives away customers. It will take a while to adjust but don't expect prices to return to what you are used to and there will be a lot of casualities in business and employment along the way.
Keep your dollars in your hip pocket and you will have less choices in the future. I doubt the big green wharehouse will stock the type of equipment we are interested in.
It is just an opinion and not a rant and I have no association with retail other than to buy their goods.

I know there have to be small increses in prices but some are just rediculas.

Yamaha announced via a retailer a 33% price increase on a music keyboard last week.

Its inflation, and the way to make those debts we have run up the last few years seem like chicken feed.

I remember back in the 70's I could purchase four new motor cars, at the end of the seventies, it would only buy one new car.

Around Feb last year I had the brake discs replaced on the front of my car. This year I got the rear done in the same month at the same place. The price for exactly the same items had nearly doubled!!! Naturally I questioned why the !@#$~!#$^ that was so and the best the guy could give me was the increase in metal prices for the raw materials. I didn't have much of a choice but to believe him, but geeeeeez...almost double?

I guess the same could be applying to machinery prices. It's so hard to believe "reasons" though sometimes, and the cynic in me is crying a greed foul.

One of the main causes is revaluation of the Chinese currency, it has made prices dearer in the UK as well.