New Tools- When do you buy them?

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Pop Golden

New User
Pop
When I have the money!

Really, I have a list of machines & other tools I need. I shop a lot for a long time on expensive machines. 2nd hand machines are for the most part good buys. Recon power tools are in my humble opinion a "better" buy than a new tool. A new tool travels down the assembly line while a recon gets disassembled checked fixed & reassembled by a person. Thank about it as a hand made tool.

Crag's List seems to work. E-Bay however seems not to save that much money. I even see folks get caught up in the bidding and pay more for a used tool than a new one cost.

Pop Golden
 

Timmy

New User
Tim
When I have the money!

Really, I have a list of machines & other tools I need. I shop a lot for a long time on expensive machines. 2nd hand machines are for the most part good buys. Recon power tools are in my humble opinion a "better" buy than a new tool. A new tool travels down the assembly line while a recon gets disassembled checked fixed & reassembled by a person. Thank about it as a hand made tool.

Crag's List seems to work. E-Bay however seems not to save that much money. I even see folks get caught up in the bidding and pay more for a used tool than a new one cost.

Pop Golden

Wow I had never thought about it that way. I shared this point in a couple different places. Thanks.
 

Tarhead

Mark
Corporate Member
Recon power tools are in my humble opinion a "better" buy than a new tool. A new tool travels down the assembly line while a recon gets disassembled checked fixed & reassembled by a person. Thank about it as a hand made tool.


Pop Golden

In the case of Bosch powertool recons the work happens in New Bern, NC.:thumbs_up
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
Do you guys try to buy strictly out of stores or do you go on ebay and craigslist trying to find tools?

I lean more toward new tools on sale because they come with a warranty and I don't have to worry about what the previous owner had done to it. I'll buy some brands reconditioned because they come with a good warranty. I generally avoid ebay because I despise the company and I have yet to have a good CL experience; Too many flaky sellers and buyers. I do jump at the opportunity for a used tool via NCWW! Very happy with the DC and scroll saw!
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Do you guys try to buy strictly out of stores or do you go on ebay and craigslist trying to find tools?

I bought my Delta table saw from Klingspor-Hickory and my Rikon bandsaw from Klingspor-Winston. Several things came from NCWW friends and I have had great finds through Craig's list. But, the great majority of my tools were bought at yard sales and flea markets.

E-Bay... Not so much.
 

Mike Camp

New User
Mike
I personally keep a some cash around in a "tool fund" and a list of tools that I'm interested and I check CL regularly for deals. Most of the stuff on CL IMHO is homeowner grade junk (Black&Decker), not well taken care of or very highly priced. But the gems show up from time to time and you have to be ready to jump on them quickly. I've had some great sellers and great buyers on CL, but also a lot of flakes and that is just part of the game I figure. I've never had great luck on eBay toolwise other than buying router bits, but as far as used tools go there are just far too many buyers and the price seems to go sky high in a bidding war, especially on Festool tools.

If I buy new it is typically on tools that I cannot always easily tell from a glance how well they work, or what could be wrong with them. Nail guns typically fall into this category for me. Unless I can drag a compressor around it is pretty hard to tell if the thing works by just holding it. So if you buy used make sure you learn about the tool you are buying and what to check for to make sure it is in working order.
 

Timmy

New User
Tim
Yeah you have to be careful on Ebay. I've seen stuff, for some reason, go above market price. It is like people just want to win the bidding war instead of going to a store and picking it up. You also don't get to see, touch, listen to the products off ebay. I've had some good experiences off craigslist as well as bad ones. Sometimes it seems that CL people try to overprice their stuff. For example. Ebay has anvils for about $1 per pound. I found a 150ish lb anvil on CL selling for $400+, needless to say it is still there.
 

SubGuy

Administrator
Zach
I buy tools when I need them or when I find a tool that I have needed (but could not afford) at a price that I could not resist.

I used to buy cheap tools just to get by but found that is the worst thing to do because you always have to buy again when you realize the tool-like object you bought will not do the job.

+1
 
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