Bargain hunters look for coupons, special discounts, package deals, and previous year’s models, or wait for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or tax holiday sales. With so many cordless tools on our wish list to outfit our woodworking shop, sometimes corners have to be cut, and sometimes compromises are necessary to have everything we want available to us for our projects.
Add to this the many brand names of those tools to choose from and the specialty tools we would just love to have, and finding bargains can become problematic. Among the major power tool companies, the name Festool stands out for a few reasons.
Festool Tools
We have written extensively about Festool, the company, its history, and its many amazing tools and accessories. Those of you who have been woodworking enthusiasts for a while know the Festool reputation and world-class tool line.
In those past articles, we’ve highlighted the Festool track saw, the Festool dust extractor, Festool Granat and Rubin abrasion pads, and the Festool Domino. We even answered a question we are asked often by our readers about whether Festool tools are worth the money.
Professionals consider Festool’s line of power tools and accessories to be at the highest level of craftsmanship, and the company is known for some specific tools that most believe can not be improved upon. The standards of manufacturing for Festool tools are virtually unmatched among all of the brands of power tools, and as you would expect, that quality carries a premium price.
Festool tools are designed and built for long life. They last, and they come with a parts warranty that is worth having. Festool guarantees that every spare part for a Festool tool will be available for at least ten (10) years after a tool’s production is discontinued. That’s a very impressive safety net for your sizeable investment in their tools.
Festool tools are more expensive than any other tools in the marketplace today for those specific tools, including the Festool Domino, the Festool Kapex Miter Saw, and the Festool Dust collection system.
The Festool Domino
For power joinery tools, we believe the Festool Domino has no equal, and its challengers are well below Festool Domino’s performance. It was introduced in 2007 as a replacement for a chisel and hammer in the making of mortise and tenon joints, and the process of creating these joints was both streamlined and sped up with the tool and the domino “biscuits” that go with it.
This tool has no equal and performs tasks no other power tool can perform. As such, it has great value and a price to match that worth. With two basic models, the prices range from $1,000 to $1,500, including the basic accessories that accompany it.
It does something no other power tool does, and it does it extremely well. You’d expect to be paying a premium price for such a tool.
The Festool Kapex Miter Saw
Known for its exacting manufacturing standards, the Kapex miter saw is majorly accurate, as is its dust collection system, and is considered by professionals to be the finest miter saws on the market today.
It isn’t that it does things other sliding miter saws don’t do; rather, what it does is so consistently accurate and precise that it outshines other sliding miter saws. As such, you’d expect it also to carry a premium price, and Festool doesn’t disappoint when it comes to that high price. A 12” Festool Kapex Sliding Miter Saw will set you back $1600 at its current price point.
Festool Price Points
Festool tools are more expensive than similar power tools. We all know this. The market for Festool tools is primarily the professional woodworker and the more experienced amateur. Beginner woodworkers haven’t developed the woodworking skills for which Festool builds its tools, and unless they are very wealthy beginners, they will not have the budget to afford them.
Large woodworking shops with experienced woodworkers producing high-quality furniture lines, for instance, or high-end cabinets, are the primary market for Festool high-quality tools.
Festool prices reflect this marketplace and what it can afford. The prices also reflect the high quality of their tools.
Festool Retailers
In order to carry and offer for sale the Festool line of power tools and their accessories, a retailer must price the tools as Festool requires. The MSRP of Festool power tools is the price retailers must sell them for in order to carry the lies.
This does not allow for any wiggle room in pricing, and haggling over the price of a Festool Domino or any other Festool tool is not going to change the price. Retailers have no leeway in the Festool pricing structure imposed on them.
Sales on Festool Tools
Have you ever heard of a sale on Festool tools? We thought not. Festool does not discount its tool lines. Sometimes it will offer returned items or refurbished tools for a reduced price, but for its new products, you never see a sale on Festool tools.
Every retailer that contracts with Festool to carry their tools is obliged to follow the Festool pricing structure. This does mean that all retailers are on the same level playing field when it comes to the sale of Festool tools, but it doesn’t help those of us who would love to have a Festool tool or two in our shop.
Waiting and hoping for a Festool sale is pretty much useless and even counterproductive. Festool sets its prices, and that is the price you will pay no matter where you buy the tool. Festool also raises its prices on all of its tools pretty much annually, so if you want a Festool tool, you simply have to pony up the Festool price or look for another brand.
The answer to the question, then, is no. Festool tools do not go on sale. You might find a bargain on eBay or Craigslist, but they won’t be new (unless they are “hot”). But don’t expect to see a sale on Festool tools any time soon, if ever.
We’d love to have a Festool tool or two in our shop. A Festool Domino would be divine, as would a Kapex Sliding Miter Saw and a Festool Dust Extractor. The systainer line of products for the organization and storage of Festool tools and accessories would also be very nice.
If we win the lottery, you can bet they will be in the shop within a week. Until then, we make do with other brands while we save up.