Why I didn't buy a new Shopsmith

[paulrussell]

In the weeks since starting my "Mental Meanderings" thread I have been formulating a letter in my head to send to Shopsmith management.

When I first decided to buy a Shopsmith, I was prepared to buy new. I filled out all the online forms for "let me know when there is a demo near me." I sent for the DVD. I perused the web site.

I squinted at tiny little pictures of a big machine and its parts and accessories.

Today I know intimately what a Shopsmith looks like. Then I did not. Tiny black and white photos that looked like they were taken 20 years ago did NOT give me much confidence. I felt like I was looking at a 1984 Sears catalog, but in B&W.

I could not get a "feel" for what I was going to be getting for my $3000+

I believe the web site is NOT an effective sales tool. I believe that only someone who has seen a Shopsmith previously and in person would buy from the site. In other words the site seems designed as an extension of the travelling demos, which of course no longer exist.

I can't say for sure that a better web experience would have pushed me over the edge, but I was indeed close to buying a new Shopsmith. But I was dismayed when I filled out the "notify me" pages and as the months passed heard nothing. I never even got an email saying "Thanks for visiting our web site."

Nothing. Zilch. Tiny black and white pictures on a web site. The wind blew softly. Silence.

I bought used.

[8iowa]

Paul:

You've touched on a subject that has had a lot of past discussion on this forum. In a nutshell, the company has been downsized considerably in the past ten years. Shopsmith is not alone in this respect. All USA based machinery manufacturers have undergone drastic downsizing since the advent of cheap Asian tools, which began with the China/USA "one sided" trade agreement signed in 1993.

Shopsmith now has about a dozen employees and has been "slipping' into a parts, accessories, and service type of company. With several hundred thousand Shopsmiths "out there", this kind of business can hopefully sustain them through these tough economic times. We all hope that someday they can once again afford to improve their marketing and advertising efforts. In the meantime, we support them as best we can.

Your used Shopsmith is well worth spend money on for accessories and upgrades. With a modest amount of maintenance and care these machines easily outlive their owners.

[paulrussell]

I'm sure my SS will outlive me, so much so that I've already told my wife who gets it.
My point is that the website supports a no longer existant business model. An updated web site, and automated or actual response emails may have resulted in a sale. With limited resources, and the web site being the main connection SS has to the world, it would seem that keeping it valid and current would be of the highest priority.
I am happy and satisfied with my used SS, but it was a lost opportunity for Shopsmith as a company.
As an aside, there are a lot of loyal, retired Shopsmith owners here in the forums. This group is intelligent and skilled in a wide range of abilities. I believe the company could leverage this group to help keep the company viable. Already the group is the #1 support resource.
Beyod that I suspect there are members who have the savy to update the website or take better pictures or edit and produce a new pdf catalog. We have already discussed how some among us have better copies of the manuals than the ones SS sells.
I know I would be happy to do any of the above in return for parts or discounted prices. In short I believe this community is Shopsmiths most valuable untapped resource.

[dusty]

I wholeheartedly agree with what has been said here on this subject BUT

We know that Shopsmith has not yet acknowledged that they are sliding into the realm of a service company. At least it does not seem that way to me. I believe that a service company does not spend the money required to develop a machine like the PowerPro. I believe they intend to continue in the Power Tool Manufacturing Business. Even if they are not going to actively market the PowerPro, if they intend to market service parts, they must have those parts therefore must manufacture or stock parts.

Now having said that, comes the observations regarding their ability to market online. They do need to improve their visual presentations to have a chance at doing this. I too often gripe to myself about the poor quality images that are made available. Yes, it would cost to enhance these images but it also costs to not enhance them.

BTW, has anyone spent any time browsing through the CURRENT online documentation. If you have, you must have noticed that there are changes (updates) being made on a very regular basis. The web site is being maintained even if the results are not obvious to the casual user.

PS There have been offers of assistance, Paul, that have gone totally unacknowledged in the past. In fact, some of the email has not even been read. I can only conclude that this is a family affair and that I am not wanted in the family.

[paulrussell]

Shopsmith today reminds me of an old advertising adage:
A seller's sales are down, money is tight. Vendor #1 thinks: I really can't afford to advertise in these tight times. I think business will remain low and advertising is gonna cut too much into my profits.
So Vendor #1 doesn't advertise & indeed business continues to deteriorate, validating his view.
In the meantime his competitor, in the same initial predicament, advertises, and gains all the customers seller #1 no longer has a chance of reaching, and his business remains healthy.

[dusty]

Shopsmith today reminds me of an old advertising adage:
A seller's sales are down, money is tight. Vendor #1 thinks: I really can't afford to advertise in these tight times. I think business will remain low and advertising is gonna cut too much into my profits.
So Vendor #1 doesn't advertise & indeed business continues to deteriorate, validating his view.
In the meantime his competitor, in the same initial predicament, advertises, and gains all the customers seller #1 no longer has a chance of reaching, and his business remains healthy.

But there is no vendor #2. It seems that this is what Shopsmith is counting on. The number of existing owners who have sustainable machines is NOT SMALL but is it large enough to sustain a service company? If the existing owners are paying no more to maintain their machines than I am - the answer is clearly no.

[paulrussell]

PS There have been offers of assistance, Paul, that have gone totally unacknowledged in the past. In fact, some of the email has not even been read. I can only conclude that this is a family affair and that I am not wanted in the family.

Exactly. There is something that SS management, and moreso the consultants who they hired a few years back, just doesn't understand. That is the emotional connection an owner has, and which a potential owner need to feel. This is a lifelong investment, not a $45 expendable Ryobi cordless drill. We are talking about a woodworking system that can near the price of a new car.
And as such it should be marketed so.
I am beginning to believe there may be some elitist arrogance at the Shopsmith helm. I hope I am wrong, for their sake & ours.

[fuji1]

But there is no vendor #2. It seems that this is what Shopsmith is counting on. The number of existing owners who have sustainable machines is NOT SMALL but is it large enough to sustain a service company? If the existing owners are paying no more to maintain their machines than I am - the answer is clearly no.

There is always Vendor #2, any vendor that can take sales from #1. Example any table saw, lathe, drill press, band saw are all competing with ShopSmith. Yes on a different level but still every dollar spent on a stand alone item is a dollar that SS will never get.

So the moral is exactly what Paul stated, the death bell for any company is no Advertisement. Unless you are a drug company that is selling a drug people need to stay alive and no one else has a replacement you need to advertise.

Joe

[dusty]

Shopsmith today reminds me of an old advertising adage:
A seller's sales are down, money is tight. Vendor #1 thinks: I really can't afford to advertise in these tight times. I think business will remain low and advertising is gonna cut too much into my profits.
So Vendor #1 doesn't advertise & indeed business continues to deteriorate, validating his view.
In the meantime his competitor, in the same initial predicament, advertises, and gains all the customers seller #1 no longer has a chance of reaching, and his business remains healthy.

But there is no vendor #2. It seems that this is what Shopsmith is counting on. The number of existing owners who have sustainable machines is NOT SMALL but is it large enough to sustain a service company? If the existing owners are paying no more to maintain their machines than I am - the answer is clearly no.

[JPG]

There is always Vendor #2, any vendor that can take sales from #1. Example any table saw, lathe, drill press, band saw are all competing with ShopSmith. Yes on a different level but still every dollar spent on a stand alone item is a dollar that SS will never get.

So the moral is exactly what Paul stated, the death bell for any company is no Advertisement. Unless you are a drug company that is selling a drug people need to stay alive and no one else has a replacement you need to advertise.

Joe

Or you have a base of fanatical customers that already know what is available and that base is what you are counting on.

To suggest SS can compete directly against the 'current' plethora of cheap tools available today HEAD to HEAD is folly!

It may be 'elitist' to some, but they do have a unique product and as such are catering to a different customer than the mass marketed stuff!

I do not have a magic bullet either, but do recognize that their worst 'competition' is e-bay! Having said that, their best ally is e-bay also. Sooner or later a user will get fed up with the junk and go for the new parts. Also many have acquired their first hands on experience by way of e-bay and craigslist. They will be needing 'parts' if not to get their new tool up and running properly, to fix it when and if it 'breaks'.