Price increases?

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:00 pm

[quote="easterngray"]Someone I believe on this forum a few years back advised that one should buy the tools you want when you're still working]While you still have that in flow of funds, give serious consideration to building a shop too.

2bits · Post by **2bits** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:05 pm

I wonder if their % of price increases will reflect in % of drop in sales

I have bought what I could (sort of) afford but if the prices on some of the items I still want/need go up too much, I will have to do some serious "shopping around". With the prices of everything going up I will have to be much more tightfisted than in the past. Hobbie items may be put on the back burner until a sale or e-bay or??? Not a good time in this market to be increasing prices.

burkhome · Post by **burkhome** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:42 pm

I run a hardware store and thus make my living dealing with price increases. 2011 gave us the worst inflation since the 70's. Admittedly, I'm old and tend to live in the past, but I got sticker shock every time we received freight. Fortunately things seem to be moderating and in some cases receeding now. My guess is that Shopsmith ate price increases for a long time and now have to make up for lost time.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:50 pm

I always wonder about the amount of time invested in subjects such as the dreaded "Price Increase" When I attempt to purchase an item and find the price out of line I begin researching to find an affordable option. On the other hand I see no value in railing on attempts to make a profit. Has anyone here noticed how expensive gas and food items are today? On the other hand I wonder if anyone here is prepared to volunteer to continue working for less income thus forgoing part of their income in order for an employer can maintain profit without increasing prices in difficult economic times. As much as I hate to be negative I do feel it only fair to look at both sides of the coin. As I write this I must also consider our federal government has decided I should no longer be in business. Last fall my income diminished greatly and this fall it will diminish to a point where I will likely be forced out of business. Jim

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:29 pm

I worked in retail for many years. It was always hard to do a price increase. In fact we often put off the price increase much longer than we should. Yes, customers may get upset and refuse to buy another thing. But fact is business is there to make money. Instead of selling 10 of something you may now only sell 6. But selling 6 at a profit is better than 10 at a loss.
When customers start talking about how they will no longer be able to afford their product with new higher prices you can see why manufactures start looking for cheaper ways to make their product (overseas)

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:44 am

;)It is really nice to receive advance notice. Think I'll order some stuff now that is on back order. Then I'll feel better when the stuff comes in as it will be on present prices. One of the advantages that the card is not activated until the product is shipped.

The sky is falling,:eek: but we have advance warning. Oh well, it may all end on December 22 anyway;) !

rlkeeney · Post by **rlkeeney** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:58 am

Anyone notice that brand name shampoo sells for around $40 a gallon at WalMart. If you want to get sticker shock calculate the cost of many of the items you use all the time per gallon or per pound. Some of it will make $4.00 a gallon gas seem cheap.

rlkeeney · Post by **rlkeeney** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:12 am

I've been buying a lot of Shopsmith items in the last two or three years. I started out trying to buy them used but that didn't work out to well with a few exceptions. I won a few auctions on ebay. A few were OK but most were missing something that I needed. Bits and pieces are expensive new or on ebay making the total cost approach that of new from Shopsmith especially when the item was on sale. So, I began buying new things when they came up on sale. I'm getting close to retirement and wanted to get these while I still had a full time job.

I bought the table saw blade kit and the conical sanding disk this month. Plus an accumulated list of smaller bits and pieces. I wanted the strip sander but missed out on that due to some software issues and my inability to call from work to place the order.

If the price increase is really 35% I might have to rethink this.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:47 am

I'm accused of all kinds of things when I talk about Shopsmith and their prices so for the most part I will keep quiet.

However this situation once again reminds me of a saying my father often used.

"They have more money than brains!"

Let me add one thing don't spend money today on pleasure that you might need tomorrow to buy food.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:07 pm

Ed in Tampa wrote:I'm accused of all kinds of things when I talk about Shopsmith and their prices so for the most part I will keep quiet.

However this situation once again reminds me of a saying my father often used.

"They have more money than brains!"

Let me add one thing don't spend money today on pleasure that you might need tomorrow to buy food.

If you live and spend by this guideline, you may never spend on pleasure for you know not what tomorrow brings.

Two weeks ago I was just cruising along; everything seemed to be just fine. Come the weekend, I found myself lying in the cardiac unit at the local hospital. The bill, so far, is $28,000 and the attending doctor has not yet billed me. Fortunately, insurance will likely cover it all but one never knows what tomorrow brings.

Should I quit spending on pleasures. I don't think so.