Shopsmith Forums

When I came on line today I expected to see at least a dozen posts about price increases, so what happened?

FYI

556177 Do-It-Yourself PowerPro Upgrade Kit ... $1,509.00

Was $1429.00

Up $80

Shipping to 60604 is listed as $135.63, sorry don't have a previous number to check against.

556210 Mark V Double Tilt Base Upgrade ... $389.00

Was $289.00

Up $100 (Looks like we found the 35% item)

555985 Mark V Model 500 to Model 520 Upgrade ... $1,321.68

Was $1168.20

556224 3" Diameter Caster Wheels (Set of 4) ... $42.99

Was $35.99

Can't say we haven't been told about this but still a bit of sticker shock.

Ed

This price increase will most likely have the effect of "reducing my I want list" significantly.

I was considering the dual tilt kit just because I believe that the modified parts would increase over all stability. It is not worth $398 for me to check.

reible wrote:When I came on line today I expected to see at least a dozen posts about price increases, so what happened?

FYI

556177 Do-It-Yourself PowerPro Upgrade Kit ... $1,509.00

Was $1429.00

Up $80

Shipping to 60604 is listed as $135.63, sorry don't have a previous number to check against.

556210 Mark V Double Tilt Base Upgrade ... $389.00

Was $289.00

Up $100 (Looks like we found the 35% item)

555985 Mark V Model 500 to Model 520 Upgrade ... $1,321.68

Was $1168.20

556224 3" Diameter Caster Wheels (Set of 4) ... $42.99

Was $35.99

Can't say we haven't been told about this but still a bit of sticker shock.

Ed

the double tilt upgrade is a real shame...though maybe its up so they have more room to discount it. at $42, its now a big enough difference that I would just buy them from my local caster place, whereas before it was close enough that I would give shopsmith the money...ah well

Yep, lots of things in the Shopsmith catalog went up. All the prices for each version of the Power Pro went up at least $100, not to mention the dozens of other smaller accessories.

I know the company has said they have put this price increase off for as long as they could, but wouldn't it have been better to raise prices a little each year instead of dumping it all on us at one time. Hurts those who back Shopsmith by buying from the company instead of EBAY.

I'm sure a lot of us will now be putting off using their wish list for a while and taking some items off the list entirely.

You guys are looking too closely at Shopsmith prices and not closely enough at overall prices all around the planet...
I have been doing some extra shopping and pricing stuff at farm stores and lumber yards this month and I am here to tell you that all sorts of prices are jumping up. A large part of it is driven by China demands and European economic problems. Those that think that "anybody" in the US can just "do something" that will make it all go away are living in their own little world of delusion...
As I shopped I saw item after item that has doubled in price in about the last year. Simple items made of metal have all gone way up. Stuff I buy regularly like hardware I use in the horse operation. Big items like farm machinery are way up. Even old used stuff at auction sales everything is way up. Old farm machinery that you couldn't sell for $100 bucks 2 years ago will now bring $300 or $400... I have sold scrap for many years. One year I sold 36,000 pounds of it. At the bottom some years back it got down to about $60 a ton for "short steel" then it started up, much of it driven by Chinese demand. The last short steel I sold about a week ago I sold for just under $280 a ton... How can stuff made of steel (and other metals) not go up in price substantially???
I have not followed the new steel markets but must assume that if scrap is that high the new ore prices are maybe even higher.
Plastics prices are driven by the price of oil and we all know what that is. Gas prices (yesterday $3.79 here) are not due to lack of oil supply which is currently at an all time high in the US as much as the fact that many of my overseas friends (several in Sweden) are telling me that they are paying the equivalent of $8 to $10 dollars US at the pump. Such is world demand. That Keystone pipeline that I keep hearing guys talk about like it is going to make gas almost free is not being built for our supply, it is planned (and openly stated) for export... Why would they sell it here for our prices when it is in so much demand overseas? It sometimes boggles my mind just how cheap it apparently is to ship all manner of stuff across the oceans. A local rustic hickory furniture factory ships all of their scraps to England where it is used for flavorful smoking/cooking of fish. Wood scraps!? They used to give them to me for free for firewood.
The last year I grew corn here on the farm before I retired from it I sold corn for under $2 a bushel. Now (this week) it is selling for well over $6 a bushel. Just a couple of years ago I was selling decent hay for $2 a bale. If I would have had it this winter I could have sold it for $8 a bale... In some areas $12.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120427/us-commodities-review/
How can Shopsmith NOT have to raise their prices???
Sorry, I just don't see Shopsmith's price increases as that big of a deal.

I could whine and complain about how tough times are (and I probably do at times, especially property tax times ) but if I am honest I have to confess that compared to most of the world we live pretty comfortably.
The old saying is "It is not what you make, it is how you spend it".
Our (Diana and I) worst indulgence is engaging in "the old peoples national pastime" of eating out too often. Sometimes you can hardly get down the aisle of a restaurant for all of the canes, walkers and wheel chairs parked there.
We try to keep a lid on it but there are often a lot of frustrations in our kind of retirement work and we find that it really helps to go sit down and eat a quiet meal with somebody else doing the work. Of course we usually eat pretty cheap. At the local buffet we can eat all we want for under $15 (with coupon) for the two of us. We probably average a half dozen times a week, more if in a big project.


.

Farmer, I'm not sure what is meant by "oil supply which is currently at an all time high in the US," so could you please explain.

By the way, here is a chart of U.S. oil consumption by year -- http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?c ... onsumption

And here is a chart of U.S. oil production by year -- http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?c ... production

Neither of which is at an all time high.

The high price of fuel in Europe compared to the U.S. has everything to do with taxes there.

Also, can you provide some more background on those believing that the Keystone pipeline would make "gas almost free." The pipeline actually would have brought additional crude oil into the U.S. from a "friendly" country, as opposed to an "unfriendly" country like Venezuela, and would have created jobs both in its construction and later in the refining of the crude (and that's why the unions were in favor of its construction). Instead, Canada will send the crude to China and the U.S jobs will never materialize.

pennview wrote:Farmer, I'm not sure what is meant by "oil supply which is currently at an all time high in the US," so could you please explain.

By the way, here is a chart of U.S. oil consumption by year -- http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us&product=oil&graph=consumption

And here is a chart of U.S. oil production by year -- http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=us&product=oil&graph=production

Neither of which is at an all time high.

The high price of fuel in Europe compared to the U.S. has everything to do with taxes there.

Also, can you provide some more background on those believing that the Keystone pipeline would make "gas almost free." The pipeline actually would have brought additional crude oil into the U.S. from a "friendly" country, as opposed to an "unfriendly" country like Venezuela, and would have created jobs both in its construction and later in the refining of the crude (and that's why the unions were in favor of its construction). Instead, Canada will send the crude to China and the U.S jobs will never materialize.

These graphs are real interesting but I am having trouble reconciling what I hear on TV. I keep hearing Obama say that our oil production is way up. Way up from what? I am surprised that the media doesn't challenge his statement if these charts are valid.

How much of what is locally produced is sold elsewhere?

What can one believe these days.

I have no idea whether the charts are credible, but if they are correct they clearly show U.S. oil production up in 2009-2011 (under Obama) as compared to the period 2005-2008 (under the second term of Bush). They do not show it at record levels, however.

What is more interesting to me (assuming again the chart is correct), is that record levels peaked in 1984 (end of Reagan's first term) and dropped steadily through the presidencies of George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton and even through both terms of George W. Bush, reaching a record low in 2008. Only under Obama has the trend started to reverse itself with production moving in an upward direction.

I have no idea for the reason for the uptick under Obama. But it seems to be inconsistent with the narrative coming from the right.

As I have understood it, it takes about ten years (Democratic claim when Bush, the younger, increased the area allowed for drilling) to about five years (from what I now get from the media) for an oil well to initally start producing oil. In either case, the domestic oil production at this point in the current administration has nothing to do with their policy. It apparently started with some other administration.
Crude oil is purchased almost universally with the world reserve currency which, at the moment, is the US dollar. The Federal Reserve has been debasing the dollar for the past several years and the countries using the world reserve currency have noticed. Soon, they will switch to some other currency and the World Bank has already offered an alternative. The Pd Silver (Great Britian) used to be the WRC. When nations turned to the dollar, the value of the Pound dropped precipitiously and citizens of the world's once great power saw the value of their savings melt away. We are soon to experience something similiar.
Dick

dusty wrote:These graphs are real interesting but I am having trouble reconciling what I hear on TV. I keep hearing Obama say that our oil production is way up. Way up from what? I am surprised that the media doesn't challenge his statement if these charts are valid.

First off when it might effect the election the media does not challenge anything Obama says. He has a pass on most everything.