Shopsmith Forums

Now this is the way to do it. Customer commits to a purchase by ordering and paying for something that does not yet exist and promises delivery at some loosely specified time in the future.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/wood ... ing+Square

Woodpecker gets away with this because they do deliver a fine product. I guess I just never read their ads well enough to realize that they are developing goods using the customers money.

The thing that comes to mind is a saying my father used a lot.

"Some people have more money than brains."

And to quote the ever famous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase most likely spoken by David Hannum, in criticism of both P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid 1800s, and his customers. The phrase is often credited to Barnum himself. It means "Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue."
Wikipedia

beeg wrote:Dusty, what was it? Your link just took me to signin to outlook.

It should take you to an ad by Highland Woodworking for a new square being offered by Woodpecker.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/wood ... ing+Square

I'd heard of "vapor ware" but this is a "vapor square"!

My theory would be that they have tooled up and made enough of the squares (or what ever tool they might be offering at the time), that they are comfortable with the final product.

Now they are taking orders to determine how much they need in raw materials. Once they get a quantity then they will buy the raw material and start producing the quantity pre-ordered plus a few extra.

They don't produce too few (necessitating a second run) nor too many (stock setting on a shelf which they have to sell at a discount or lose capital).

DISCLAIMER--- I have not purchased any of their specialized tools. I HAVE bought some of their sale items (knobs for jigs, marking leads that fit in a utility knife, and T-track).

Theirs is a business model which allows maintaining a price for service with little chance for discounting merchandise.

Unlike a "Kickstarter" project, I presume they (Woodpeckers) have a viable and working product before they advertise it, just not a quantity to sell to the public.

Of course since this is a day that ends in "Y", I could very well be wrong!

Be well,
Ben

benush26 wrote:My theory would be that they have tooled up and made enough of the squares (or what ever tool they might be offering at the time), that they are comfortable with the final product.

Now they are taking orders to determine how much they need in raw materials. Once they get a quantity then they will buy the raw material and start producing the quantity pre-ordered plus a few extra.

They don't produce too few (necessitating a second run) nor too many (stock setting on a shelf which they have to sell at a discount or lose capital).

DISCLAIMER--- I have not purchased any of their specialized tools. I HAVE bought some of their sale items (knobs for jigs, marking leads that fit in a utility knife, and T-track).

Theirs is a business model which allows maintaining a price for service with little chance for discounting merchandise.

Unlike a "Kickstarter" project, I presume they (Woodpeckers) have a viable and working product before they advertise it, just not a quantity to sell to the public.

Of course since this is a day that ends in "Y", I could very well be wrong!

Be well,
Ben

Maybe, but that is not how I read this (an excerpt from their ad).

"Woodpeckers OneTime Tools® are special tools available for a limited time. After the ordering period for the tool closes, Woodpeckers makes the tools and delivers them at a later date. You will be charged for the tool when you place your order".

Yes, they have probably done a "proof of performance" production run. Where I worked that was how management got their free samples.

Maybe we are saying the same thing. You call it a kickstarter while I call it a proof of production run.

That square has been around for a while. Very nice product. I think they make them when they get a certain number of orders. I cant bring myself to invest a buck and a half in one thought.

Y'all do realize that this sequence of events is not the only way they produce stuff.

Also is is not something they just now came up with.

I assume they have a bit of extra production beyond their 'normal' activity, and this creates a way to utilize it as well as create demand(get it now or forever hold thy peace). Truth be guessed, they cannot make these runs too big/long or 'normal' production would be 'impacted'.

Their stuff is good, but also $$$. Unique also comes to mind!

Kind of reminds me of a highly respected company I ordered some pieces from for a project. The specs were VERY specific and tolerances were .0005". The company said they would need a longer lead time than usual to get them.
Away from the job site one day so I stopped by their offices to check on progress (and actually to check QC) only to find nothing but desks and computers. No shop.

Turns out that for all the years they had been a government contract supplier, they had never made a single part. They found a company or companies that would do the work and had it done for them.

I was upset, to put it mildly! I went back to the site, read through the contracts and no where did it say the company XYZ was making the pieces. All of their correspondence said "provide" Later I remembered that in all the meetings, they NEVER said "MAKE" them....

Maybe they gave up on providing expensive whatsits for government contracts, changed their name and moved into making expensive whatsits for woodworkers!

Be well,
Ben