For woodworking equals double price

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CatButler

New User
Bryan
I've often wondered if things that are sold as woodworking tools allows the seller to jack up the price. Chris Schwartz kind of confirmed that with a blog post saying that normal extruded angle aluminum was adequate to use as winding sticks. I stopped by the Ace Hardware on may way home and checked it out. I sighted down the side, lined them up and convinced myself they were adequate for eyeballing when checking a board. 9$ for 48" plus a little black spray paint and they seem to work pretty well. I probably wouldn't calibrate precise machinery with it, but for this it is good enough.

I've read that Japanese woodworkers use camellia oil to coat their blades to lubricate and keep them from rusting. Various wood working shops will sell you 100ml (3.3 oz) for about $8. Camellia oil is also know as tea seed oil, which sells at online health food stores for about $14 for 500ml. I'm not quite sure you can compare apples to apples here, but I think I will try. I've been sweating all over my tools lately and some have picked up a spot of rust. I'm passing by a health food store at lunch today so I will stop by and see what they have, and will give it a try. If it doesn't do a good job at least I can have a health stir fry.

Anyone know of other examples of this?
 

Glennbear

Moderator
Glenn
There are a multitude of things marketed for specialty interests which are somewhat overpriced, those of us who are frugal (aka broke or cheap :gar-La;) learn to shop "outside the box". My most recent deal was Walnut oil which I bought for food safe finishing from the local health food store. :wsmile:
 

CaptnA

Andy
Corporate Member
Thus is the world of marketing -
Packaging, target specific sales, convenience, and a myriad of other things affect price.
Woodworking is a 'specialty'. Look at other lines as well - medical, firefighting, police, etc. An identical flashlight common to these three ranges from $109 - $149. I bought one through an industrial supply house for less than $80 after tax and with free shipping.
Lots to be said for shopping around - and not only through similar vendors. Consider what other uses there are for a product.
 

Bigdog72

New User
Geoff
Try bass fishing. 10ct 5" plastic worms for $6.99 a pack and I used to order 20 packs at a time!! I was the one hooked!:gar-La;
 

jhreed

New User
james
Compare paint thinner at Sherwin-Williams to mineral spirits at your bulk oil dealer, bring your own jug. And yes, read the label on the paint thinner and it says 100% mineral spirits.
I am thinking about marketing a latex paint thinner. Package it in pint cans, and be honest about it and put on the label 100% H2O. kid safe, bio-degradable, no VOCs etc.


James
 

farmerbw

Brian
Corporate Member
I am thinking about marketing a latex paint thinner. Package it in pint cans, and be honest about it and put on the label 100% H2O. kid safe, bio-degradable, no VOCs etc.
James, will you be offering a NCWW discount!?!?!!? :rotflm::rotflm::rotflm::rotflm:

Brian.
 
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Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Nothing new under the sun here. In the 60s when everyone used ribbon typewriters, a lady came up with the idea of latex paint in a small bottle with a brush to apply to typos. Hence, Liquid Paper. She was the mother of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees fame. I wonder what the actual cost of the paint in those lil' bottles was? :gar-La;
And that Kingsford charcoal you barbecue with was a byproduct of the wooden car body days of Henry Ford. He wanted to find a purpose for all that sawdust that would entice people to get out and drive, hence the road trip & picnic.
Even closer to home, a mica mine in Grover, NC was generating a large quantity of white slurry mud which they had to dispose of. A local company asked if they might try it for making bricks. King's Mountain White brick are in great demand all over the nation.
But back to the point of the thread, yes, you do have to look around some because many manufacturers target the hobbyist that has a deep pocket with their product. Having said that, I'm wondering what the shelf life of Tea Oil is and if a 500ml bottle would spoil before being used. But at that price, I guess you could afford to throw it away if it got rancid.
 

jhreed

New User
james
Yes Brian all NCWW will get a discount, if they bring their own container. $4.00/gallon. That is still cheaper than the 16 oz bottles you can get at the quick mart, and theirs is not properly labeled as paint thinner.

Who would ever have thunk that someone would go in a store and pay $1.60 for 16 oz of water?
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Here's my example. I bought this clamp at Lowe's for about $20, including tax. A week later I saw the same clamp (without the blue handles) in the welding supply section at Tractor Supply Company for $11. Ya gotta love those blue handle grips. :thumbs_do

41Td7qVDhVL._SL160_AA160_.jpg

Bill
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
How about glue? The worst place to buy woodworking glue is at a woodworking shop. Much better price at lowes/hd. Oh well.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
Yes Brian all North Carolina Woodworker will get a discount, if they bring their own container. $4.00/gallon. That is still cheaper than the 16 oz bottles you can get at the quick mart, and theirs is not properly labeled as paint thinner.

Who would ever have thunk that someone would go in a store and pay $1.60 for 16 oz of water?


With all the weird stuff in water these days - I think you may have to revise your claim of 100% H20. If you do find 100% H20 I would think you could sell it for far more than $4.00 a gallon

On a side note my FIL has a family "recipe" for the best Penetrating oil for breaking loose rusted bolts that you ever tried. It contains a blend of 3 common chemicals. My oldest son also has a awesome steak marinade and dry rub that I know would also take off.

In my free time, I'm trying to figure out all the ins and outs of bottling this stuff and what it would take to bring it to market. But let me tell you, you need lots of money to take on such an endeavor. Once you start the research you'll be amazed at all hoops you would need to jump through just to start production.

I long for the day when I good product could "make it" on it's own merits, instead of how many dollar signs are behind it.

Thanks
 

terry1166

New User
Terry
Another one, and this one's hard to believe, drafting triangles (the clear plastic ones) can be purchased at most drafting supply stores for less than they cost at woodworking stores.

Terry
 

gator

George
Corporate Member
My oldest son also has a awesome steak marinade and dry rub that I know would also take off.

In my free time, I'm trying to figure out all the ins and outs of bottling this stuff and what it would take to bring it to market. But let me tell you, you need lots of money to take on such an endeavor. Once you start the research you'll be amazed at all hoops you would need to jump through just to start production.



Thanks

Jeff -

Make up a batch and enter it in the BBQ Sauce part of the competition at the NC Hot Sauce Contest in Oxford on Sept 11 (see info in seperate thread to Plan Ahead).

George
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
For overpriced, try MILK! My SIL in Louisville says she refuses to pay more than $2.00 a gallon. Last week (IWF) in Atlanta,all the stores ads featured milk for less than two bucks a gallon. Tonight, I paid $3.19 and got the cheapest brand. Store brand was $3.79, and national brand (Pet) was over $4.00. I guess they have special cows for the cheaper brands, even though packaging lists same bottling plant. Natures Own bread is about $3.00 a loaf, except at the Dollar Tree ($1.00), and Big Lots ($1.20). Expiration date is the same in all three settings. Gasoline was cheaper here than in Atlanta, even though they pay over ten cents a gallon less road tax than we do in NC. Those "micro planes" are cheaper at the kitchen store than woodworking store. If you really want to see over priced, buy some parts for an airplane. Same alternator that used to go for $39.99 (with lifetime warranty) at either the Zone or Advance goes for over $300 at airport. But it does include a 30 day warranty.
 

Vetteman9956

New User
Brad
Oh Bruce, you pilots are always complaining about the price of parts. Thank the FAA. If you think thats bad try bearings for helicopters. Whats funny is that Bell buys bearings from Timken and puts their part numbers on the box and wallah it approved by the manufacturer and that $40 bearing just went to $1200. Actually there are some differences on that alternator and some extra quality checks but yes they are overpriced by the manufacturer not the shop your getting them from. The average maintenance shop is lucky to make 15% on parts. Some manufacturers actually charge the shop retail to try and drive the customer into their factory service center.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Speaking of bearings, price bearings and seals from Jaguar for XKE rear section. Then price from Chevy for a Vette. Same numbers, but a heck of difference in price. But the box does say Jaguar on it. Looks very impressive sitting in the trash can. :rotflm:
 

sushinutnc

New User
Mike
How about glue? The worst place to buy woodworking glue is at a woodworking shop. Much better price at lowes/hd. Oh well.
That's what I thought when I bought CA at a local woodworking store's "brown paper bag sale" a few months back. Check out these prices by comparison. As you'd expect, the smaller containers cost MUCH more per ounce. Can't count how many times I've used one of those little, squeeze tubes of CA only 2-3 times, then threw it in a drawer only to find it a year later all dried up.

local woodworking store: Titebond Instand Bond CA, 2 oz = $10 ($5/oz)
amazon: Titebond Instand Bond CA, 2 oz = $8 to $14 ($4-$7/oz)
hobbyinc.com (hobby store): Zap Gel, 6 x 0.7 oz = 4.2 oz for $37.74 ($9/oz)
Top Dawg (pet supply): Coraffix Gel Cyanoacrylate 0.7 oz = $10.65 ($15.21/oz)
amazon: Elmer's E617 Super Glue Gel, 2 x 0.07 oz = 0.14 oz for $4 ($28.57/oz)
amazon: Quicktite easy squeeze super gel, 0.14 oz for $4.50 ($32/oz)
 

BKind2Anmls

New User
Susan
I went to my first woodworking show several years back and was amazed that some of the stuff being sold as "innovative" had been available for years much cheaper and at other places. The woodworking show attendees are primarily men and men, as a rule, aren't serious bargain shoppersin my experience so maybe that's why it happens so often. (I know, I know...some men are excellent bargain shoppers and many women are not. However, I am only speaking from personal experience.)
Several of my fellow attendees were amazed when I told them they could go down the street to Big Lots or Walmart and get the same thing, under a different name, for a lot less. Router mats are one of the biggest issues I've seen. You can get a scrap of carpet pad for nothing at a carpet dealer or go to Big Lots and pay 2.00 for a big roll of cushioned shelving material. Big lots also has light-weight piano hinges, 3 feet long, for $3.00. I saw the same exact brand at a woodworking store the other day for $14.00. I also see some of the Harbor Freight brands in woodworking stores for higher prices than you pay at HF. High-priced polishing sand paper can be bought at auto supply stores and the list goes on. Some of the substitutes like Brasso or auto-polishing compound are well known, but others are not.
 
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