Here's my gloat:
Quality brand USED German made chisels for $5.00 each or less (price plus shipping average). Two Cherries, Spannsage, Ulmia, Matador, Hirsch, etc. I was able to use Ebay to get that kind of price!
Was that "duh" you just said? Well, if you're like me and you've tried to get a used German chisel on Ebay lately, you know that they're not going for that little on there. The truth is that German chisels command a premium on Ebay, auctions can end with prices near, or even above, retail prices! It's a phenomena I like to refer to as "fool retail", a reference to the insanity tool lust can cause. In the past couple days I've watched Pfeil gouges worth $35 at Woodcraft go for $30 plus shipping. When you're trying to put together a collection of top end tools, the kind that are worth buying because they last a couple lifetimes, Ebay is becoming a real discouraging source.
Permit me to share how I do it because it's not just any Ebay I'm using...I'm using Ebay Germany. Believe it or not, the language difference hasn't been an obstacle. I start my searching by using a brand name, most are the same in German as they are in English (with a couple notable exceptions, Two Cherries is 'Kirschen', for instance). To expand searches I copy obvious tool type nomenclature (Stechbeitel is chisel) and paste it in the appropriate selection box. Ebay makes navigating its foreign sites easy with its standardized format - search and communication options are found on ebay.de in the same place you'd find them on ebay.com. Asking the seller if they'd sell and ship to Americans is obligatory. To make that process easier use any number of translation tools. I like to translate phrases from English into German and then back again into English, just to make sure that the resulting translation is understandable.
Using the above method has allowed me to collect a four piece set of Kirschen bench chisels (6 mm to 26 mm) for roughly a quarter its American retail value. Sure, the present Euro to Dollar exchange rate has helped but I'd still be getting a good deal if it were at previous highs. FYI - ebay.co.uk is a great way to find great English tools as well. Be patient with the sellers, some aren't willing to do the extra work or take the additional risks that international shipping entails. Remember to be kind for the rest of us, the environment is quite welcoming right now.
Good Luck,
Dean
Quality brand USED German made chisels for $5.00 each or less (price plus shipping average). Two Cherries, Spannsage, Ulmia, Matador, Hirsch, etc. I was able to use Ebay to get that kind of price!
Was that "duh" you just said? Well, if you're like me and you've tried to get a used German chisel on Ebay lately, you know that they're not going for that little on there. The truth is that German chisels command a premium on Ebay, auctions can end with prices near, or even above, retail prices! It's a phenomena I like to refer to as "fool retail", a reference to the insanity tool lust can cause. In the past couple days I've watched Pfeil gouges worth $35 at Woodcraft go for $30 plus shipping. When you're trying to put together a collection of top end tools, the kind that are worth buying because they last a couple lifetimes, Ebay is becoming a real discouraging source.
Permit me to share how I do it because it's not just any Ebay I'm using...I'm using Ebay Germany. Believe it or not, the language difference hasn't been an obstacle. I start my searching by using a brand name, most are the same in German as they are in English (with a couple notable exceptions, Two Cherries is 'Kirschen', for instance). To expand searches I copy obvious tool type nomenclature (Stechbeitel is chisel) and paste it in the appropriate selection box. Ebay makes navigating its foreign sites easy with its standardized format - search and communication options are found on ebay.de in the same place you'd find them on ebay.com. Asking the seller if they'd sell and ship to Americans is obligatory. To make that process easier use any number of translation tools. I like to translate phrases from English into German and then back again into English, just to make sure that the resulting translation is understandable.
Using the above method has allowed me to collect a four piece set of Kirschen bench chisels (6 mm to 26 mm) for roughly a quarter its American retail value. Sure, the present Euro to Dollar exchange rate has helped but I'd still be getting a good deal if it were at previous highs. FYI - ebay.co.uk is a great way to find great English tools as well. Be patient with the sellers, some aren't willing to do the extra work or take the additional risks that international shipping entails. Remember to be kind for the rest of us, the environment is quite welcoming right now.
Good Luck,
Dean
