Craftsman Professional 17 in. Drill Press 179.99 (normally 529)

[JSUPreston]

Quick update: When I placed my order, they had stock at the store I purchased from. Immediately after, I was told to pick up on 10/17. After hearing the stories from here. I called the store yesterday. They say to come pick it up.

Drove an hour to the mall and got "lost." Due to construction and being late, I missed a turn (road sign was missing). Got to the mall as they were closing. Talked with the guy I had spoken with on the phone. He did not remember me. Went and checked, said they were out of stock, but the truck runs on Wed. and to try again on Thurs. He said I should get an e-mail when it arrives.

Hoping I still get it, although it is now costing me 1/2 tank of gas if I have to go back.

[ironhat]

Well, considering the savings it's still worth it. Just remember, though, that if you actually get one you are on the growing 'hate list'. I wonder if there's a hate crime law covering tools. If so, I'm definitely serving time because of you gus and the great stuff that you find!

[JSUPreston]

Well, I've never gotten a YOU SUCK while on the board, so I'm looking forward to it, I think.

I admit that I was a little frustrated about wasting 3 hours last night on the trip. A good hour of that was finding the mall in the first place, and then finding a gas station that takes my gas card. You're right though, the difference in cost will more than make up for the gas.

I'm debating if I should even try a mortiser attachment for the 9", of if I should CL it for a little cash. Everything I've heard about the attachments indicates that they are not very good.

[dkerfoot]

Maybe the whole thing wasn't a mistake by Sears. After all even at a loss it get people shopping on both their website and in the store. (This is called a loss leader)

A $300 loss leader? Uh, no... First off, I'd be surprised if Sears clears $75 on this DP at full price. Margins are much, much slimmer than most people realize. So, to be a successful loss leader, people would have to decide "While I am here, I might as well pick up a new washer, dryer, refrigerator and dishwasher..."

Don't large retail organizations have proof readers for their advertizing?
Should local managers have the right to override corporate advertizing and /or policy other than to promote further customer satisfaction?
Many states have law which require truth in advertizing. If you want to limit quantities the ad must stipulate that. Cancelling orders while telling the customer to check out the web or store for another model may be considered "bait and switch" (illegal in many states)

The courts all recognize the difference between a publishing error and bait and switch. I agree some of the responses people have received have not been very straight-forward, but it was obviously a mistake on the price. People make honest mistakes.

The corporation or store will not tell you which laws apply in the state they are doing business in. They try to get away with whatever works and unless you know yourself and make a complaint they make out on it.
To sum it up I'm not sure if Sears/Kmart was acting in good faith nor do I feel that any large retail organization deserves the benefit of the doubt. Where a small organization wouldn't take a chance of being called to the mat on a intentional typo a large org. maybe since they have legal teams on retainer.
As for the forum and it's member's most do deserve the benefit of the doubt. The forum did it's best to deseminate information in the best interest of it's members and that is the forum working the way it should. "it's finest hours"

Wow. Do you really believe that it is more likely that this is all some sinister plot by Sears, rather than some minimum wage flunky making a typo on the web-page?

Your world is way more complex than mine.

[aluminumfury]

While I don't disagree with you that it was a simple mistake that caused this sale-I disagree that they are only clearing $75 at full price.

One person mentioned that a sales manager had commented that sears' cost for that press was $240 so the sale was an obvious error.I tend to agree with that.

Farm and fleet sells this same press (minus the laser and with a 3 spoke feed handle) for $359 and it goes on sale regularly for $299.

I'm happy I scored one of the Sears presses and I have no regrets about the deal.

I just think that their regular price is over inflated and I would have never considered this one at full price.

[ironhat]

Well, I've never gotten a YOU SUCK while on the board, so I'm looking forward to it, I think.

I admit that I was a little frustrated about wasting 3 hours last night on the trip. A good hour of that was finding the mall in the first place, and then finding a gas station that takes my gas card. You're right though, the difference in cost will more than make up for the gas.

I'm debating if I should even try a mortiser attachment for the 9", of if I should CL it for a little cash. Everything I've heard about the attachments indicates that they are not very good.

OK, you asked for it... You suck! There, we both feel better, now. I think that you made a good decision on the mortising attachment. I wasted $179 on the one for my Shopsmith and the force required to drive the chisel into the wood deflected the table. I still had issues after using supports under the table. Definitely go with a stand-alone, in my opinion.
Enjoy the new rig, bud. I salute you and all others who got the tool deal of the decade (thus far, anyway).

[footprintsinconc]

i wasnt going to post, but after reading thru a couple of pages only, i though i'd write a line or two.

for those of you who got it, you definately scored an excellent deal! enjoy your DP! i clicked on the link on friday afternoon and it wouldnt work for me. i tried several time, but no good. i was in a hurry to go somewhere, so i left. i was going to check in again later in the evening, but completely forgot. now i feel really bummed out, because i had been thinking of getting one for some time now. i guess, i will just have to wait around and see what comes up.

cheers!

[davidtu]

This wasn't just a web-site errant price; they had signs put out in stores laid out on top of the exact drill press that pronounced proudly: "Save $350" and price "179.99". Now, someone had to take that printed sign and put it right on a machine, right next to another smaller machine, a 15" DP also on sale, but for more money! I don't know how that sort of "mistake" can be made. A website is one thing, a person putting a physical sign on a physical machine is quite another in my book.

Now, anyone who wants this deal should certainly stop by their store and see if they still have the sign up advertising it. They will almost certainly honor it as it is a posted price in their store.

[MBG]

This wasn't just a web-site errant price; they had signs put out in stores laid out on top of the exact drill press that pronounced proudly: "Save $350" and price "179.99". Now, someone had to take that printed sign and put it right on a machine, right next to another smaller machine, a 15" DP also on sale, but for more money! I don't know how that sort of "mistake" can be made. A website is one thing, a person putting a physical sign on a physical machine is quite another in my book.

I do, the average age of the employees in my local Sears tool department is about 16-1/2 .

[Pakaderm]

Hah, the average age of the tool dept. employees at my store is probably ~65.

-Pak

[JR]

Hah, the average age of the tool dept. employees at my store is probably ~65.

LOL. There's one of each at my Sears. On a recent visit, looking for a router bit, the old guy knew where the key was, but only the young guy could figure out how to open the case. The old guy couldn't see well enough to the bits, and the young guy didn't know what they were.

JR

[footprintsinconc]

LOL! good one, JR

[Mrk67mark]

Well, after waiting four days for the charge to be taken off my credit card, I decided to head down to Sears and see what happens. I took my "Ready for pick up" e-mail and scan it at the kiosk. Two minutes later I have my drill press in the back of my truck. So if you got your e-mail, bring it to Sears and give it a try. Thanks bfrikken for the heads-up.
Mark

[maxparot]

A $300 loss leader? Uh, no... First off, I'd be surprised if Sears clears $75 on this DP at full price. Margins are much, much slimmer than most people realize.

Wow. Do you really believe that it is more likely that this is all some sinister plot by Sears, rather than some minimum wage flunky making a typo on the web-page?.

I can see that you've never worked in a big box retail environment. Or your math skills need a bit of work.
So for your information here is the basics:
If the MSRP of an item is $500 then the cost was somewhere south of $250 this is called 50% markup. It has been the backbone of the retail market for many years and is generally the regular price of the item.
Any reseller who's regular price is less that that is said to be a "discounter"
So you can see that if it were a loss leader the actual loss would be much smaller than $300 which would actually be closer to the amount of profit if the item sold at full price.

As for a sinister plot. No. Just a number of employees allowed an error to occur.
The problem for me is that because Sears is a corporation it has certain extra protections and responsibilities under the law. Since Stock holders (the owners) are isolated from liabilities the corporation itself is not.

[mpauly]

Mini Review

OK, so I sold my HF DP for $100 (originally was $199 minus whatever coupon I had) so with the old one out of the shop, I had the opportunity and space to setup the new craftsman DP. So here's my mini review based on a few test holes (very limited test, I know) and comparison to my experiences with the HF.

General:
The craftsman does have some more bells and whistles than the HF unit, but it's amazing how similar they are (at least from the outside) and basic features and operation. The base, pole, table arm/raiser/tilter are almost identical. The head casting, motor, mounts, pulleys and tensioner look very similar as well, but without details on the internals, it's just speculation. At $179, the obvious winner here is the craftsman, but I wouldn't say that it is leaps and bounds ahead of the HF unit. If I had to pay more than say $275, I'd stick with the deal I had on the HF.

Pluses (in order of importance to me):
- Longer stroke
- Much better depth stop
- Keyless chuck
- Wider, flatter, square table (with a table extender on the side) with better clamping options
- Nice On/Off switch
- Slightly smoother operation
- Comes with a nifty laser thingamabob, though I've not set that up (may turn out to be a joke)
- Has a nice clamp on plastic tray to hold drills and small objects.

Minuses (in no particular order since none are deal breakers):
- For me, I prefer the traditional 4 knob arm, though the single knob arm is sort of slick. Jury's still out, I may get used to it.
- Belts and pulleys still aren't completely smooth and the cover is made of plastic that can vibrate and resonate at the right pulley speed.
- Belts are ridged, so can't use a v-belt to smooth things out
- The light is a total afterthought stuck on the side with no power on the drill itself (unless I missed something need to plug into another wall outlet). The arm can barely hold the head at more than one dangling angle. The HF light was integrated into the head casting, tucked neatly out of the way and powered by the drill itself. I think I'll pick up a magnetic lamp to replace it.
- I never though I would say this, but the HF instructions were actually better.
- The paint on the head and underside of the table was cracked and peeling in a few places right out of the box. I chipped it off and put a nice coat of wax on all the exposed areas.

So all in all, I'm happy with the purchase, but if I missed out on the deal, I would have been perfectly happy to stick with the HF DP. To those of you who got in on the deal, I'd be interested in hearing your comments. To those of you who missed out, keep looking, something almost as nice will come along sooner or later.

Michael