I guess it's for real...

[mschrank]

Also note that she specifically states that the BT3100 is not being discontinued...Seems we all know that in fact that model was actually discontinued several years ago and replaced with the BT3100-1

I figure she was just trying to crank out responses to inquires and doesn't actually know the real story...?

Also just noticed my typo in my inquiry: BT3001 instead of BT3100-1, so gotta give her some credit.

[cwsmith]

I wouldn't read anything negative into S. Treadwell's referance to the BT3100 instead of the "Bt3100-1" I think we all have a tendency to "shorten" up our labels. I've had contact with her before, and she seems to be pretty sharp. Of course Ryobi doesn't always communicate everything to its support staff either. Maybe what we are witnessing is just a shortage, although it does seem to be pretty wide. Only time will tell, I guess.

CWS

[Dwight]

To interested W. Mass. locals

Hi all,

Okay, I'll come clean. I work 20-25 hrs/wk in the Hardware dept. at the the Greenfield, Mass HD, and in my spare time I teach K-6 science and 5/6 math at a small, rural elementary school. True, the HD where I work 1/4 the size of the standard HD, but we do carry the major lines of tools and products. The BT3100-1 SKU is definitely inactive and previously ordered saws are no longer listed. We do have the standard "demo" model that's seen better days and I've been told that should someone inquire, it could be sold for just under $200. For a few bolts and some TLC a nice saw could be resurrected.

Interestingly, we received two accessory kits after the SKU deactivation. It's true that the "orange aprons" are often in the dark about marketing/product development, so who knows. I hope that remarks about a new version are accurate and we won't see the end of a fine tool. I do make it a point to show folks who seem interested in buying a TS the features of the BT. Most are impressed. I'd agree that not enough was/is done to market the 3100.

Take care, Dwight

[LarryG]

"We have not been INFORMED that the BT3100 saw is being discontinued."

This probably just means, "Hey, we're just the people who sit here and answer the phones and emails, nobody ever tells us anything, we're always the last to know."

But it makes me wonder about a larger question: in this exclusive arrangement between Ryobi and Home Depot, who informs whom? Does Ryobi go to Home Depot and say, "Here's what we're making now, add these new SKUs to your inventory data base, and good luck selling them." Or does Home Depot go to Ryobi and say, "We're not going to sell this item any more; stop making it." Or is it a joint decision?

(Rhetorical questions, of course: I realize there's not likely to be anyone on this list who knows for sure ... or is at liberty to say even if he DOES know.)

[rg32]

Larry.
HD is a large powerful public company that is concerned with huge profits and keeping there stock holders happy.
Like Walmart HD I'm betting is push retailer meaning that they tell their vendors what they want and how much they are willing to pay.

I the case of the BT3100-1 becoming extinct, seeing is believing for me!

[Ken Weaver]

I've been pressing my neighbor who works at Ryobi and I get the sense that we will see a new version of the 3100, but nothing outrageously different. He told me some time ago that there was a "3200" in the works, but not sure what that means. Will try to find out more from the Ryobi tool engineer down the street.

[RmeDad]

Do you suppose?????

IS THIS GUY FOR REAL? SOUNDS LIKE A BORG EMPLOYEE TRYING TO BOOST SALES! LOL!

[RmeDad]

Didn't mean to insult you, we just get a few crackpots around here every now and then.

[cwsmith]

I just picked up the new 2006 Ryobi Power Tool Catalog and see that there is NO BT3-anything.

You know, it's a real shame to see this saw get dropped. Does Ryobi have any idea at all about how poorly their products are served, thanks to their exclusive with Home Depot??? In my local store, the BT3100 has sat for almost two years without it's accessory table, SMT is incomplete and off the rails, and the rip fence is on the floor. Even if one were to remove the cardboard box, and the Ridgid drill press manual that's currently sitting on top of it, I'm not sure anyone would recognize it's quality or features. Don't even bother to ask an "Orange Apron" about it.

Maybe the marketing numbers show differently, but certainly from the experience that I've had, you either walk into the store, determined to buy Ryobi or else you'll be convinced by an "Apron" that Ryobi is a total waste of money. Really, does TTI have any idea how poorly thier products are treated, or for that matter, how neglected their products seem to be, even by their own market promotion.

In the last two years, I've seen a couple of fairly decent products come and go with no fanfare at all. Some didn't last a year and none of them received any promotion that I've seen. A good example of that is Ryobi's rather feature-rich and nicely priced jig saw. Introduced about a year ago, I practically had to argue with the tool manager that it even existed. It took one of their new salesman 20 minutes to locate one for me. While HD hardly knows it's there, Ryobi hasn't given it a dime's worth of promotion. Guess it will disappear soon too!


CWS

[LCHIEN]

I just picked up the new 2006 Ryobi Power Tool Catalog and see that there is NO BT3-anything.

You know, it's a real shame to see this saw get dropped. Does Ryobi have any idea at all about how poorly their products are served, thanks to their exclusive with Home Depot???

Maybe the marketing numbers show differently, but certainly from the experience that I've had, you either walk in the store with the determination to buy Ryobi or else you'll be convinced by those "Orange Aprons" that Ryobi is a total waste of money. Really, does TTI have any idea how poorly thier products are treated by HD?

CWS

Yeah, that's my thinking, too. Ryobi is letting a fine saw that fills a market niche die because of their stupid contract with HD.

[mycatisretarded]

how about the sears version?

what about the sears version? same saw on a mobile stand, only one year old- will it survive?

[Dwight]

Orange aprons

I think that it is important to remember that HD is a big-box store, not Woodcraft or any other business with a woodworking focus. It's there to provide product to DIY types and additional installation through subcontracters to DIFM customers. Many employees have little, if no, real training on all HD products. Vendors come to the store, arrange displays, maybe talk with dept heads, then go. Unless sales floor people take it on themselves to gain product knowledge, it's often just "I'll get that down for you, sir." In addition, at least at the HD where I work, employees are often called to help cusomers in depts in which they have no training whatsoever.

I may sound like a shill for HD, but I buy into the idea that it's my job to help every customer find the best product or solution for their project. I show people the range of possibilites to make sure they know that cheap isn't often the best and upgrading can provide valuable, additional functionality in a tool. I enjoy talking with people who come to hardware, both because I find it satisfying to help others, but also, and more importantly, I learn a lot about tools, their uses, deficiencies, tricks, etc. from knowledgable customers. HD does provide mandatory dept-specific training for employees, but computer-based training is a weak substitute for hands-on experience. Remember too that HD carries literally thousands of products and as you move up into higher levels of management, what for us is an incredible oversight about a top-notch product becomes just another slow moving item among hundreds. I totally agree that HD has missed a valuable opportunity to create and sustain a market for Ryobi, but remember as well that local stores do not have direct control over what is stocked.

Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now. Regards. Dwight

[Peter59T]

Same thing in Maryland

There is a very dusty 3100 in a box sitting here at my local Home Depot, with a hand written $249 was $299 sign on it, and one assembled floor model.

If I run over and buy it, does anyone know if I will ever be able to find the accessory kit anywhere?

[LarryG]

If I run over and buy it, does anyone know if I will ever be able to find the accessory kit anywhere?

If you're lucky, you won't.

Welcome to the forum, and seriously: most people agree that the accessory kit was worth toting home when Ryobi/HD had a promotion under which you could get it for free, but it's not worth anything close to the full $100 price. The single most desirable item is probably the router mounting kit. Next would be a tie between the dual miter slot table and the throat plates. Everything else is pretty useless (although you will find the occasional owner who uses every item in the kit).

A common approach is to try to buy just the parts of the kit you want/need, and/or build your own homemade versions. Lots of folks around here can give you some help with that, should you need it.

Bottom line: if you want the saw, buy it on its own merits, and worry (maybe) about selected items in the accessory kit later. Don't make the mistake of assuming, as a few have, that the saw is less useful if you don't have the accessory kit. It's not. The saw functions just fine as it comes out of the box. Everything in the accessory kit is overpriced and only worth having if you don't have something better.

[mikeg]

We tried everything to spur sales, from rebate, gift card rebate, and free BT3KIT but sales did not pick up.

OK, this will sound like a smart a$$ remark but you folks should have seen to it that HD put the darn things together properly!! I think I've heard dozens of times "the 3100 display was in pieces" or "the 3100 on display was MISSING pieces". I know it to be the case at the HD near me. The only reason I bought mine was because of this forum. HD certainly had no interest in selling me one! Even with this forum, I had second thoughts after seeing the 3100 at HD. So far, I'm glad I took the chance.

I don't mean to sound like a smart a$$, just my $.02.

mikeg