I just bought a doweling jig for $12.99 at Harbor Freight and it looks very similar to the jig sold at Rocklers for $51.99. In fact the side pieces look so similar the only thing that tells them apart is the silk screening and Rocklers says theirs is nickel plated. Does that justify their inflated price? Is Rocklers gouging it’s customers?
Don
Replies
Not a direct answer to your question..
I shop Rockler more often than I should and I would suppose I could get some/many things a bit less expensive (I am NOT a rich folk). I like the drive and the people I meet there... Makes my day..
Harbor Freight has been around along time.. So must be a good source or would not be in business these days.. I have never had any experience with them.
How many times have you bought something and found a better price someplace else in your life time?
Judgemet call, I would say. As in I purchased large set of L'chepo router bits long ago that I still use to this day! They still cut nicely.... I do keep em' clean....
"Is Rocklers gouging
"Is Rocklers gouging it’s customers?"
That depends on how "gouging" s defined. Both are marking-up their items based on the forumula that makes sense withi their respective business models. Harbor Freight may have a cheaper source, and they aren't known for selling top quality.
Most likely I wouldn’t have noticed the price difference but because of the economy I have started to check around a bit. I think the price difference was so large I had to question it and have become suspicious of their pricing.
Don
Understood. It never hurts to be frugal, while still considering quality. If the jigs appear to be identical, except for plating, Rockler's price may in deed be inflated. Unless Rockler's unit is OEMed from a U.S. manufacturer, it's actually quite likely that both are made off-shore.
woodcraft vs. big box
Don,
Same thing happens at a lot of stores. Woodcraft carries some black pipe for pipe clamps. Pay Woodcraft $30plus or go to big box and pay $9 and change for the same size, length, etc.. some of it is pricing, some of it is you might pay the higher price out of convenience of one stop shopping, and part of it is who knows?! I agree, it pays to shop around.
Alan - planesaw
No way
I assume you're talking about this jig? Just by looking at the pics I can tell differences between the two. Looks like the metal Rockler uses is a better quality and the pins that hold the sides together are a higher quality material making it easier to open up the jaws. I'd say no way is Rockler gouging their customers.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=857&filter=dowel%20jig
View Image
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41345
View Image
I'll bet if you had them both in hand you wouldn't think them the same. Are the threads that keep the jib centered equally precise with exactly the same amount of "play". How hard are the inserts that guide the drills. How precise and accurate are they in size and alignment. Just because they share a similar design (I presume the model Rockler's carries is no longer under patent protection) doesn't mean they work as well or last as long.
Now, for some jobs the HF cheapy may work just fine, but on others deficiencies in the manufacturing precison in the HF might mean hours of extra work flattening a panel glue up, etc.
There could well be a third way, a less expensive version that is nearly as well executed as the Rockler version, but ...
The only true way to compare the HF and Rockler is side by side. They could be the same.. they may not be! HF has got some really cheap stuff and some things are the same as other sources but just cheaper as I assume they buy in bulk and sell in bulk with less mark-up due to lower over-head. I personally think both Rockler and Woodcraft are a bit high as I can compare other sources being in a city where we have about everything available locally.
A good case is the univeral tenoning jig available from those stores. It's the same jig no matter where you buy it (thre Jet is different with a different source) but some sources are higher than others. Grizzlies is the same which is usually cheaper unless you catch a sale that brings it to the same price point. I purchased a can of Renaissance Wax at Woodcraft the other day. Normally $26.99 there and I won't pay that as I can get it for $21 at other sources. But.. 20% sale coupon and it was the same so I donated local to them in lieu of inter-net order for the same price I paid on sale.
Keep in mind Rockler.. Woodcraft.. Highland.. etc. stay within range of each other as the price is set to what they think the public will bear. HF may have a inferior source and sell it cheaper or they may simply purchase bulk from the same source and depend on high volume sales with lower mark-up which will attract someone that shops.
Again.. you have to compare physically but I think the word "gouging" is not applicable since they sell around the same ;price as most of their competitors. The trick is to find someone with the very same product such as the tenon jig mentioned... realize it it the same and grab it from a source who has it on sale or just doesn't need the higher mark-up as over-head is lower.
Rip offs
Many tools are, literally carbon-copies of other more expensive ones. For example, I have an Elu Router which I bought about 25 years or more ago - at Elu prices. Currently there are at least 2 unbranded routers on sale which lack only the Elu label to be indistinguishable from it AT FIRST GLANCE.
However when I examine these carefully I can see signs of poor machining, some sloppiness in the adjusters, not as good a finish on the casing etc.
I paid over $200 at the then rates of exchange for the Elu. The copies are around $44 at today's rates.
The unknown factor is how well the copies will perform. I suspect "adequately" but not superbly.
You pays your money and you takes your pick.
Harbor Freight VS Rockler VS Local hardware store
I'm about to pick up a 1" belt sander from Harbor Freight. The nearest equivelant is made by Grizzly. The units look the same, the parts break-down looks like it was done by the same 'artist', the only difference is $20, with Harbor Freight being less expensive. I use harbor freight when I need a tool for one job and then dispose of it. I'll give you a third alternative for your doweling jig. Go to a good, local hardware store and see what they have in stock. If it looks like the same unit, it probably IS the same unit. Now look at the price. It will be somewhere between Harbor Freight and Rockler, so buy the one at the hardware store. Support your local guy.
SDawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled