"Lowest Price" site for tools?

[Wayne02]

Is there some sort of clearing house website for getting the best prices on tools, along the lines of cnet, znet (or whatever the names of those electronic sites), etc?

Need a digital camera or other type of electronics? There are several sites that will quote multiple suppliers of said camera, and few sites that will quote price plus shipping to your local, all with using very few key strokes.

Is there something like this for tools, gun parts and supplies etc?

I've tried using froogle, but it seems more of an afterthought than a serious tool offered by google. It really is not well supported.

I just went through this when buying an SK torx bit socket set. I had done research relative to quality and knew the exact set I wanted to purchase. Now just needed to find the place with the most reasonable price (including shipping).

Using google I managed to find my way from the original price on sears to a lower price via an Internet supplier, saving $38 on the set, but it was a meandering path to find the info. Would be nice if there were one site that a person could plug a tool product into and have a list of prices and suppliers pop up.

I realize ebay can sort of be used for this type of task, but again, it is a roundabout way to get to the info a person needs.

[CCWKen]

You might try Amizon.com but other than that when I need a tool, it's either Enco, McMasters, or a couple of tool dealers.

[Tin Falcon]

Enco generaly had the best prices not always . But they guarantee the lowest price show them a lower advertised price they will beat it. the down side is they do not have a huge selection compared to McMaster or MSC. IMHO Lowes has some of the best deals on DeWalt hand held power tools like cordless drill drivers and grinders. Harbor frieght has low prices but IMHO lower quality in many cases and less accesories on lathes etc compared to other brands.
Caveat Emptor
Tin

[Too_Many_Tools]

Is there some sort of clearing house website for getting the best prices on tools, along the lines of cnet, znet (or whatever the names of those electronic sites), etc?

Need a digital camera or other type of electronics? There are several sites that will quote multiple suppliers of said camera, and few sites that will quote price plus shipping to your local, all with using very few key strokes.

Is there something like this for tools, gun parts and supplies etc?

I've tried using froogle, but it seems more of an afterthought than a serious tool offered by google. It really is not well supported.

I just went through this when buying an SK torx bit socket set. I had done research relative to quality and knew the exact set I wanted to purchase. Now just needed to find the place with the most reasonable price (including shipping).

Using google I managed to find my way from the original price on sears to a lower price via an Internet supplier, saving $38 on the set, but it was a meandering path to find the info. Would be nice if there were one site that a person could plug a tool product into and have a list of prices and suppliers pop up.

I realize ebay can sort of be used for this type of task, but again, it is a roundabout way to get to the info a person needs.

Not that I am aware of.

I suspect there is not one.

Tools do not sell in the volumes that electronics do so the lure for someone to build the search engine is not there.

And there are fewer tool manufacturers...less competition.

I agree that Froggle is not a great tool.

As you know, doing the research provides the benefit but takes time.

TMT

[lugnut]

I think that Amazon.com is a good place to shop for something like a camera because they have a customer review section on each item that pretty much tells you if the item is good or bad. You can't beat Enco's deal on tools for $50 or more with free shipping. I bit on that today with one of thier granite surface plates and enough other stuff to reach the $50. With all the crooks on Ebay now days I wouldn't buy tools there unless you know the store or seller.
Best of luck
Mel

[madman]

China

Yeah direct dealing with china. Amazing prices. Eliminate the middlemen.

[Dawai]

There is this old man who lives two door down. He sells only tools at the flea market.
I buy from him when I break things or they dissapear into the nether (damn dog)

I can buy a name brand wrench for 10% of new, so I do.

Sometimes you get a surprise, like when one of the wrenches I bought had Mikey's name etched into it. AND he said he didn't remember loaning it to me. HA.. surprise. Someone who had Mikey's wrench pawned or sold it to someone else who sold it to the old man, where I bought it.

[BobWarfield]

It's called "eBay". Decide what tool you want, pull out the catalog from Enco or other reasonable outfit, look up price. Bid 40 - 60% of said new price on eBay. Be prepared to lose a few, so stay patient.

Works like a charm.

Best,

BW

[lynnl]

One place I always check, for general purpose tools... drills, grinders, etc., is "Tool Crib of the North". They're located in Fargo ND, and I've usually found their prices to be as good or better than most.

They seem to have developed some sort of affiliation with Amazon.com the last few years.

[pcarpenter]

I don't know of any web-shopper sites that do price comparisons on tools (at least not the sort of specialty stuff we tend to buy) as you asked about.

I buy quite a bit from Enco which has good pricing when things are on sale. For import tooling stuff, I have found that www.cdcotools.com has some of the lowest prices. The web site has only a portion of what he carries. The proprietor, chief cusotmer service rep., CEO etc are all the same guy and English is definitely a second language, but he tries very hard and helped me out by taking some measurements of a magnetic chuck before I bought it etc. Nice guy. I noticed that he now advertises in HSM, too.

One item he carries that is a real value in my opinion is his mag indicator base that is in the Noga style with a one knob lock for all movements. $19....and the arms are cast steel instead of aluminum on the two genuine Noga's I picked up second hand. The Noga indicator clamp heads are also plastic while it was steel on the import.

I have to give Noga a big round of applause, however. One of their plastic magnet engagement knobs broke and they sent me a new one and a new stick on face plate I had to mangle to replace the knob....all the way from Israel....free of charge.

paul

[Too_Many_Tools]

It's called "eBay". Decide what tool you want, pull out the catalog from Enco or other reasonable outfit, look up price. Bid 40 - 60% of said new price on eBay. Be prepared to lose a few, so stay patient.

Works like a charm.

Best,

BW

In my experience, Ebay is an expensive way to buy tools.

I have yet to see any auction for hand tools that represented any SIGNIFICANT savings.

Factor in shipping and the very REAL risk of getting junk (or not getting anything at all) and any savings that you might get on Ebay are minimal.

Now I have purchased tools on Ebay that I can't find elsewhere...and I have paid more than I wanted to....but factor in the time it would take to find the hard to find stuff and I figure it works out in the end.

What I do see is that the locals buy locally at thrift stores, rummage sales, garage sales and auctions and then SELL THE STUFF ON EBAY for a profit. That in itself tells this guy that Ebay is no bargain.

So my approach is NOT to use Ebay as the first place to shop but one of the last.

TMT

[BobWarfield]

In my experience, Ebay is an expensive way to buy tools.

I have yet to see any auction for hand tools that represented any SIGNIFICANT savings.

Factor in shipping and the very REAL risk of getting junk (or not getting anything at all) and any savings that you might get on Ebay are minimal.

Now I have purchased tools on Ebay that I can't find elsewhere...and I have paid more than I wanted to....but factor in the time it would take to find the hard to find stuff and I figure it works out in the end.

What I do see is that the locals buy locally at thrift stores, rummage sales, garage sales and auctions and then SELL THE STUFF ON EBAY for a profit. That in itself tells this guy that Ebay is no bargain.

So my approach is NOT to use Ebay as the first place to shop but one of the last.

TMT

TMT, why do you think I suggest referring to what the new price is and bidding a fraction of that? I've won a ton of tooling on eBay at a fraction of what it would cost me to buy it new, and I can't think of a time when I have been disappointed by what I got. There are a variety of ways to help improve your odds ranging from the obvious like doing your homework on the seller to make sure they are reputable and their shipping charges, to the less than obvious. For example, I keep a list of tooling brands that are often less than obvious here:

http://www.thewarfields.com/cnccookbook/CCResourcesBrands.htm

Some of those names are obvious, many are things the average eBayer never heard of, so that many won't bid. There are a number of other tricks to take advantage of to succeed on eBay.

Here is a just a short list of some of the better deals I've gotten on ebay:

Gage Block set, 81 piece, Grade 2: $51.00
DC Treadmill Motor and Speed Control for Lathe: $69
Complete Yuasa 5C Collet Set: $149
Starrett 98-12 Machinist's Level: $70
Buck 5" Set Tru 6-Jaw Chuck: $200

There have been many many more items. As I say, I try to bid 40 - 60% of new. I lose a lot of auctions as people let their bidding frenzy carry them away, but I eventually get whatever I am after for a lot less than new.

To each his own, but it would be a mistake to assume there are no good deals on eBay just as it would be a mistake to assume all eBay deals are good. I see enough names of folk from these boards floating around on eBay to know I'm not the only one making use of it. The others may not want you to bid against them though!

Best,

BW

[JRouche]

For prices you cant beat ebay. You need to have some time to wait for the best price sometimes.

Example: Go buy or show me a CCMT carbide insert for less than ebay, and the tool holder.

Goes on forever like that.

For a store type purchase I always go to Wholesale tools http://www.wttool.com/ then Enco. JRouche

[Too_Many_Tools]

You need to reread my post....I am saying that Ebay has its place when the situation calls for it.

A common theme in the responses is that it takes repeated attempts to win an item.

Those attempts add up to be alot of time.

And time is money.

As I mentioned earlier, I also use Ebay. I know how much time it can take to locate, evaluate, watch, bid, pay, receive and evaluate the condition of the item that one wants. My rough estimate is that it takes between 2-3 HOURS just to find one item I am willing pursue later at auction. My success rate at bidding is easily over 90%. I have come across my share of dishonest/deadbeat sellers and the risks of receiving junk, broken/damaged items or nothing at all. I also can attest to the damage that occurs during shipping due to improperly packaged tools by those sellers who seldom ship or just don't care. For what I have used Ebay for, I am still ahead of the game. I do know that for the relatively rare and hard to find items that I buy, I can justify the higher prices I have paid in exchange for not spending years looking to find an item.

As for more commonly available items, I still consider Ebay to be an expensive avenue to buy from. As a reference, occassionly I will follow auctions of what I call "commodity tools" and SELDOM do I see significant savings. So, am I missing something?

Since several of you have mentioned that Ebay is a hotbed of screaming bargains, could you (and anyone else who want to play "Where's The Bargain?") post the links to both the recent great prices in Ebay's completed auctions and their counterparts from major retail sellers? Since the Ebay completed auctions cover the past month, I would consider it to be an easy effort if the bargains really exist.

Thanks..I and others look forward to the responses.


TMT

[Joel]

Where eBay really shines for me is when I need something uncommon. I had to have an accurate 150 GPM flowmeter for the business. The cost of a new unit was frightening, then I remembered to check eBay - I lucked out and found a really nice NOS electronic meter and ended up buying it for something like 1 cent on the dollar. A few days later I had a much better meter than I otherwise could have afforded, for a lot less money than a cheap one would have cost.