$30 skeletool

[captain spaulding]

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

Gateway tool?

Maybe. It just seems odd that they are allowed to sell them for half the retail price.  Makes me think leatherman gets a huge profit margin at $50. They can sell them cheaper but since people will pay for the name they can hike the price up

I don't know why it is so hard to believe. Most any product you buy probably has a huge profit margin. They might not be making a lot at $30, but when you drop price and sell volume you usually make more than if you sold less at a higher price.

[SteveC]

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

I would think that HD gets a huge bulk discount. I wonder how many they order nationwide ? They have over 2,200 stores in the US, so lets say 40 units per store that's 88,000 Skeletools   

[Demel]

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

Gateway tool?

Maybe. It just seems odd that they are allowed to sell them for half the retail price.  Makes me think leatherman gets a huge profit margin at $50. They can sell them cheaper but since people will pay for the name they can hike the price up

I don't know why it is so hard to believe. Most any product you buy probably has a huge profit margin. They might not be making a lot at $30, but when you drop price and sell volume you usually make more than if you sold less at a higher price.

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

I would think that HD gets a huge bulk discount. I wonder how many they order nationwide ? They have over 2,200 stores in the US, so lets say 40 units per store that's 88,000 Skeletools   

I agree with both of you. I would love for them to drop the wave down to 60 bucks. They could push so much more.

[sir_mike]

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

Gateway tool?

Maybe. It just seems odd that they are allowed to sell them for half the retail price.  Makes me think leatherman gets a huge profit margin at $50. They can sell them cheaper but since people will pay for the name they can hike the price up

I don't know why it is so hard to believe. Most any product you buy probably has a huge profit margin. They might not be making a lot at $30, but when you drop price and sell volume you usually make more than if you sold less at a higher price.

Nowadays, I think this is a must for companies to make some profits.  If they were smart, they would work on selling volumes at smaller profits rather than try to make all they profit in just selling a few at a higher price! 

If they are price regular, one might sell 1/3 of them or less but at a discount they might sell all of them.  So small profit on say thousands has to be much better than bigger profit on maybe a hundred or two!

[Demel]

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

Gateway tool?

Maybe. It just seems odd that they are allowed to sell them for half the retail price.  Makes me think leatherman gets a huge profit margin at $50. They can sell them cheaper but since people will pay for the name they can hike the price up

I don't know why it is so hard to believe. Most any product you buy probably has a huge profit margin. They might not be making a lot at $30, but when you drop price and sell volume you usually make more than if you sold less at a higher price.

Nowadays, I think this is a must for companies to make some profits.  If they were smart, they would work on selling volumes at smaller profits rather than try to make all they profit in just selling a few at a higher price! 

If they are price regular, one might sell 1/3 of them or less but at a discount they might sell all of them.  So small profit on say thousands has to be much better than bigger profit on maybe a hundred or two!

That's what McDonald's does and other retailers. They can sell burgers for one dollar but they sell millions of them.

[NKlamerus]

I hate this thread.

Because I'm jealous.

Friday night we ate at "The Bay" in Columbus Georgia. Dropped 30 bucks on a steak that was meh.

Shoulda bought one of these instead!!

[captain spaulding]

I hate this thread.

Because I'm jealous.

Friday night we ate at "The Bay" in Columbus Georgia. Dropped 30 bucks on a steak that was meh.

Shoulda bought one of these instead!!

I think about stuff like that all the time. Spend $30 on dinner and its just gone when you could have a Skeletool riding in your pocket right now.

[NKlamerus]

I hate this thread.

Because I'm jealous.

Friday night we ate at "The Bay" in Columbus Georgia. Dropped 30 bucks on a steak that was meh.

Shoulda bought one of these instead!!

I think about stuff like that all the time. Spend $30 on dinner and its just gone when you could have a Skeletool riding in your pocket right now.

It wouldn't have been NEARLY so bad if I got salad

Oh wait.

No.

They were 17 DOLLARS?!?! For a salad?!

[captain spaulding]

I hate this thread.

Because I'm jealous.

Friday night we ate at "The Bay" in Columbus Georgia. Dropped 30 bucks on a steak that was meh.

Shoulda bought one of these instead!!

I think about stuff like that all the time. Spend $30 on dinner and its just gone when you could have a Skeletool riding in your pocket right now.

It wouldn't have been NEARLY so bad if I got salad

Oh wait.

No.

They were 17 DOLLARS?!?! For a salad?!

$17 salad! That's just ridiculous.

[mrynnr]

Yikes... I'd rather have a Skeletool.

[captain spaulding]

Did you go get one yet?   

[mrynnr]

I sure did... In my pocket as I type hahaha

[sawman]

If I had back HALF the money I've dropped on some pricey meals over the years, I'd have no shortage of all the LM's they make and probably money to kickstart my OWN MT 

 

[Kampfer]

[HarleyXJGuy]

Had to carry mine today.

[Kampfer]

Had to carry mine today.

Ready for another Skeletool challenge?

[HarleyXJGuy]

Had to carry mine today.

Ready for another Skeletool challenge?

Always up for Skelly action.

I am actually trying to come up with some sort of challenge / giveaway to go along with breaking 5k posts.

[Kampfer]

 

[captain spaulding]

I always wanted to get one of those cardboard displays after they are done with them. I might try this year and see what they say. They just throw them out anyway.

[WoodsDuck]

I always wanted to get one of those cardboard displays after they are done with them. I might try this year and see what they say. They just throw them out anyway.

I bet they'll let you take it if you buy all the Skeletools and give one to me 

[captain spaulding]

I always wanted to get one of those cardboard displays after they are done with them. I might try this year and see what they say. They just throw them out anyway.

I bet they'll let you take it if you buy all the Skeletools and give one to me 

I bet they would, but if I bought all the Skeletools I would want more than just the display. 

[toolguy]

Some members have weird ideas as to how the system of retail sales works.


I ordered online.It saves time,gas and shipping was free.

[Demel]

Some members have weird ideas as to how the system of retail sales works.


I ordered online.It saves time,gas and shipping was free.

But you still have to wait (time), home depot is next to my house (no gas), and I get the immediate satisfaction of instant carry (no shipping)

Not really sure what you mean? Can you elaborate?

[toolguy]

Some members have weird ideas as to how the system of retail sales works.
I ordered online.It saves time,gas and shipping was free.

But you still have to wait (time), home depot is next to my house (no gas), and I get the immediate satisfaction of instant carry (no shipping)
Not really sure what you mean? Can you elaborate?

Got one today. Great deal. I wonder how they can sell them for so cheap and still make a profit?

You don't know if they are making a profit.They may be overstocked.This may be a "loss leader" a term used to describe a sale item,from which they may or may not make a profit but usually gets people in the store to buy something else.

Maybe. It just seems odd that they are allowed to sell them for half the retail price.  Makes me think leatherman gets a huge profit margin at $50. They can sell them cheaper but since people will pay for the name they can hike the price up

I don't know why it is so hard to believe. Most any product you buy probably has a huge profit margin. They might not be making a lot at $30, but when you drop price and sell volume you usually make more than if you sold less at a higher price.

Leatherman makes the same profit regardless of the price at which the retailer chooses to sell.

I would think that HD gets a huge bulk discount. I wonder how many they order nationwide ? They have over 2,200 stores in the US, so lets say 40 units per store that's 88,000 Skeletools   

This may or may not be the case.I don't know if Leatherman has a tier system for buying.If they do have such a system,it can't create such a large disparity between the small brick and mortar store and the big box store because it would severely disadvantage the small knife shops.No manufacturer wants to drive their retailers out of business with such a disparity in wholesale pricing.

I agree with both of you. I would love for them to drop the wave down to 60 bucks. They could push so much more.

The Wave can be purchased all day long for $64.20 from CS.

That's what McDonald's does and other retailers. They can sell burgers for one dollar but they sell millions of them.

This analogy is silly.So you want Leatherman to sell millions of tools so you can buy them cheaper?

Did you ever think how common a Leatherman would be and how the resale price would plummet thereby making your Leatherman tools virtually worthless.

I hope my responses have shed some light on the relationship between the manufacturer and the retailer.There are always some exceptions to the rules and there may be in this case as well.

[Demel]

I will only say this: Eventually EVERYTHING will be worthless 1000 years from now no one will even care about leatherman. It is not about "resell" that makes something valuable to me. If it's of great quality and I benefit from its ownership I wouldn't sell it because it has more "value" in my ownership of it. So no it's not silly to want Leatherman to curb their prices so more people can experience how great their tools are. Alot of people have already said that the price of certain Leatherman's turn them off and buy something else. If these prices were "normal" then they would increase volume.

Maybe they hike prices to have the bmw I have an expensive tool appeal. But if you take a look at the polarizing response to the signal having a high price just for the sake of price isn't enough to win customers. Price/quality. Back to the tool at hand, the Skeletool is NOT a $50 tool. The main point being if it sold at $30 normally more people who aren't multi fanatics would give it a try, ergo increasing leatherman customer base by an increase of volume therefore (by cause and effect) increasing profit.

So yes the retail industry may not always be clear cut to us normal folk, but their are principles that stretch beyond a particular field and it does not make us silly or weird for holding those principles.

[toolguy]

You missed every point I made about common business practices.

Making a claim that if prices were "normal then they would increase volume" is shear conjecture.Maybe you should hire on as a consultant to Leatherman and advise Tim Leatherman that his business model is all wrong and he could achieve greater success if he would follow your advice.LOL

Manufactures don't arbitrarily hike prices,they conduct extensive analysis of their potential market and combine this with the cost of manufacturing a specific tool in order to set a price.

It's your opinion that the Skeletool isn't worth $50.00 and your entitled to that opinion.Claiming that the price of a specific tool would garner more customers and therefore more profit is wishful thinking and is not a practice employed by successful businesses.

So yes the retail industry may not always be clear cut to us normal folk, but their are principles that stretch beyond a particular field and it does not make us silly or weird for holding those principles.

In no way does mistaken beliefs,concerning sound business practices,qualify as principles.

[Demel]

You missed every point I made about common business practices.

Making a claim that if prices were "normal then they would increase volume" is shear conjecture.Maybe you should hire on as a consultant to Leatherman and advise Tim Leatherman that his business model is all wrong and he could achieve greater success if he would follow your advice.LOL

Manufactures don't arbitrarily hike prices,they conduct extensive analysis of their potential market and combine this with the cost of manufacturing a specific tool in order to set a price.

It's your opinion that the Skeletool isn't worth $50.00 and your entitled to that opinion.Claiming that the price of a specific tool would garner more customers and therefore more profit is wishful thinking and is not a practice employed by successful businesses.

So yes the retail industry may not always be clear cut to us normal folk, but their are principles that stretch beyond a particular field and it does not make us silly or weird for holding those principles.

In no way does mistaken beliefs,concerning sound business practices,qualify as principles.

Well may be I don't get it, and maybe I am wrong. Have a good day

[enki_ck]

Depending on the product in question the sellers charge 50-75% more than they get the item for from the maker. I think the largest price increase is in textiles, not so much in tools.

From that, the seller has to pay various taxes and paychecks for his workers too, so they're not making THAT much of a profit but they can afford to drop prices drastically and survive (for instance if the stocking of the product costs them more or has not been selling well and they need to clead the inventory)

There's also a possibility LM increased their base price for the tools, but that's something we've been expecting and warning about for years here. And in that case it might also be the fault of users who've abused the famous LM warranty. Yes, the warranty repairs are included in the price of a bought LM, but they didn't expect to be replaceing as many tools as they do now 30 years ago when they started out with it. But if folks keep buying broken tools off of ebay and sending them in to get new ones, it was to be expected that LM would raise the prices of NEW tools to cover for the difference. Possibly we're seeing that here now.