Dust Extractor CT MIDI I HEPA just posted.

Quote from: sg1011 on July 15, 2021, 11:19 PM

Does the site just upload one item at a time?

The site works a lot like woot! used to work back in the pre-Amazon days.  One tool SKU is listed at a time, and the site moves to the next item (or closes the entire sale) once that SKU has sold through.

There are no indications of what quantity of each SKU is up for sale.  Sometimes there is more than one of a given SKU for sale so the item may remain listed even after someone purchases it.  Many times, only one quantity of a given SKU is available and the site moves to the next item as soon as the single quantity is sold.

The site has a pre-loaded queue that can be viewed at https://www.festoolrecon.com/collections/oneanddone .  All of the links will redirect to the first item in the queue, except for special events such as the 4th of July Sell-off and an occasional Black Friday Sell-off.

No matter the length of the queue, when the "Wow, that was fast!!!" item comes up, that's the end of the queue.  Sometimes that's in the middle of a long list of items, but usually it's the last one in the queue.

Many items are listed at 25% off of retail, with free shipping.  Occasionally an item will be listed at 20% off, sometimes even at 30% or 50% off, depending on the item.  There does not seem to be any direct correlation between the percentage off and the quality of the item, it may be related to the popularity of the item or the lack thereof (Planex sanders, for example, seem to get the highest percentage and tend to sit unsold for a long time).

This is all information that has been gleaned and gathered from observation over time.  I don't believe anyone at Festool has officially confirmed any of this, other than perhaps the whole "all links lead to the first item in the queue" redirects.

In "the before times", Recon items were actually sold through dealers.  I wasn't around then, but from everything I've read, it was a very dark and ugly time indeed.

The rules of the website are subject to change at any time (see also: the 4th of July Sell-off).  Festool could decide to discontinue the sale at any time as well.

Hope this helps!

Quote from: brbeard on July 19, 2021, 02:11 PM

What I received was a very worn metric version that was manufactured in 2010.

Definitely an unfortunate experience.

My understanding of the Recon is that the tools are "reconditioned".  Sometimes, this means a tool that was tried out and returned during the 30-day trial period, which may be used or may appear brand new.  Other times, this may mean a tool that was sent in for repair during the 3-year warranty and potentially deemed "not fiscally advantageous to repair" and subsequently replaced by FUSA.  Also possible are tools sent in for repair and then either abandoned by the owner or the owner deemed the repair cost not financially feasible and decided to get a new tool instead.

The first scenario (especially if the tool is lightly or never used) are the "dream" scenario for a hobbyist, in my estimation.  A good tool, brand new condition, and at a discounted price.  From FUSA's standpoint, the lost retail sale price is made up for by a smaller balance on the actuarial balance sheet for warranty repairs after Year 1.

It's the two latter scenarios that are the worrisome scenarios for sight-unseen buyers.  Something like a 10-year-old router being sold above its 10-year-old retail price, without any prior notice that it was that old?  The 1-year warranty may not be worth the price difference between that item and the one that you might stumble across on eBay, Facebook, Craigslist, Offerup, etc.

Toyota-esque resale prices notwithstanding (depending on the tool), it's probably not what people are thinking of or looking for when purchasing direct from the manufacturer on a "factory reconditioned" tool.

The packing quality (or lack thereof) certainly doesn't help matters.  That's another place where some of our online retailers tend to shine: the extra care they take to add internal packing to the systainer to ensure a tool arrives in good shape.

I get the feeling that there are some pros who buy from Recon, possibly to supplement their stock, but I have a feeling that if I ever make the turn from "hobbyist" to "making a living with my tools", my cost-benefit will likely drive me to retail purchases for the extra warranty (and because I can depreciate a small percentage of the cost over time).