Beechwood Chip Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I recently found some money and I'm thinking of buying some stationary power tools. Window shopping reminded me of a mystery that maybe someone can solve for me. What's the difference between the white, black, and green Grizzly tools? For example, I used the Grizzly comparison feature on their website to compare the 513 (green/white, $925), 513P (polar bear series, white, $895), and 513ANV (anniversary series, black, $825). Based on the comparison specs they appear to be identical, but the prices are $100 apart. Are you just paying for the green paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Yep, green paint is expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 ==>green paint is expensive! Yea, green is expensive ---- but really ugly gold paint is more expensive 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 If the tools are the same number, but one has a P at the end, they are exactly the same - except for paint. For example: G0656 and G0656P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Crawford Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Green - - that's the Festool premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 The one thing I see is the non-polar bear machines have a CSA certification that the Polar Bears do not. I am guessing that their is a fee for each tool sold to have that certification to have that certification which allows them to sell the Polar Bear line a little less. I am not a pro, but I think OSHA requires CSA certification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I thought CSA was more like the Canadian equivalent of Underwriters Labs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 ==>green paint is expensive!Yea, green is expensive ---- but really ugly gold paint is more expensive Aahhh, C'MON... Where's the love ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSA_International Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I guess it is, I stand corrected. Looking at the same page, it mentions the UL 987-7th standards, I am guessing that is what I was thinking of when it comes to OSHA requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 It's a marketing gimmick to give you the illusion of a choice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 its like chosing m&m's from the same bag.If you close your eyes you can't tell the difference. Don't try that with power tools! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 An engineer once told me that CSA certification can be trusted more than UL or the others. He said they are stricter about safety and testing after the product is on store shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted April 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 It's a marketing gimmick to give you the illusion of a choice... Sloanism. Sloan was CEO of GM. Before Sloan, everyone thought that price was determined by supply and demand, but Sloan thought, "If it costs us $1,000 to make a car, and one person is willing to pay $1,250, and another is willing to pay $2,000, why not get $1,250 from the first guy and $2,000 from the second?" So, instead of Ford's "any color as long as it's black", Chrysler offered a choice of colors - for a price. Actually, black for no extra charge, a choice of 4 standard colors for an additional cost, and a choice of 8 "premium" colors for a big additional fee. Chrome trim was an extra. Windows with cranks were an extra. Shock absorbers were an extra. Someone who really couldn't afford more than the base price would pay it, but anyone who could afford more would pay more. They quickly discovered that options that were externally visible worked much better. No one wants to be seen driving around in the "cheap version", and people like to show off that they can afford the expensive options. Also, visible differences between model years; so people know how old your car is just by looking at it. A recent example: when hybrid cars came out, a number of manufacturers offered a hybrid version as an option, for a huge jump in price. But only Toyota created a new line with a distinctive look that only came in hybrid. Which is why "Prius" and "hybrid" is like "Xerox" and "copying machine". Who wants to pay nearly double and get a car that looks the same? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 A recent example: when hybrid cars came out, a number of manufacturers offered a hybrid version as an option, for a huge jump in price. But only Toyota created a new line with a distinctive look that only came in hybrid. Which is why "Prius" and "hybrid" is like "Xerox" and "copying machine". Who wants to pay nearly double and get a car that looks the same? What I don't understand is why people pay double the price for a car that looks like a doorstop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 ==>Aahhh, C'MON... Where's the love ;-) Yea, yea... There's some love, but much less of it lately... Some months ago, I posted on PM quality issues... In summary: the last five stationary tools from WMI had serious defects upon delivery*... Four would not function out of the box and one functioned for about 30 seconds. Let's hope their new master will straighten them out... *List of defects (in case someone from Tenex is lurking): Sander: trunnion not securely bolted to frame -- bolts hand-started but not torqued-down. Trunnion bent. Replaced. Bandsaw: upper guide assembly bent -- Replaced. Drill press: chuck dented and upper guide bent. Chuck, arbor and spindle assembly replaced. Cabinet saw: bag of assembly parts missing. Planer: Several inserts not properly torqued. Self-destructed -- new head... In all cases, a simple call to Tennessee fixed the problem. About a week after the tool arrived, so did a box of parts... It's gotten so bad that I simply expect any tool from WMI to arrive DOA... Maybe Tenex will be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov163 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 A Southerner like me thinks CSA stands for Confederate States of America. Any tool with that certification has to be 150 years old and is therefore an antique so it costs more. Sorry, I haven't taken my meds yet. I'll be right back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov163 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Ahh, that's better. I like Grizzly's tools. Don't own any yet but expect to later this year, so this thread is educational for me as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgewaterWW Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 The price varies because of popularity and age. The G0513ANV was for the 30th Anniversary that they started selling about 2 years ago a few months before the anniversary year (like a car model year). So they are older and not as popular so marked down, because they have to get them out before the next anniversary pink ones (checking if anyone is reading) The not so fine print "The G0513ANV is the exact same machine as our G0513 except for our anniversary special edition colors." The G0513P Polar Bear Series is also not popular because of the white paint, from reading about it around the web, people don't like it because, the white will show dirt and it doesn't match the 2,3,5,10 other Grizzly tools in the shop. The not so fine print "This machine is identical to our model G0513 but with a dazzling white color!" The G0513 supply and demand, looks like there is a demand for this color layout so why lower the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Sloanism. Sloan was CEO of GM. Before Sloan, everyone thought that price was determined by supply and demand, but Sloan thought, "If it costs us $1,000 to make a car, and one person is willing to pay $1,250, and another is willing to pay $2,000, why not get $1,250 from the first guy and $2,000 from the second? So, instead of Ford's "any color as long as it's black", Chrysler offered a choice of colors - for a price. Actually, black for no extra charge, a choice of 4 standard colors for an additional cost, and a choice of 8 "premium" colors for a big additional fee. Some German brands, as well as Toyota, still charge more for certain colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I like the white ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I have both the standard colored Grizzly's and one white one (planer). I don't really care that they don't match because I don't have ONLY Grizzly in my shop. My OCD manifests itself in many ways but curiously this isn't one of them. I also don't care because I think the Grizzly green is hideous anyway...I made the concession a long time ago that I wasn't going to care what color my tools were because I was determined to buy Grizzly. Problem is, there aren't really that many good-looking stationary tool lines out there. I do like the Olivers, though. I think white looks good on Jet tools but somehow it doesn't work on the Grizzly's. And it's true they show the filth much worse...especially on the planer, which always seems to be a little oilier than any other tool and dirt sticks to it like a monkey on a cupcake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I thought CSA was more like the Canadian equivalent of Underwriters Labs? We use UL here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Monkey On A Cupcake??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 The G0513P Polar Bear Series is also not popular because of the white paint, from reading about it around the web, people don't like it because, the white will show dirt and it doesn't match the 2,3,5,10 other Grizzly tools in the shop. lol, woodworking cards revoked.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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