I am on social media platforms quite a bit these days, and have been seeing a lot of paid placements about SawStop’s upcoming price increase on table saws.
“Buy Before the Price Increase.”
I’ve written about SawStop’s upcoming price increase already – see: SawStop is Raising Prices Again in July 2025 – but it warrants a closer look.
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SawStop and their retailers have issued notices about upcoming price increases in the past, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it was so customers have a chance to lock in lower pricing.
SawStop table saws are not impulse-buys, and sometimes knowledge of a price increase can hurry along a sale while also saving the customer some money.
But this time feels very different, as they have been buying promotional placement on social media channels, encouraging woodworkers to “buy your saw now to avoid this increase.”
It sure is nice of them to help woodworkers “avoid this increase,” but maybe SawStop would be able to delay the price hike if they weren’t buying ads to promote it.
They filed legal action against the Felder Group last year (see SawStop Sued Another Table Saw Maker over Safety Tech Patents), and I recently learned that it was very quickly dismissed. I wonder how much that cost them.
Maybe sales have slumped and this is a strategy to move some inventory.
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Their language was clear in the past. See SawStop is Increasing Prices on August 1, 2023.
Notice how SawStop now says they “expect” to raise prices. I wonder – if they don’t meet sales goals, is there a chance they’ll announce the good news and that the expected increase has been pushed back?
I saw paid placements for the umpteenth time and it started to seem almost incessant. I thought “how much money must they have spent on this?” before asking myself why they wouldn’t have used the same money to hold off on the price increase at least for a little bit.
SawStop is documented as saying they’ll only license their safety tech to other companies if the CPSC mandate is passed. Part of their excuse was that they must “provide a return for investors,” and that “royalties would be less than what SawStop would earn by selling saws itself.” Grizzly was turned down again in recent years, with SawStop saying licensing doesn’t fit SawStop’s brand and marketing strategies.
I suppose it’s fitting for the same company to buy ads to promote a price increase.
ToolGuyd purchased a SawStop at retail, and that this is how they’re spending some of that profit?
I can understand why SawStop won’t license their tech to other companies, and how it’s because this would result in lower profits for the company. But what have they been spending that profit on? From what I have – and have not – seen, certainly not new product development.
I haven’t forgotten that SawStop promised and failed to deliver a $400 table saw with safety tech. Instead what they delivered was a $900 table saw. It’s not bad, but it also isn’t $400. How much of the $900 is profit?
See the review: SawStop CTS Compact Table Saw Review
The company has a monopoly on portable and cabinet table saws with active safety tech, and no market pressure to innovate or expand their offerings.
Critics often portray SawStop as a greedy profits-first company.
SawStop convinced me long ago that they were not about profit over people, and I believed it until now.
If I were in the market for a table saw right now, I’d avoid SawStop’s price increase by buying something else, as I wouldn’t want to reward this type of sales strategy with a purchase. Is that not a good way to avoid SawStop’s price hike?
If you must have SawStop safety tech, they haven’t announced exactly how much they’re raising prices, or under what condition their price increase wouldn’t be what and when they “expect.”
As of now, according to all of their announcements and paid posts, they “expect” for the latest increase to go into effect on July 15, 2025.
Chris
SawStop: Saving fingers, cutting into wallets. Thanks for the warning, but I’ve already cut and trimmed them from my budget-friendly list!
Evan
Hi Chris! I am looking to buy a table saw for my new house with garage workshop. Currently using a Craftsman jobsite saw. Do you actually have a list? Would you be willing to share it?
John
Everyone loves to bash Sawstop. After a finger injury a decade ago, I bought a Sawstop. Excellent saw, zero issues. I will keep the saw for life, there is no need to upgrade unless forced to by them somehow due to the cartridge system. Once someone has this type of saw, there are few reasons to buy another saw.
At some point there must be fewer available customers. People aren’t clamoring to get into woodworking for a living. Most schools are already outfitted for liability purposes. Price of goods are increasing at a rate exceeding inflation. Regardless of youtube and social media influencers, it’s just not a career normal people approach.
Bonnie
Woodworking as a hobby has had a huge resurgence in the last decade or so. Maybe not as many new carpenters, but there’s plenty of market.
It’ll get hurt by a contracting economy reducing discretionary money for expensive hobbies like woodworking, but we don’t yet know how much.
Nathan
Despite IKEA there is still a decent cabinet and finish carpentry business in the US that I know of. Since population grows it appears there is some relatively steady demand
Meanwhile. Their competitors apparently haven’t stopped making saws. DeWalt Bosch powermatic etc depending on contractor vs cabinet are still kicking out product and as far as I know they aren’t put there marketing buy before the price increase like a boy crying wolf
So I have to imagine not all is well in the world of sawstop in general and no I don’t like their founders antics or the bs lawsuits. But based on this marketing nonsense alone I wouldn’t buy one. Meanwhile is it tarrifs related is the saw made in China they say not ? Who really knows.
Anyway interesting. If I recall the patent goes away pretty soon without some additional innovation. So here comes the competition, thankfully.
Bonnie
DeWalt isn’t marketing it but they’re bumping prices just the same. They’re in a different market segment so the FOMO marketing isn’t the same.
Rockler has been sending mailers and running “sales” with the same headline for Powermatic and other brands.
Dave
Sawstop doesn’t have much longer on their patents, do they? Google says they started expiring in 2021 but could take “as long as” 2026…
What’s their game? They don’t seem particularly innovative compared to sibling companies. The Felder system looks far superior and there are probably many other design possibilities.
Bonnie
Is the Felder for sale anywhere? They’ve been teasing it for years and won a lawsuit didn’t they? Bosch gave up on their flesh detection tech as well even though they were free to sell a version. Not to mention Felder saws are mostly in a different price bracket from SawStops.
I expect it’ll just end up like track saws or biscuit joiners after those ran out. Other options hit market, but the original still sells well.
Tool Junkie
Felder has been selling those saws for several years, too. But they’re probably not in your typical market seller. I have some of their stuff, but that saw that rivals Sawstop costs around $22,000. That’s why they’re not marketing it as much. Most people need a dependable car or such for that kind of money.
xkrfan
This is not a criticism but it just seemed odd to follow a fairly negative piece like that with a link button to their products.
Stuart
You’ve got to do what’s best for you. If a SawStop is on your short list, a price increase is expected. The first thing I do when I hear about a price increase is check the current prices for tools on my shopping list.
Acme’s been good for my machinery purchases, and so I thought of them first.
Nathan
Normally yes but once the competition comes out I’d never even consider. Saw stop. And there are a number of people that feel the same way. They’ve really tainted the well with the lawsuit and other nonsense.
Isn’t Felder the ones that do the moving table version. It’s like a motorized sled, or am I thinking of another?
David S
Felder makes sliding panel saws. Not exactly what your average woodworker is looking for but a cabinet shops will have them.
Stuart
ToolGuyd had the budget for either, went with SawStop for the easier configuration, ordering, delivery, setup process.
Felder Hammer is a great alternative, but requires considerable more investment in different regards.
Jared
Excellent tip. Using that same methodology, I managed to dodge all the SawStop price increases so far.
Robert
The competitor I think will cut most into Sawstop market once Sawstop’s patents expire is Harvey Tools. Harvey tables saws are high price, high quality, great fit and finish, like Sawstop. But Harvey has been more innovative lately, e.g the Big Eye fence. Perhaps they have a larger R&D team. I have a job site Sawstop, but if was in the market for large stationary table saw I would seriously consider Harvey if they had a flesh detection system.
Stuart
Possibly, but SawStop has excellent support and service that I doubt Harvey will be able to match.
Robert
Good point. I’ve found Sawstop tech support very responsive and helpful. Maybe with their profit margins they can staff it properly. I’ve found the same for Shaper (Origin) Tool. Haven’t used Harvey, but given the owner’s enthusiasm and their price point, I suspect their service is a least good, not sure if great.
Jeff
Easy. Would never give them a cent to begin with. Company owners are a piece of work. Better saws out there.
Brad
I have a solid Delta cabinet saw, no need for anything new and I’d never give a scummy company like SawStop any money.
Eric
Maybe they rushed a bunch of units into the US to avoid tariffs and are now sitting on a warehouse full that they are struggling to move. They may have more on the way that are affected by those tariffs and thus will have an increased price. But they need space now to be able to store them when they arrive.
KMR
AFAIK most of Saw Stop’s production is in Taiwan. There is a 90 day pause on the total reciprocal tariff rate that started in early April and this includes Taiwan. The reciprocal Taiwan-specific tariff rate of 32% drops to the “base reciprocal rate” of 10% during this 90 day pause. The pause should expire in early July, at which point a negotiated rate may be in effect OR the 32% reciprocal rate returns OR there is another pause / who knows. Keep in mind that the reciprocal rate is on top of any existing tariffs. It seems unlikely that goods from Taiwan would remain at a 10% reciprocal rate.
I think SawStop is just positioning themselves to be able to deal with whatever happens in the next 4-6 weeks with regard to the tariffs applied to goods from Taiwan.
John Blair
Its a strange world. Building things has gotten so expensive. By the time you have tools to create something beyond putting 2×4’s together, you are into about $3000 in tools. Want a Saw Stop that doesn’t look like a $400 fathers day special and you are in that much just for the saw. Add clamps, miter saw, track saw, battery drills, have less than perfect boards, throw in a jointer and planer.
I have the tools to put things together and frankly the lumber alone costs more than the completed item. Its hard to imagine that other than doing it for a living you will ever recoup the cost of the tools. Want to design and build all of the cabinets for a kitchen? You can be the best wood worker in the world but you wont even begin the approach the finish on a professional mass produced cabinet.
Do I want a Saw Stop professional cabinet saw? Yes. Will it ever make economic sense for me to buy it? No. It also didn’t make sense for me to buy a Festool Domino, but it turns out I used to have more dollars than sense. Maybe I will be patient and wait for their patent to expire. I’ve managed to avoid buying another Track just because I think the color is pretty.
OldDominionDIYer
“How to Avoid the Upcoming SawStop Table Saw Price Increase”: Don’t buy it!
For those wanting a readers digest version of this article!
Stuart
They *why* is important. Or hurry up by 7/15. *Probably*.
KC
The other thing that will go up with a SawStop price increase is the cost of used equipment on Craigslist, etc. I never thought of the Powermatic tools I bought 20 years ago as long term investments, but that’s the case. I could sell that equipment for a nice profit over what I paid and it look like a bargain. So sad that these tools have gone up so much over the last ten to twenty years.
eddiesky
Some of the best woodworkers I follow that have a Sawstop cabinet saw… cover up the logo/name because THEY didn’t get one for free to shill. They also have a Unisaw or Grizzly and “respect” the blade.
If I get a shop in the future, I would get a sawstop. But only if not much more than a Grizzly or Shopfox. If I can find a decent used Unisaw… ok. But the important factor is capacity, fence accuracy and 220V 3+ HP for hardwood. For now, a tracksaw does most of the work. AS well as a good neighbor!
Katie
When Sawstop said they were going to have a $400, I might have purchased it. But not at $900. My DeWalt DW745 is still great after years of use. Got a Ridge blade that works great with it.
Stuart
That was a great saw. The newer model is good too, but has a smaller blade.
Brian
SawStop disgusts me.
Fellow Oregonians are not proud of these jagoffs.