Woodpeckers’ creative juices must be flowing rich as they’ve designed another one-time tool, a 6″ x 4″ square. This square is machined from a solid block of aircraft aluminum and features a 1/4″ thick blade complete with 1/16″ or 1mm engravings depending on the model, and a 3/4″ handle.
I’ve been using Woodpeckers’ larger 12″ x 8″ square for some time now, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Like the larger version, the new 640 square has cheeks offset from the handle, allowing it to rest square on a workpiece.
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Like the dovetail marking gauges that we recently reviewed, the 640 square has a limited time order window. The cutoff date to order a square is January 24th, with orders expected to ship the week of February 21st.
These squares are available in inch and metric versions at $40 each, or with fitted cases at $55 each.
Woodpeckers 640 Square via Woodpeckers
These squares are made in the USA.
BILL FIEGEN
Why does Woodpeckers have ONE TIME deals?
One would think they would want to sell more of them.
Stuart
My guess is that Woodpeckers has finite production resources and it does not make sense to produce too many copies of a new tool that might not attract consistent long-term demand.
From their website, it says that the president machines a few prototypes, gauges public interest by announcing the preorder, and then produces the entire batch in a single run when time permits.
I suppose that we might see some of these tools again in the future if they sell particularly well.
It actually makes a lot of business sense as well. Knowing that there’s a preorder window produces a sense of urgency that helps polarize undecided customers. For example, I know I wanted a smaller square, but wasn’t sure what to buy, so I kept putting it off. The one-time square caught my eye, and so I ordered one. If it were a regular item, I might not have ordered it right away.
Sprague
I wonder if you could do the same sort of thing, but do it as “Group Tools”. In that you could put the product on a page, and sell slots for the item (having a pre-determined number of slots), then when all the slots are full produce and ship the item. You would have a meter that displays just how close the sale of that group is to completion.
If the item stagnated you could artificially fill the slots and sell them as a limited leftover item.
Mmm, i suppose this is no better, but what the heck I typed this much – I will post it. 🙂
Jake
That is the exact business model that Gustin, a USA made menswear company uses.
Richard Hummel
Just read this thread. Some interesting thoughts on how best to handle One-Time Tools. If anyone is still following this thread, please let me know.
Stuart
I think I see what Sprague is getting at.
On many online forum communities, there will sometimes be a “group buy” for special or customized runs, hard-to-find items, or parts only available in bulk quantities. One person organizes the group buy, and people sign up and send payment. Once a minimum order amount is exceeded, the organizer places the bulk order and then splits up the goods to reship to the buyers.
Implementing such a system for the one-time tools might be a good idea, but could create other complications. One of the reasons I ordered a few of the one-time tools is because I knew that once the order window came and gone, the same tools might never be produced again. One of the reasons I did not order a particular one-time tool is because I was on the fence and wanted to see if something better came along.
A good example was with the small T squares, saddle squares, and “saddle T squares”. I was considering ordering a T square and saddle square but ultimately decided not to. Then, when the combination saddle T squares were released, I ordered two.
As a customer, such a group-buy window would give me more time to consider a purchase whereas short order windows tend to polarize my mind. Although I understand the reasons for it, I’m not thrilled with the amount of time it takes for one-time tools to be produced and shipped out, even though I’m aware of the estimated ship date from the start. With group-buys, uncertain or lengthier ship dates may detract from their appeal.
How about a compromise? Maybe continue with the one-time tool release schedule and then have a “group buy” as the “second chance” opportunity for the better selling tools? If a one-time tool sells well, then it makes perfect sense to offer it again. And if the sales volume picks up during the second chance “group buy” opportunity, the tool can be added to the regular catalog.
One thing to be aware of, though – in many forum “group buys” that I’ve seen, a lot of people ask to sign up but don’t follow through with the purchase unless they pay a deposit or full balance up front. For a second chance group buy with potentially lengthy wait, I would send payment information upfront, but if expecting lengthy shipping delays I would prefer not to be charged until the item ships.