The other thread about the power washer got me thinking about the PC. I'm planning to pick one up at Lowes tomorrow. How are these machines? I know I've heard about companies having their machines made cheaply for stores like Lowes, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea buying a PC from Lowes. Any opinions on this? Where was everyone's PC made for comparison?
Concerns about manufacture of PC
- Thread starter Grimm
- Start date
Grimm said:
As far as I know and have seen the Porter Cables are all the same no matter where they come from. I got mine from Amazon.com and my old business partner got his from Lowes and it is the same. I have never heard of places making cheaper versions to sell in stores unless it was under a different name or something?
sQuashed
Lack of oxygen up here
Mines from Lowes. Solid as a rock. Porter Cable is a Porter Cable. :waxing:
Yeah, I can't say myself I've seen it, but I have heard of companies doing that. I've heard for example that there are Dewalt power tools that are typically made in the US, but if you go to a big box store, they are made elsewhere. I've also seen numerous examples relating to Walmart. For example it has been documented that many companies sell the same model of product to Walmart as other stores, but it is actually an inferior product. One such example is oil filters. I read an article where someone compared the same model filter from whatever brand, one from Walmart, and another from an auto parts store or something, and cut them apart. The one from Walmart had a cheaper made filter inside.
I've just been figuring on buying my PC from Lowes because it ends up being $10-20 cheaper, but don't want to do it if it means getting a lower quality polisher.
I would highly doubt this. I mean think about it. Who uses these tools the most? Contractors, builders, and tradesmen. Why would they sell cheapo items at the big hardwares where these guys shop and buy all of their tools from? The last thing you want is a company getting a bunch of junky products and never buying from you again.
You won't find the Pc to be any different than any other PC out there.
You won't find the Pc to be any different than any other PC out there.
topnotchtouch
New member
Grimm said:
This is Porter Cable, they have a huge reputation in the woodworking industry for quality and reliability. They are a premier brand and are not going to make cheap knockoff's, at least not under the Porter Cable brand name.
topnotchtouch
New member
Grimm said:
I seriously doubt that. Dewalt owns Black & Decker, why cheapen the Dewalt name when they can just use the already cheap Black & Decker name?
The competition between the big box stores is pretty fierce. Often they will even purchase manufacturing companies in order to have exclusive marketing/branding and keep prices down. It is true that for some things, this can result in in product design with a focus on keeping costs low. Sometimes this has an adverse affect on product quality, but NOT ALWAYS. Sometimes it just cuts out the middle men that make large sums of money with little/no overhead or investment.
However, when it comes to tools ("good tools aren't cheap and cheap tools aren't good") the big boxes are selling the same name brands - their discount is in the volume purchases (another win/win).
In my youth I worked in a small looseleaf notebook factory. Notebooks that we sold for $.10ea, would be on store shelves for $1.50 - somebody made a whole bunch of money. So what if I bought truckloads of those and sold each for $.50 or $.75? I make many times my investment, you save a $.75 - $1.00. That's kinda what Sam did ! Some will say my Notebooks must be less quality because they're cheaper! I'd say I'm will to get rich a little slower, by saving you a little more - still a win/win). Economics 101.
A Porter-Cabe 7424 is the same no matter where you buy it. Same with all the major tool manufacturers as far as I know.
However, when it comes to tools ("good tools aren't cheap and cheap tools aren't good") the big boxes are selling the same name brands - their discount is in the volume purchases (another win/win).
In my youth I worked in a small looseleaf notebook factory. Notebooks that we sold for $.10ea, would be on store shelves for $1.50 - somebody made a whole bunch of money. So what if I bought truckloads of those and sold each for $.50 or $.75? I make many times my investment, you save a $.75 - $1.00. That's kinda what Sam did ! Some will say my Notebooks must be less quality because they're cheaper! I'd say I'm will to get rich a little slower, by saving you a little more - still a win/win). Economics 101.
A Porter-Cabe 7424 is the same no matter where you buy it. Same with all the major tool manufacturers as far as I know.
i don't think porter cable would make the 7424/7336 (or any of their products for that matter) better (besides adding extra accessories) for one company than the other as they back a one year warranty with all their products, iirc. i have a g100 from megs, so does that mean they're going to make it better than the ones carried at lowes, etc.. because it has the lifetime warranty? no way! a pc is a very durable well built tool that should give many years of dependable service....
TortoiseAWD
New member
I can't speak for power tools, but I recently bought a meat smoker. When I was researching the purchase, I found that Walmart carries the model that I was looking for. However, if you buy that model at Wally-world, it only comes with three grill grates instead of four, and no grease pan, so I bought mine at Bass Pro instead (for an extra $40 or so), because I wanted the extra hardware. After a little more poking around, I found that the company that manufactures the smoker makes a version specifically for Walmart (and presumably, other deep discount stores) that has the same model number save for an extra letter at the end.
Again, I can't say if this is the case for power tools, but it is the case that sometimes, what you buy at the discount store is not quite the same model/quality as what you might find elsewhere.
Caveat emptor, and all that.
Tort
Again, I can't say if this is the case for power tools, but it is the case that sometimes, what you buy at the discount store is not quite the same model/quality as what you might find elsewhere.
Caveat emptor, and all that.
Tort
imported_DennisH
New member
TortoiseAWD said:
I just did the same thing on Hunter Celling Fans, with the big box selling one that looks the same but had letter at the end of the part number and the big box had a smaller motor and just seemed cheaper overall.
kompressornsc
New member
As a distributor of power tools (and about a million other things), the answer is yes, there are differences between models that may look very similar. Normally, this is designated in the model number however. A lot of times you'll see an 'a' at the end (or any other letter).
As far as item 'A' being the same @ Walmart as at another store, there are often differences. Walmart has the buying power to spec an item from a manufacturer and make it thier own. A lot of times you'll see two products grouped together (say a drill with 'free' drill bits) at Walmart, and the same drill w/o the drill bits somewhere else. There's a good chance that the Walmart version is made a little cheaper so they can throw in the freebie. I saw this reecently with a jig saw I bought. The Walmart version had a plastic baseplate (but free blades), the same model @ Sears had a steel baseplate. Can't remember if the model number was different or not.
Oh, and DeWalt / B&D/Porter Cable/Delta...all one company now.
As far as item 'A' being the same @ Walmart as at another store, there are often differences. Walmart has the buying power to spec an item from a manufacturer and make it thier own. A lot of times you'll see two products grouped together (say a drill with 'free' drill bits) at Walmart, and the same drill w/o the drill bits somewhere else. There's a good chance that the Walmart version is made a little cheaper so they can throw in the freebie. I saw this reecently with a jig saw I bought. The Walmart version had a plastic baseplate (but free blades), the same model @ Sears had a steel baseplate. Can't remember if the model number was different or not.
Oh, and DeWalt / B&D/Porter Cable/Delta...all one company now.
I think the PC is the same at Lowes as if you ordered direct from Porter-Cable. My Lowes PC works great. As an aside, I have an excellent Ducane grill at home and saw them advertised at Home Depot at very good prices. when I saw them in person, they are completely deifferent grills (they are also defferent models, so no claim to be the same model as mine). The real Ducane has several patented features that these grills did not have. They are just made for HD under license by another manufacturer. You would think Ducane would not be willing to license their name for such an inferior product but they do.
imported_Picus
New member
I've had three PC's now, one from Lowes two from elsewhere. I ended up taking the two dead ones toegther (one is repaired), there was no difference as far as I can tell. One thing that does bug me is the way PC attaches the wires inside the tool - it's a pair of cheap little clamps; it makes it very easy for a bad connection to be made. That's how my second one "died", I ended up soldering them on and it works like a charm now.
Ben Kenobi
I hear the '55s are in
Picus said:
Where did you take them, to Porter Cable in Mississauga or somewhere else? Just felt like something was missing from that statement. I'm curious, a year ago you had just bought your first PC. Why have you gone through two of them? Many members have had PC's for years without having them fail. Here's your posting to refresh your memory. http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60417
As for buying from Lowes, go for it and apply the money you saved to a good backing plate and pads. :waxing: