I was cleaning out an old bookshelf and came across this 2003 Grizzly catalog. Coincidentally, I'd just received a 2023 mailer. I was shocked by the increases in price.
Some highlights:
Standard 14" band saw: $375 vs. $800
Standard 6" jointer: $400 vs. $900
4-piece Bessey K-body clamp set: $150 vs. $350
I know nothing about how inflation works, so I'm not sure whether this tracks with the price of bread or whatever, but it was eye-opening.
Excellent information! Yeah, it seemed to me that the cost increase was more than just inflation. As I said elsewhere in the thread, my impression is that their reputation for quality tools has grown, so that must account for some of the extra price. The 2003 catalog is their 20th anniversary. Maybe that means they were too established to be selling under cost to gain market share?
We'll see if we're doing the same thing with a Harbor Freight catalog in 20 years.