A lesson in inflation from a 2003 Grizzly catalog (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world to c/woodworking@lemmy.ca

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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

https://imgur.com/a/U9ZMiLT

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.

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[-] obinice@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago

Now look at the price of wood, I literally can't afford to do woodworking any more.

A basic 8 by 4, quarter inch sheet of ply now costs over 20 quid! Jesus wept

[-] Datacell@lemmy.world 37 points 8 months ago

Not inflation it is greedflation, when companies make record profit and the CEO's are paid 1000 times their employees with 8 digit bonuses, stocks continue to grow and stay positive, that is not inflation it is greedflation.

[-] AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

I'd be surprised if Grizzly's CEO were making that kind of multiplier vs. the average employee.
I think some of it might be Grizzly gaining legitimacy as a power tool manufacturer. Their earlier reputation (deserved or not) would have been closer to that of Harbor Freight's today. Now they're known to be a solid brand and they can charge a little more.
That doesn't account for the Besseys, which are off the fuckin' wall.

[-] pdxfed@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

It's privately owned, so impossible to say. Revenue estimates are between 100 And $500m annually. Even if the owner doesn't draw much salary they likely retained most of not all ownership of the company unless they had to cut in others to grow since founding. They look older so may be close to selling and cashing out(going public) for their generational paycheck, or might keep it in the family if they want, either way their compensation will be perversely inflated vs. what employees make, it's just the way the system is designed.

[+] Outtatime@sh.itjust.works -24 points 8 months ago

Pretty sure printing trillions of dollars and pushing it into the economy had more to do with it

[-] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 13 points 8 months ago

Nobody has extra cash in their pockets so where did all that printed money go…?

[-] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 6 points 8 months ago

Wait a minute... You're not still living large off your stimulus funds from 3 years ago? Cause according to a few financial "gurus" on cable TV, we're all living it up like Scrooge McDuck.

[-] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

Thanks Rishi, glad you could clarify that for us

[-] DeadlineX@lemm.ee 5 points 8 months ago

So what caused the inflation in the entire world? Surely a couple of stimulus checks for people in the United States of America couldn’t cause worldwide inflation. I know the us is a big deal, but… they don’t control the entire worlds economy, right?

The stimulus contributed about 3% toward US inflation. Yet inflation was 7% YOY last year. I’m no economist, but it doesn’t seem that you’ve got correct information here. Where are you getting the information that us stimulus checks caused worldwide inflation?

[-] Outtatime@sh.itjust.works -3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Supply Chain Disruptions: Issues in the supply chain, like delays in production or transportation, can lead to shortages of goods. When supply is limited, and demand remains constant or increases, prices tend to rise.
Increased Demand: When consumer demand surges, especially for certain goods or services, it can drive up prices. This can happen due to economic recovery, changes in consumer behavior, or specific events (e.g., a surge in demand for home office equipment during the pandemic).
Global Economic Conditions: Global events and economic conditions, like changes in oil prices or fluctuations in currency exchange rates, can impact the prices of imported goods, which in turn affects inflation.
Monetary Policy: Central banks can influence inflation through their monetary policies. When they lower interest rates or increase the money supply, it can stimulate spending and potentially lead to inflation.
Fiscal Policy: Government actions, including stimulus measures and public spending, can also impact inflation. An increase in government spending, like stimulus checks, can boost demand and contribute to inflation.
Wage Increases: Rising wages can lead to higher production costs, which may be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Expectations: If people anticipate future inflation, they may adjust their behavior, expecting prices to rise. This expectation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as businesses and consumers act in ways that drive prices higher.
Commodity Prices: The prices of commodities like oil, metals, and agricultural products can affect production costs and, subsequently, consumer prices.

All of these things combined have effects on inflation. But I believe the way the central banks and government handled things made it worse for all of us. There is some obvious greed involved, however, that is never going away. People will be shitty forever.

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago

Was this the output of a chatbot?

[-] DeadlineX@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago

Soooo… not the stimulus?

[-] IMALlama@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

According to the bureau of labor statistics, $375 in 2003 is $635 in today's dollars: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=375&year1=200301&year2=202309

It's true that yearly inflation is a combination of a bunch of different categories of goods and services, and that some of those categories will be greater or less than the overall inflation rate.

There's also things like sales volume, potentially having negative margins to gain market share, etc to talk through. I wouldn't know where to begin looking for that information.

[-] AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

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.

[-] Stanwich@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

But used. There is a lot of band mills that people barely use sitting in garages. Fuck, but used just on principal. Give your money to someone who actually needs it rather then some corporations.

[-] karpintero@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Pre-pandemic, Lie-Nielsen chisels were $55 and now they're about $95. Kicking myself for not buying more sizes back then! Still worth it though, I reach for them more than any of my other chisels

[-] sagrotan@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

It was never cheaper here in Germany, if you want decent hobbyist machines: band saw 1000eur, circular hand saw 500 to 700 bucks (not Akku), everything less is trash, good tools begin at the double, I got a mate in Spain, buying machines there, Euro too, but a third the price. I would've paid almost 2000 EUR for a decent small portable circular table saw here, bigger ones start at 8k. No inflation, just imaginary prices because too many idiots are paying up. There's always another way, nevermind how hard the greedy ones try.

[-] AngrilyEatingMuffins@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

The cost of filling up my own five gallon jug with water has DOUBLED in the last eight years.

[-] nyan@lemmy.cafe 1 points 8 months ago

At those prices, shop-built bandsaws and clamps may come back into fashion (I can't recall ever seeing a recipe for a shop-built jointer, though).

[-] Spasmolytic@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

Mattias Wandel has homemade jointer plans, and a lot more.

[-] nyan@lemmy.cafe 1 points 8 months ago

He was the one I was thinking of with the bandsaws. I'd forgotten he'd done a jointer.

[-] AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

I can’t recall ever seeing a recipe for a shop-built jointer, though

Maybe not a powered one...

[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 0 points 8 months ago

I got seriously lucky. Doubled my income in late 2019 and went on a multi-year spending spree. Got so many things I've always wanted, and got them before inflation.

Now I look at the prices on some of those things and I just wouldn't buy them now.

[-] fruitSnackSupreme@lemmy.world -4 points 8 months ago

Lmao inflation is always happening. There is no "before inflation".

[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 10 points 8 months ago

I'm sure OP means "before the recent spike in inflation". And I'm surprised you are having a hard time assuming that.

[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

LOL at the pedantic takes from the posts above and below you.

Of course I meant recent inflation.

And yes, OP often means the commentor one step up, not necessarily the literal original poster.

We teach elementary school kids the idea of "context clues". Somehow that gets thrown out the window on social media?

this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2023

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