Unreasonable replacement parts pricing

I have been a strong supporter of U.S. made tools and equipment in this forum. Just a few days ago, I recommended looking at domestic made DRO's on a post in the general forum. Now I am going to complain, which I guess proves something???

I bought a used knee mill and it had an Anilam DRO, that I knew had some issues. I sent an email to the mfg of the DRO and got a prompt response on cleaning methods, which did not fix the problem.

I asked for a price on a new x-axis glass scale. The quote for a new housing, scale and reader was $605.00

I can currently buy a brand new Anilam DRO, with modern features and warranty for $1,195.00. Why on this green Earth would I want to pay half of that for one scale and reader to fix an old system, that I am not even sure works properly????? Oh, and they did not respond to my request on availability of a manual so I could figure out if the display was working properly.

If I understand their pricing, the entire value of the system is in the two housings and readers and the display unit is a freebee.

Maybe somone from that company reads this forum?

[ 08-08-2005, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: DryCreek ]

DryCreek, how old is that DRO?
Let's say they haven't made that model for 10-15 years. If the company had the foresight to manufacture some extra parts and stick them on a shelf, why can't they sell them for the price they dictate?

Spare parts or extra stock is a tricky business. If you make 1000 extras but only sell 500 over the years, and if you sold them for twice the price, then you only lost some money. Warehouse space to store the parts and tooling to make the parts is not free. The company also paid for materials and labor to produce those parts. It may take years to recover those costs. Some states also charge a floor or inventory tax.

That is why some companies have spare parts only in the form of drawings and they will quote you a price to make them.

The price may seem steep on spare parts. I myself have gasped for air after being told the price for parts.

Les

I have to side with Webb and the DRO company,
although my business practices do not mirror
those of Anilam. I sell kits that mount dual
alternators, they mostly go to limosine manufacturers through my distributor. Making
up or stocking parts for outdated models is
basically a no profit enterprise as I sell them
for the same price as I was 5 years ago, but
this time I make 5 at a time instead of a 100.
Sometimes the other 4 will sit for years.
Since companies that buy "obsolete" parts for
their customers are also buying current parts,
I will not gouge, I will make it up somewhere
else. We will see how I feel about this practice
in another 10 years.

It didn't just start.
Back ~ 1970 I needed a replacement 3 1/2 hp lawn mower engine (B&S vertical). The engine alone was ~$90.00, but instead I bought a compete lawn mower for ~$32.00 (@GLOBE). My neighbor used the new deck & wheels.

In case you are asking why I didn't use the new deck ... The old deck was a magnesium alloy with ball bearing wheels (SEARS) .... very easy to push & adjust cutting height.

Apprx same today ... new mower @ WallMart for $100 & motor by itself for ~$250.

Les - You make a good point that I had not really considered, when I posted my rant.

First, I don't know exactly how old the DRO is, but it may have been purchased with the mill and that was in 1985. It is a basic unit that reads to four places.

Second, I don't know if the scale and reader are the same as currently used. I had formed an opinion that since it is just a glass scale with precise graduations and a device to count them, that it was no different than current models. This may well be in error, as the person from Anilam asked me for a model designation from the reader heads.

Dualkit - Also a good point, but I have always taken the position that, if you price your obsolete parts so high, that it represents a substantial portion of new item, they will not sell. Of course, that may be exactly what they have in mind.

Think that I am going to email back to the contact person and ask a few questions about whether I can just get the scale and how much that is. Problem is, I still need the manual to see if all the button functions are operating, because if not, why waste any money on it?

If it was new in '85 you are pushing the envelope, OEMs don't want things lasting that long, five years top for electronics, they want you to buy a new one.
I am not sure but I believe an OEM is only required manufacture or retain spares for seven years.

If companies didn't develope new technology you'd complain about getting better things from someone else. Also you'd probably be out of a job making it worse then it is. Then you'd go buy a made in China product & complain they are taking our jobs. Go figure.

I had a similar experience with a Cincinati lathe that needed a clutch. It was a Rockford driveline "pullmore#2". I called Cincinati for p&d. 6-8 weeks andd 3600.00 for parts not a complete clutch. I stopped at a place that sells clutches and drive shaft parts on the way home to see if they recognized the parts. The sales guy said he had just gotten off the phone with the guys from Cincinati about this same model. This local guy got me all of the parts I needed for(650.00) 1/6 of Cincinbati price in 4 days.
What service was Cincinati providing that was worth an extra 3100$

What is the dro not doing, I had a problum with my 80's acurite reader I talked to the company man about it and he said he could fix it for a survice call min. 350.00,well I found a book 5.00 at a shop I worked at years a go and found out that there where dip swiches in the reader box to reset the read out to read the scale in the proper incerments. repair cost 5.00 20 minutes reading it works real good now. hope this helps Wells

wells - It reads ok on either end of the x-axis, but near the middle of the table it either does not count, or repeats numbers. I have cleaned the glass scale with denatured alcohol but it did not help the situation.

A good point made is that it is old and I would probably be better off with a new one, with modern features and a warranty. I asked Anilam for a price on just the glass, but they only quoted a complete housing and reader, which tells me they would prefer to replace the reader head at the same time.

Oh well, I am over my little rant. I was hoping that it could be cheaply fixed, but maybe next time.

another thang to check out is if the reader bar is parallel the full length if it is out by as little as .008 it can jump and give off readings,also check the reader head to it should run no more than .004 from the glass out of parallel hope this helps have a good day Wells

A few years ago a cousin's son was graduating from college and also marrying his high-school sweetheart.

So Dad thought it would be neat if instead of 11 toasters, everyone would chip in and buy a "part" of a new car. I sign up to buy the engine, you buy the headlights, etc. Not actual parts, just a sign-up of what you might be willing to chip in.

So he spent some time finding out what factory replacment parts would coast (all except the frame - not available) and a car where someone already put the "kit" together cost about $22,000 from Ford, but the parts, less frame, would have cost over $50,000!