The rebranding / rebadging tools nightmare

[hemdale]

When the average consumer is getting really confused...and I'm one of them.

I've just bought on Amazon a hot glue gun from Steinel since I read good things about their heat guns (will probably get one heat gun from them soon).

Today, I was browsing Conrad.fr since they offer a -25% on their stuff... and I saw these :

PATTEX

The one I've bought from STEINEL

And BOSCH

As you guys can easily see, they REALLY look the same and I'm 99% sure they ARE the same....but with really different prices.

Would that really mean that Bosch is ripping people off with a product sold at 36€ when Pattex is selling theirs for 12€ !!!

My Steinel was 22€ on Amazon and I really feel like I'm been badly f*%#ed.

What do you guys do about that ? Do you browse the internet to find out which manufacturer is the "original" and which are the copycats ? Do you go for the "tried and true" one or do you go for the 50% cheaper copy which is ....basically exactly the same which a not so fancy tag on the box but which does probably exactly the same job.

Sorry for the rant but I feel a bit

Thanks for your input

 

[honcho]

Here on GJ there is a thread on "tool truck equivalents" where readers discuss where Snap-On and other expensive tool truck sellers source products they don't manufacture themselves.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249851&highlight=tool+truck+equivalent

The internet is great for research on finding the original manufacturer and which brand / badge has the the best price, support and warranty.

Recently, I read another garage journal thread on shop vacuums where Monte, the European tool "know-it-all" (because he seemingly does know it ALL!) showed a whole slew of brands that are all manufactured by the same company in Europe, including at least one Japanese brand (Makita).

Time is precious but using a bit of it to do some research can save you a fair amount of money on your tools

Bonne Journee!

 

[Monte]

That´s why there is a place like Garage Journal

 

[hemdale]

Thanks Honcho, I'll have a look at the topic !

 

[Brunel]

Glue guns are a bit off-topic for Bosch so they must buy them in. They also do a professional one (GKP200) which is rebadged and sells for quite a lot.

Same for heat guns - I'm pretty sure Bosch ones are made by Steinel. I do rather like my Bosch GHG 660 LCD, but I bought it on ebay and got it for a fraction of its new price.

 

[BikerDad]

One thing to remember is that even though it may look the same, it may not actually BE the same. The internal guts of the tool may differ, sometimes only a little, sometimes a lot.

This "rebranding" dynamic is something that buyers of Craftsman power tools have been dealing with for decades. And yes, knowing the OEM can be very valuable.

 

[humber2]

OP shouldn't feel disapointed and should stick with what he bought.

 

[sberry]

One thing to remember is that even though it may look the same, it may not actually BE the same. The internal guts of the tool may differ, sometimes only a little, sometimes a lot.

This "rebranding" dynamic is something that buyers of Craftsman power tools have been dealing with for decades. And yes, knowing the OEM can be very valuable.

Many of the guts are now the same with different cases, goes both ways.

 

[bobcatdan]

One thing a person should also look at is warranty offered. Not saying it always happen, but sometimes a rebranded will offer a better warranty then the OEM.