Catching the fever
Ever want something for the shop but were content to wait, then something suddenly infects you with gotta-have-it-NOW fever? Yeah, me too. It can be anything from a package of…
Ever want something for the shop but were content to wait, then something suddenly infects you with gotta-have-it-NOW fever? Yeah, me too.
It can be anything from a package of new hardware you want to try out on up to a major tool, but it’s neither an immediate need nor desire. For me, the item is one of the new compact routers. Larger than a trim router, but smaller than standard 1-1/2-hp machines, a couple came out a few years ago and I’ve not only wanted one, but could see a good niche one would fill in the shop. But the need just hasn’t been that pressing.
That is, not till Amazon listed a DeWalt compact router combo kit as an upcoming “lightning deal” yesterday. The deal was solid, too: The combo kit lists at $350 and usually retails at $199. Amazon’s regular price is a bargain at $169, but the lightning deal was only $127. Deep inside me, the gotta-have-it-NOW switch flipped into the “on” position.
Had I checked the sale the moment it started I’d have a new router on its merry way, but I had no idea just how many other people wanted that little guy and so I did a bit of work first. Even though I checked Amazon not long after the sale started, they were gone.
Now, if you miss an Amazon lighting deal you can get on a waiting list. Seems a lot of folks add these deals to their cart, then go scrambling for loose change under sofa cushions or in their wife’s purse. But horse around too long and you lose the deal, and whoever’s next on the list gets a shot.
So I got on the waiting list. And waited. Even though I had a lot to do in the shop, I just sat there repeatedly checking Amazon (with a separate window open playing solitaire, of course). An hour later a little box popped up saying that all the routers were claimed, and would I please go buy something else.
On the down side, I missed the best deal on one of these routers I’ll probably ever see. On the up side, the gotta-have-it-NOW fever has subsided. Sure, I’ll eventually get that router, but for now my common sense has returned and I can concentrate on more immediate needs.
Like Christmas shopping for someone other than my own selfish self.
A.J.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
