Miller price increase

[Big D]

It has happened again, another Miller price increase. I was looking thru the Ebay listings and noticed that IOC has increased their prices on the Miller equipment. It looks to be about 1 to 2 percent. For example I purchased IOC's Miller 200DX water cooled package 13 months ago and paid $3347.00. Shortly after that it the price increased to $3497.00 now it is $3528.77. I also purchased a 210 2 1/2 years ago and it was $1137.00 now it is $1273. The 300DX tigrunner went from $5829.00 last week to $5888.00 this week. The bare 300DX went from $4123.00 last week to $4157.23 this week. I'm not sure if it is an across the board increase. These price increases are running about 5 to 6 percent a year. Just think at those rates a 300 DX tig runner in 5 years will cost about $8000.00! I don't know about you guys but it seems like every time I go to purchase something the price has increased. Where does it all end ?

[fun4now]

it dosent end till it comes to your check :mad: caust has gone up on everthing .

[Paul Seaman]

Ok guys think about it there are people that work at miller that work hard to build superior machinery. They deserve to have pay increases, parts suppliers have incresed costs and it costs someone to allow us to learn and share our welding knowledge. Price increases, are progress and we through our purchases make it all happen.

[Rvannatta]

Ok guys think about it there are people that work at miller that work hard to build superior machinery. They deserve to have pay increases, parts suppliers have incresed costs and it costs someone to allow us to learn and share our welding knowledge. Price increases, are progress and we through our purchases make it all happen.

That will work just fine until the chinese notice, and flop a product up on the beach at half the Miller price.

[Coalsmoke]

I'd much rather pay a little more for the quality than not have it or their great service at hand. What's 1 or 2% more on equipment cost when fuel has gone up 65% in the last 2 years (no joke). In the big picture, its to be expected and fine in my books.

[POWERSTROKE]

I don't think You'll find China competing feature-for-feature with Miller for a long time if ever. Miller has been at the forefront of welding technology for MANY decades. China can copy existing technology economically since they have next to no R&D costs, but they will never innovate. My little company I work for has several suppliers in China. And some of them are only allowed to operate 4 days per week due to lack of electrical power generating capacity. Just in the last two years copper has over doubled in price, $.80-$90/lb two years ago now it's right around $2/pound. Steel has gone up about 50%, plastic prices follow petroleum closely.... so I'm surprised the increase wasn't greater.

[Sundown]

I would rather see miller/hobart raise their prices a bit than have to cut service, quality, and/or jobs in order to keep up with inflation. JMHO :)

[Big D]

I'm not knocking Miller with their price increase, I do agree with POWERSTROKE. China will never compete with Miller's service and excellent machines. All the technology that started here is just coppied by China. These price increases are occuring in every sector of our country. My insurance, food, health care, fuel, etc have all gone up dramaticly in the last 2 years. Everything up except my paycheck. I love my Miller machines and even though the cost is going up I would not consider any others.
BIG D ;)

[Scott V]

IOC been discounting stuff below what dealers like Airgas can buy for.
They really do it with Thermal stuff and I am sure there is going to
be some changes in their pricing. (UP)

[fyoung]

That will work just fine until the chinese notice, and flop a product up on the beach at half the Miller price.
they done noticed and build the harbor freights (Chicago Electric) I've got 2..both look like miller but both CRAP! Hope this helps!

[Rvannatta]

I don't think You'll find China competing feature-for-feature with Miller for a long time if ever. Miller has been at the forefront of welding technology for MANY decades. China can copy existing technology economically since they have next to no R&D costs, but they will never innovate. My little company I work for has several suppliers in China. And some of them are only allowed to operate 4 days per week due to lack of electrical power generating capacity. Just in the last two years copper has over doubled in price, $.80-$90/lb two years ago now it's right around $2/pound. Steel has gone up about 50%, plastic prices follow petroleum closely.... so I'm surprised the increase wasn't greater.

Miller needs to stay awake however. the long slumbering Lincoln has
come awake, and even though we have had Millers for years and still have 2--- a bobcat and a Big 40, our christmas present to us was a Lincoln Vantage 400. We looked long and hard at the Big Blue 400 and 500 but at the end
of the day the Lincoln had what we wanted and the Miller came up short.

IT really came down to a feature battle as the Vantage 400 and the BB400 came out in price within $100 of each other Miller came up short on the
amount of 3 phase power it will produce --- 15kw vs. 19kw. peak, 14.4 vs 17k continious. IN as much as be AC power was the driving force for our
decision (for a big plasma cutter)

we even looked at a miller 500 as an alternative but it cost 1k more (at least)
and the 500 amp welders seem to use a LOT more fuel than the 400's

[Coalsmoke]

rvanetta, what were your engine choices for the miller and the vantage? (just for curiosity sake)

[Rvannatta]

rvanetta, what were your engine choices for the miller and the vantage? (just for curiosity sake)

In this model Lincoln offers a choice of 1 engine--- the same 404.22 Perkins offered in the Miller. Miller also offers a Duetz and it is possible later
Lincoln may offer that engine as well, but the 400 is a brand new model
which just came out in the last couple of months. They offer Deutz and Cummins engines on the Vantage 500. compared with about 4 engines on the BB 500.

They are all good engines, and I'm not sure I would walk accross the street for one over another.

We are truck mounting the thing, and the fact that the Lincoln is in a smaller box and weighs 300 lbs less is something we noticed but was not a deciding factor. At least some of the difference is accounted for by the fact that it has a much smaller fuel tank than the Miller.

IT seems to me like it's Miller's turn to sleep. Miller took over the world with their Bobcat series and it progeny on the low end and put a blue box in every driveway, but they really haven't reinvented themselves on the high end to respond to the Lincoln commander and now the Vantage.

[Paul Seaman]

These are the reasons that we must tell our congressmen to vote for higher tarriffs and protect the livelyhoods of the american work force! China isn't the worst offender but it will be if we allow it!

[Engloid]

These are the reasons that we must tell our congressmen to vote for higher tarriffs and protect the livelyhoods of the american work force! China isn't the worst offender but it will be if we allow it!

Tarriffs accomplish one major objective....they jack the prices of imported goods, such that the domestic goods can be price-cometitive.

So, rather than CHOOSE to pay a bit more for a domestic product, you will then have to pay the higher price for either one..without choice. Hmmmmm :rolleyes:

How about we try to make domestic products cheaper than they are currently being made? How about we start requiring people to actually WORK while at work, rather than hire worthless people and let the hard workers carry their asses all day long?

There's reasons that many imported products are cheaper. We can all sit back and blame it on things THEY are doing wrong, or we can think about the things we have control over... the things WE are doing wrong.

[Rvannatta]

Tarriffs accomplish one major objective....they jack the prices of imported goods, such that the domestic goods can be price-cometitive.

So, rather than CHOOSE to pay a bit more for a domestic product, you will then have to pay the higher price for either one..without choice. Hmmmmm :rolleyes:

How about we try to make domestic products cheaper than they are currently being made? How about we start requiring people to actually WORK while at work, rather than hire worthless people and let the hard workers carry their asses all day long?

There's reasons that many imported products are cheaper. We can all sit back and blame it on things THEY are doing wrong, or we can think about the things we have control over... the things WE are doing wrong.

Well half the value of an engine drive welder is already made overseas.
that being the engine half. --- Of the diesels you depending on size get a a Kubota, (japan), Perkins (england) or Deutz (not detroit).

Now of course CAT owns Perkins, so maybe you can think of that as a domestic engine???

Even of the gassers, the Robin is made by Suburu. the kohler is a domestic name, but so was Onan I don't know where it is made. :eek:

[Coalsmoke]

Tarriffs accomplish one major objective....they jack the prices of imported goods, such that the domestic goods can be price-cometitive.


I agree. Not sure if anyone remembers when the US Govt decided to tarriff the heck out of softwood lumber without properly allowing for better harvesting within america. The result being that you most definitely didn't want to be the one having to pay the bill for a large lumber purchase, say, like for building a house. Not sure what the final economic impacts were, but I'm pretty sure it did a fair amount of damage. I do know one contractor who lost about 25% of his workload as a direct result, so if that's any sort of reflection on the rest of the market, it equals bad news all around.

[BigDTig]

There's reasons that many imported products are cheaper. We can all sit back and blame it on things THEY are doing wrong, or we can think about the things we have control over... the things WE are doing wrong.

This is the right attitude -- the kind of thinking that "gets things done" vs. "whines".

We owe it to ourselves and country to make sure certain corrections are made: China should be forced to properly float their currency and should be sanctioned for rampant piracy and IP theft, for example.

But mostly, if even 10% of the population asked "how can I make a difference" instead of "I've got it soooooo hard" this country would be untouchable in the world market.

[bigdogjoe62]

hey guys Miller hasnt had a price increase since July, lincoln just put one through starts Feb,1 Maybe the IOC or other internet sales are realizing you cant live on 5% margins or lower ;) I know as a distributor I cant make a living with margins that low :)