Snap-on produces high-quality tools and containers for tools.
You can often find their brand hidden in various films like Iron Man 3 and the Fast & Furious franchise.
With such a powerful name both professionally and in cinema, it’s no surprise that Snap-on’s products are quite expensive.
Their chests alone can start as low as $1,000 and easily go above $40,000.
Here are 10 reasons Snap-on is expensive.
Why Is Snap-On So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. Quality
Snap-On 4-Piece Pliers and Cutter Set, Part #PL400B
There’s no question that one of the main reasons Snap-on is expensive is the quality of its tools and products.
The company uses the very best materials to make its tools, chests, and other products.
That’s due to their target audience.
The primary audience for Snap-on tools is professionals.
They use tools day-in and day-out every day of the week.
Because these tools are often used on projects both big and small, they see a lot of wear.
The last thing any professional wants to deal with when on the job is having a tool break.
If it happens too often, the professional starts to understand that it has to do with the brand rather than anything else.
If the brand doesn’t use high-quality materials to make their tools, their tools are only going to last for a certain number of uses.
High-quality tools, on the other hand, can last for years.
Some even last for generations.
It’s this type of quality that professionals want to use since it means fewer delays at work.
It also means that the company has to invest a lot of money into getting those high-quality materials.
That adds a lot of expense to their operating costs.
To make up for that cost, Snap-on has to sell its tools and products at higher prices.
2. Target Audience
As mentioned before, the target audience for Snap-on’s products is professionals.
These are contractors and licensed technicians who have that type of money to spend on tools.
In many cases, it’s the company that pays for the expensive tools rather than the individual contractor.
That said, some independent contractors will throw down that kind of money, too.
These are individuals who live busy lives.
They don’t have time to shop around for tools.
They want the best, so they don’t have to worry about it and can spend the majority of their time actually using the tools to make money.
As such, they don’t bat an eye at paying for Snap-on’s expensive tools because they expect high-quality tools to be expensive.
It’s not unlike luxury designers making products for the wealthy.
They know that their target audience expects a high price.
They also know that their target audience will pay those prices.
Snap-on knows that its target audience trusts the brand to provide high-quality tools.
Because they’re professionals, and many of them work for large companies, the cost of the tools doesn’t matter too much.
It’s when average homeowners or hobbyists try to buy Snap-on tools that the prices seem too expensive.
These are individuals who may not use their tools all that much.
When they’re not used in a professional sense, the price for those tools can seem expensive.
3. Lifetime Warranty
Another reason Snap-on is expensive is its lifetime warranty.
Most of the tools and products that you buy from the company come with a lifetime warranty.
This means that if the tool breaks, you can get a new one.
The reason that Snap-on has a lifetime warranty is that it knows that, in most cases, its tools are going to survive past their use.
It’s more common for professionals to retire their tools than to replace them because they have broken.
However, there are always exceptions and there are times when a Snap-on tool does break.
When this happens, the customer can get another Snap-on replacement provided they qualify.
This means that Snap-on might have a few cases where they need to lose money to replace a broken tool.
To ensure that they have enough money to do so without suffering heavy losses due to the cost of production, they have a high price on their tools overall.
This ensures that there’s enough profit to cover things like replacing broken tools.
Any time a company has a warranty, you can usually expect slightly higher prices on their products or services.
This helps protect them financially and enables them to honor that warranty.
Lifetime warranties, in particular, tend to put higher prices on products because they can cover a tool for a very long time.
That slightly increases the chance of the tool breaking and requiring a replacement.
This, in turn, increases the chances of Snap-on having to pay out money for a new tool.
4. Shipping Costs
While the price of tools is expensive, it isn’t the only price added to your total.
You’ll have to pay extremely high shipping costs.
There are a few reasons Snap-on has high shipping fees.
The first is the size of the tools or chest.
If you’re buying a special tool that’s large, it’s going to take up a lot of space on the truck.
That means they’re unable to perform more deliveries on a single trip.
As such, they’re unable to make as much money.
To make up for the lost money, they’ll charge you more.
Another factor is the weight of the order.
If your tools are heavy or your chest is heavy, that also determines how much each truck can carry.
Each delivery truck has a certain cargo load.
If the load exceeds that amount, it can damage the truck.
Certain streets also have weight limitations.
If a truck needs to use it, the carrier is going to need to pay a fee.
All these costs then determine the price of shipping.
Finally, Snap-on delivers most of its products directly to your company or shop.
They don’t always rely on third parties to make the trip.
Because of this, they add a bit more cost to their operating procedures.
This is especially true if they have to deliver products to locations that are far away from the closest warehouse or factory.
Considering that you already paid a hefty sum for your tools, the price of shipping can make your order even more expensive.
5. Training
Snap-on’s delivery drivers don’t just deliver tools and products.
They also have training and knowledge on how to work with each tool.
If your company just bought a large collection of tools but no one on the team is completely sure how to use them, this is another reason many choose to buy from Snap-on.
The delivery driver can help you open your shipment and access your tools.
Then they’ll take time out of their day to help your team understand how to use them.
This can help companies save a lot of time and money.
For one, they don’t have to hire someone else to train their team on how to use the tools.
Second, they’re able to get their contractors started on the job right away.
Essentially, Snap-on is helping its clients save time when it comes to learning about their tools.
While there isn’t a specific fee that companies have to pay to get this sort of help, it’s essentially built into the high price.
Snap-on knows that some of its clients are going to need a bit of assistance to get going with their new tools.
By taking the time and expense to educate their drivers, they’re able to improve the satisfaction of their clients.
Of course, with time and expense comes higher operational costs.
There’s also the fact that if the driver is spending time teaching, they’re not out making deliveries.
All these factors lead to higher costs for Snap-on.
To overcome those costs, they sell at higher prices.
Few other businesses take this extra step when caring for their clients.
That’s another reason professionals prefer to use Snap-on over other tools.
Due to that loyalty, Snap-on knows it can charge them at slightly higher rates.
6. Financing
Snap-on knows that not everyone can afford the high prices it has on its tools.
Because of that, they offer financing.
While financing is a great system that lets people get access to certain products immediately, it also sometimes means you end up paying more for the product.
Snap-on handles its own financing.
As long as you qualify, you can get them to finance your purchase.
Over time, you’ll pay them back while you get to use the tools.
This is great for those who are just starting a business and need the tools to generate a profit.
However, if you have poor credit or don’t otherwise qualify for their financing, you’ll have to look elsewhere for financing options.
When you work with a financing company, they usually charge you a certain amount of interest.
This is how they generate a profit while loaning you money.
Those who have poor credit scores usually end up paying a higher interest rate.
That’s because, to the financing company, it looks as though you’re a financial risk.
A low credit score indicates that you don’t always pay your bills or debts.
As such, it means that you might not pay them back the money that they’re owed.
To ensure they’re able to make as much money off of the deal as they can, they’ll put a high interest rate on your financing terms.
This means that while you’re paying back for your Snap-on tools, you’re also paying a higher amount than you actually owe.
Depending on how high the interest rate is, you could end up spending far more money than what the tools originally cost.
This can make buying them extremely expensive if you’re unable to afford them outright.
Snap-on is expensive when you need to use their financing program with a poor credit score.
7. Extra Services
Perhaps one of the reasons professionals continue to use Snap-on is that they have extra services.
While many of these services are free, they’re built into the overall prices of Snap-on’s products.
One of those services is tool transportation.
If you find yourself switching jobs and you have a workshop full of tools, Snap-on will help you move your items to your new workshop.
Keep in mind this is only if you have Snap-on tools to move.
In particular, if you use their chests to carry their tools, they’re more willing to help you.
That’s because they know that moving their big tool chests is difficult.
Not everyone has enough space in their trucks or cars to carry a large tool chest.
Even fewer can carry the chest and your tools at the same time.
Snap-on will send a driver to your location who can load up your heavy chest and deliver it to your destination.
They’ll even help you get it set up at the new location.
Besides showing excellent customer service, Snap-on also offers this service because it doesn’t want its products to face damage.
If they’re not moved correctly, it’s possible for the tool chest, in particular, to become damaged.
It may even collapse on the trip to the new destination and scatter your tools everywhere.
To prevent that from happening and having to spend money to replace that mess—thanks to their lifetime warranty—Snap-on would rather spend less money by having a driver help you out.
That said, these services do add costs to their operations.
To cover them, they ensure that their overall prices are high.
Snap-on is expensive because of the cost of the extra services that they provide.
8. Resale Value
Snap-on is aware of the value of its tools.
Due to their quality and longevity, the resale value of Snap-on tools is quite high.
People can easily sell used tools and chests for only a small discount on what they originally bought them.
While they won’t make back all their money, they’ll make back a good amount of it.
Some might even deem some of Snap-on’s tools to be collectible because of their incredible quality.
Because a lot of their tools remain in circulation even long after they’ve sold them, the company isn’t going to be making money from those sales.
They’re also missing out on sales since their would-be customer is buying it from a reseller instead.
To avoid substantial losses, Snap-on has to sell its new tools at high enough prices to make its profits last.
Other than releasing new models and perhaps more efficient tools, there isn’t really anything new that they can invent in some cases.
A hammer is always going to be a hammer, for example.
There isn’t anything new about a new model that they can attract customers to instead of having them buy the discounted hammer.
As such, Snap-on has to set high prices to get their money’s worth due to the high value of their tools.
Also, professionals are happy to buy their tools knowing that they can resell them again at a higher price than they would be reselling other tools.
That also gives them confidence in buying expensive tools from Snap-on which only reinforces their high prices.
Snap-on is expensive because its tools have a high resale value.
9. Brand Name
A brand name can add some expense to a product.
Even if the two products are exactly the same, if one has a well-respected brand name attached to it, it’s going to have a higher price.
That’s because people prefer to buy brand names over generic brands of certain products.
Because of how important it is that tools last and do their job, brand name plays an important role in the tool industry.
If the brand name has a poor reputation about its tools breaking often, people aren’t going to want to spend money on it.
However, if the brand has a great reputation for long-lasting tools like Snap-on, they’re going to be more willing to pay the higher prices for their products.
Part of the reason Snap-on has high prices is that it took the time to build its reputation.
Even when it may not have always been the profitable choice, Snap-on stuck to its mission and goals to deliver high-quality tools.
As word spread about the company and its quality, it became one of the go-to choices for professionals.
Professionals trust the brand and are more willing to spend a higher price on a trusted brand than an unknown one.
Snap-on is expensive because of the sterling reputation of the brand.
10. Hollywood Fame
A final reason Snap-on is expensive is that it’s frequently advertised and used in Hollywood films.
Some of the movies that have featured Snap-on products before include:
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Pitch Perfect 3
- The Fate of the Furious
- John Wick 2
- Chips
- Interstellar
- Iron Man 3
- The Dark Knight Rises
When your brand has a frequent presence in Hollywood films, it starts to get a reputation of its own.
An idea emerges that if characters like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne use Snap-on products, they must be the best of the best.
Since the tools have an association with Hollywood, it makes them more expensive.
Product placement in so many movies will make any product expensive.
Conclusion
Snap-on sells high-quality tools and chests for professionals.
Due to the high quality of the tools, their longevity, and the extra services that the company provides, the prices for its tools can be quite high.
The good news is that you can also likely resell your Snap-on tools for a high price, too.
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