Aside from obvious price differences, let's say, reliability, quality, durability, etc., what differentiates mainstream brands and their respective "entry-level" offsprings/siblings*? Take for example:
Makita and/vs Maktec
tia..
*pardon me as I am at a lost at the moment what to best describe them
Safety first - always wear face/eye/ear/hand protection as a minimum.
Re: Mainstream Brands and/vs Their Entry-Level Offsprings (Siblings?)
Because of the lower price, some corners must have been cut. If all parts are the same and assembly was just made in a lower price place like China, then the quality may be the same.
However I doubt this as the lower priced offsprings/siblings are rated for lower duty than the pro types. Orange B&D tools are for home use, while the black ones are for pros. Similarly, Bosch blue tools are for pros, while the green ones are for amateurs.
Makita chose a different route, choosing to have a different brand for the lower priced tools. Obviously, they didn't want to associate the brand Makita with amateur duty tools.
Re: Mainstream Brands and/vs Their Entry-Level Offsprings (Siblings?)
The differences are exactly the things you mentioned but those gaps have closed a lot over the past few years. The gaps is so small that only in the most demanding cases or maybe for the exacting craftsmen can the differences be seen.
The law of diminishing returns is clearly demonstrated here wherein the established tool makers have to throw huge amounts of money to gain improvements that are hardly distinguishable yet cause significant cost differences.
Here is a concrete example: I have a B&D contractor grade 7-1/4 saw on which I put a Japanese 90 tool carbide tip blade (man that thing cost a lot), it was the love-of-life until I bought a contractor grade GMC 10" saw and stuck a 120 tooth carbide tipped blade from China. The B&D saw has a pressed sheet metal foot whereas the GMC has a pressed plate metal foot. I'd say the GMC foot would survive a fall better than the B&D. The B&D bevel and depth-of-cut adjustments have wing nuts, GMC has plastic levers. Also the linkages are much better on the GMC.
Hey but don't tell my mother, she gave me the B&D saw which why I have not sold it on eBay PH ... yet.
...
By the way, we are not comparing Made in China tools Made by Chinese and the established tool makers. The chinese make a lot of crappy tools but put some good QA in there and you have tools like Maktec.
