Axminster discount

[johnfarris]

Has anyone managed to haggle any discount with Axminster on the phone recently? Going to give it try tomorrow.

 

[toolsntat]

I've heard Jeffrey or is it Jeremy (?) at Appleby Wooturnings can supply Axminster equipment at a discounted price.
May be worth a call.
Cheers Andy

 

[sunnybob]

Theyre a bit too big a company to give discounts unless you are talking a very large bundle of fifty quid notes. :shock: :shock:

 

[johnfarris]

I phoned to get discount on the
Axminster Trade Ultimate Edge Variable Speed Sharpening System
along with the Axminster Trade Honing Guide Assembly For Ultimate Edge.

Combined price was £489.90 they offered me £20 discount. Which was not enough to tempt me because it just seems way over priced to start with.

Think i might go with the Robert Sorby ProEdge

 

[Doug71]

I have never had a discount from them but if you are in store pondering a large purchase they sometimes offer to throw in a few bits for free e.g. some of their own brand saw blades if you are purchasing a table saw.

 

[woodbloke66]

Has anyone managed to haggle any discount with Axminster on the phone recently? Going to give it try tomorrow.

The company have always given student discounts, but a) you'll need to prove you're a student and b) you'll have to ask for it - Rob

 

[sunnybob]

5% on a sale of less than a grand seems reasonable to me.

 

[Deadeye]

Perhaps I'm the odd one out - but get decent technical support, good range,and get very good service if there is ever a problem, and (used to be able to ) browse the store. I'm happy to pay a little bit more than rock bottom for that.

 

[RogerS]

Perhaps I'm the odd one out - but get decent technical support, good range,and get very good service if there is ever a problem, and (used to be able to ) browse the store. I'm happy to pay a little bit more than rock bottom for that.

Yup...too many people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[Droogs]

I used to think that Axminster were good but now I have them in the same bracket as Apple. A bunch of money grabbing gauging gits. When looking for for a metal mini-lathe, I really considered getting their SC4 model but then found out I could get the exact same lump of metal and gears but albeit in a different paint colour direct from the manufacturer.

The price difference well Axi sell it at a tad under £1900 and the actual manufacturer, selling direct to a member of the general public buying just one not bulk like Axi would. £673 + £180 postage.

So if Axi are willing to gow ow ow ge their custemers to 3 times the actual price they pay I am not surprised they offer such sh 1 te discounts. And this experience has put me off using them completely now. The really are the Apple of the woodworking world - living on past reputation of being decent and high quality while just ripping you off.

PS
When I say decent I am talking in the sense of "Oh St Francis, he's a decent guy" way not quality as I have had issues there many times.

 

[johnfarris]

I have had past issues with them and wouldn't say their technical support or their knowledge regarding what they sell is the best. I guess great for amateurs who haven't got a clue but when your in the trade not so much.

I Purchased a Kapex 60 saw for cash at their Basingstoke store as i needed one in hurry for a job i was on, also i fancied having a browse as i have never been to one of their stores . A visit to the store is a 3 hour round trip. Got the saw back to my workshop, tried a couple of test cuts and discovered it was a pile of pants.

Spoke to festool and they picked it up to take a look at it. After a couple of days Festool called me back to tell me they would replace the saw. As i was on a job i had already purchased another saw, i just wanted my money back.

Phoned Axminster to get a refund and they told me the only way i could get a refund was to go to the store as i had paid cash. When i paid for the saw i gave them my account details, it wasnt like i had purchased the saw anonymously. I have been a customer of theirs for 15 years

I had no choice but to do another 3 hour round trip to get my money back.

I only purchase from Axminster now if i cannot get it anywhere else.

 

[CaptainBarnacles]

I have fallen out with Axminster too. I have bought from them for almost 25 years and used to find them great to deal with. You could ring up and have a chat with someone who really knew their products, usually negotiate a bit of a discount and know that if there was a problem it would be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Sadly, my recent experience has been in complete contrast to that!

I bought a bandsaw via their Ebay outlet store. The saw was listed as a 415v 3 phase machine but looking at the photos I saw it had a blue single phase plug. I emailed to ask them to confirm which it was and was told it really was 3 phase. Fair enough I thought, they know their apples I'll take their word for it. A couple of days went by and it kept niggling me so I had an electrician friend take a look and he said that it was a 16A single phase plug in the pictures so I got back in touch to tell them of my findings and ask for one last time if it really was 3 phase. Yes it definitely is 3 phase was the reply... so I called them and tried to speak to someone knowledgable . Eventually I spoke with someone who knew what they were talking about who - guess what... they confirmed that it was a single phase machine!!! I bought it because it was exactly what I was looking for and the price was right but it irked me to hand over my money. I was in the market for a table saw as well so I asked them what sort of deal I could get if I bought their £1700 table saw at the same time (hence saving on a separate delivery). Nothing! Really, I asked, nothing? Yep, nothing. Fine, I'll buy my table saw elsewhere I think. And with that I think I'm done with Axminster.

Well almost. I was in the market for a lathe and a mate told me that Axminster had reduced their Jet range as they are dropping Jet products. I really like Jet machines so after much deliberation I ordered one along with a couple of other bits. I placed my order online, recieved my "delivery questionnaire" email the next day, filled it in and returned it straight away. Later that day it dawned on me that my chuck wouldn't fit the new lathe so I called Axminster to see if they could do any sort of deal on their chuck packages, after all I am spending almost £2k on a lathe, surely they could do something for me... NO, nothing! Alright, I am getting a discounted lathe but come on, play the game Axminster.

That was two weeks ago and I had heard nothing about when I could expect delivery of my shiny new lathe so I called to find out what was going on.I almost fell over when I was told that they no longer had them in stock! They could, however, supply me with an display model from one of their stores. The sales person would call the store to find out about it's condition etc and call me back. It took over 6 hours to get back to me. The machine was in great condition, hadn't been used, just out on display. OK, I said but how soon could I have it. It was already two weeks since I ordered and I'm champing at the bit (not to mention I have work backing up!). They could deliver it but it wouldn't be for a while as their delivery department would have to arrange to get it collected and then delivered to me. It wasn't sounding good. "Leave it with me", I was told. "I'll see what the delivery department can arrange and call you back". That was over 24 hours ago.

There's a great many things that could have been done better by Axminster in this latest debacle but what confounds me the most is that if I hadn't called to find out what was going on when would someone have called me? Very poor. Regardless of whether I end up buying the lathe from them or not, it is the last time (excluding situations where I really have no alternative) I'll be using Axminster and that really saddens me. I used to enjoy dealing with them, they were a great company with great staff and the best range of products in the UK. Now it seems that it's all about growth, opening new branches, branding chinese made stuff with their logo and whacking it out at a premium price. I'm not daft, I know that it's a company's aim to grow but when it comes at the expense of the service and values that has held that company in good stead for so long I think its very disappointing. It's telling that when you ring them the first thing they tell you is that if you want to place an order you can do so online! We know! But were calling to speak to a human, apologies if that's not as economical as placing an order online but perhaps we need to check something first, or, perhaps we just like placing our order over the phone to come away with the feeling that you care about your customers - or not as it now seems to be the case!

Rant over for now. I'll let you know how it works out for me.

 

[Rorschach]

There are definitely some issues here with the customer service, but no discounting is not one of them. The world has changed, haggling is a thing of the past in the internet age, or it's going that way anyway.

 

[CaptainBarnacles]

Mmm, I agree to some extent but I have contacted three other suppliers with a list of my requirements and they all offered some discount or offered to throw in extras. If you want to just buy something and get it delivered, end of story then I think internet shopping is fine but with something llke machinery I want to know that there's some expertise and knowledge in the company I buy from and I would hope that that is how they would like to be seen too. If you just become another box-shifter (as it appears Axminster are heading in that direction) then we might as well all just throw in the towel and buy our gear from Amazon.

 

[Lons]

Well as someone who's recently negotiated more than £4k or 16% discount off a new Mini that isn't yet built I don't agree that battering is dead, if anything because prices are so transparent there are more people than ever asking and receiving discounts. I could have had a little bit more than that on the car but service from the main dealer we've used for my wife's last 5 Minis is worth paying just a smidgen more.

If you don't ask you don't get and if they won't deal then the choice is accept that or move on somewhere else though it's definitely not just price that matters.

I have a long list of successful deals, never from Axminster though I've come away with freebies with every machine bought from them in store, just have to push a bit.

 

[Rorschach]

If you negotiated a deal it wasn't because you were special or you are some haggling genius, it's almost always because the item was overpriced and room for discounting was built in right from the start.
With branded "unique" items like cars this is easy to do and has been that way for years, ask a car salesman (who is willing to talk) and they will tell you that every price has a % leeway they can use at their discretion.
With generic items though that many suppliers can provide, the price you see is pretty much always the lowest price they can offer because it's a cut throat world and they are fighting with other suppliers.

So I am sorry Lons but in reality rather than you getting a 4k "discount", you probably just paid maybe 1k over the rock bottom price instead of 5k that was added on originally. Still a good deal for you, but they saw you coming and were prepared long before you even thought about buying that car

 

[billw]

The company have always given student discounts, but a) you'll need to prove you're a student and b) you'll have to ask for it - Rob

Do they??!! Damn!

 

[marcros]

There are definitely some issues here with the customer service, but no discounting is not one of them. The world has changed, bartering is a thing of the past in the internet age, or it's going that way anyway.

Didnt bartering end as a general practice in the middle ages?

I went to Axminster but they refused my 3 goats for.a shiny new saw...?

 

[Rorschach]

You're right, I should have said haggling.

 

[Trevanion]

I went to Axminster but they refused my 3 goats for.a shiny new saw...?

They were completely daft that day marcros, three of me is worth far more than a shiny new saw.