Axminster price increasing

[TRITON]

Was just following a link to an extractor on the Axminster site and had a look at their table saws.
Most as per appear out of stock, but they do have the latest incarnation of the 'hobby' 216mm saw and including sliding table we're now looking at nearly £750
Previously the saw was £630, and thats from their 2019 catalog.
Ive their 254mm version, and complete that was including the sliding table and side extension cost £650- Currently its latest incarnation, excluding the side extension is just shy of £1000

So their basic saw has increased £120 in one year. Thats quite a jump. Not an extra 50 quid, but a serious percentage increase, and lets face it, its pretty much the same thing since about 2015.

Whereas I've always taken Axminster as a fair priced company, I think if adding to the machinery, I'll be looking elsewhere.

Interesting to note though is that in their sale, they've the 400mm AT400SB which is a serious saw and is priced at £3000. so 3 of their hobby models are equivalent in money to a pro saw that weighs 430kg and is likely going to outlast you.
Prices seem to have increased substantially across their range. Event he vertical panel saw in its basic form is £400 more expensive. I've no idea where they come up with these increase percentages.

 

[Doug B]

Whereas I've always taken Axminster as a fair priced company, I think if adding to the machinery, I'll be looking elsewhere.

they’ve always had what seems like very high price hikes, a mate was saying the other day that in 8 years his bandsaw has gone up in price over £1500

 

[AJB Temple]

Axminster has basically become a badger of Chinese imports. Affected by:
General price increases post Brexit so Ax may as well take a price rise punt (they can always discount)
Demand for woody stuff high as stocks now low
Currency volatility, especially forward FX as Axminster must contract a long way ahead, Forecast weak £
Container pricing very volatile
etc

 

[robgul]

Perhaps we've been cosseted with Axminster (and other suppliers) benefiting from China's unstoppable march towards world domination with massive volumes to flood the market and delivered at low/no margin cost at the manufacturer?
Have to agree that some of the stuff I've bought from Axminster/Yandles/Rutland/Screwfix and others in the past 18 months or so has increased in price - but then I've also noticed quite large increases in tools etc from Banggood and Aliexpress in the past 6 months - some almost doubling. Even the Aldi/Lidl tools have seen quite large increases too.

 

[billw]

It's also worth remembering there's a complex supply chain behind everything. An change in raw materials, labour costs, exchange rates, shipping rates, cost bases of wholesalers and retailers, plus much more could affect prices. If all of those shift upwards simultaneously you end up with the consumer facing a perfect storm. In healthier economic times some of the supply chain might take a hit on their own profitability to dampen the effect but right now I suspect everyone needs as much money as they can to survive.

 

[D_W]

Wages have gone up in China exponentially, and now manufacturing things like tools is no longer a top tier thing there. Other stuff like electronics is putting pressure on it. I'd be willing to bet they're marking up a mark up that was passed to them in the world of guitars, Indonesia has allowed a lot of production to bypass China, as the wages there are about a this of China's on average.

 

[Misterdog]

I forecast rampant inflation at the beginning of this pandemic. The worst is still to come IMO.
Businesses which survive will have to claw back the costs somehow.
Everyone from the raw material providers, through the manufacturers, logistics handlers to the retailers.

 

[billw]

Wages have gone up in China exponentially, and now manufacturing things like tools is no longer a top tier thing there. Other stuff like electronics is putting pressure on it. I'd be willing to bet they're marking up a mark up that was passed to them in the world of guitars, Indonesia has allowed a lot of production to bypass China, as the wages there are about a this of China's on average.

Indeed China is already trying to pivot away from being a manufacturing-based economy to being a service-led one, an enormous acceleration of economic development in comparison to other nations.

 

[D_W]

I've posted this before, but in the last 15 years, they have:
* increased their consumption of rosewood by more than ten times (which has caused a crisis - this is related to middle class being able to afford rosewood items there)
* average wage increased (in less than 15 years) from $2000 to $7000 US equivalent.

It's gotten to the point with a lot of items made in mexico here that there's no reason to shift them from mexico.

 

[eribaMotters]

I am not interested in Politics but strongly believe the main factor is Brexit and the economic volatility surrounding the unknown, especially over the next 3-5 years whilst a lot of things will settle and find a new level.
Engineered products started climbing in price end of 2016, start of 2017. In June 2016 I ordered a new German caravan at an agreed price of £19.5K. When I collected it in Feb 2017 I had to insure it for £25K.
In the coming years I'm not worried about tool costs as at nearly 60 I think I now have more than I need. I'm worried about food costs.

Colin

 

[Misterdog]

I am not interested in Politics but strongly believe the main factor is Brexit and the economic volatility surrounding the unknown, especially over the next 3-5 years whilst a lot of things will settle and find a new level.

Though the machines which Axminster import are all mostly from China, which is outside of the EU.

 

[D_W]

That sounds like a tinfoil hat theory. It isn't that difficult to import machines from china. This is a far different thing than trying to coordinate production in the UK for something that uses critical parts that can only be gotten from global suppliers.

The same increases have been occurring in the US for years. First, it was the taiwanese items (which replaced american) and then the flow to china when taiwan was deemed too expensive. There will be another china.

I just checked the price of a 3hp tablesaw with a phenolic fence here in the states - from shop fox (grizzly's "anyone can sell it" brand). When I started woodworking, the same saw was about $1100 with freight, but sometimes sold for $900.

It's $2000 now.

raw inflation figures would put the expected price at about $1400.

We have encountered no brexit and no considerable currency weakening.

Maybe someone should actually ask axminster about the price increases instead of speculating that they're just greedy. It could be something as simple as distributors being sold to a new owner (which always brings a price increase. Jet/PM here has doubled the prices of their goods in the same timeframe that I mentioned, I believe they changed corporate hands at least once. In 2008, I bought a JWBS-18x. $1075 delivered from a local saw store here.

https://www.amazon.com/JET-JWBS-18-...ywords=Jet+jwbs-18&qid=1608385832&s=hi&sr=1-3
$2199

Minimally changed (a little bit more resaw capacity, but debatable about usability as mine had trouble resawing 12" accurately with a capacity just under 13" max).

 

[Terrytpot]

buy the Axminster base that I did.

Product Name	SKU	Price	Qty	Subtotal
Axminster Heavy Duty Mobile Base - 400kg	105071	£59.96	Ordered 1	£59.96

I don't know when you got yours but they seem to have increased the price a fair chunk...

View attachment 97678

I only bought that in July 2020

Yup...that's just under £60 raising to a nats under £90 in 4 months..inflation?

 

[AJB Temple]

Vendors are not trying to sell you goods as cheaply as they can. They are trying to sell for as much as they can get. Low stock and availability pushes prices up.

 

[Linus]

Vendors are not trying to sell you goods as cheaply as they can. They are trying to sell for as much as they can get. Low stock and availability pushes prices up.

Can't help but agree. Make hay whilst the sun shines or whatever adage one desires. I know the knock on effect is that seconhand prices have increased as well. I sold my old second-hand Axi hobby 10" bandsaw on fleabay recently. I paid £120 for it 5 years ago, used. The hammer fell at £295!!!!!!!!! My gast was flabbered.

 

[julianf]

We have a global pandemic on.
The markets have largely been scared of the result of the referendum.
The implementation of the referendum will happen next month, with all the increased transport costs that will bring, and likley further drop of the pound.

It's ok though, as we can just open the factories again.

 

[Misterdog]

Though China is not part of the EU, over 50 % of our trade is outside of the EU.
Why would transport costs between China and the UK increase ?

How does Brexit account for the increased costs in the USA experienced by @D_W in post 12 above.

 

[AJB Temple]

One answer - container costs have gone sharply up (in some cases tripled).
The UK does not have lots of container ports and the ones we do have are clogged with containers currently because of the Brexit situation (Calais likewise). The same import channels are used irrespective of origin so a bottleneck affects all sources.
Shipping times from China have increased - time is money I suppose.
Customs clearance will be affected by Brexit as well - the same people are dealing with all sources so any delay has a knock on effect. Shippers and import/export handlers build this in to the pricing. Pricing is short termist and volatile.

USA / China issues are very different. We know that there is a trade war going on but I am not knowledgeable about it.

 

[marcros]

We have a global pandemic on.
The markets have largely been scared of the result of the referendum.
The implementation of the referendum will happen next month, with all the increased transport costs that will bring, and likley further drop of the pound.

It's ok though, as we can just open the factories again.

And eat all of our fish.

 

[julianf]

Though China is not part of the EU, over 50 % of our trade is outside of the EU.
Why would transport costs between China and the UK increase ?

How does Brexit account for the increased costs in the USA experienced by @D_W in post 12 above.

If the pound falls, all imports become more expensive, regardless of what may or may not be happening in the usa.
If all our ports are overwhelmed with delays due to brexit, non EU trade going through the same ports will also suffer.
If all our pallet firms are overwhelmed by the additional cost of EU paperwork processing, they are unlikely to perfectly differentiate the passing on of these additional costs to EU goods only. Likely (but obviously arguably, unlike the previous two points) they will try and add a premium to all goods in order to smooth things out.