no axminster catalogue from now on

[skinee]

i

 

[Eric The Viking]

I think it's brave, and overall probably a good thing.

Years ago my dad worked for a supplier of school equipment, to both the UK and old British Empire (by then, the Commonwealth). Their printed catalogue was an annual event in the science education sector, BUT it was the single biggest line item in the company's accounts, consuming an astronomic proportion of their turnover. It eventually became a financial millstone around the company's neck.

Think of the cost of making a big catalogue, collating the data (which can come from a CMS system nowadays, but still needs careful checking and editing, etc.), printing it, distributing it, and so on. You even have to allow space in the warehouse to keep copies after it's released!

Now, one hopes, eliminating many of those costs will at least work to keep prices down for the moment.

Then there is the pricing: It is a HUGE issue nowadays to lock down retail prices for an entire year at a time. And it's largely seasonal work too - a panic around June (probably) as it 'goes to bed', with pricing decisions taken six months before it sees the light of day. It means there's inevitably a price bump when the new catalogue comes out, but for the retailer, there's also the risk they're selling at a loss at the end of the catalogue's life (things rarely if ever go down in price). As customers, we bear the cost of that risk in a higher average price.

I know there is a downside. The smallest room(s) will be gloomier. Necessary activities will be briefer. I'll have to watch TV in the bath instead, or print the whole thing out.

If they still have a licence for the module for their CMS software, it would be great to be able to download a PDF (without prices, naturally), but I fear I'll just have to get a waterproof tablet .

E.

 

[custard]

Hopefully Axminster will now sort out their on-line search facility. When I tried to find some Festool orbital sanding paper it decided I really should be looking at hose nozzles.

And to Eric's point, the pounds now fallen below $1.46. So Lie Nielsen price rises can't be far away!

 

[Eric The Viking]

Hopefully Axminster will now sort out their on-line search facility. When I tried to find some Festool orbital sanding paper it decided I really should be looking at hose nozzles.

And to Eric's point, the pounds now fallen below $1.46. So Lie Nielsen price rises can't be far away!

I didn't say I like their new web site style!

But I agree in both cases - somewhere along the line they lost a lot of good metadata for their search engine, or something - it's pants compared to how it used to be.

On the price rises - you can only hope they'll track the market better now. Swings and roundabouts, possibly, but I hope they'll get more competitive on more things.

 

[Rhossydd]

Hopefully Axminster will now sort out their on-line search facility. When I tried to find some Festool orbital sanding paper it decided I really should be looking at hose nozzles.

I don't know the people that moan about the search facility are doing, but it works fine for me.
Type Festool orbital sanding paper are they're there on the first page.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I think it's a good move - more trees to make stuff out of! Hopefully any savings can be shared with us customers.

I've been surprised by how many suppliers still produce (at what must be significant cost to them and to us) paper catalogues - I have loads from ToolStation/Screwfix/Trend etc.

I seem to remember that Axminster would normally bump up their prices about this time of year with the issue of a new catalogue (it's quite an eye-opener looking back at prices from a year or three ago) - you can tell how often we thin out the collection of reading material in our "throne room"(!).

I expect that Axi will probably quietly adjust their prices upwards on individual lines/items, as and when, from now on - this hopefully may mean they're more competitive.

I see that they're out of stock on almost all their North American stuff (Veritas/LN) at the moment and I suspect that the recent weakening of Sterling is badly timed (for us) when they re-stock.

Cheers, W2S

PS I agree about the new website

 

[woodpig]

For sale: Latest current edition of the Axminster catalogue £50 plus postage. :lol:

 

[graduate_owner]

I agree it is the way things need to go, saving trees and costs. They used to post out a Top Tools magazine, and that stopped a few years ago. It does feel like the end of an era though. I'm going to hang on to my existing catalogues, especially the year 2000 hard cover one.

K

 

[DiscoStu]

Well I'm in two thoughts. I'm ok with the online world and I'd assume that anyone reading this is also. However my FIL is into his wood turning but is nearly blind and doesn't do technology. He loves the catalogue and sticks it under a machine that magnifies the pages. So no catalogue means he will be stuffed. I suspect that will apply to a number of older hobby wood workers. I also quite like to have the catalogue to hand both in the workshop and in the toilet! I'll have to read the D&M catalogue on the bog now!


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[AndyT]

Well, there's always the Ikea catalogue to fall back on. According to the Wikipedia entry they print 208 million copies annually!

What's not so widely known is that Ikea are big innovators in the use of CGI in the production of the catalogue. Just think for a minute about how much work it was to build all those furnished room sets and photograph them. Then adapt them to cover the thousands of local variations, to include or exclude products not sold everywhere and make the rooms look good for local tastes in 43 countries where they trade.

Pick up a copy and see if you can spot the CGI, then read this article to see what you missed.

http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/building_3d_with_ikea

 

[John15]

Those big thick catalogues used to be very useful but these days I think most people find it more convenient go online to search for whatever they want. I do anyway.

John

 

[cedarwood]

ALL catalogues that arrive at this house from whomever are put directly into the recycle bin just don't need them in this day and age cluttering up the house, total waste of company money and resources. Mind you if they all stopped a lot of printers will be moaning about lost business. :lol:

 

[BearTricks]

I signed up for the catalogue a few years ago and never received one.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[ColeyS1]

Perhaps it's so they can be more competitive with there pricing instead of allowing for price increases over the year. Personally I find the catalogue easier than online. Being able to flick through the paper version when searching for spindle cutters is alot easier than having to go online. End of an era

Coley

 

[AJB Temple]

Interesting. I am having a similar dilemma in my business. We produce quite a few financial products and each one needs a brochure. Presently we do this in print and on-line. On-line is free (because that is where we compose anyway) but the cost of print and production is eye watering. Some older customers like printed brochures, almost all younger ones do everything on a mobile phone or tablet. There is a clear demographic split.

For anyone who is doing price comparisons or comparing features, it is much quicker and easier to do so on-line. I quite like flicking through the Axminster catalogue, but really all it does is make me want stuff I wouldn't otherwise buy! Over the last few years a large proportion of my shopping has moved on-line. This includes almost all tool and equipment purchases and virtually all consumables. The world has moved on and Axminster have to follow in order to have just in time product supply, which is the only efficient way to run a warehouse operation really.

 

[paulm]

It doesn't save trees to use for other things, the trees used for paper production are plantation grown softwood trees planted for paper production, if they don't need the trees they won't plant any more in the first place ! They are a crop, if there's no demand no one will grow them.

Would be good to think they may be able to price more competitively but I won't get my hopes up. Just a couple of weeks ago I wanted a bosch 18v angle grinder, without battery and box, and checked Axi who had it on a "special low price" of I think £130 or £139, can't recall now, but a quick google found it elsewhere at £90. Same story as I've had over the last two or three years, try to give business to Axi but they are just so far off being anything like competitive I can't remember the last thing I bought from them despite being only a few minutes away from my home.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^^ It amuses me when I read "recycled paper - save the rain forests!" etc. on things. Might be a good idea as an ongoing carbon sink, I suppose.

 

[Selwyn]

A digital catalogue would be good. The good thing about a catalogue is you can't see whats on the next page so can inspire you to a new purchase which the web doesn't always do

 

[Eric The Viking]

A digital catalogue would be good. The good thing about a catalogue is you can't see whats on the next page so can inspire you to a new purchase which the web doesn't always do

Completely agree with that -- here's hoping. Certainly I'd find it easier to have as a PDF for the tablet in places where I don't have internet coverage.

 

[Craigus]

If you can use an internet forum, surely you can use their website?