So what gives with distribution/selling costs.

[Mooeee]

I work within the building industry and the company that I sub contract to haven't given their work force a pay rise in the last 7 years, so I can't see that retail can afford to be giving pay rises what with all the Internet options out there.

 

[Duncan A]

even those manufactured by Axminster in Axminster.

Presumably they expect to give their staff pay rises in the coming year and their costs to increase. Not unreasonable assumptions.

I certainly don't begrudge pay rises to Axminster employees, but year on year price increases well in excess of inflation suggest to me that the costs of Axminster expansion are feeding through to prices in the stores. At a time of much reduced energy costs and low inflation, I would have expected their Axminster-made products at least to have risen in price only marginally as they are not much subject to currency movements.

With foreign-sourced equipment, much of the Jet machinery is now looking to be good value (esp. if bought from other suppliers) next to the Axminster equivalents and yet both lines come from abroad. All very confusing!

As a business of course, they can charge what they like, and as customers we can choose to go elsewhere if we wish - as indeed many on this forum seem to have done.

Duncan

 

[woodpig]

The drop in the price of Iron ore should mean a price reduction for Axminster made products like Chuck Jaws etc soon...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/price-dr ... 0fxr7.html

 

[bourbon]

The trouble with online shopping, not just woodwork stuff, is that you only see the product when it arrives,. At least with Axminsters shop presence you can get 'hands on' with it. You of course then go elsewhere where it's cheaper. BTW I work in the car industry supplying the major manufacturers and we haven't had a pay rise for 5 years.

 

[Selwyn]

The trouble with online shopping, not just woodwork stuff, is that you only see the product when it arrives,. At least with Axminsters shop presence you can get 'hands on' with it. You of course then go elsewhere where it's cheaper. BTW I work in the car industry supplying the major manufacturers and we haven't had a pay rise for 5 years.

I work in agriculture and prices have halved in 12 months.

 

[Bodgers]

The drop in the price of Iron ore should mean a price reduction for Axminster made products like Chuck Jaws etc soon...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/price-dr ... 0fxr7.html

Not likely...likely to be a tiny fraction of the overall cost...even if the product is exclusively cast iron.

 

[Bodgers]

even those manufactured by Axminster in Axminster.

Presumably they expect to give their staff pay rises in the coming year and their costs to increase. Not unreasonable assumptions.

True, but. glancing at some of the prices of stuff I've been looking at the last few weeks, the rises look to be between 8-12% across the board.

I'd wager the staff aren't getting anything close to that. The Chinese companies manufacturing most of this stuff are unlikely to have cranked their prices up overnight across the board like they have.

What is bizarre about this is the antiquated way they seem to put the prices up. It seems to be done to suit the yearly catalog print. Given that they have no control of what is going to happen over the year, the policy seems to be to crank stuff way up to cover themselves in case costs rise. Nobody does that kind of thing these days. Prices should be reviewed regularly to match demand/costs etc.

 

[James C]

Of the two links in the OP one of the prices is still the same and the other has increased by £10.

Guess which one?

 

[Rhossydd]

What is bizarre about this is the antiquated way they seem to put the prices up. It seems to be done to suit the yearly catalog print. Given that they have no control of what is going to happen over the year, the policy seems to be to crank stuff way up to cover themselves in case costs rise. Nobody does that kind of thing these days.

Well Axminster seem to be making a success from that policy.
They've managed to go from corner hardware shop in a small rural town to one of the biggest tool supplier in the UK in the last forty years, I can't see why you'd criticise their business model. It's obviously working for them if they can achieve such success in the recent terrible conditions for retailing.

Read this forum for any length of time and you'll regularly see praise for their customer service and shops.

Yes, the catalogue's fixed prices might be an unfashionable sales method, but except for the few that get caught out at new year, many others will like that stability over the year and enjoy thumbing through it and presumably it works well generating sales.

I'd guess that some of the current price hikes are because they've been holding prices low for a while (elsewhere you see the old price of a PT described as a bargain axminster-tool-catalogue-then-and-now-t85990.html). The future is looking less predictable with Chinese costs rising and the possibility of an increase in interest rates getting ever closer. Bringing prices back to more acceptable profit levels seems simply prudent.

I'm sure those that only look at price tags will continue to moan, but I don't mind paying a small premium to have such a good tool shop relatively local to me, get great customer service and it's also nice to know that my money stays in and supports the UK.

 

[bourbon]

not sure about your money staying in the UK. Since most of their tool are sourced from abroard

 

[Alder]

It is interesting to see a moderator start this thread. Axminster seem to be evolving in response to market forces. There is more competition for certain products and they appear to be concentrating on a different market. They do still advertise on Ukworkshop which presumably helps keep the forum going.
Are we likely to see chronos advertising regularly here?
Russell

 

[Rhossydd]

not sure about your money staying in the UK. Since most of their tool are sourced from abroard

Their profits stay in the UK, plus they do actually manufacture some products in Devon.
I was surprised at how they contribute back into the local economy when I visited, sponsoring local events, causes and charities. Their courses also keep a lot of other local businesses like B&Bs and pubs buoyant from what they've told me too.

 

[Mooeee]

As I have already said in my previous thread is a machine I looked at has gone up 28% since 1st jan...............................................

 

[paulm]

not sure about your money staying in the UK. Since most of their tool are sourced from abroard

Their profits stay in the UK, plus they do actually manufacture some products in Devon.
I was surprised at how they contribute back into the local economy when I visited, sponsoring local events, causes and charities. Their courses also keep a lot of other local businesses like B&Bs and pubs buoyant from what they've told me too.

That's all good. Could be better however if they also supported and stocked more UK made tools from Thomas Flinn for example, including Clifton planes, along side the Veritas and LN etc extensive ranges. No matter if they don't though, all still available from other good quality retailers

Cheers, Paul

 

[Bodgers]

What is bizarre about this is the antiquated way they seem to put the prices up. It seems to be done to suit the yearly catalog print. Given that they have no control of what is going to happen over the year, the policy seems to be to crank stuff way up to cover themselves in case costs rise. Nobody does that kind of thing these days.

Well Axminster seem to be making a success from that policy.
They've managed to go from corner hardware shop in a small rural town to one of the biggest tool supplier in the UK in the last forty years, I can't see why you'd criticise their business model. It's obviously working for them if they can achieve such success in the recent terrible conditions for retailing.

Read this forum for any length of time and you'll regularly see praise for their customer service and shops.

Yes, the catalogue's fixed prices might be an unfashionable sales method, but except for the few that get caught out at new year, many others will like that stability over the year and enjoy thumbing through it and presumably it works well generating sales.

I'd guess that some of the current price hikes are because they've been holding prices low for a while (elsewhere you see the old price of a PT described as a bargain axminster-tool-catalogue-then-and-now-t85990.html). The future is looking less predictable with Chinese costs rising and the possibility of an increase in interest rates getting ever closer. Bringing prices back to more acceptable profit levels seems simply prudent.

I'm sure those that only look at price tags will continue to moan, but I don't mind paying a small premium to have such a good tool shop relatively local to me, get great customer service and it's also nice to know that my money stays in and supports the UK.

"Getting caught out" doesn't really come into it. I just bought elsewhere. In my current experience with them, they seem little better than a box-shifter, so the large premiums they charge for most stuff just isn't worth it to me.

 

[Hemsby]

I have purchased a number of smaller items from Axi over the last year and admit that the service has been excellent. They do seem to suffer with “out of stock” items regularly

Having said that when it came to more expensive branded items, due to Axi’s high prices I have purchased elsewhere and have received equally good telephone & delivery service from these other suppliers. There is always the question of after sales service and fortunately other than one occasion I have not needed any.

The one time I did need help with a faulty item the service was brilliant and could not have been bettered by Axi.

It is possible that Axi is getting like the large supermarkets, trying to be all thing to all people, “a one stop shop” alas as the supermarkets have found out in recent times to their cost it does not work. Reduce the range and concentrate on some core products.

We are all aware of stores like Aldi & Lidl who carry a tiny variety of stock compared to the big supermarkets and as we know their profitability is far greater than their counterparts, also expanding unlike the others. Huge variety and its associated stock is one of the biggest cost of any business.

I sincerely hope that Axi see and take note of the comments made by members on this forum and attempt to rectify things as it would be sad to see them lose more sales than necessary.

 

[John15]

I had occasion to contact Axminster a couple of days ago regarding them charging me for an 'out of stock' item at the time of the order being placed. Their reply was because I paid with PayPal. If payment had been made with debit or credit card the charge would be at the time of dispatch.

Other stores may also have the same system for PayPal transactions but it was news to me.

John

 

[RogerP]

In my experience with other sellers that's normal with PayPal.

 

[marcros]

I don't know about large businesses, but certainly with small businesses, if you use PayPal as the payment gateway you are just sent a payment. If something is not in stock, you can refund that amount but you then have no ability to recharge it, other than to send an invoice. If you can physically order something on the website, PayPal will charge for it.

Google checkout didn't take off particularly well, but IMHO it was much more controllable for the merchant in this respect.

 

[Hemsby]

Purchased two roller stands from Axi at the end of December 2013 @ £25.75 each, just been online to order two more they are currently out of stock, more to the point now £30.96 each a increase of 20% in less than 13 months :x :x :x

Will be looking elsewhere