Veritas prices

[themackay]

I dont know if Veritas could stop the said German company selling to the uk single market and all that.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I dont know if Veritas could stop the said German company selling to the uk single market and all that.

I was thinking about that. I don't think (but might well be wrong about this) that the EU trade laws have anything to do with what gets written in the distribution agreements within the bounds of a single corporation. The reason I say this is that when I ran a software manufacturer that had distributors and JV's all over the world, we had a distribution agreement with each and every one of them. it clearly specified the territory in which they could operate.

Now unscrupulous sales people would attempt to sell licences (software licences) into a global customer through their HQ. The customer would then ship the software around their world and it would pop up in a territory not owned by the country in which the salesman made the original deal. So for example, the UK team sells a big licence deal to Pfizer at Sandwich in Kent. The licences end up in Kent, Philadelphia, Geneva and Hong Kong. The management of those foreign regions get on the phone to me in the UK and say...oi, your sales force has just drop shipped into my territory, I look forward to you paying me the revenue I lost when you breached the territory term in your distribution agreement. And he is quite within his rights to do that, many an argument did the management have I can vouch!

So I don't see how the political trade rules in Europe apply to the policies of any given corporation. As such, I would expect Veritas/Axy etc to be bashing the living daylights out of that German team for undermining their premium pricing strategy. Now it could mean they don't have such sophisticated distribution agreements??

Just don't know. Interesting one though. When a company suddenly starts jettisoning its inventory it makes me think it's either going bust or going to be bought! The fire sale is usually indicative of a desire to get shot of stock fast. Either that or its as we've been speculating and its that they're just not selling as much because of Jacob's description, the energy has gone out of it.

 

[JohnPW]

It used to be that it was much cheaper to buy from Veritas themselves or from German sellers than from a UK seller.

So now UK sellers have to reduced their prices to match the German sellers, but have prices from Veritas themselves gone down as well?

If not, then that would suggest previously it was the UK importer/sellers who inflated their prices, ie Rip Off UK.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I wonder, sometimes. 17 yrs ago I found a Marples chisel for half the price they were in my local store in Cornwall - in an expensive, small suburban tool shop ... in Auckland.

 

[Jacob]

...... The fire sale is usually indicative of a desire to get shot of stock fast. Either that or its as we've been speculating and its that they're just not selling as much because of Jacob's description, the energy has gone out of it.

And there are thousands of them popping up 2nd hand but barely used, still in the fancy box.
The bottom's dropped out of the Kell jig market too!

 

[beech1948]

Just to pick up on Random Orbital Bob's comment.

I have wondered a little about Axi current trajectory as a company.

2008 till now must have been a tough and quite lower level of business.

Axi have expanded into 4 0r 5 "shops" in industrial sheds. The rent bill must be high, the rates bill will be high as well. Plus cost of stock and marketing. These shops will possibly cannibalise their mail order business as well as pulling in a few new retail customers and trades people.

Previously this is exactly the pattern followed by a company which was I think called Woodwise from possibly Kent(ish). It went bust.

There is quite an extra strain on the Axi balance sheet and I just wonder and hope they will be OK.

The other pricing oddity is that the current price from Axi of a Veritas Standard sharpening guide is £36 (approx $56) so why is Lee Valley Toronto charging $76. That's about the same price as the Canadian $ is about 0.48 of a £.

I'm astonished. I have complained about it for years the Uk price vs the US $. Can we expect others to follow suit. Chronos maybe, the router bit sellers, the saw blade sellers. It would be about time.

 

[Wizard9999]

I'm lost, are the police responsible for previous higher prices or are they the ones we have to thank for the recent price drop? Or was that the bankers? Well I guess if it is the bankers most people will conclude it can only be that they are responsible for something bad (but not me of course as they fund my new interest in wood working).

Maybe I should break out all my old price elasticity of demand models, or remind myself what happens to the demand curve of a Veblen good when it stops being one. On second thoughts maybe not, instead I think I'll just play with my new plane happy in the fact that 3 weeks of prevarication saved me £120!

Terry.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

you see your problem is you studied economics for far too long Terry. It's obvious to me what's needed.....a benevolent dictatorship

 

[Doug B]

I more inclined to think pressure has been bought to bear on the UK distributor to reduce its inflated prices so UK retailers can compete with other European retailers. Hopefully the UK retailers will also now be able to stock the full Veritas range.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I more inclined to think pressure has been bought to bear on the UK distributor to reduce its inflated prices so UK retailers can compete with other European retailers. Hopefully the UK retailers will also now be able to stock the full Veritas range.

Funny you should say that, I cut back my Veritas range last year. No point stocking it if no one is being it!