Some questions:
Given there IS inflation (even though the government lies about the true rate), does Axminster's catalogue price change from being expensive to being competitive, and if so, when?
If you need something changed or repaired or set up, what sort of service do you get from them and other people?
If you want a big, accurate paper catalogue (with detail in it), how much are you prepared to pay for the privilege? It must be cheaper now (relatively), but back in the 1975, the catalogue of a manufacturing and distribution firm I worked for, which looked very similar to Axminster's one, cost over £1m to produce (roughly £7m in 2012 according to the BoE). It was the single largest annual expense they had.
Do they price-match ever?
Do they have a discount scheme for high-volume purchases (e.g. educational outfits)?
Do you want a one-stop shop for a range of products (big ticket down to consumables), or can you afford the time to seek out the best deal every time?
Are Axminster better priced for some items than others?
Axminster's catalogue inevitably has to take into account guesses about buyer behaviour and market prices over the coming year, and it's one of the 'market making' price statements: how many competitors wait for it to be published then price against it? How should Axminster respond to that?
I could imagine them being justifiably damned for having the lowest price but next-to-no customer support and poor availability. Some other well-known companies trade that way. I really don't have a view about Axminster being right or wrong, but I do think there are some big questions lurking behind all this. It's not just the obvious price ticket that counts.
I think it's a really hard thing to get right. How would you do it instead?
E.
