Axminster?

[Demusss]

I think it's a supply chain issue with everyone. I'm after some Veritas stuff. No one in the UK has stock and it's even out of stock on the Lee valley site.
I imagine production rates are down, hence why stocks are low on everything

 

[robgul]

Totally different market but you can't buy a new bike for love nor money - and a vast number of parts aren't available - I understand that 26" wheel tyres are very hard to find.

The lockdown has encouraged people to ride bikes - for transport, exercise and fun .... and if the experiences of the timber merchants I use and Screwfix are anything to go by DIY, making stuff and house improvements have had massive increases in activity. Which, of course, leads back to stock availability and the supply chain - especially stuff that spends weeks "on the water" in a container en route to the UK.

I ordered some garage doors in February - they were fitted last week - the factory in Lithuania was locked down, then on split shift working patterns, then a shortage of parts. . .

 

[MikeK]

It's not only the East.
I keep a rolling wish list on their site, and treat myself now and again.
Of the 12 LN tools I have marked, not one is in stock. It has been like
this for a few months now.
I am also wondering what's going on.
ATB,
Daniel

I placed an order directly with LN at the beginning of this month, and received an email a half hour later stating the order was on hold because one item was out of stock. The email also stated there was a reduction of staff in the production shop and they are working to fill the orders.

This not much help now, but Dictum in Germany is also a LN distributor. Unfortunately, Dictum is out of stock for most of the LN products.

 

[SeanG]

I've been looking at LN router planes, everywhere is out of stock including Axminster, the order I placed with them Thursday afternoon (not a router plane) arrived Friday morning.

 

[MikeK]

Their customer service has always been exemplary in the past but I've recently had an order from them (I'm not in UK) and had no end of difficulty with their customer service. I wanted to order 4 bandsaw blades but their stock levels never showed more than 2 available and I when I asked about it I was told to wait 10 days for stock to arrive. I waited for 2 months and it didn't change. After many unsatisfactory email exchanges I gave up and settled for 2 but I had to then order other stuff to make up the minimum order value to get 'free' delivery (it's not free, their system recognises where my IP address is and adds on a premium to the advertised prices). I then had to return one of the items as it was faulty and again had problems getting any sense out of their CS people.

I have never noticed a difference in price when buying from Axminster and shipping to Germany, but I tested this using another computer with a UK VPN and my main computer with a German ISP. The item I selected was the Trend T11EK Router, since it meets the criteria for free shipping in the EU. I kept the currency at Pound Sterling, but changed the delivery country to the UK, Germany, and Hungary on both computers. The prices were the same for each country on both computers:

UK: £375.96
Germany: £365.00
Hungary: £400.00

I also selected the AT260PT Planer Thicknesser, even though it exceeds the free shipping weight limit. Again the prices were the same using both computers, so IP detection didn't affect the prices:

UK: £1,229.50
Germany: £1,200.00
Hungary: £1,350.00

Out of curiosity, I changed the currency between Euro and Forint for each item for delivery to Germany and Hungary (can't change the currency for delivery to the UK).

Trend T11EK
Germany: €420.00 and Ft147,200
Hungary: €455.00 and Ft161,200

Of the 27 EU countries, only Luxembourg had the same price as Germany. All other EU countries that benefit from free shipping on this item had a higher list price.

AT260PT
Germany: €1,400.00 and Ft481,300
Hungary: €1,500.00 and Ft526,900

Apparently Axminster does have different prices for the EU countries, but I don't know why German customers receive a lower price than UK customers.

 

[MikeK]

It says quite clearly that "free delivery over £30" is UK mainland only . . . . so being charged more for overseas isn't unreasonable given the additonal, often high, costs and possibly export paperwork.

All the details are at Delivery | Axminster Tools - totally transparent (and quite generous in terms of UK Highlands and Islands which many online sellers charge a massive premium for delivery)

When selecting the delivery destination as an EU country, the banner changes to "Free shipping over €149 up to 100kg in the EU*". This is a link, as it is on the UK site, but the page is not found.

I have never been charged for shipping to Germany on my Axminster purchases that meet the free shipping criteria. For the orders that were below goods total amount for free shipping, the shipping costs range from £0.99 to £9.95. I can live with that.

 

[billw]

If you sell to consumers in other EU countries and are above a certain threshold, you have to register for VAT in that country. German rate is 16%, U.K. is 20%, Hungary is 27%. That probably explains the difference.

 

[MikeK]

If you sell to consumers in other EU countries and are above a certain threshold, you have to register for VAT in that country. German rate is 16%, U.K. is 20%, Hungary is 27%. That probably explains the difference.

That makes sense. The VAT in Germany was 19 percent, but was temporarily lowered to 16 percent in June.