Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners International orders

I did e-mail Axiom about this last month, concerning another auction, and was told that "there will be no extra shipping cost involved as it is coming direct from us." Perhaps that was a mistake.


If that is indeed the case, the site should mention that shipping is included in the price. (It should not say that Axiom offers free shipping throughout the Netherlands.) What's confusing, though, is that the EURO price for Axiom products rarely changes but the exchange rate for euros against dollars is all over the place.

For me, I'd rather just pay in dollars and know how much I'm paying for shipping.

Nothing is ever free. Free shipping by any company just means the cost of shipping is already included in the price.



If this is the case I would say Axiom has simply decided on a median price of that roller coaster and would only adjust if the price remains higher or lower over a longer amount of time.

Jakewash hit it on the head. Free shipping is just marketing jargon. In this case shipping costs are carefully factored into the MSRP. It is more upfront and offers complete information. On the other hand if shipping costs are handled separately from the MSRP you have to be careful because companies might slash the MSRP up front or offer some sort of special and on the back end inflate the shipping and handling costs re-couping their margins. Always best in latter to double check online with the shipping company to see what it would cost you to ship that product yourself from that location. If it is anywhere close to what you have to pay or greater, then you know the company is screwing you because they get a special rate on shipping with the companies they deal with.

"Free," of course, is relative. In this case, for me, it is relative to what you (lucky!) North Americans are paying. I was under the impression that free shipping meant that, apart from VAT and duty, I would be paying the same price for Axiom products as you do.

Perhaps that's my own fault; but perhaps Axiom could also do more to make it clear, on the site, that we from outside North America pay more to cover for shipping. It's not that I would blame them, not at all! I just rather would know.

Hi Jakewash, Jasper and all,

I quizzed Ian Colquhoun, the founder and owner of Axiom on the currency issues and here's his reply:

"We are in the midst of figuring out how to program the currencies and freight into the Auction Page so international customers see a final number in their currency. It is fairly complex to do this but I am sure we will figure it out in the next few months."

Thanks for everyone's posts on this thread.

Regards,
Alan

I would agree with Alan that with Axiom shipping all over the world and the myriad of currencies and import regulations for each country, sorting it all out would be a marathon job.

However, it is correct, there is nothing really free and it is calculated in to the final cost of the product. I am not sure if anyone else has ever done this but back awhile ago I asked Noreen if I picked up my order directly from the plant would I save any money? Her response was "YES" and they would knock 8% off the price(at least within Canada).

I guess that answers the question.

I picked up my speakers at the factory and saved the cost of shipping though I can't recall what the actual amount/% was. Not only does it save you some coin, but the speakers aren't subject to the sadomasocists at UPS et al.

Jasper, as other replies have already pointed out, there's no such thing as really free shipping in this world, and those companies which use that terminology(using "shipping included" would be more precise)have invariably built their shipping costs into their prices. In your case, the calculation of the amount of shipping charges is complicated, as you've mentioned, by constant fluctuations in the euro(which reminds me for some reason of my joke in the joke thread a few years ago about the Asian gentleman visiting NYC who was enraged by fluctuations at a currency exchange). For example, currently the euro is 1.3745 $U.S. The M80s sell for $1380 delivered in the U.S. and 1172 euros delivered in the Netherlands, which is equivalent today to about $1611 U.S. Therefore, the cost to the Netherlands, including shipping, is about $231 more today, which number changes daily.

Possibly, paraphrasing Orwell in Animal Farm, the reality is that all shipping is "free", but some is more free than others.

Thanks, John, well said. In this case, perhaps we should say that on some days, shipping is more free than on others. And of course I can live with that. It's been six years now, that I've had my M22s -- I bought them when I was living in Michigan -- and I'm still thrilled to have found them. I'm looking forward to pairing them with the QS4s and a VP100, no matter what shipping.

To end this thread on an entirely positive note -- I finally made the order for the VP100 and the QS4s last week, on Wednesday, and received my speakers last Monday, looking and (though I've only hooked up the center, so far) sounding great. In five days from order to sound, with an ocean in between -- not bad!