ChadsToolBox....Wera pricing going up...

[EmptyWallet]

I can't tell whether I'm more surprised by this, or angry. Or even if I should be?

So I found the Wera Zyklop on Amazon for around $60.

It's listed on ChadsToolBox for $67 or so. Chad's has a 115% pricematch policy, so that would have brought Chad's price down to Amazon's, and then even further down to around $52 or so.

Just to be sure I was doing this all fair, I emailed them. (I think you can see where this is going). They stated that yes, they'd match it, etc.

She also stated the following:

"On a side note, its finally in writing that WERA is enforcing a MAP policy beginning July 1. All prices will be going up substantially and will be the exact same at every store. That just to say, if there are other WERA tools in the dream list, the next week is the time to find them."

...which I'm not too sure about after what just happened either.

So I go back to purchase the item...and low and behold in the time I sent my email and we've been talking...it's at the Amazon price of $60. Therefore I can no longer pricematch and get the additional 15% off.

I've emailed them to see if I can get my discount still, since yes, in fact they stipulated in the email that I could....but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I mean, I understand why....but doesn't this strike you as just a little...sneaky? I call you out on the pricematch, and you change the item before I can purchase it?

I'll let you know what they say. Anyone else comment on the Wera pricing?

 

[Roots]

For what it's worth, Amazon tends to have some creative means of sidestepping manufacturer MAP policies. By either indirect grey market sourcing or simply not disclosing the actual price until you add it to your shopping cart.

 

[Sparkfarmer]

Yeah Chads did something similar to me. I ordered some stuff and they had made a mistake on some prices on there website, they changed the price in my order and didn't tell me (It was a big order so I sent them a list instead of using the website). When I complained they said that they were "cutting there losses" and refunded my money. Basically told me to screw off and go away (on a $1200 order). They are far from fair and honest in my experience. I suppose when your prices are the best you don't have to worry about customer service.

 

[Stuey]

For what it's worth, Amazon tends to have some creative means of sidestepping manufacturer MAP policies. By either indirect grey market sourcing or simply not disclosing the actual price until you add it to your shopping cart.

It depends on how strict the policy is. Amazon can no longer sell PB Swiss tools b/c other distributors complained to PB Swiss until PB Swiss tried to force a strict pricing agreement that Amazon ultimately turned down.

 

[TheGrooveking]

Note to self - avoid Chad's Toolbox.

TheGrooveking

 

[litng1]

Yep no chads toolbox

 

[tube_guy]

I've come very close to ordering from Chad's Toolbox a few times, but these sorts of stories have always made me shy away from them at the last minute.

 

[Stuey]

Looking at things from another angle, maybe they changed the price to appeal to others who might compare with Amazon? I imagine that some people will ask about the 115% price match, but others would just go and order from Amazon at a lower price. I don't really believe it's their intent to screw you out of the 115% price match that they already agreed to.

 

[EmptyWallet]

Looking at things from another angle, maybe they changed the price to appeal to others who might compare with Amazon? I imagine that some people will ask about the 115% price match, but others would just go and order from Amazon at a lower price. I don't really believe it's their intent to screw you out of the 115% price match that they already agreed to.

I honestly try and see it from every single angle. I really do, it's kinda hard to here though. We'll be able to see their intention if they agree to take the additional 15% off of the price.

I could understand them changing the price, so that OTHERS could not take advantage of it after I had show them the difference, but to change it so I couldn't either?

 

[lennoxlennox]

Note to self - avoid Chad's Toolbox.

TheGrooveking

Yep no chads toolbox

I've come very close to ordering from Chad's Toolbox a few times, but these sorts of stories have always made me shy away from them at the last minute.

I've had some chat dialogue on FB with the folks at Chad's toolbox.

It seems from peoples stories and what i've seen...at every oppotunity they charge more than even their resellers and they spend their time justifying why they cost more.

it's easy.... just like the quotes above.... i just vote with my dollars

 

[Squankum]

I've been on the fence for almost a year about buying a Zyklop ratchet. Thanks for giving me an excuse!

 

[archirelic]

I honestly have not had an issue with Chads in all the times I've ordered from them.

 

[mobiledynamics]

I hate it when shops change the price or terms after they *get the sale*

Perfect example from another retailer.
I needed a specific tool. While ordering...I added up other items.
Got my order, the specific tool was missing.
Retailer told me it was discontinued and they charged me for everything but that tool.
They never called, or advised, just shipped my order and refunded me the amount.
The WHOLE point of my order was for that tool.
It turned out it was not discontunued, they just did not have stock.
I've spent a good amount of $$$ with that retailer for years.
After this one incident (as I offered to have the retailer to ship me the item when in stock WITH free shipping ) and they did not make it right.
Things like this make you lose a customer....

As much as I like amazon and prime....I try to support the indys.
When they pull stuff like this, and don't have any customer service to boot -- then amazon is always there with 2 day shipping.

OK. Off my soapbox

 

[concealer404]

I'll bet you ChadsToolBox bought their Wera stock from Amazon in the first place.

 

[ash95608]

I'm going to be picking up wera in a few months and had a appointment with the wera rep and he said they are going to try very hard to make sure every one follows the IMAP pricing even amazon.

 

[pacsguy]

wera just isn't worth full MSRP so they are dreaming.

 

[tube_guy]

Yeah, looks like I'll be buying less, or maybe no, Wera stuff.

 

[concealer404]

LOL! No way in hell i'm paying MSRP for this stuff.

 

[lwlobo]

I like Wera stuff, but I'm not paying full MSRP online for it, period. The cool factor (they do a better job with design and marketing than most tool companies) isn't worth paying full tilt for, especially since it's not made in Germany anymore.

I've always liked Chads and they were my first source of Knipex and Wera many years ago, long before they were easily found at Sears, etc. I think Chads sort of opened up the US market for a lot of the European tool brands, but it seems like other sources may be passing them by.

 

[tube_guy]

Overall, I think most Wera stuff is really gimmicky. I mean if they were branded Thorsen or something and made in China, I think nobody knowledgeable would even give them much of a second look. But when the prices are really low, I think their screwdrivers are worth the money. But no way are they worth even close to full price. At least in my opinion.

 

[Notwerk]

They're not bad tools, but yeah, I wouldn't pay full price either. I think most Amazon prices are fair.

With Wiha, Felo, and Witte out there, I think there are better German tools (Wera outsources quite a lot. Not sure what, if anything, is even made in Germany anymore).

Maybe it's a great tool, but the Zyklop always seems quite bulky to me. Not sure I could find a use for it, and pretty sure I couldn't justify the price.

 

[nanofrog]

Wera outsources quite a lot. Not sure what, if anything, is even made in Germany anymore.

Czechoslovakia is where they make their tools now.

 

[Stuey]

I hate it when shops change the price or terms after they *get the sale*

Perfect example from another retailer.
I needed a specific tool. While ordering...I added up other items.
Got my order, the specific tool was missing.
Retailer told me it was discontinued and they charged me for everything but that tool.
They never called, or advised, just shipped my order and refunded me the amount.
The WHOLE point of my order was for that tool.
It turned out it was not discontunued, they just did not have stock.
I've spent a good amount of $$$ with that retailer for years.
After this one incident (as I offered to have the retailer to ship me the item when in stock WITH free shipping ) and they did not make it right.
Things like this make you lose a customer....

As much as I like amazon and prime....I try to support the indys.
When they pull stuff like this, and don't have any customer service to boot -- then amazon is always there with 2 day shipping.

OK. Off my soapbox

That would really piss me off too. Mind if I ask which retailer?

wera just isn't worth full MSRP so they are dreaming.

+1. They're good, but the MSRP prices are just way too high.

 

[lennoxlennox]

have to agree.... compared to Wiha and the price difference or even Felo.... there is an obvious reason I don't have any wera in my toolbox

and as someone else pointed out... a lot of their products look gimmicky

 

[Jure]

Czechoslovakia is where they make their tools now.

and taiwan

 

[cgv69]

Czechoslovakia is where they make their tools now.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer German made but the Czech's are not the Chinese. I have a couple of CZ rifles and they are as well built (actually better) then anything in their price range being made in the US right now.

 

[Jure]

have to agree.... compared to Wiha and the price difference or even Felo.... there is an obvious reason I don't have any wera in my toolbox

and as someone else pointed out... a lot of their products look gimmicky

wiha > wera.

 

[Jure]

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer German made but the Czech's are not the Chinese. I have a couple of CZ rifles and they are as well built (actually better) then anything in their price range being made in the US right now.

+1 its made in europe.

 

[EmptyWallet]

They responded back to me:

We can sell to you at the price protection price. It is our policy to change prices when lower prices are found, that is detailed in the policy, *it assures we always have the lowest prices*. It is not an avoidance of any kind. There is a folder in our exchange server for actions our product desk needs to take, it is copied when there is a price protection link or any other updates needed.



Reading below I should also note there seems to be a little confusion on the calculation. It is the same as Home Depot and just about every other place I've seen such a policy. It is matched minus an additional 15% of the difference. For simple math, if a competitor was $100 less than us on a product, the policy matches their price and an additional $15 and then changes our price $100 lower for every subsequent customer.

There isn't really any confusion, I did the math just like he did.

Point is, they didn't change the price after I bought it, they changed the price when I alerted them that Amazon was cheaper, before I made the purchase.

Just for clarification, I responded with:

So which is the price protection price you'd sell it to me at? The new $60 price point, or the % off of that I would get that would put me 15% under Amazon's price?

 

[EmptyWallet]

Aaaaaaaaaaaand his response back.

At the time of your notification of a lower price we were 67.32
67.32 mins competitor 60.92 equals 6.40 times 15% equals .96

Price protection price is match, 60.92 minus 15% of the difference $.96 equals $59.96

To me, that's not how it works. It's an additional 15% off of the total price, NOT the difference. At least that's how I've experienced it.

Anyone else?

 

[concealer404]

Not how it works in my experiences.

I'd stop wasting time and just order from Amazon at this point.

 

[EmptyWallet]

Not how it works in my experiences.

I'd stop wasting time and just order from Amazon at this point.

Oh I am! Scratch them off my list of places to get products from.

 

[archirelic]

Aaaaaaaaaaaand his response back.



To me, that's not how it works. It's an additional 15% off of the total price, NOT the difference. At least that's how I've experienced it.

Anyone else?

In their price protection policy, it clearly states that they'll take an additional 15% off the difference. It's there in writing, plain as day.

I agree with you that it shouldn't be the difference, but when it's stated in writing on their website that they remove the 15% off the difference, kind of difficult to get upset about it.

 

[lennoxlennox]

Aaaaaaaaaaaand his response back.



To me, that's not how it works. It's an additional 15% off of the total price, NOT the difference. At least that's how I've experienced it.

Anyone else?

they are *** clowns... 15% of the difference.... idiots


right... let me find a lower price and NOT order there... but get 15% of the difference.... makes sense to me

 

[EmptyWallet]

In their price protection policy, it clearly states that they'll take an additional 15% off the difference. It's there in writing, plain as day.

I agree with you that it shouldn't be the difference, but when it's stated in writing on their website that they remove the 15% off the difference, kind of difficult to get upset about it.

I agree, but you have to admit...that's a terrible policy.

 

[archirelic]

I agree, but you have to admit...that's a terrible policy.

haha, I agree with you man. I've ordered a ton of stuff from them, but only when they are legitimately the lowest cost option out there!

 

[concealer404]

Yes, it's laid out to be 15% of the difference, but knowing that, it's hardly worth the $0.96 to jump through the hoops to get the price undercut by a whopping dollar or less.

I'm good. Knowing this, i'll just order from the cheaper place first off.

I like what they're doing though, makes sense from a business perspective. They were going to pay OP $0.96 to update their pricing. Now that he's ordering from somewhere else, they got the research for free!

 

[EmptyWallet]

Yes, it's laid out to be 15% of the difference, but knowing that, it's hardly worth the $0.96 to jump through the hoops to get the price undercut by a whopping dollar or less.

I'm good. Knowing this, i'll just order from the cheaper place first off.

I like what they're doing though, makes sense from a business perspective. They were going to pay OP $0.96 to update their pricing. Now that he's ordering from somewhere else, they got the research for free!

Glad I could help out!

 

[ash95608]

The IMAP price is not going to be full retail, its 15% less

 

[EmptyWallet]

One more update:

Thanks for being so patient with us. It seems our policy is antiquated now. It was originally modeled after the big orange box, and several others. But it seems out of the ordinary now. We'll have to adapt. I've created a $10 gift certificate code for all your time spent communicating with us the last couple days.

I'm actually satisfied with that. That's a fantastic response. I wonder if they'll actually go through with it.