-

Wallmart does it all the time…

-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use

Taking a look at their block plane page right now (which I think is the same as the screenshots you took), I see the “Before free shipping” prices. So it looks like the prices did go back down after the free shipping period.

But, that is an interesting find re: raising the prices during free shipping.

Very interesting!

I am retired now, but the last company I was with viewed shipping as a secondary profit center … that is why I find the various ‘free shipping’ offers you find around the net to be a bit curious. Are companies really willing to walk away from that much revenue?

We paid the actual cost of shipping (which was discounted by the carrier based on our volume), charged the customer the single-piece rate, and added a $2 ‘handling & processing’ charge. It adds up.

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"

Haven’t been in Walmart in three years. Remember their “Made in USA” advertising in the stores? Check it out now.
We need to be smart shoppers now. We build my son’s Lab a log dog house with landscaping timers. He went to Lowe’s to buy sheetrock screws. A five pound box was $XXXX. A one pound box was $QQQQ. Figuring the per pound weight, it was cheaper to buy five boxes rather than one big box!

Have you contacted Lee Valley for an explanation, and if so, what did they say?

I think you might be a bit quick to throw them under the bus. The fact that the price remained the same after the free shipping ended, indicates that perhaps there was a different promotion going on before the free shipping. It’s a pretty common practice to end one sale promotion before starting the free shipping promotion. However, just glancing at their current prices for spokeshaves, the prices have gone back down. Could the price potentially have gone up due to the increased demand during the holiday season? Who knows.

Let us know what Lee Valley says.

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

nerdbot,

It looks like they did go back down just a few minutes ago. Good catch. I took all of the “After free shipping” snapshots earlier this morning. That’s just a nasty way of doing business.

-- Nathan

BinghamtonEd,

They actually JUST went back down which goes to show that my suspicions were correct. It is a scam. I guess I’ll have to update my original post now with the dropped prices. I took them earlier this morning but it looks like they just took a few more hours to finish up their scam process.

I haven’t contacted them. I really doubt they’d be willing to ‘fess up to pulling a stunt like this.

-- Nathan

I just checked my order and the prices are the same, so it doesn’t look like all of the prices go up. But I only ordered a couple bandsaw blades and a wood spokeshave kit. Still, weird.

-- The quality of one's woodworking is directly related to the amount of flannel worn.

I sent them an email about this thread as I like Lee Valley as well.

jmartel,

You might be correct. I haven’t checked all of their prices to see if this was applicable for all of their items. But, every single item that I did check, I found that the prices had increased during free shipping.

-- Nathan

I have always found Lee Valley tools to be worth the $$. Free shipping or not, they are a quality company. And, no, I don’t work for them ;-)

-- "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Voltaire

ellen35,

You’re exactly right. They do make quality tools. I just hate to see a company that has built so much trust with the customer, go down this road. I just have a problem with lee valley saying that they are offering a discount/free shipping and deceiving the customer. Like I said, I will probably continue to buy from them.

-- Nathan

BinghamtonEd,

They actually JUST went back down which goes to show that my suspicions were correct. It is a scam.
- nashley

Correlation does not imply causation. You’d do better to look for LV’s response and base your claim on fact. You’re deriving a conclusion based on the two variables that you’re concerned about, without information regarding their actual pricing policies. Whether you’re correct or not (even though I believe the term ‘scam’ is a bit much) has yet to be determined.

Edit : This whole thread rubs me the wrong way. If you suspect they’re trying to pull one over on you, call them on it (literally, pick up the phone and call them). Ask them the question bluntly, rather than just calling them a scam on an internet forum. Seems pretty passive-aggressive. even if it turns out to be true, at least you can start your thread knowing it’s true.

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

BinghamtonEd,

They actually JUST went back down which goes to show that my suspicions were correct. It is a scam.
- nashley

Correlation does not imply causation. You d do better to look for LV s response and base your claim on fact. You re deriving a conclusion based on the two variables that you re concerned about, without information regarding their actual pricing policies. Whether you re correct or not (even though I believe the term scam is a bit much) has yet to be determined.

- BinghamtonEd

You think they will admit that’s why the price changed if the reason is to offset shipping cost?

All we have to go on is what we observe and decide if they will get our businesses or not.

Lee is a member here and they are good folks with good business

practices, let’s hear what they have to say.