Maid O'Mud Pottery on mon 22 jan 01
Hope someone can help me...
In the fall, I needed some stuff (fast) that is not available here in
Canada (Sugarloaf sponges for instance) so I contacted Axner. I have
purchased from them before, and referred friends to them as well. I
asked them to ship ASAP - that I would send them a US cheque, but to
please hold my VISA number and send the order immediately. A few days
later they tell me they can either a) use my VISA number and ship
immediately or b) await my cheque and ship after receipt. I asked them
to compromise - if my cheque hadn't arrived within the next 5 days (this
is about a week after initial order) to just charge it to VISA, that
they cheque was already mailed, and please ship now. No way, they say,
all must be paid UP FRONT or no shipment. A week goes by, I ask what is
happening, - they tell me order is en route, that they had already
received the cheque. BUT they forgot to mark the box "samples, no
commercial value" and because I really need what's in the box, I accept
the shipment and pay over $14 to customs.
To avoid this nonsense in the future, I ask how to get credit. They
send me a form. I fill it in, send it back. Today, I get a call
telling me that I need three (3) business references. I only have two
(2) Tuckers and PSH. I explain twice that there are only 2 pottery
supply places locally, and my 3rd reference would be Axner themselves as
I had purchased from them (more than once). No good, I am told to come
up with a 3rd source. I say slowly and carefully there is no 3rd source
for the business except Axner. Not acceptable. I asked if my VISA card
would do. No good, I'm told. The power company? I buy lots of
electricity to fire to ^10. Unacceptable. My credit application is
therefore DENIED.
So, I'm between a rock and a hard place. I can't invent a 3rd
supplier. Now what? I've found dealing with Axner extremely
frustrating - anyone else have this problem as well? Suggestions???
PS - I did e-mail Howard about getting my order here sooner (last
fall). He gave my note to "customer service". Big help.
--
Sam, Maid O'Mud Pottery
SW Ontario CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@odyssey.on.ca
"First, the clay told me what to do
Then, I told the clay what to do
Now; we co-operate"
sam, 1994
"Effort does not always equal output"
sam, 1999
Ron Collins on mon 22 jan 01
I won't respond "in public", but if you will e-mail me off line I will tell
you what happened to me...and my $4000 Guatemalan order...Melinda
Philip Poburka on tue 23 jan 01
I like to label things..."TRACTOR-PARTS"
(Like how they used to Ship 'Norton Bomb Sights' with 'Railway Express'...o=
r
on 'Merchantmen'...
Especially if 'stencilled' on a crate, looks REAL 'good'.
I figure...if it's Good-Enough for ol' 'Uncle Sam', then bye god, it's
'good-enough' for me.
Phil
------Original Message------
From: "Maid O'Mud Pottery"
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: January 23, 2001 8:59:52 PM GMT
Subject: Re: AXNER - Engraved in Stone??? (long)
Howard at Axner said in part
> With regards to marking a box =93no commercial value=94: We are frequentl=
y
asked to do this or to create an invoice below actual value on export order=
s
for the purpose of minimizing the cost of duties. This is illegal and we
always refuse. I know that we lose some business as a result due to the
fact that there may be other companies that are willing to do this, but we
will not. My employees are well trained to inform our customers of this
policy if the question ever comes up. Therefore, I hope that you were so
informed in advance.
Howard, that's bull. Plain and simple. a) your company has already sent m=
e
an order marked "samples, no commercial value"; and b) no-one said boo abou=
t
this not being possible. All communication was by e-mail, therefore I'm
sure of what I'm saying. Future shipments can be sent to my sister in MI i=
f
you won't put these simple words on my packages.
> With regards to open accounts: Years ago, we had a very liberal open
account policy. We lost a lot of money and collections was nearly a full
time position. We are now very stingy about offering open accounts. For
the same reasons as listed in my first point, our savings are passed on to
our customers.
So, what say you about my 2 business references? Do I get credit? Aren't
the 2 references I gave good enough? Is your policy so "engraved in stone"
that DENIED is the final word?
Also, the ITC I ordered arrived leaking. I was told I'd get a 15% credit.=
=20
No money was rec'd at this end. What does this mean?
--
Sam, Maid O'Mud Pottery
SW Ontario CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@odyssey.on.ca
"First, the clay told me what to do
Then, I told the clay what to do
Now; we co-operate"
sam, 1994
"Effort does not always equal output"
sam, 1999
___________________________________________________________________________=
___
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
=20
michael wendt on tue 23 jan 01
You too?
Four years ago,using a credit card, I accidentally ordered the wrong size
stoppers for our humming bird feeders. I called and got return authorization
and sent them back with the understanding that I would be credited upon
return. I requested an immediate shipment of the correct size and when it
arrived, to my dismay, they had sent the same smaller size again, correcting
my order since that was what I had ordered last time. I got return
authorization and sent those back and a few days later, the correct stoppers
PLUS the smaller ones arrived. Months went on and I was never able to get
any credit for the returned items.
The lesson?
Plan ahead. My failure to plan did not comprise an emergency on their part.
If the amount of money had been worth the time, I would have continued
pressing the issue for the return, but everyone makes mistakes, and I
include myself in that . Overall, they have been good performers, but to
stay in business, they have to be better.
Regards,
Michael Wendt wendtpot@lewiston.com
TateJ626@AOL.COM on tue 23 jan 01
RE: Axner =96 engraved in Stone???
Dear Sam and all Clay Art members,
I read the above referenced posting with interest. Sam, I apologize to you=20=
if our policies were not clearly or courteously explained to you, however, I=
still think our policies make sense and I wish to elaborate on that point a=
t this time.
We, at Axner, accept many forms of payment including check, cash, credit car=
ds and wire transfers. Very recently we implemented a new method of accepti=
ng checks through our web site so that your check can be immediately accepte=
d without waiting for the mail, however, that was probably not yet in effect=
last fall during the time in question. The reason that we will not hold a=20=
credit card number, without charging it, and send out an order prior to a ch=
eck arriving, is that holding a credit card number does not guarantee paymen=
t. I am well aware of the fact that the vast majority of our customers are=20=
very honest and I have no doubt that you, Sam, are in this category. Still,=
we have been burned on a number of occasions in the past and policies such=20=
as these help to protect us. They also help us to keep our expenses down, w=
hich allows us to pass greater discount savings to you. And, they help to a=
ssure that we remain in business, which again allows us to continue giving s=
ervice to all of our customers.
With regards to marking a box =93no commercial value=94: We are frequently a=
sked to do this or to create an invoice below actual value on export orders=20=
for the purpose of minimizing the cost of duties. This is illegal and we al=
ways refuse. I know that we lose some business as a result due to the fact=20=
that there may be other companies that are willing to do this, but we will n=
ot. My employees are well trained to inform our customers of this policy if=
the question ever comes up. Therefore, I hope that you were so informed in=
advance. For your information, I am told that some of these costs are grea=
tly minimized when sending shipments by post rather than UPS. We did send t=
his particular order out by post, as requested by the customer. I was of th=
e assumption that the NAFTA agreements would eliminate this sort of duty for=
Canada and Mexico. Do any Clay Art participants know anything about this?
With regards to open accounts: Years ago, we had a very liberal open account=
policy. We lost a lot of money and collections was nearly a full time posi=
tion. We are now very stingy about offering open accounts. For the same re=
asons as listed in my first point, our savings are passed on to our customer=
s.
I wish there were better ways but this is the best we have found so far. Sa=
m, I value you, and your business, and I hope that we can work together in s=
pite of our policy disagreement.
Howard Axner
In a message dated Mon, 22 Jan 2001 8:10:14 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Maid=
O'Mud Pottery" writes:
<< Hope someone can help me...
In the fall, I needed some stuff (fast) that is not available here in
Canada (Sugarloaf sponges for instance) so I contacted Axner. I have
purchased from them before, and referred friends to them as well. I
asked them to ship ASAP - that I would send them a US cheque, but to
please hold my VISA number and send the order immediately. A few days
later they tell me they can either a) use my VISA number and ship
immediately or b) await my cheque and ship after receipt. I asked them
to compromise - if my cheque hadn't arrived within the next 5 days (this
is about a week after initial order) to just charge it to VISA, that
they cheque was already mailed, and please ship now. No way, they say,
all must be paid UP FRONT or no shipment. A week goes by, I ask what is
happening, - they tell me order is en route, that they had already
received the cheque. BUT they forgot to mark the box "samples, no
commercial value" and because I really need what's in the box, I accept
the shipment and pay over $14 to customs.
To avoid this nonsense in the future, I ask how to get credit. They
send me a form. I fill it in, send it back. Today, I get a call
telling me that I need three (3) business references. I only have two
(2) Tuckers and PSH. I explain twice that there are only 2 pottery
supply places locally, and my 3rd reference would be Axner themselves as
I had purchased from them (more than once). No good, I am told to come
up with a 3rd source. I say slowly and carefully there is no 3rd source
for the business except Axner. Not acceptable. I asked if my VISA card
would do. No good, I'm told. The power company? I buy lots of
electricity to fire to ^10. Unacceptable. My credit application is
therefore DENIED.
So, I'm between a rock and a hard place. I can't invent a 3rd
supplier. Now what? I've found dealing with Axner extremely
frustrating - anyone else have this problem as well? Suggestions???
PS - I did e-mail Howard about getting my order here sooner (last
fall). He gave my note to "customer service". Big help.
--
Sam, Maid O'Mud Pottery
SW Ontario CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@odyssey.on.ca
"First, the clay told me what to do
Then, I told the clay what to do
Now; we co-operate"
sam, 1994
"Effort does not always equal output"
sam, 1999
____________________________________________________________________________=
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.c=
om.
>>
Maid O'Mud Pottery on tue 23 jan 01
Howard at Axner said in part
> With regards to marking a box =93no commercial value=94: We are frequen=
tly asked to do this or to create an invoice below actual value on export=
orders for the purpose of minimizing the cost of duties. This is illega=
l and we always refuse. I know that we lose some business as a result du=
e to the fact that there may be other companies that are willing to do th=
is, but we will not. My employees are well trained to inform our custome=
rs of this policy if the question ever comes up. Therefore, I hope that =
you were so informed in advance.
Howard, that's bull. Plain and simple. a) your company has already sent=
me an order marked "samples, no commercial value"; and b) no-one said bo=
o about this not being possible. All communication was by e-mail, theref=
ore I'm sure of what I'm saying. Future shipments can be sent to my sist=
er in MI if you won't put these simple words on my packages.
> With regards to open accounts: Years ago, we had a very liberal open ac=
count policy. We lost a lot of money and collections was nearly a full t=
ime position. We are now very stingy about offering open accounts. For =
the same reasons as listed in my first point, our savings are passed on t=
o our customers.
So, what say you about my 2 business references? Do I get credit? Aren'=
t the 2 references I gave good enough? Is your policy so "engraved in st=
one" that DENIED is the final word?
Also, the ITC I ordered arrived leaking. I was told I'd get a 15% credit=
... No money was rec'd at this end. What does this mean?
--
Sam, Maid O'Mud Pottery
SW Ontario CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@odyssey.on.ca
"First, the clay told me what to do
Then, I told the clay what to do
Now; we co-operate"
sam, 1994
"Effort does not always equal output"
sam, 1999
Jean Cochran on tue 23 jan 01
Dear Fellow Clay Arters,
I have been dealing with Axner for many years. While it is true that
some of the policies were inconvenient for me, I simply got a Visa check
card and use that so that my good are instantly shipped.
Axner has always been really cooperative and helpful to me and their
prices are excellent.
Jean Wadsworth Cochran
Fox Hollow Pottery (in a real hollow in the cold snowy woods of
Kentucky)
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