Mother .#*#$*& Airgas

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So i had a large local welding shop about 5 miles from my house Smith welding, They were great. I mean FREAKING FANTASTIC. Swapped my 100% argon and C25 150s for i would have to look but im certain they were under $40. and my 300CF 100% argo for $64. Airgas bought them a few months ago i swap my 300 the other day. $129 out the door. SERIOUSLY the price doubled. whats Funny is its not cheaper to own 2x of the 150s and get them filled over the 300. I told them if airgas started refusing to fill my 300s. im going to sue.This is ridiculous, the only other non airgas distributor is about 45 miles away.I swear if i knew anything about gas distribution i would buy the place accross the street and undercut them on everything.
Reply:it's a shame that they charged double, is this for your company or you as an individual?
Reply:Well, Air Gas recently bought out a supplier by me too in Wisconsin. Ownership starts in MAY; gonna be interesting. Fortunately I did find another supplier, a family owner MA/PA supplier a little further but worth it.
Reply:Airgas bought out Abco stores in Ct. big changes-not for the better. I do most of my business with MaineOxy now. If I have to go to Airgas, I've learned to ask "Is there a hazmat charge on this ?" for everything.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:" its not cheaper to own 2x of the 150s and get them filled over the 300."told that to my local air gas and they told me it was actually a 330 so it should cost more for that extra 30 cf? Whipped out my calculator and told them the ratio was still over priced and they told me well normally it is $300 list and I was already getting a 66% discount.WTF! BS.
Reply:Yeah, Airgas prices are out of control. I bought from them for nearly 25 years but I quit going there last year when they raised their prices again. I found another company nearby that is much smaller, has lower prices and will exchange any size you have.I doubt that they will miss me but I did notice that there was only one person working at the counter the last time that I was there. Perhaps that's a sing of the times.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:Had to buy some wire at airgas today they tried to charge me a hazmat fee :/
Reply:I dont get why the hazmat fee. Argon is present, we dont make it from anything. Just another crock to get a penny in.Wait, what? Hazmat on wire?
Reply:Originally Posted by turismolover22I dont get why the hazmat fee. Argon is present, we dont make it from anything. Just another crock to get a penny in.Wait, what? Hazmat on wire?
Reply:Air Gas bought out my old favorite "Rochester Welding Supply" and jumped all my gas prices. The counter guys just smirk and shrug their shoulders.  Sad...
Reply:oh'  they are adding a hazmat fee to almost everything too.
Reply:They took the hazmat fee off when I turned to walk out the door
Reply:I've had an account with Grady welding, bought by Merriam Graves, bought by Airgas. I like their employees with the exception of one they fired, they give good service. Prices are outrageous! I order a Radnor TIG torch back cap for $7 which I pick up in their store three weeks later when it finally arrived. With Haz Mat, and shipping it came to $49. I complained, I ultimately paid $9. This week I priced a welder package $7000, They were $700 higher than on line. They declined to discount it at all. After hanging up the phone I received an Email. Its tone was a reprimand that my designated store was ______, in future deal with them. I've a number of vendors who give discounts for very prompt payment. I have set up my accounts to arrive by the 6th of the month. Airgas bill arrives on the 10th, says 30 days. In just a few days I receive a snotty letter, one invoice on the statement (under $10) is now over thirty days. I am charged interest, and a $30 penalty for late payment!A concept I've never heard of, a bill overdue a few days after it arrives!
Reply:They tried to screw me over too. I have a 125 c25 that ran out. Airgas was closer so I stopped in. $106 they wanted to charge. I told them I could toss the tank and go to my lws and get the same for $60. He back peddled and then tried to blame it on corporate. I told him it felt like I was purposely and deliberately getting ripped off. He made a price adjustment to sell it to me for $60. The moment it goes up Im tossing the tanks and telling them to take a flying fu.Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:Originally Posted by socoj2...Airgas bought them a few months ago i swap my 300 the other day. $129 out the door. SERIOUSLY the price doubled. whats Funny is its not cheaper to own 2x of the 150s and get them filled over the 300.
Reply:G-son,"And why should a half size tanks cost less than half to fill? Is anything ever cheaper in smaller packages? It's twice the work to handle and fill two smaller tanks. Around here there are only two sizes of tanks that you can buy and own, about 35 and 70 cu ft, you get twice as much gas in the larger one but only pay ~20% more for the refill. "I think you answered your own question. A 300cf should be a lot less than per cf than a 150cf. As you said larger is usually 20-25% more than the smaller.Airgas has started to get hard to deal with here, too. Their new manager charges much more. I have to think they get a commission (or higher commission) if over a certain price point. So I actually blame the counter guys as much as the corporation. IF (big if) I can get the guy who has sold me stuff for years to write the ticket, it is much more reasonable than the other guys. AND BIG WARNING HERE: Don't just sign for something without the price on the paperwork. When they price it later it really costs and then they won't budge on the price.Bottom line, if you still have a local guy, support him all you can.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:Originally Posted by wb4rtBottom line, if you still have a local guy, support him all you can.
Reply:I don't ask for miracles, but should a tig cap come with haz mat fees? Should I pay 15 dollars delivery fee when a store brand item arrives 3 weeks later and I pick it up at the store? I have accounts with a dozen vendors, not one has ever claimed a 9 dollar item bought on the second of January, billed to me on the first of February, arriving in the mail on the 9th of February, and I get the snotty letter on the 12th of February with interest, and a $30 late payment fee! I was startled by this, called regional, the lady was defensive, acted like I was crazy. Of course you have less than 30 days to pay!Airgas swallows competitors, then treats their customers as they see fit. I once knew I would soon run out of steel mix, picked up an extra tank, a week later I returned it at a drop business they use as a satellite. Corporate said the tank wasn't returned, I said it was. I know the people where I dropped it, talked to them, and they eventually found the paperwork proving I had returned it. Corporate reluctantly refunded the charges, but offered no apology!
Reply:Is Matheson/Tri-Gas as bad? They seem to be the major player with the welding gases around here. Air Liquide  seems to have most of the really big bulk business as well. They deliver argon, oxygen , nitrogen , helium and hydrogen by the semi tanker at work  They are always out there. Takes a while to unload a full tanker of that stuff.
Reply:Neither Airgas nor Roberts will fill my tanks around here (DC area). Conversation I had yesterday:Me: how much for a xxx argon refillAirgas: is it our tank?Me: noAirgas: you need to take it back to whoever's tank it isMe: its my tankAirgas: oh, we don't refill.Same thing when I called Roberts.Called my old place (Youngstown oxygen) right after, $55 for a 277.Last edited by jar944; 03-22-2014 at 09:40 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by jar944Neither Airgas nor Roberts will fill my tanks around here (DC area). Conversation I had yesterday:Me: how much for a xxx argon refillAirgas: is it our tank?Me: noAirgas: you need to take it back to whoever's tank it isMe: its my tankAirgas: oh, we don't refill.Same thing when I called Roberts.Called my old place (Youngstown oxygen) right after, $55 for a 277.
Reply:Airgas=mafiaMiller Dailarc HF 250 Hobart 140
Reply:Luckily my local place is AWGgas (Northern Welding). I got an airgas tank with my MIG, I asked if they would fill it, they said "We don't care what the bottle says, we'll fill it". They just moved into a new bigger place as well. I really like my LWS!
Reply:Nearly 12 months ago my closest Airgas dealer (Culver City) charged me $112.46 to exchange a 330 cu ft Argon cylinder.$92.60 gas$9.90 Hazmat$0.20 surcharge$6.69 state tax$1.03 county tax$2.04 district tax
Reply:We have accounts at 4 different W/s airgas is the highest price of all. We don't use them unless it is last resort.Just a thought. Is there a way that a group of weldors could setup an account at a welding supply to get a discount. This would be setup where each person would pay for his or her items at time of purchase. The jeep club I'm a member of has an account at an o'reilly auto parts. We go in get what we want give them the account code get the discount and go.
Reply:must be airgas moles that come here and tell us how bad flux-core wire is.miller thunderbolt 250vlincoln square wave tig 175 prolincoln idealarc mig sp250everlast tig 210EXTeverlast power plasma 50chicago electric (hf) 130 tig/90 arcchicago electric 90 amp flux wire3 sets oxy/acet
Reply:I just got airgas to drop their prices by 30% I'm lucky their are 12 other suppliers in my area so I just went and got quotes from all of them and I was honest with all of them about who had the lowest price on what I got written quotes from some and airgas actually match the lowest price so they may be crooked one way but you can stick it to them
Reply:Originally Posted by wastricIs Matheson/Tri-Gas as bad? They seem to be the major player with the welding gases around here. Air Liquide  seems to have most of the really big bulk business as well. They deliver argon, oxygen , nitrogen , helium and hydrogen by the semi tanker at work  They are always out there. Takes a while to unload a full tanker of that stuff.
Reply:Originally Posted by jpump5Airgas bought out Abco stores in Ct. big changes-not for the better. I do most of my business with MaineOxy now. If I have to go to Airgas, I've learned to ask "Is there a hazmat charge on this ?" for everything.
Reply:I found out this week that Holston Gas has bought the local welding place and Airgas' best (as far as I'm concerned) salesman was hired away from them to run the new store. I'm planning to switch all my business to them. I've been dealing with 3 places because of my bottles and their prices. So I'm hoping to get everything on one account. That will be enough to be worthwhile to them and simplier for me. I'm going to support them and stay away from Airgas and their Haz Fees.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:Originally Posted by zankThank you for the tip on MaineOxy. I found that they have a location that delivers to my area and am moving all of my gas business to them. They quoted me some argon and He/Ar mix prices that were a lot less than what I'm paying at Airgas. I appreciate it.
Reply:I've got mixed feelings on Airgas.   They are closest to me and have treated me fairly.  They have swapped a tank for free once and got a free hard hat once.  I've always dealt with the same guy and built a relationship, that and I bought 2 welders from them.  Prices for welders were on par with best online deals but I know I have a place to go if I need help instead of a phone number. I could probably get stuff cheaper elsewhere but having one location for most of my needs is very convenient and that's worth a few extra bucks to me. They did overcharge me on last order and I went back and they fixed it.   Just read your paperwork closely.Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Reply:I bought 2 tanks on an auction, Airgas tanks, for $145.00.  Brought one in and I traded straight up for an acetylene tank.  Guy behind the counter ran the tanks and said I was good to go, and stated I got a good buy.  So about 2 or 3 months go by and I started getting bills for tank rental due.  Called and thought I had the issue resolved, then got another bill for rental and a late charge.  Called again, and had to fax my paperwork to corporate office, then call again to get the issue resolved.  They ended up dropping all the charges, and I haven't received another bill.  KEEP ALL RECEIPTS for anything purchased at Airgas, that you could be recharged for!That company is as crooked as Verizon Wireless.
Reply:My local Airgas treats me very well, as does the mom and pop LWS down the street from them.  Airgas has always matched or beaten the best online price I could find for equipment.  They also give me great prices on gas. The guys that work at the Airgas are old timers, and they know how to treat good customers well enough.  I think building a good working relationship is key.  No one likes being treated poorly, especially the guy behind the counter. A wise man once said, in order to have friends, one must be friendly.  GarLincoln Electric, Power MIG 256Hypertherm Powermax 45 Miller Dynasty 280DXSmith O/A torchGenesis of a welding table
Reply:Oh this sucks Smiths was a great place, they are not closing the doors are they?  I live in Woodstock, think they will trade in our empties, other then that whats wrong with airgas, I just want refills. I expect the price will go up.Magazines have issues, everything else has problems
Reply:Originally Posted by socoj2So i had a large local welding shop about 5 miles from my house Smith welding, They were great. I mean FREAKING FANTASTIC. Swapped my 100% argon and C25 150s for i would have to look but im certain they were under $40. and my 300CF 100% argo for $64. Airgas bought them a few months ago i swap my 300 the other day. $129 out the door. SERIOUSLY the price doubled. whats Funny is its not cheaper to own 2x of the 150s and get them filled over the 300. I told them if airgas started refusing to fill my 300s. im going to sue.This is ridiculous, the only other non airgas distributor is about 45 miles away.I swear if i knew anything about gas distribution i would buy the place accross the street and undercut them on everything.
Reply:I think airgas really doesn't like to deal w/ the medium to small time consumer.      I think the bulk part of there sales is there gases and oxygen, and they like to deal w/ larger shops and hospitals, etc.    In my experience, there billing dept, is all screwed up.    It's also difficult to get them to correct the billing.  Go into there retail store, there are no prices listed on anything, customer service at counter is poor, etc.    Luckily we got a chain of about 8 stores owned by a descent family that run up and down half of calif., they are pretty good people, w/ reasonable prices.   I don't know what I'd do w/o them.    I only have the airgas acct. in case I'm working out of town, and need oxygen or something unexpected.    I'm guessing they must treat the larger customers better than us, w/ a different pricing plan also.