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Shawplan......still trading?


modelman14
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All.

After nearly 2 weeks,a couple of emails and phone calls I am still trying to get hold of Shawplan for some nameplates.

Are they still trading?

Usually get a response in a day or 2...

Just emailed them to ask. No product list update since last December.

 

aac

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Hmmmmmm.....

So who else manufacturers 7mm nameplates then,needing 37180 sir Dyfed/county of Dyfed in red?

Thanks.

One of those topics says he was at Wigan show last weekend so still around just hard to reach. Edited by dhjgreen
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All.

After nearly 2 weeks,a couple of emails and phone calls I am still trying to get hold of Shawplan for some nameplates.

Are they still trading?

Usually get a response in a day or 2...

All is well. Just away until next week.

 

aac

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  • 3 weeks later...

Although it is a bit of a trek... If you are going to Warley I believe Shawplan is one of the exhibitors.

 

If you are not going then, he is one of the exhibitors at The Festival Of British Railway Modelling, Doncaster Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, Doncaster - 9th and 10th February 2019 according to the website.

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Hmmmmmm.....

So who else manufacturers 7mm nameplates then,needing 37180 sir Dyfed/county of Dyfed in red?

Thanks.

 

As much as I like Brians stuff I have unfortunately give up on ordering stuff from Shawplan. I tried many emails and phone calls to no avail. To that end I have looked elsewhere for parts. Nameplate/depot plaques I have got off ebay from a chap called Vic:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/vincenzosolutions/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

 

Doesn't look like he lists plates for 37180 but I messaged him for some Eastfield depot plaques that weren't listed and within a day he'd done me a special order - great customer service.

 

Al.

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As much as I like Brians stuff I have unfortunately give up on ordering stuff from Shawplan. I tried many emails and phone calls to no avail. To that end I have looked elsewhere for parts. Nameplate/depot plaques I have got off ebay from a chap called Vic:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/vincenzosolutions/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

 

Doesn't look like he lists plates for 37180 but I messaged him for some Eastfield depot plaques that weren't listed and within a day he'd done me a special order - great customer service.

 

Al.

Yeah,after several phonecalls and mails over the past 5 weeks I give up.

As you say,quality plates,I've ordered in the past with replies within 24 hours.

Looks like I will give your suggestion a try.

Thanks for that.

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Yeah,after several phonecalls and mails over the past 5 weeks I give up.

As you say,quality plates,I've ordered in the past with replies within 24 hours.

Looks like I will give your suggestion a try.

Thanks for that.

 

I have had the same problems - weeks of unreplied phone calls and emails. Further to recommendations on RMWeb - if you go to the website - cost up your items and delivery, send a cheque and return address within a few days the stuff arrives as if by magic.

 

I guess that's the way he wants to run his business - the only mystery is why he doesn't just tell everyone to do that! After all - you advertise your email and phone number - customer would expect a response?

 

Finally I must add that everything was perfect and met / exceeded expectations. I ordered a multi coloured etched name plate (Eastern for a Class 60) and it was really top  quality.

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I have had the same problems - weeks of unreplied phone calls and emails. Further to recommendations on RMWeb - if you go to the website - cost up your items and delivery, send a cheque and return address within a few days the stuff arrives as if by magic.

 

I guess that's the way he wants to run his business - the only mystery is why he doesn't just tell everyone to do that! After all - you advertise your email and phone number - customer would expect a response?

 

Finally I must add that everything was perfect and met / exceeded expectations. I ordered a multi coloured etched name plate (Eastern for a Class 60) and it was really top  quality.

Oh right....a cheque book,what's one of those,is it like PayPal?

Only joking,in these modern times of electronic payments etc,it's something I don't possess.

Oh well,I'm sure I'll find somewhere/someone else that can supply plates.

Thanks all.

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In today's 24/7 culture I think Shawplan operate old school, which I'm very happy to accept. I've always received my goods in a reasonable time by posting my order, or waiting to buy in bulk from an exhibition. I've got a shopping list for Warley.

Once you accept that this is Brian's chosen way of trading, and considering he's a one man band, the quality of the products are always worth the minor inconvenience of purchasing by methods which were once the norm in the 80s and 90s.

Get out to see a local show, Shawplan have always been there at the major ones, and it's always worth a chat with Brian as well.

Neil

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In today's 24/7 culture I think Shawplan operate old school, which I'm very happy to accept. I've always received my goods in a reasonable time by posting my order, or waiting to buy in bulk from an exhibition. I've got a shopping list for Warley.

Once you accept that this is Brian's chosen way of trading, and considering he's a one man band, the quality of the products are always worth the minor inconvenience of purchasing by methods which were once the norm in the 80s and 90s.

Get out to see a local show, Shawplan have always been there at the major ones, and it's always worth a chat with Brian as well.

Neil

 

Allelujah, the voice of common sense and reason, thanks Neil.

 

Mike.

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In today's 24/7 culture I think Shawplan operate old school, which I'm very happy to accept. I've always received my goods in a reasonable time by posting my order, or waiting to buy in bulk from an exhibition. I've got a shopping list for Warley.

Once you accept that this is Brian's chosen way of trading, and considering he's a one man band, the quality of the products are always worth the minor inconvenience of purchasing by methods which were once the norm in the 80s and 90s.

Get out to see a local show, Shawplan have always been there at the major ones, and it's always worth a chat with Brian as well.

Neil

Yes,that's fine,if you want to run old school,so be it.

But when you email and call several times and get no response,that tells me that I perhaps shouldn't be sending cheques (if I had a cheque book) because the likelihood of recieving items could be slim,has trading ceased,the owner ill,away on holiday,the list could go on.

From past experience with shawplan i have had responses within 24 hours and when the items have arrived,normally in a couple of days,the items are superb in quality and accuracy.

It's not the inconvenience of ordering old school,it's the fact that I had no response that raised this question.

If anyone has received items in the past couple of weeks through postal ordering,let me know and I will try and get a cheque off a family member/friend,whatever,and send it to Shawplan.

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Yes,that's fine,if you want to run old school,so be it.

But when you email and call several times and get no response,that tells me that I perhaps shouldn't be sending cheques (if I had a cheque book) because the likelihood of recieving items could be slim,has trading ceased,the owner ill,away on holiday,the list could go on.

From past experience with shawplan i have had responses within 24 hours and when the items have arrived,normally in a couple of days,the items are superb in quality and accuracy.

It's not the inconvenience of ordering old school,it's the fact that I had no response that raised this question.

If anyone has received items in the past couple of weeks through postal ordering,let me know and I will try and get a cheque off a family member/friend,whatever,and send it to Shawplan.

My Dad was telling me much the same thing. He went what i'd call super old school in the end, he sent a self addressed envelope with a cheque to guarantee a reply - it worked! Old school or whatever, having a good e-commerce website these days is a must I'd say for any business. If Brian doesn't want to do that it'd be good if there was a network of suppliers he could stock who would.

 

Just my thoughts,

 

Carl

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This is an interesting situation and is repeated elswhere. The trials and tribulatuons of those trying to deal with the new C&L being particularly well dissected.

Maintaining a comprehensive e-commerce website is a time consuming activity and one which one-man bands may not be able to undertake as well a produce their products.

Some of the proprietors also seem less IT able or inclined and this may be due to age or simply inclination.

Meanwhile customers are increasingly familiar with on-line shopping, e-commerce, paypal etc. And one muses whether the 'one-man bands' themselves use such systems for their own purchases.

Overall the situation is one ofchange.It's not always easy.

What should concern us most is how the young who we want to adopt the hobby but who are growing up in an ever increasingly 'e-world' and don't understand the old ways and have no reason to adopt them otherwise can make a commitment to the hobby.

It is very easy to complain that goods, suppliers, and service do not meet our expectations while seldom understanding the dynamics of the business involved. It is far harder to suggest real solutions and most of us do not.

Could it be time for an Amazon style 'front-end' for small suppliers to be created - at a cost yes - which acts as a clearing house for the cottage industries and removes the e-commerce burden? It's just an idea.

Small suppliers undertake their activities to make a living not to keep all customwrs happy. After all there are only so many customers they can cope with. Once they make and sustain that living there really is little motivation to expand which will incur all sorts of costs and further business complexities.

And I suspect a few disatisfed comments on a forum (understandable) are not going to damage them too much if otherwise they have a sound business model which meets their needs.

Alternatively perhaps they need more competition. ;-)

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Could it be time for an Amazon style 'front-end' for small suppliers to be created - at a cost yes - which acts as a clearing house for the cottage industries and removes the e-commerce burden? It's just an idea.

 

 

It's been done and used to be called 'Mainly Trains' (Dave Cleal)  Wizard have now purchased part of the old business, but the fact it remained dormant for a considerable time might say a lot about the return on investment. 

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It's been done and used to be called 'Mainly Trains' (Dave Cleal) Wizard have now purchased part of the old business, but the fact it remained dormant for a considerable time might say a lot about the return on investment.

I thought Mainly Trains stocked the items. What I'm suggesting is a virtual shop were orders are simply collates and sent to various suppliers to fulfill. Payments would also be with the virtual shop who would disburse less a commssion. It's only a thought. Something radical is needed else small suppliers get drowned in their own online presence and entangled in the web of IT. (See what I did there?

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I thought Mainly Trains stocked the items. What I'm suggesting is a virtual shop were orders are simply collates and sent to various suppliers to fulfill. Payments would also be with the virtual shop who would disburse less a commssion. It's only a thought. Something radical is needed else small suppliers get drowned in their own online presence and entangled in the web of IT. (See what I did there?

 

Isn't that Ebay?

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Isn't that Ebay?

Nope ebay requires the vendor to make sale entries etc etc. What I'm suggesting is an online sales agent who does all the vending relieving the manufacturer of this so he/she can concentrate on production, despatch and after sales. It's not the same as a shop as a shop holds stock.

 

My suggestion may not be a good one but to make online sales of cottage industry products easier for all there needs to be out of the box (as opposed to rtr) thinking. There might already be a similar model in another field or an existing platform available. It just needs some imagination and people with the right skills to develop a solution.

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Interesting comments from a simple question of a company still trading.

I'm sure that pretty soon these small one man companies will disappear as the next generation turns to the online world,I am sure more companies will start to appear and grow online as the 7mm trend takes hold,and the generation forming these companies are more than able to run a company online.

The current availability of RTR 7mm models is growing at a decent pace and I'm sure that other companies will appear as the market continues to grow.

And as commented,the generation that is currently entering or in the hobby are more than likely to use online 'click and collect' companies as it is all they know.

I myself am a big fan of searching the internet to find what I want,order,use PayPal and wait until the item arrives.

We are all guilty of killing the high street and local shops,but with lower prices online and the convenience of things like click and collect,times are changing.

However a company is ran,there will always be customers but eventually they will need to adapt to the ever growing online environment or face extinction as the generations change.

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