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Sale of the Century from Hattons

Hattons Dave

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Jol Wilkinson

Jol Wilkinson

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With a lot of own product i.e. the class 66 expected which will need space in the warehouse - plus the O gauge locos and coaches that are coming,.

I doubt they'll need that much space and anyway the usual rush by modellers to buy a new model should move them onto shelves around the country.

 

It all depends on how many they had in the first place. I'm guessing some items would be in their hundreds, if not thousands.

 

 

Jason

I very much doubt that any retailer would carry stock of locos or carriages running into the thousands, unless they had some stock SOR or "finance" scheme with the manufacturer or had erroneously added an extra 0 or two when placing the order.Their last published accounts for YE June 2017 shows a stock turn ratio of about 4.2 which is probably reasonable for the market sector.

 

If you're looking for an excuse to run Sarah Siddons on the Southern Region...

 

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dover_western_docks/index3.shtml

 

 

 

Jason

Since when do most modellers need an excuse, other than justifying spending money on something they don't need.

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Steamport Southport

Steamport Southport

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I doubt they'll need that much space and anyway the usual rush by modellers to buy a new model should move them onto shelves around the country.

 

I very much doubt that any retailer would carry stock of locos or carriages running into the thousands, unless they had some stock SOR or "finance" scheme with the manufacturer or had erroneously added an extra 0 or two when placing the order.Their last published accounts for YE June 2017 shows a stock turn ratio of about 4.2 which is probably reasonable for the market sector.

 

 

You don't know Hatton's then.

 

They've always bought large stocks in bulk. I remember the amount of Mainline and Airfix models they had when they went bust. Hundreds of GWR Moguls piled up to the ceiling. Next to them were Manors. Jubilees, etc. All in that tiny shop on Smithdown Road.

 

 

 

 

Jason

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Hroth

Hroth

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You don't know Hatton's then.

 

They've always bought large stocks in bulk. I remember the amount of Mainline and Airfix models they had when they went bust. Hundreds of GWR Moguls piled up to the ceiling. Next to them were Manors. Jubilees, etc. All in that tiny shop on Smithdown Road.

 

 

 

 

Jason

 

In those days there wasn't the fetish for not carrying stock, and what they had would sell at a steady rate over a period of years.  Its not so long ago that Hattons got shot of the very last of their "factory closure" Hornby Dublo stock!  I suppose they're liquidating some slow-moving lines now to fund their venture into manufacturing.

 

Anyhow, I've bought a couple of items to reduce the surplus population and I noticed this evening that Hattons are selling some of the locomotives being offered in the "Sale of the Century" on ebay too, at sale prices, so while ebay were offering 15% off all purchases over £20 before 8pm, I gave in and added R3235 to my purchases for £50.75 inc delivery!

 

One less box for Hattons to store!

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'CHARD

'CHARD

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Anyhow, I've bought a couple of items to reduce the surplus population and I noticed this evening that Hattons are selling some of the locomotives being offered in the "Sale of the Century" on ebay too, at sale prices, so while ebay were offering 15% off all purchases over £20 before 8pm, I gave in and added R3235 to my purchases for £50.75 inc delivery!

 

 

Yes, I noticed that too, but their listings seemed awash with pre-owned, apart from single-car DMUs (get thee behind me, Satan, I cannot justify either a 121/22 or a 128 parcels car), so I navigated away to safety....

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Hroth

Hroth

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Yes, I noticed that too, but their listings seemed awash with pre-owned, apart from single-car DMUs (get thee behind me, Satan, I cannot justify either a 121/22 or a 128 parcels car), so I navigated away to safety....

I've managed to avoid adding to my collection of 128s (One in green with whiskers, and two in blue, suitable for my layout).  Its a pity that they would in reality have at most a tail-load of a couple of vans or GUVs as the pulling power of the model is immense, equal to any of Heljans "proper" diesel locos!

 

Anyhow, I've decided to moderate acquisition of locomotives in 2019.

 

I frightened myself by looking at a list of what I've bought through 2018, and there's still three outstanding pre-orders...

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'CHARD

'CHARD

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I've managed to avoid adding to my collection of 128s (One in green with whiskers, and two in blue, suitable for my layout).  Its a pity that they would in reality have at most a tail-load of a couple of vans or GUVs as the pulling power of the model is immense, equal to any of Heljans "proper" diesel locos!

 

I frightened myself by looking at a list of what I've bought through 2018, and there's still three outstanding pre-orders...

 

The 128 is very attractive, especially at that price, even as a donor for DMU chassis....  

 

As for the pre-orders, my 2019 is looking frightening, and the Kernow D600s really have no reason to be on that list.

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Jol Wilkinson

Jol Wilkinson

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You don't know Hatton's then.

 

They've always bought large stocks in bulk. I remember the amount of Mainline and Airfix models they had when they went bust. Hundreds of GWR Moguls piled up to the ceiling. Next to them were Manors. Jubilees, etc. All in that tiny shop on Smithdown Road.

 

 

Jason

No, I don't know Hatton's, other than by repute. However I do know a little about the model trade, stock management practises, etc. The fact that they previously went bust as you put it and were carrying large, possibly excessive amounts of stock for a realistic business strategy says a lot.

 

The relationship between manufacturer/importer and retailers has apparently changed in recent years. It used to be possible in other branches of the model retail sector to get volume discounts, deferred payment terms and SOR deals. I doubt that model railway retailing is/was different.

 

Retailing has changed significantly and low prices/discounts are an ever increasing factor in influencing what and where people buy. The large mail order retailers set the trend years ago, now made easier by internet purchasing. Comparing prices and seeing real time availability influences buying decisions heavily in RTR sector but competing on price means that managing stock, expenses and retail margins carefully becomes even more important.

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Andrew1974

Andrew1974

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Posted (edited)

No, I don't know Hatton's, other than by repute. However I do know a little about the model trade, stock management practises, etc. The fact that they previously went bust as you put it and were carrying large, possibly excessive amounts of stock for a realistic business strategy says a lot.

Surely it was Airfix and Mainline that went bust, not Hattons?

 

edit: Beaten to it...

Edited by Andrew1974
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'CHARD

'CHARD

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Posted (edited)

On ebay use the options to show New items only to get rid of the pre-owned

 

I normally do, but I was transfixed with the prices some of the second hand steam stuff were commanding!!!

Edited by 'CHARD
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Hroth

Hroth

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Sooooo....

 

A bit under thirty three and a half hours before the Wonderous Hattons Sale of the Century comes to an end as Big Ben (or its appointed substitute) Bongggggsssss to signal 2019 has begun!

 

Anyone secretly wondering whether to buy, or wait and see if the hard-to-shift items become even cheaper in January?

 

Or is the piggy bank being kept locked up to see what Bachmann/Hornby come up with for their 2019 ranges?

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Robin Brasher

Robin Brasher

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It looks like a lot of items in Hattons' Sale of the Century will remain unsold by midnight tomorrow.

 

Where there are less than 10 left it looks like Hattons are selling one or less of each item per day so it unlikely that Hattons will sell out of items where there are 7 left like R3534 King Edward ll or 31-461A C class 0-6-0 in SR black. It is even less likely that they will sell out of the 25 items in my sample of 60 models where there are over 10 left.

 

I wonder how Hattons will sell the remaining items in the sale after tomorrow.

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adb968008

adb968008

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Much of what remains, in super detail stock, in steam is pre1948 plain black.

Hardly the most inspiring.

 

There’s a few nicer models but not really discounted beyond what you can find elsewhere.

Coaches I didn’t really think were discounted that much unless you like railroad mk1’s or a train load of blue bso’s.

 

I found Kernow’s offer of 4 Collett bow ends in Maroon/cream for £80 to be a much more enticing offer.

There was a few definite bargains early one, British Monarch, Bachmann 47 and 37 for under £100, and the railroad 31 for upgrades.

It might be better is to put a bunch of stock up for auction or best offer on ebay, rather than fixed price.

Edited by adb968008
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Dungrange

Dungrange

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It looks like a lot of items in Hattons' Sale of the Century will remain unsold by midnight tomorrow.

...

I wonder how Hattons will sell the remaining items in the sale after tomorrow.

 

Remember, this is not a 'fire sale', 'closing down sale' or 'liquidation sale'.  Hattons don't actually need to sell all of the stock that they have in their sale.  The purpose of the sale is most likely to encourage many of us to buy something that we might not otherwise have bought.  I know they got a couple of hundred pounds from me on things that I certainly wouldn't have purchased at the RRP.  Make it what I perceive to be good value and I'll place an order - part of which was my Christmas present this year.

 

What will happen on January 1st - my guess would be that some of the items will remain discounted and simply listed under the 'Bargains' section, while other items may revert to a higher price.  I don't see any reason for Hattons to be slashing the prices further.

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Torn-on-the-platform

Torn-on-the-platform

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I had one last dip into the sale when I ordered a couple of new Maunsell items. A true bargain in a Hornby Adams Radial for under £60, and good value on a K1. The K1 is for my Birthday in Feb, but having been stung before, I have run it just to make sure that it works - and wow, it is possibly the best Hornby runner out of the box that I've ever had. The Radial looks fantastic in black and I'm glad I succumbed, also a very good runner. Excellent service from Hattons, coming sooner than predicted despite the Christmas rush.

 

Not a diesel fan but do require a couple of BR green diesels for preservation era layout, but am reluctant to pay full price for something I would like for realism, rather than like of the prototype. I I noted that very few BR green items were in the sale - is this a particularly popular and quickly snapped up livery among the diesel community? I note that the Heljan 33s seem to have sold like hot cakes.

 

I can't really see Hattons reverting to pre-sale price on these items, but they very definitely state that the sale ends tomorrow! I'm looking forward to seeing if they announce further liveries on their 14xx. Too soon for the Barclays or P classes though I would imagine.

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