Climate friendly service

[Vistisen]

I have never been disappointed by Hattons excellent service and quick response to orders, But I have to point out that I think you have a chance to save costs for yourself and greatly reduce impact on the environment. I recently ordered a few items from you, and then realised a day later that I had forgotten a pack of isolated connectors. I ordered them before the previous order had been dispatched. But they arrived a day later packaged like this

 

I think that you should add an option to your order page, by adding a box that says something like. 'Group my this order with anything anything else I order with in 48 hours'.To do my bit for the environment I would be more than happy to wait an extra couple of days, before you pack my stuff if it means saving the environment for at lot of extra plastic packaging+ airfreight costs/ white van costs in smoke diesel fuel. Not to metnion that it would save postage costs for me.

[Jim76]

I have experienced nothing but great service from Hattons but that is ridiculous. Why couldn’t they’ve posted it in an enevelope or even a small flat cardboard packet if there was risk of damage from a stamp franking machine?

[Jonboy]

There are a couple of points in their defence to this packaging:

 

1) the carriers specify a minimum package size (normally above a5 and the full label on display on one surface) to ensure items pass cleanly and undamaged through their automated sorting conveyors.

 

2) although plastic that bubble could be viewed as more environmentally friendly. Four boxes of it will be less than 0.5 meter squared and will be inflated on a machine in their warehouse. The equivalent in traditional void fill materials will fill an entire articulated lorry....so using it takes a lot of vehicles off the road as warehouses need less delivery’s.

 

Regarding order speed I don’t know anyone in retail/online sales who will slow orders down as the complaints you get for slowing it down tend to swamp comments like yours by by a factor of 10 to 1 in this current “must have it to tomorrow “ culture. Hattons may also have several staff printing and processing orders who may not spot other orders coming through (my order processing team of three don’t always spot them in a purely b2b enviroment with a far lower volume of large orders going to shops).

[Steamport Southport]

I have experienced nothing but great service from Hattons but that is ridiculous. Why couldn’t they’ve posted it in an enevelope or even a small flat cardboard packet if there was risk of damage from a stamp franking machine?

 

The couriers want everything boxed. They usually won't take packets from commercial premises as they can't be stacked. The items get picked by a picker, boxed and goes straight from the warehouse into a truck to the nearest sorting office/distribution centre. There is a massive RM sorting office in Sankey with most of the couriers having centres nearby.

 

This method saves much more time and money than you would think. Worth pointing out that Hatton's are sending out thousands of items a day. Not exactly the quantity that you can take down to the local Post Office or put in the nearest post box.

 

 

Jason

[JSpencer]

This year they have started grouping my pre-orders items together for dispatch if they come in with a short time period. Keeping in mind, my pre-orders can cross several makes and go across a few years.

 

I can imagine the logistics of doing this with so many orders and 100 staff as being a complex operation.

[Colin_McLeod]

On one occassion I remembered something after I had placed an order and I quickly e mailed Hattons asking them to add the item to my order, quoting the order number. Hattons added the item to the box at no extra postage cost.

[Spitfire2865]

Shapeways manages to give you the option to group ordered items with previous yet to ship orders. And they must deal with a similar level of outgoing orders per day.

Though they do tend to always ship in the same sized boxes regardless of size or number of items. And with much more unfriendly packaging material to boot.

[adb968008]

I once had a laptop break, our IT dept at the time was back in the US.

The IT team sent me a 50cm square box, fedex or UPS 24 hour insured for £2500+ air freight from the US.

 

Only Contents of this box, amongst bubblewrap was a roll of tape, scissors and a return label to put the faulty laptop in and send it back.

A few weeks later a customs / vat bill arrived from the courier...

Edited December 4, 2018 by adb968008

[bingley hall]

When there's absolutely nothing left to whinge about the internet

[Colin_McLeod]

If everyone was so worried about the effect on the environment/climate of a cardboard box, then we would give up the hobby altogether and have a zero carbon footprint from our models.

[phil gollin]

.

 

Unless people want to have damaged models there are only two alternatives, excessive/adequate packaging, or more careful couriers (!)

 

We live in a world where couriers are interested in volume, not care.   One could always start a "Careful Courier" company, I doubt that one would win much business at the rates one would have to charge.

 

.

[Wickham Green]

.

 

Unless people want to have damaged models there are only two alternatives, excessive/adequate packaging, or more careful couriers (!)

 

We live in a world where couriers are interested in volume, not care.   One could always start a "Careful Courier" company, I doubt that one would win much business at the rates one would have to charge.

 

.

PECO insulated track joiners are totally indestructible - even by the most determined courier .......... you can squash the metal ones OK - but not these ! 

[ndg910]

I’m not condoning excess packaging but look at the Heljan 47xx thread on here to see what happens if products are not packed properly. A Jiffy bag would surely have sufficed for rail joiners though. Common sense needs to prevail.

[DavidH]

I’m not condoning excess packaging but look at the Heljan 47xx thread on here to see what happens if products are not packed properly. A Jiffy bag would surely have sufficed for rail joiners though. Common sense needs to prevail.

 

If it did, we'd all stop buying so many new Chinese-made railway models, because of the destruction Chinese industry is wreaking on the country's environment and the damage to its people, not to mention the emissions caused by global trade ... until that happens, worrying about the size of the box something comes in from Liverpool is simply empty virtue-signalling. IMO.

[Vistisen]

There are a couple of points in their defence to this packaging:

 

1) the carriers specify a minimum package size (normally above a5 and the full label on display on one surface) to ensure items pass cleanly and undamaged through their automated sorting conveyors.

 

2) although plastic that bubble could be viewed as more environmentally friendly. Four boxes of it will be less than 0.5 meter squared and will be inflated on a machine in their warehouse. The equivalent in traditional void fill materials will fill an entire articulated lorry....so using it takes a lot of vehicles off the road as warehouses need less delivery’s.

 

Regarding order speed I don’t know anyone in retail/online sales who will slow orders down as the complaints you get for slowing it down tend to swamp comments like yours by by a factor of 10 to 1 in this current “must have it to tomorrow “ culture. Hattons may also have several staff printing and processing orders who may not spot other orders coming through (my order processing team of three don’t always spot them in a purely b2b enviroment with a far lower volume of large orders going to shops).

That's the whole point. I'm not blaming Hattons. If parcel delivery services are saying that there is a minimum size of package that forces all companies to use too much plastic and fills 20+ times as many lorries/planes as necessary. Then the whole system needs to be changed for the sake of the climate.

 

I was talking to a Danish company that produces kitchens. Apparently Scandinavian kitchens are all the rage in Asia, I asked they had a factory in China, No they said we produce them in Denmark and ship them out. because it was cheaper to ship a whole container to China, than to send a single flat pack kitchen unit to Copenhagen! This is ridiculous! the cost to the planet must be a 1000 times greater. The concept of  global trade, means that poor countries can offer their population a means out of abject poverty, which is great, give us cheaper goods, which is maybe ok, but it definitely destroys the planet.

PECO insulated track joiners are totally indestructible - even by the most determined courier .......... you can squash the metal ones OK - but not these ! 

quite

Edited December 5, 2018 by Vistisen

[Steamport Southport]

I’m not condoning excess packaging but look at the Heljan 47xx thread on here to see what happens if products are not packed properly. A Jiffy bag would surely have sufficed for rail joiners though. Common sense needs to prevail.

 

So someone has got to pick the item.

 

Put it in a Jiffy bag.

 

Print off a label (must be smaller that the large ones that go on boxes).

 

Weigh it so they know what value stamp it is.

 

Apply stamp/frank.

 

Take it to a Post Office (probably about three miles away as Hattons is in the middle of nowhere).

 

 

Or you could just sling it in a box and then put it in the van with the rest of the stuff being sent out....

 

 

 

 

Jason

[phil gollin]

.

 

......No they said we produce them in Denmark and ship them out. because it was cheaper to ship a whole container to China, than to send a single flat pack kitchen unit to Copenhagen! This is ridiculous! the cost to the planet must be a 1000 times greater. .....

 

.

 

Almost all the containers that brings Chinese goods to Europe have to be sent back to China EMPTY so that more goods can be exported to Europe.

 

Any goods that can be put in those otherwise empty containers is pure profit.

 

.

[JSpencer]

Shapeways manages to give you the option to group ordered items with previous yet to ship orders. And they must deal with a similar level of outgoing orders per day.

Though they do tend to always ship in the same sized boxes regardless of size or number of items. And with much more unfriendly packaging material to boot.

 

I doubt it, otherwise Shapeways would have as many adverts as Hattons. Hattons are a huge operation with close to 100 people working for them.

[Titan]

Almost all the containers that brings Chinese goods to Europe have to be sent back to China EMPTY so that more goods can be exported to Europe.

 

Any goods that can be put in those otherwise empty containers is pure profit.

 

.

 

A lot of scrap metal goes to China in containers.

[Gibbo675]

Hi Folks,

 

I wouldn't worry about a cardboard box or two, have a look at this for an interesting waste of resources;

 

https://sputniknews.com/military/201812061070424084-pentagon-biggest-carbon-bootprint-activist/

 

Do remember these very same looney-toons are the ones that fired depleted uranium all around Fallujah.

 

As for the weather that is mainly caused by solar cycles that are further influenced by lunar cycles and not that appalling shill that still has a beach side residence Al Gore.

 

Gibbo.

[DavidH]

Hi Folks,

 

I wouldn't worry about a cardboard box or two, have a look at this for an interesting waste of resources;

 

https://sputniknews.com/military/201812061070424084-pentagon-biggest-carbon-bootprint-activist/

 

Do remember these very same looney-toons are the ones that fired depleted uranium all around Fallujah.

 

As for the weather that is mainly caused by solar cycles that are further influenced by lunar cycles and not that appalling shill that still has a beach side residence Al Gore.

 

Gibbo.

 

I never thought I'd see the day that Russian bots targetted RMWeb for Putin's misinformation

 

The weather is also heavily (and more and more) influenced by human-made emissions, regardless of the solar and lunar cycles driving the weather patterns. We are warming the planet, and the weather around the globe is getting more extreme as a result. And you know it.

[Spitfire2865]

I doubt it, otherwise Shapeways would have as many adverts as Hattons. Hattons are a huge operation with close to 100 people working for them.

Well Shapeways isnt advertising to modellers, so youd probably not see adverts around here.

But they DO have a few worldwide locations and deal with all levels of 3D printing markets from design firms to end user and industrial level production. So probably well over 100 employees on staff.   

[tomparryharry]

Well, fair play to Hattons.

 

The last time I ordered some Peco setrack, it arrived by Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, with 2 uniformed flunkeys running alongside. The track was laid upon a silk cushion, and as the track was presented to me, the senior man dusted the portion of track, and kneeled upon the floor.

 

Despite the excellent service, I had to send it back. I ordered Hornby.....

 

Dai Jestive.

[Gibbo675]

Ha, Ha !

 

The old che

 

I never thought I'd see the day that Russian bots targetted RMWeb for Putin's misinformation

The weather is also heavily (and more and more) influenced by human-made emissions, regardless of the solar and lunar cycles driving the weather patterns. We are warming the planet, and the weather around the globe is getting more extreme as a result. And you know it.

Here we go !

 

Those that pray at the alter of global warming attack the heretic, well done you, pleased for you.

 

Do read on and put your copy of The Beano in the bin.

 

The article liked states, what a lot of oil the American War machine uses and by how much they contribute to the so called global warming, it would seem that even if you did read it you completely missed the point of the article which actually supports your argument, fancy not reading it properly !

 

What is it about the article that you struggle with ?

 

Why do you not not to understand ?

 

Just to prove what a Russian Bot I am here is a link from the telegraph so that you may educate yourself. It was written by one of Mr Lavrov's favourites, Mr Boris Johnson;

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/9814618/Its-snowing-and-it-really-feels-like-the-start-of-a-mini-ice-age.html

 

While we are at it, and for political balance, here is a quote from Mr Piers Corbyn;

 

"WeatherAction is involved in the Global Warming/Climate Change debate 

where we point out that the world is now cooling not warming and there is no observational evidence in the thousands and millions of years of data that changes in CO2 have any observable effect on weather or climate in the real world. 

There are no scientists in the world who can produce such observational data and we challenge anyone reading this to send us such observational evidence from the real world or find someone who can and get them to produce it. There is only effect the other way, namely that ocean temperatures control average CO2 levels due to basic laws of physics about the soluability of CO2 gas in (sea) water."

 

Piers Corbyn, MSc (astrophysics), ARCS, FRAS, FRMetS

Director WeatherAction

 

Pip-Pip,

 

Gibbo. (The heretic)

[Vistisen]

 

Ha, Ha !

 

The old che

 

Here we go !

 

Those that pray at the alter of global warming attack the heretic, well done you, pleased for you.

 

Do read on and put your copy of The Beano in the bin.

 

The article liked states, what a lot of oil the American War machine uses and by how much they contribute to the so called global warming, it would seem that even if you did read it you completely missed the point of the article which actually supports your argument, fancy not reading it properly !

 

What is it about the article that you struggle with ?

 

Why do you not not to understand ?

 

Just to prove what a Russian Bot I am here is a link from the telegraph so that you may educate yourself. It was written by one of Mr Lavrov's favourites, Mr Boris Johnson;

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/9814618/Its-snowing-and-it-really-feels-like-the-start-of-a-mini-ice-age.html

 

While we are at it, and for political balance, here is a quote from Mr Piers Corbyn;

 

"WeatherAction is involved in the Global Warming/Climate Change debate 

where we point out that the world is now cooling not warming and there is no observational evidence in the thousands and millions of years of data that changes in CO2 have any observable effect on weather or climate in the real world. 

There are no scientists in the world who can produce such observational data and we challenge anyone reading this to send us such observational evidence from the real world or find someone who can and get them to produce it. There is only effect the other way, namely that ocean temperatures control average CO2 levels due to basic laws of physics about the soluability of CO2 gas in (sea) water."

 

Piers Corbyn, MSc (astrophysics), ARCS, FRAS, FRMetS

Director WeatherAction

 

Pip-Pip,

 

Gibbo. (The heretic)

 

At least in the future there will be more sand for the ostriches to stick their heads in.