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Hatton's cancels order for Dapol ND208D Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 un-rebuilt 34066 'Spitfire' in BR green with late crest


Gremlin
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I also received this email. When they dishonoured their price promise a few years ago I told them to cancel all other outstanding orders that I had with them, obviously they ignored this request. Prior to this I would never have ordered from Hattons again, but now I am concerned about their data handling processes.  

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I think they had no choice but to. £99 to £169 is quite a jump and would have equated to losses. I do find in general that they and several other shops do try to keep the price if the supplier increases them but from time to time those increases are far greater and far beyond them that they have no choice but to pass it on.

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To expect any model shop, not just Hattons, to honour an old price, after the manufacturer has imposed such a price hike is unreasonable. if they had stuck with their originally quoted price of £99, Hattons would have incurred a substantial loss.

 

Whether you like it or not, the ultimate goal of any business is to make a profit

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I don't model in N gauge, so a couple of questions;

 

Has this item really been advertised for 4 years but is not yet available ?

 

Are any other retailers still offering it for the original price ?

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To expect any model shop, not just Hattons, to honour an old price, after the manufacturer has imposed such a price hike is unreasonable. if they had stuck with their originally quoted price of £99, Hattons would have incurred a substantial loss.

 

Whether you like it or not, the ultimate goal of any business is to make a profit

 

While I obviously agree with your points; it is also hard to make a profit if your customer base becomes disgruntled* and then no longer wishes to buy your product.

 

* The reason does not have to be "real" just a negative perception will do.

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To be fair they honoured a £40 price hike on the 009 MW’s but obviously £70 was wiping out all their cut and making a loss. Trading law means it’s either the original price or nothing on an order, they can’t just offer you £40 off the new price as it’s illegal and no matter how much most would acccept that someone would take them to court.

Edited by PaulRhB
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I don't model in N gauge, so a couple of questions;

 

Has this item really been advertised for 4 years but is not yet available ?

 

Are any other retailers still offering it for the original price ?

 

 

N Gauge modellers are still waiting for the Farish MK2F coaches announced 2013, Dapol Class 50 announced in 2012 and the Dapol Class 142 announced in 2011, so four years is nothing to us. :)

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It was put "in abeyance" a couple of years ago and has been resurrected recently. Currently planned RRP is £199; the specification is different to before—now to have diecast body and loco-mounted motor.

 

Strangely enough I answered one of my own questions this afternoon; Reading the February 2019 Railway Modeller, a feature on Dapol (page 169) states that the model was announced in RM in November 2011 (and as you say was put on hold for a while). In which case (and with improved spec) it is not surprising that the price has gone up !

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Just received an email from them...I ordered it almost 4 years ago for £99, now I can order one for only £169.96

 

No thanks

 

 

Have Hattons cancelled it?

Or have you cancelled it with Hattons?

Or have Dapol cancelled the original 2D whatever and replaced it with another order code?

 

 

Think yourself lucky.

Class 158 - £84 originally on pre-order. Now pushing £221 and only just visible on the horizon.....................

 

Sh!t happens............. It's not Hattons fault.

 

It's only a model train. People will not die. (Unless maybe you insist they sell it at the originally advertised price.............. [*])

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

[*] only joking.

Edited by newbryford
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Have Hattons cancelled it?

 

Direct copy of the email they sent...look at their proposed reasons for the cancellation...I had to email them as none of the reasons applied to me.

 

This is an automatic notification to inform you that order number IOPA3256500 has been cancelled from our systems, and we will not attempt to process this again.

 

The following items were in your order: 

"1 * Dapol ND208D Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 un-rebuilt 34066 'Spitfire' in BR green with late crest @ £99.00 each http://www.hattons.co.uk/stockdetail.aspx?SID=59022

 

 

Reasons for cancellation include:

 

Duplication of order on system

Non-processing of card payment

Customer request to cancel order

 

If you still wish to order these items, you will need to place another order via our websites or over the telephone.

 

Regards

 

Hatton's Model Railways

17 Montague Road

Widnes

WA8 8FZ

0151 733 3655

http://www.hattons.co.uk

Telephone lines manned Monday - Saturday 7:30am - 6pm Sun 9am-5pm

Store open Monday - Sunday 9am - 5pm

Edited by Gremlin
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Clearly Dapol scrapped the original 'Spitfire' with product code ND208D conforming to the old spec and replaced it with the new spec version - that is much more expensive - with code 2S-034-002.

 

The cancellation mail is fairly generic but is possibly the quickest way to cancel a mass set of orders.

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In some countries, it would be considered unlawful to advertise a product when you had no real idea of when it would be in stock.

 

I think that all retailers would do well not to advertise and take pre-orders on products for which there is no firm delivery date.

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On the plus side, when models have a prolonged development period they can benefit from advances in technology. The Farish Ivatt is a good example where the initial spec was tender driven, but by the time it arrived the introduction of the coreless motor allowed for loco drive with much better performance. The on paper specs for the relaunched BoB/WC are certainly an improvement over what we would have originally had if it had appeared when first intended. Dapol certainly seem to be attempting to bring their steam range up to the same or better standard as Farish, which is to be applauded if they can achieve it. 

 

The downside is that in this age of roster coaster economics and global political unpredictability, the cost will invariably increase the longer it takes to get the model onto the shelves. Like it or not, it's just become a fact of life us modellers/collectors and I don't see that changing anytime soon. 

 

Tom.  

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In some countries, it would be considered unlawful to advertise a product when you had no real idea of when it would be in stock.

 

I think that all retailers would do well not to advertise and take pre-orders on products for which there is no firm delivery date.

 

But there are plenty of customers out there who would scream that they cannot place a pre-order for an item that has been announced. Some manufacturers announce things a long time in advance, others don't. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system. I'm not critical of either system but personally prefer an open book approach whereby they announce things as soon they intend to do them no matter how many years down the road that may be.

Imagine one shop taking pre-orders while another refuses. Guess which would get a lot of early custom.

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Hi Eric

 

Printed and stuck on the wall above the modelling bench.

 

Clive

 

Somehow I have still managed to build up a fleet of LSWR/SR  locos even though my layout is based in the Black Country. OK for coaching stock as we got a lot of Maunsells and Bulleids on holiday trains but not many locos except the occasional Spam on a Railtour or Footex on nearby lines. The saving grace on GWR locos is that several from St Blazey including a Small Prairie and 14xx got as far as overhaul at Stafford Road Works. In my world the 14xx does a running in turn on the Auto Train in place of the 64xx or GWR Railcar and the 45xx trundles in on the Parcels. One day I may even get round to building my mid-Cornwall might-have-been line.

 

All other items in the fleet appeared on the Dudley Zoo excursions if not on regular services.  That way I can use a B1 or Brush 2 with a rake of Gresleys and Thompsons.

 

Between 1955 and 1960 I have found over 40 classes of steam loco on the line where my layout is based so I have plenty to go at. If anyone wants to produce them I could probably even justify a 97xx Condenser on the Swan Village trip and a 15xx on a Wolverhampton  - Worcester local passenger. Both actually happened after works visits!!!

 

Eric

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In some countries, it would be considered unlawful to advertise a product when you had no real idea of when it would be in stock.

 

I think that all retailers would do well not to advertise and take pre-orders on products for which there is no firm delivery date.

 

It might not be to your taste but it is a fact of life in the modern world. 

With something as fickle as model trains we should by now all know what can happen. 

In the model railway trade my experience is that retailers are very helpful in keeping customers in the loop regarding changes in price, specification and delivery.

Take a look at the motor trade. The new Mini and the A Class Mercedes spring to mind as prime examples of crazy prior orders and speculation.

Some made big profits. Others got their fingers burnt. That's how the world goes round.

Now do I order a couple of J27s?

Bernard

.

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