Hornby p&p

[Hobb's End]

Hornby wanted to charge me £4.00 p&p to post a set of traction tyres for a 14xx that cost £2.49!!! How does that work? 

[Hilux5972]

They wanted to charge me £30.00 for an £8 catalogue sent international. I got it from Hattons for £4 post. 

[Silly Moo]

Maybe they have a minimum postage charge, sounds very silly. I’ve just paid £4,55 to send a parcel containing 9 boxed n gauge wagons by first class signed for post and I don’t do anywhere near the volumes Hornby do! 

[Guest JiLo]

1 hour ago, Hobb's End said:

Hornby wanted to charge me £4.00 p&p to post a set of traction tyres for a 14xx that cost £2.49!!! How does that work? 

That's their standard charge, look at one of the other spares suppliers such as Peters Spares or Lendons of Cardiff

[Hobb's End]

I did manage to get them from my local model shop for £2.50....

[Bernard Lamb]

2 hours ago, Hobb's End said:

Hornby wanted to charge me £4.00 p&p to post a set of traction tyres for a 14xx that cost £2.49!!! How does that work? 

They probably work on a fixed rate for P &P.

If you take the true cost of completing a small order within a large organization it is almost certainly costing them money.

Don't shout too much about it as the Cost Accountants might hear and start to investigate.

Just be glad that they offer a service and are there when you need them.

While I think of it. Don't ever try to but a small tin of paint by mail order.

Bernard

[Wickham Green]

Yeah ! ...... everybody seems to have a phobia about paint nowadays : I bought some exterior paint for the ( 12'' to the foot ) garage in Wickes recently then boarded the bus to go home ... the driver asked what I was carrying and told me it wasn't really permitted as it could be hazardous if the bus crashed ............................................... he managed to get me and the paint two stops up the hill without crashing, anyway.

[Steamport Southport]

3 hours ago, Wickham Green said:

Yeah ! ...... everybody seems to have a phobia about paint nowadays : I bought some exterior paint for the ( 12'' to the foot ) garage in Wickes recently then boarded the bus to go home ... the driver asked what I was carrying and told me it wasn't really permitted as it could be hazardous if the bus crashed ............................................... he managed to get me and the paint two stops up the hill without crashing, anyway.

 

Arriva I guess. Others may have followed suit. Brought in after the bus bombings in London who used normal household items that you can buy from your local DIY store.

 

I was told you need to carry them in two bags that cover the whole tin. But in general the current rules are:-

 

Restricted items

7.4.    We do not accept explosive, hazardous or combustible materials or items likely to present a danger to other passengers, our staff or the vehicle. Liquids, including hot drinks and paint, must be carried in correct and sealed containers and kept stable at all times.

 

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us/conditions-of-carriage/

 

 

 

Jason

[truffy]

[Steamport Southport]

Not really. Unless you consider people getting blown to pieces on a bus the "Nanny State". They were using a type of hair dye mixed with other chemicals carried in paint tins ISTR.

 

I was actually there when the Royal Mail sorting office in Liverpool was closed due to a suspected anthrax attack because some idiot decided to send white powder through the post. How do you know it isn't a dangerous chemical?

 

So yes. If these things are a hazard then ban their carriage. Surely anyone would understand that? And not all terrorists look like they are from the Middle East. Some of those Far Right and Far Left ones generally look like middle aged white blokes. Just like many people buying paint from their local DIY store and carrying it on the bus.

 

 

But that has nothing to do with Hornby charging the normal p&p rate. Buy a stamp, a jiffy bag and process the order. How much does that cost? About £4. Which is probably about your bus fare to your local shop. People are too used to the Amazon and Chinese practices of subsidising the p&p nowadays.

 

 

 

Jason

[truffy]

No matter what you do to clamp down on naughty people, they'll find a way around it. The upshot is that the people who are primarily inconvenienced are the general public going about their everyday business. And I can't buy specific brands of paint from the UK now without a 23 pound courier charge. Progress? I don't think so.

 

The p&p is generally flat-rate. It's not about equitable costing, it's about minimal hassle (which amounts to costs for the seller).

Edited August 14, 2019 by truffy

[Phil Parker]

Can we get back on topic please. 

 

I'd suggest at least part of the p&p charge includes someone's time to print the order, go and find it in a warehouse then pack and post it. Even for one item, that's going to be 15 minutes, or around 2 quid in staff time. 

[Butler Henderson]

Indeed many sellers in other marketplaces have a minimum order value. On the other hand Hornby selling direct on many items are making a fair bit from the  excess on the trade price and could quite reasonably offer free postage .

[Bernard Lamb]

40 minutes ago, Butler Henderson said:

Indeed many sellers in other marketplaces have a minimum order value. On the other hand Hornby selling direct on many items are making a fair bit from the  excess on the trade price and could quite reasonably offer free postage .

Except that according to the accounts they keep making a loss.

As one who has made adverse comments about Hornby not having control over their procedures, I think in this case that they have got it right.

Offer a service that is a bit of a nuisance and that you would rather not provide, but feel that you have to and charge a rate for P & P that does cover a fair chunk of the actual cost, seems like a good idea to me.

Bernard

[truffy]

Hey, I've got a scarily novel idea: why not make properly weighted, geared, and motorised locomotive models in the first place?

 

That way there'd be no need for traction tyres, and no need to ship replacements for 160% of the items' cost?

 

Sometimes, I could just hug myself!

[Wickham Green]

On 14/08/2019 at 19:36, truffy said:

Hey, I've got a scarily novel idea: why not make properly weighted, geared, and motorised locomotive models in the first place?

 

That way there'd be no need for traction tyres, ..................................

But you'd have to issue every locomotive purchaser with sufficient extra house-room so they could build a layout with minimum, say, 3' radius curves ................... you'd need a VERY big red box for that.

 

Better mention P&P on a very big red box - to get back on topic.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Wickham Green

[bart2day]

I’ve often been irritated by many online shops, not just Hornby, charging £4/£5 for small item size only worth a couple of pounds that probably goes large letter in the post for £1. Some shops have a small item postage of around £2 such as Lendons in Cardiff and I prefer to shop with companies like these.

[truffy]

8 hours ago, bart2day said:

I’ve often been irritated by many online shops, not just Hornby, charging £4/£5 for small item size only worth a couple of pounds that probably goes large letter in the post for £1. 

It's even more irritating when companies use zones for international shipping, and shipping to Germany, Austria, Italy is £5, yet shipping to Switzerland suddenly becomes £15.