"Pre-owned" pictures

[spikey]

I've just taken a look at the pre-owned section of Hatton's site for the first time in a couple of weeks, and am dismayed to see that the lead pictures of a lot of the rolling stock now show the boxed items.  OK, you can still see the item out of its box by clicking on the lead picture then on another shot of it, but now you can't always rapidly scan through the listings and instantly spot what you're looking for. 

 

Is it only me who thinks the change is a singularly daft idea and would urge Hatton's to go back to leading each listing with a clear shot of the item out of its box?

[spamcan61]

Personally I agree, although I do read many eBay descriptions where the condition of the box is longer than that of the contents 

[Nile]

That's not what I'm seeing, when I look the box photo is the last one. Could you provide a link to one of these 'box first' items?

[spikey]

On 12/10/2019 at 15:15, Nile said:

That's not what I'm seeing, when I look the box photo is the last one. Could you provide a link to one of these 'box first' items?

 

Well woddyer kno?  I've just checked out the site and lo, we're now back to how things used to be!  Let's hope they stay like this

[Nile]

It reminds me of the time when the lead photos were the rear view. It looked odd with all the locos facing away from you, road vehicles as well.

[GWR-fan]

While viewing the pre-owned sections a couple of days ago I believe that some one must have gotten a nice bargain.  Described as  "Hornby R2032  Heart Of Midlothian Pack - including Class A4 - Guillemot 60020 and 3 Coaches - Pre-owned - replacement box",  the listing images actually showed the contents and box cover for Hornby R2794M   "Heart of Midlothian" with the A4 locomotive replaced by R2494  super detail "Guillemot" in place of "Falcon". 

 

Hornby R2032 is a tender drive A4 "Guillemot" in BR late crest with three maroon coaches with plastic wheels.  This is a very old set with the green packaging cover.  The six images shown were of a later set with blood and custard Mk1 coaches from the R2794M pack with nameboards attached.  The replacement super detail loco drive early crest A4 looked mint.   I did not get a chance to contact the store to see if the listing images were correct as the listing was quickly not instock.   If the images were of the actual listing then some one purchased a nice bargain.

[Adrian Stevenson]

I had a guided tour of Hattons last month by manager Richard.

 

The photo set up for the pre owned stuff is most impressive. The items arrive for photography with the box lid open. The photographer places the item in the photo cube light box. The image is shown on a PC screen on which lines are superimposed to guide the photographer how to line up the loco for the picture to be taken. This ensures every image is taken from exactly the same angle. I was most impressed. 

 

So having seen this, I would think the pics would have been correct.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[GWR-fan]

Ade,

         yes, the images used by the store are always top quality, whether a cheap GBP2.00 model car or a GBP200.00 locomotive.   The attention to detail is superb.

[Hal Nail]

37 minutes ago, Adrian Stevenson said:

The image is shown on a PC screen

 

So having seen this, I would think the pics would have been correct.

I beg to disagree. If technology is involved it's only a matter of time before it goes horribly wrong!

[Adrian Stevenson]

My interest in the images comes from working in an auction house. Poor images, lack of images etc can make or break a sale.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[Nile]

However, they do sometimes mix things up and attach completely wrong images to an item, not the fault of the photographer.

There is a video somewhere on their site of this setup.

[Nile]

Found this on their youtube channel:

 

[JSpencer]

They might loosing their touch a bit on the PO front.

 

For example, this reboxed terrier uses the latest release new tooling Hornby R number, but the model is clearly the old Dapol tooling. And Hornby did release 32636 in BR late crest using the old tooling a good 10 years ago.

https://www.hattons.co.uk/503768/hornby_r3768_po_class_a1x_terrier_0_6_0t_32636_in_br_black_with_late_crest_pre_owned_noisy_run/stockdetail.aspx

 

 

[bingley hall]

On 06/12/2019 at 17:34, Hal Nail said:

I beg to disagree. If technology is involved it's only a matter of time before it goes horribly wrong!

 

Yup - they should go back to using slide or print film, take the items outside into the daylight, use an external light meter, then send the film of for processing, wait 2-5 days, then scan it and then upload. Much more efficient and less likely chance of error 

Edited December 8, 2019 by bingley hall

[Hal Nail]

8 minutes ago, bingley hall said:

 

Yup - they should go back to using slide or print film, take the items outside into the daylight, use an external light meter, then send the film of for processing, wait 2-5 days, then scan it and then upload. Much more efficient and less likely chance of error 

You've failed to mention cleaning up the scratches labs inevitably contrived to make the length of the film!

[Wickham Green]

On 08/12/2019 at 09:51, bingley hall said:

 

Yup - they should go back to using slide or print film, take the items outside into the daylight, use an external light meter, then send the film of for processing, wait 2-5 days, then scan it and then upload. Much more efficient and less likely chance of error 

Wot's rong wiv glass plates then ?

[Richard Lee]

19 hours ago, Wickham Green said:

Wot's rong wiv glass plates then ?

 

Glass plates?  What is wrong with oil paintings?

[Nile]

Cut out all this processing and/or scanning, draw an artists impression with M$ Paint.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

On ‎06‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 06:25, Adrian Stevenson said:

...The photo set up for the pre owned stuff is most impressive...

The results bear that out from this customer's perspective. Again and again on S/H items I have been able to see 'the damage' the text description reports, and thus to assess whether it is actually damage and if so what, or just a trivial assembly error or similar; and thereby to form a good opinion of the value on offer. It's no accident that practically all the s/h I buy online is from this store.

[GWR-fan]

Having purchased several hundred pre-owned items from the store I can attest to the quality of the images.  Occasionally a wrong image may be inserted but this is very rare.  I use the images to assess the condition of the items to determine the value,  particularly important when looking at a split chassis loco to assess the quartering condition.  Very rarely some damage though evident in the images may escape the item description but in general the description is very accurate.  My particular pleasure is their non runner or poor runner locomotives,  having coaxed many, many of them back into life.  

[newbryford]

7 hours ago, martin_l_jones said:

Had 66789 delivered this morning. Fabulous looking model and arrived all in one piece. I seem to have quite a bit of wobble and also derailing issues on facing curved points. Will persevere and hope it settles down after running in. The functional light controls are really good. 

 

Is this the first one to be on Hattons pre-owned section?

 

[newbryford]

On 09/12/2019 at 11:43, AlexHolt said:

Only problem I have with the Pre Owned section on Hattons is sometimes you'll see a model on there that says 'scratched right hand side of cab' or something similar. But then they won't photograph the side with the scratch on so you can't tell how bad it actually is. 

 

If you ask them a question regarding the item, I've always found them to be most helpful with an accurate response.

[martin_l_jones]

Ha, ha, not sure how I managed to post it here...

[Nile]

First one for a while, this is a classic example of misplaced photos.

https://www.hattons.co.uk/509073/jtt_scenery_95570_po_assorted_potted_flower_plants_pre_owned_like_new/stockdetail.aspx

 

[JohnR]

The thing that really annoys me is getting an email saying "We thought you may be interested in a pre-owned item that we have just added to stock. " - and its something I've been waiting to turn up for ages, then clicking on the link to find someone has already bought it! No matter how quick I am!