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I have no idea about why there is a shortage of wheels, I do know one of the important processes in making the wheels is out of Marks hands and solely reliant on a third party. Apparently Mark has tried to address the issue in the past without any success. 

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40 minutes ago, hayfield said:

I have no idea about why there is a shortage of wheels, I do know one of the important processes in making the wheels is out of Marks hands and solely reliant on a third party. Apparently Mark has tried to address the issue in the past without any success. 

It's a shame really, as the Markits wheels are very nice to use, all the best points of the original Romford's but much more prototypical rather than generic in appearance.

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17 hours ago, melmerby said:

It's a shame really, as the Markits wheels are very nice to use, all the best points of the original Romford's but much more prototypical rather than generic in appearance.

 

There was a similar issue with the non-availability of Markits driving wheels approx. 12 months ago.

 

The change in the hobby from manufacturing a small range of generic Romford Wheels to the current larger prototypical range has probably contributed to the current problems with supply and availability.

 

Interestingly I am experiencing similar problems with the supply of wheels from a non-UK manufacture, who have been unable to source nickel silver tyres from their usual manufacture during the past 3 months because of Covid 19 restrictions.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Ian Kirk said:

 

In these troubled times it is not just the small outfits that have delays. Last month I was looking for some Peco O gauge track/points, tried everywhere and the result was "pre order"  then delivery is promised for sometime this month. Which I am sure it will be. I remain patient. It shows though that even if you have a whole factory you can't always stock all of the items all of the time.

 

IMHO a slightly different scenario, as AFAIK Peco deliberately stopped production for a period, which was bound to impact stock levels, especially with what would appear to be more modelling and therefore purchases during lockdown.

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45 minutes ago, melmerby said:

 

1 hour ago, Ian Kirk said:

I am sure Markits are doing their best.

 

As ever, communication is all - customers need to know when they might expect to be able to fulfil their needs.

 

There seems to be ample evidence, too, that the proprietor prefers product development to fulfilling orders. That's fair enough, but the sales lost MUST be capable of sustaining an employee to undertake what the owner seems to regard as drudgery.

 

There are now more than enough first-hand reports from retailers that they are totally fed up of having to decline orders for base-range products; they lose income, as must Markits.

 

The current situation cannot be sustainable.

 

John Isherwood.

 

 

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49 minutes ago, Ian Kirk said:

Whenever I read one of these threads I am reminded of the difference between running a small business with 7 or 8 employees (as I once did) and being a sole trader (as I am in semi retirement). Someone being unwell can be an inconvenience for the first but it wipes the second out altogether so I am inclined to sympathise with "one man bands" when they are criticised for delays. Some of course deserve it, witness the threads on here about the current owner of my former4mm coach range but I am sure that some others do not. My Grandmother used to say "do your best. No one can do better than that." I am sure Markits are doing their best.

In these troubled times it is not just the small outfits that have delays. Last month I was looking for some Peco O gauge track/points, tried everywhere and the result was "pre order"  then delivery is promised for sometime this month. Which I am sure it will be. I remain patient. It shows though that even if you have a whole factory you can't always stock all of the items all of the time.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

 

who if he is spared will soon have been in the   Trade for 50 years 

 

 

Ian

 

Well spoken, whilst I had 30+ years as self employed one man band, I never ran a manufacturing/retail company. I have at very close hand seen the struggles of a couple of companies where the proprietors have a juggling act in keeping niche companies going, as you know it may seem a simple job from the outside, but in practice it is totally different running a small company.

 

Many of the small traders can only run the businesses on a shoe string, owing to a low volume of sales and small profit margins, as you say many are nearing or in semi retirement. Mark build up a small business taking over most of the old Romford range and developing it, had it not been for Mark I assume most if not all of these products would have disappeared. 

 

A couple of businesses I know gave up on RMweb years ago, simply due to a few contributors continually moaning about them or their company, they don't need the hassle !!!  

 

The sole trader has to wear many hats, plus as you say illness has a dramatic effect on their business, as does taking the odd week off for a holiday. Most customers accept this, however there are a few who have a tantrum if their order takes a week or so to fulfill, or they are out of stock.

 

I remember being in a shop where a customer was berating a member of staff as the shop had sold out of diced carrots, stating they had ruined their life!! . There were crates of carrots on the shelves.  

 

 

29 minutes ago, melmerby said:

IMHO a slightly different scenario, as AFAIK Peco deliberately stopped production for a period, which was bound to impact stock levels, especially with what would appear to be more modelling and therefore purchases during lockdown.

 

Peco with all its resources and large number of employees are struggling to get back up to speed, rightly we are happy to give them the time to get production and stock levels back to the norm.

 

I have been waiting at least 2 months or more for a chassis kit from a supplier who has kept trading, the trouble they have, is waiting for the etching company to make space for their orders. Not their fault as they are in the hands of another company. If Peco are having issues how much more difficult is it for smaller companies 

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6 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

As ever, communication is all - customers need to know when they might expect to be able to fulfil their needs.

 

There seems to be ample evidence, too, that the proprietor prefers product development to fulfilling orders. That's fair enough, but the sales lost MUST be capable of sustaining an employee to undertake what the owner seems to regard as drudgery.

 

There are now more than enough first-hand reports from retailers that they are totally fed up of having to decline orders for base-range products; they lose income, as must Markits.

 

The current situation cannot be sustainable.

 

John Isherwood.

 

 

 

John

 

I can understand your frustration and that of some retailers, but until someone conforms what the issue is in these times we must be very careful in what we say. Markits are very close to Hertsmere Borough, which has a high incidence of Covid 19, yes it would be better if communication was better.

 

I have not used the Scale Link range of drivers, but they are similar to Romford wheels and cover the popular sizes

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2 minutes ago, hayfield said:

I have at very close hand seen the struggles of a couple of companies where the proprietors have a juggling act in keeping niche companies going, as you know it may seem a simple job from the outside, but in practice it is totally different running a small company.

 

I don't think that anyone is disputing this.

 

The problem is that it seems to be impossible to get any information as to where the problem lies, and when it might be resolved. Potential customers can be very for giving IF they understand the problem, and have some idea of when their orders may be fulfilled.

 

In the case of Markits, offering a 2013 (!) catalogue on their website, full of tantalising goodies, when the reality is that little can actually be obtained in a reasonable timescale - even by wholesalers - is positively counter-productive, and strikes the retail customer as being cynical.

 

It takes very little effort to update a website to reflect current reality - I know; I do it to my own site whenever circumstances dictate a temporary change to normal service. Not to do so is simply to insult one's customer-base.

 

I know that Mark has his defenders, but he really doesn't help himself with his attitude to potential trade.

 

John Isherwood.

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7 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

..  in these times we must be very careful in what we say. Markits are very close to Hertsmere Borough, which has a high incidence of Covid 19 ....

 

 

This supply problem and lack of communication / current product listing predates Covid-19 by a very long time - witness the 2013 catalogue on the website.

 

John Isherwood.

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Hi All
 

being a small trader myself it’s been demanding keeping things up to speed .

 

if you think some companies are not filling the demand , you have two options.

 

No 1 “wait”

No 2 “ start your own company to fill that demand “

 

Regards Arran  

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1 hour ago, arran said:

Hi All
 

being a small trader myself it’s been demanding keeping things up to speed. .

 

if you think some companies are not filling the demand , you have two options.

 

No 1 “wait”

No 2 “ start your own company to fill that demand “

 

Regards Arran  

 

Being a small trader myself, it’s been demanding keeping things up to speed.

 

I could have taken two approaches.

 

No.1 - I tried my best to keep service up to scratch and, when this was not possible, I communicated with my customers to explain why there were problems and what I was doing to remedy them; that way I retained my customers.

 

No.2 - I could have run my business for my own convenience, ignoring my customers and not bothering to keep even my catalogue up-to-date, leaving my customers in the dark as to when their orders would be fulfilled; that way my business would have 'gone down the pan'.

 

John Isherwood.

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15 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

Being a small trader myself, it’s been demanding keeping things up to speed.

 

I could have taken two approaches.

 

No.1 - I tried my best to keep service up to scratch and, when this was not possible, I communicated with my customers to explain why there were problems and what I was doing to remedy them; that way I retained my customers.

 

No.2 - I could have run my business for my own convenience, ignoring my customers and not bothering to keep even my catalogue up-to-date, leaving my customers in the dark as to when their orders would be fulfilled; that way my business would have 'gone down the pan'.

 

John Isherwood.

HI All

 

Ah that perfect world of how things should be Eh.

 

Meaning its been demanding sort of says I have kept up to speed dont you think .

 

My point about doing it yourself stands , its not as easy as some think .

 

If he was busy before a wee pandemic i hate to think what its been like since with everyone dusting of kits that have been stuffed in drawers expecting to pick up where they left of only to find the suppliers cant supply the demand thats just popped up .

 

Regards Arran

 

 

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9 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

 

This supply problem and lack of communication / current product listing predates Covid-19 by a very long time - witness the 2013 catalogue on the website.

 

John Isherwood.

That in my experience is not unusual for small suppliers. E.g. Branchlines hasn't been updated since 2008!

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3 hours ago, melmerby said:

That in my experience is not unusual for small suppliers. E.g. Branchlines hasn't been updated since 2008!

 

That's not the current Branchlines though. 

 

They don't have any internet presence apart from an email address. It could be they don't have the ability to take that site down as it's a Blog.

 

Current details here. But don't click on "go to the website" as it just takes you to the Blog....

 

https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/suppliers/40005-Branchlines

 

Email is salesATbranchlines.com   with AT being the @

 

Relevance to this thread? I think he sells Markits and/or Romfords

 

 

Jason

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6 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

 

Current details here. But don't click on "go to the website" as it just takes you to the Blog....

 

https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/suppliers/40005-Branchlines

Jason

That's precisely what I did!:(

 

It really should be taken down as it is detrimental to the current business.

Maybe blogger.com would do something if asked?

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Regardless of reasons, i would hate to lose Markits as a supplier of accessories. Their products really are good and i rely on them a lot for my kits. 

 

Fingers crossed the situation improves and service resumes.

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13 minutes ago, ianLMS said:

Regardless of reasons, i would hate to lose Markits as a supplier of accessories. Their products really are good and i rely on them a lot for my kits. 

 

Fingers crossed the situation improves and service resumes.

 

Exactly this - I'm tried so many times to buy products directly or indirectly over the last few years. It seems that prototype wheel sets are only generally available direct especially if you want only insulated yet I've only managed to get two sets and one was incorrect. It's so frustrating.

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22 hours ago, hayfield said:

I think Markit wheels now have stainless steel rims,

 

Yes, they are now being made from stainless.

Never had any "issues" with Markits myself.

Cheers, Dave.

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We don't know why the current supply is disrupted, there could be lots of factors, but I suspect the executive summary would just read 'Covid'. Its probably exacerbating the existing communication 'limitations' of the current proprietor.

 

I think there needs to be a sense of proportionality, there will be some in the industry (retailers who stock his range, manufacturers of kits that require his wheels, or pro-builders with commissions), for whom the supply issue has a knock on for their own livelihoods, but ultimately, to most of the end users of his products, its is the 1st world problem of not being able to finish our toy trains, evidently Mark can manage without the income, at least for the moment!

 

I don't know the detail of the business, but having listened to Mark talking to others often enough, I got the impression that a lot of the wheels were actually assembled by an elderly gentleman who wasn't just at retirement age, but several decades beyond it... it may well be that he is shielding? 

 

Jon

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I have spoken today to a couple of business owners, they say the industry has had a shot in the arm wit a period of good sales, its now quieted down and the issue is obtaining parts from 3rd party suppliers, replacing existing stock is difficult at the moment with much longer lead times 

 

With Markits its a little bit more difficult, Mark has basically taken over the Romford range and both developed and updated the range. He now has part time engineering assistance, but with the declining health of Mr Romford he has had to replicate many of the jigs and masters for work that was still outsourced to Mr Romford. Doing it now in house

 

Mark is a victim of his own success in expanding and developing his range, plus the unexpected high demand for many of his popular products, plus issues related to the shut down from the Covid 19 earlier in the year. As they say the perfect storm

 

He is not alone, I have been told the building and the DIY trade is struggling with supplies Today I went in to my local carpet store and was warned there may be delays on the vinyl flooring I ordered. If these large corporations are struggling, we cannot expect the smaller suppliers to buck the trend and do what the big boys cannot

 

The new catalogue I assume is still work in progress. I guess production and packaging is taking up all the time.

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