Gee Dee Models, Nottingham

[pete_mcfarlane]

I went in today - they are have now started their closing down sale.

 

Plenty of Hornby and Bachmann stuff at 20% off if anyone is interested. Plastics kits section was looking a bit bare though. 

[EE 8SVT]

This link to Notts TV tells more:

 

https://www.facebook.com/NottsTV/videos/253298658723981/?q=gee%20dee%20models

[PrestburyJack]

 but I think it would have been difficult for somebody to afford the asking price.

 

Out of interest, what was (is) the asking price?

[Dava]

The shop under-occupies quite a big plot of land in an area of Hockley very popular for bars & restaurants so the site will have a higher value in other such uses. Clearly it's closure is regrettable especially after the Nottingham model railway show being much reduced in future as well.

 

Dava

[andyram]

Out of interest, what was (is) the asking price?

 

 

I am not going to break a confidence and give the exact figure. All I will say is that it was significantly into six figures.

[GoingUnderground]

I was in there on Thursday and bought two Hornby locos, and some secondhand Triang bits and pieces. There was still.plenty of model railway stock. But it is very sad to see them go.

 

A 6 figure asking price isn't surprising as it would have included not just the stock but also the goodwill (i.e. The extra value of buying a profitable business with a good reputation and established customer base).

 

It is thanks to Gee Dee that I came back into our marvellous hobby. I went in one day many years ago just to have a look round to see what there was and saw the EFE '38 and '59 Tube stock. I always wanted to model the London Underground but didn't know of the Harrow Model Shop kits as I'd dropped out of the hobby in my late teens. One of the sales assistants there told me it could be motorised, and that did it for me. I was hooked on railway modelling again, and came away with a 4 car '38 Stock set, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Edited September 30, 2018 by GoingUnderground

[andyram]

I was in there on Thursday and bought two Hornby locos, and some secondhand Triang bits and pieces. There was still.plenty of model railway stock. But it is very sad to see them go.

A 6 figure asking price isn't surprising as it would have included not just the stock but also the goodwill (i.e. The extra value of buying a profitable business with a good reputation and established customer base).

It is thanks to Gee Dee that I came back into our marvellous hobby. I went in one day many years ago just to have a look round to see what there was and saw the EFE '38 and '59 Tube stock. I always wanted to model the London Underground but didn't know of the Harrow Model Shop kits as I'd dropped out of the hobby in my late teens. One of the sales assistants there told me it could be motorised, and that did it for me. I was hooked on railway modelling again, and came away with a 4 car '38 Stock set, and, as they say, the rest is history.

I am not saying the price is unreasonable. All I will say is that most people considering buying such a business would probably not want to take such a risk. I agree that it is sad to see it go.

[daltonparva]

The Nottingham model railway show being much reduced in future as well.

Dava

What's this please?

[Dava]

The good news is there is a date, venue and some details for the new Nottingham show for 2019

 

Nottingham MRS Spring Exhibition

Saturday 16th March 2019

Sunday 17th March 2019

Clifton Community Centre, Clifton, Nottingham

Edited September 30, 2018 by Dava

[daltonparva]

What happened to the Harvey Haddon centre, if that's what it was called?

[forest2807]

Harvey Hadden still there, show downsized and relocated though.

[GoingUnderground]

I am not saying the price is unreasonable. All I will say is that most people considering buying such a business would probably not want to take such a risk. I agree that it is sad to see it go.

I never read your, or anyone else's posts as saying it was unreasonable. I was just trying to explain why I wasn't surprised as your posts implied that some might be surprised that it was as high as 6 figures.

 

Given the pressure from online retailers I'm not sure that I'd want to buy any sort of retai business that depended on having a shop, especially in the current economic climate in the UK, never mind the trend away from traditional hobbies and pasttimes like railway modelling.

Edited September 30, 2018 by GoingUnderground

[Georgeconna]

Corr, looked like a Fab place to visit, all that lovely stuff!! Sad to hear the news.

[M51625]

Sorry to see this place go.

 

Used to be really busy, i worked here on saturdays while at university back in the late 90s, buses repainted in local liveries was a popular item, shifted loads of them..

 

Sad times, i wish Malcolm a happy retirement!

[adb968008]

If it includes the premises I wouldn’t doubt it was 6 figures.

Any decent model shop may hold over £100k of stock easily, that was a given figure decades ago.

 

Placed an order online but sadly everything I ordered was already out of stock.

Edited October 2, 2018 by adb968008

[GWC1]

What happened to the Harvey Haddon centre, if that's what it was called?

We decided, at Nottingham MRS, that after this year's show it was no longer practical to hold the Nottingham East Midlands model railway exhibition. We are instead having a small local show on the same dates (16 & 17 March 2019) at the Highbank community centre in Clifton, Nottingham.

[daltonparva]

We decided, at Nottingham MRS, that after this year's show it was no longer practical to hold the Nottingham East Midlands model railway exhibition. We are instead having a small local show on the same dates (16 & 17 March 2019) at the Highbank community centre in Clifton, Nottingham.

I always thought it was quite a large and successful show, certainly judging by the number of cars there when I attended on Saturdays. Was it not so?

[fezza]

Loved the shop but they didn't seem to realise the Internet had been invented. Poor online presence and uncompetitive pricing won't work anymore.

 

Would be great if someone would buy it but you would only take on a traditional store these days if you got it for almost nothing. Maybe they should sell the stock and name to someone who will take the brand and customer goodwill online?

[GoingUnderground]

Loved the shop but they didn't seem to realise the Internet had been invented. Poor online presence and uncompetitive pricing won't work anymore.

 

Would be great if someone would buy it but you would only take on a traditional store these days if you got it for almost nothing. Maybe they should sell the stock and name to someone who will take the brand and customer goodwill online?

Rails price for Hornby R.3550 0-4-0 Peckett "Lilleshall Co." £99.99, Gee Dee £89.95, I have the box with the price tag in front of me. Uncompetitive?

 

Their website always looked OK to me, and I can think of many that are a lot worse.

[RANGERS]

Extremely sad to hear but entirely expected I’m afraid. The value of city centre property just doesn’t reconcile with the turnover and margins of retailing models.

 

I paid a visit to one of the few remaining other city centre retailers yesterday and was discussing pricing with the owner, in particular comparing the price of one item with that a retailer closer to home was charging, a difference of circa 20%.

 

Such are the overheads, if he’d charged the lower price, he’d have been losing around £4.00 on the item. He also mentioned the premises are subject to a development proposal to demolish and build new residential accommodation, which gives an indication of even greater returns the landlord can expect compared with the over inflated rents they currently command.

[andyram]

Although let's not forget the new Hornby trade and conditions will mean that prices will be similar in all shops for the early weeks of sale.

 

Gee Dee's website seems fine to me. It does seem that only a few select model businesses do well online these days.

[Mallard60022]

I always thought it was quite a large and successful show, certainly judging by the number of cars there when I attended on Saturdays. Was it not so?

The show always seemed busy but many of the vehicles were for the rest of the Sports Centre IIRC?

Maybe there will be decent home-made refreshments at a more 'homely' local show?

Phil

[pete_mcfarlane]

I always thought it was quite a large and successful show, certainly judging by the number of cars there when I attended on Saturdays. Was it not so?

 

 

The show always seemed busy but many of the vehicles were for the rest of the Sports Centre IIRC?

Maybe there will be decent home-made refreshments at a more 'homely' local show?

Phil

 

I was helping on the S4 stand on the Sunday this year, when it had snowed massively overnight (I think it was the cold snap that the media hysterically called 'the best from the east'). The show was very quiet, as few people were travelling any distance that day. Which was a shame, as it was the usual excellent selection of layouts. 

 

This will have hit their finances quite hard, so I don't blame them for downsizing a bit. 

[Butler Henderson]

Although let's not forget the new Hornby trade and conditions will mean that prices will be similar in all shops for the early weeks of sale.

 

Gee Dee's website seems fine to me. It does seem that only a few select model businesses do well online these days.

As far as I can see P&P rates do not get mentioned and they use a delivery firm who do not as far as I aware have a local depot anywhere close to me so whilst tempted by a couple of locos which with 20% off would be cheaper than any where else, subject to the P&P, I did not bother ordering.

[GoingUnderground]

As far as I can see P&P rates do not get mentioned and they use a delivery firm who do not as far as I aware have a local depot anywhere close to me so whilst tempted by a couple of locos which with 20% off would be cheaper than any where else, subject to the P&P, I did not bother ordering.

P&P is referred to on their POSTAGE / CARRIAGE AND PACKING CHARGES page " In the case of multiple orders only the highest post cost will be charged." and "Postage shown on the check out is for UK mainland only". They're not unusual in doing that, as many other online sellers seem to quote postage rates at checkout, which to me is quite a reasonable way to proceed as I can always abandon ordering if I don't like the P&P charges. At least it's better than quoting a rate per item and then when you order several items find that the postal charge is the sum of the charge for individual items.

 

It's a matter of pot luck these days, now that so much mail order goes by parcel delivery company and not Royal Mail, whether the carrier that the seller uses has a depot close to the buyer. It is a pain if you miss delivery and the parcel company depot is miles away, I've had that happen to me. Nowadays when I buy on Ebay I often use the "Collect from Store" option so that I don't have the problem of not being home for a delivery.