rob D2 Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 ^^^ I'm with Rex . It's easy to get caught up micro managing the little picture . If you enjoy it that's enough . If you don't , buy some yellow trousers and take up golf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted December 17, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 17, 2016 I suppose you'd need to fit about 12 smoke units into an Alco. Or a Class 52, in 2 banks of 6... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted December 17, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 17, 2016 A major reason why there aren't any model shops nearby is the cost of rents. Ian Allan in Manchester closed when the lease was due for renewal because the landlord was asking twice the rent for half the space. Nearby a'pound shop' was asked £98000 p.a. rent for renewal of their lease. No small shop could survive on that basis without a large parallel mail order operation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I don't see any of this as double standards; its just that some things are more important to us. For each individual the things that are important and unimportant are different and thats one thing that makes all model railways different. My pet dislike is layouts that have so obviously started out as a flat board with track laid on it then scenery added around it - always looks wrong to me. Conversely I don't worry at all about rail height. I have very good friends who would say the complete opposite to this. Nobody is completely right or wrong although it is good to listen to others to get a different perspective of things that you may or may not take on board. Some things stick out like a sore thumb to some individuals but aren't noticed by others. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Ian Allan in Manchester closed when the lease was due for renewal because the landlord was asking twice the rent for half the space. Nearby a'pound shop' was asked £98000 p.a. rent for renewal of their lease. No small shop could survive on that basis without a large parallel mail order operation. I didn't know Ian Allan in Manchester had closed. A pity, it was useful for books and DVDs. Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 If traders want to thrive they have to get an internet presence, a good internet presence, and put in the hard work at model railway exhibitions. Regards Yep, agree, been there, seen it, done it. But when your a 'one-man-band' sole trader, there is precious little time to do anything else - some times is just ain't bloody worth it !!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted December 24, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 24, 2016 Spot on, especially about those who bemoan the loss of local model shops where they only spent peanuts when they needed some oddment in a hurry. Yes, Hornby's GWR green is iffy and Bachmann's orange lining sticks out like a sore thumb but, in any case, Bachmann rarely approach Hornby's standard when it comes to lining. Out of my (approx.) 150 steam outline locos, only five are Bachmann and (BR) lined green anyway, Evening Star, a 64xx, a Lord Nelson, a Standard 3MT and 5MT. Whoever makes them, my locos normally end up weathered so it's not something I get worked up about. John The newer Hornby models have adopted the same colour of orange for the lining. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Ian Allan in Manchester closed when the lease was due for renewal because the landlord was asking twice the rent for half the space. Nearby a'pound shop' was asked £98000 p.a. rent for renewal of their lease. No small shop could survive on that basis without a large parallel mail order operation. A friend of mine has taken the decision to close his specialist mountain bike shop and focus entirely on his online sales activity plus "outshop" activities such as spares sales at events. His reasoning was simple; it provided over 50% of turnover, stock turns (boosted by drop-shipped items that never came to the shop at all, or arrived and were shipped the same day) was much higher, it accounted for at least 75% of profit and about 15% of the costs. He reckons he can lose 1/3 of turnover and still be comfortably ahead on actual gross profits. It made no sense to keep an actual bricks-and-mortar shop. I'm awaiting the actual result with considerable interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted January 11, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 11, 2017 If by double standards you mean a) starting a long and involved thread on here about how to go about attaching and detaching lamps from locos and trains in order to display the correct tail lamps and head codes without lamps placed incorrectly half way along the train and then b) cheerfully accepting a track gauge which is a full scale 8 and a half inches too narrow, I'd have to say yes. In my case anyway! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.e. charles Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 On 2), that's a chicken-and-egg story. Online box-shifters are (sometimes considerably) cheaper then a local brick-and-mortar store, so one would be a thief of one's own wallet if one purchases at the higher price. But that leads to the local shop closing down as there's not enough money coming in. Which causes complaints as one cannot get urgently needed spare/tool/item X from their local shop and one should wait for the courier to arrive, often at great expense relative to the value of the item. Who's fault is that? The box-shifter for selling under the MSRP, the local store for selling at, too close to or even over, MSRP? Or the modeller who wants to get more trains for their quid/buck/euro/whatever? Or perhaps the manufacturer who charges too much for their models? Can't comment on 1) as I don't do UK outline, fortunately my plan for 2017 is to move house & family to the neighborhood which contains an online box-shifter so i might have the best of all worlds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.e. charles Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) ...the sheer volume of products available on the net gives it an enormous advantage, and, it is available on a screen just front of you. ...the net is more expensive because of postage mostly, but it is so much more convenient ...... i also do most of my purchases (for everything except fresh fruits & vegetables) on the internet. any shipping or handling charges are quickly recouped by saved fuel, time, & frustration going store to store and dealing with people not educated in the products they are selling. and who among us has not had a sales clerk respond "we don't have that, but we can order it for you"? i've often thought of marketing a T-shirt printed up with "Spoiled by the Internet". but then i would need to rent space or make up a website and the whole process seems a bit overwhelming ... Edited January 12, 2017 by s.e. charles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 my plan for 2017 is to move house & family to the neighborhood which contains an online box-shifter so i might have the best of all worlds. I live within walking distance of Amazons Peterborough depot, but I still get boxes from all over Gods green world.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JohnR Posted January 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12, 2017 A friend of mine has taken the decision to close his specialist mountain bike shop and focus entirely on his online sales activity plus "outshop" activities such as spares sales at events. His reasoning was simple; it provided over 50% of turnover, stock turns (boosted by drop-shipped items that never came to the shop at all, or arrived and were shipped the same day) was much higher, it accounted for at least 75% of profit and about 15% of the costs. He reckons he can lose 1/3 of turnover and still be comfortably ahead on actual gross profits. It made no sense to keep an actual bricks-and-mortar shop. I'm awaiting the actual result with considerable interest. The problem with that, in the model railway world at least, is that the major suppliers require you to have retail premises before they will supply you. I suspect the "local model shop" will morph from the traditional "corner shop" variety, where the rents are increasing into something operating out of an industrial unit on a trading estate out of town. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted January 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12, 2017 If by double standards you mean a) starting a long and involved thread on here about how to go about attaching and detaching lamps from locos and trains in order to display the correct tail lamps and head codes without lamps placed incorrectly half way along the train and then b) cheerfully accepting a track gauge which is a full scale 8 and a half inches too narrow, I'd have to say yes. In my case anyway! Not to mention tension lock couplers... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.e. charles Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 The problem with that, in the model railway world at least, is that the major suppliers require you to have retail premises before they will supply you. I suspect the "local model shop" will morph from the traditional "corner shop" variety, where the rents are increasing into something operating out of an industrial unit on a trading estate out of town. also, major hobby-house suppliers often require the little shops to place a minimum (either dollar or quantity) order. this means the end user must wait for his goods. that's okay if the forethought has been put into the purchase, but it can reduce the impact of impulse sales for the vendor. is there one among us who has never picked up a kit or "that cute goods wagon with the pretty pictures on the sides" on a whim? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunnbrikt Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Personally have only bought from model shops but very close to trying online shopping for the convience and price. My local is very helpful by fitting DCC for free (after buying the chip of course) and running on the test track but have felt a bit limited by their stock and a bit ripped off at times too by the price. Worst I've found was gaugemaster's shop though, took nearly 2 hours to get there and I found a far more limited display of locos to pick from than my local store and refused to add the DCC for me. I'm okay adding the chip now but at the time as a new modeller having the service would have meant I probably would have bought something that day but went home empty handed instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.e. charles Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 ....and I found a far more limited display of locos to pick from than my local store and refused to add the DCC for me. I'm okay adding the chip now but at the time as a new modeller having the service would have meant I probably would have bought something that day.... i never cease to be amazed at how many people spend hundreds of dollars advertising and fail to perform a little service like this. if they are concerned about the time invested, the few moments should be charged to their marketing budget. the rewards reaped would far exceed any print ad they could buy. that carries over into everyday situations, too. want your landscaper to do a better job? bring him out a cold drink on a hot day and praise the work he has already done. want your mechanics to give your car a fine tune-up and maybe a wash & vacuum? bring them a box of muffins when you drop it off in the morning. it works, really. everyone wants to feel appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir TophamHatt Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Why would model railways go any different than other retail stores? I don't moan about the demise of the town centre shops. I love the butchers but am happy to admit, I find shopping all under one roof - even for clothes these days - is much easier, quicker and is usually cheaper. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted January 13, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2017 Just started going through coach rakes eliminating duplicate numbers and giving them correct regional numbers according to Mr Carroll's excellent resources. Ho hum two rakes done.... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 LMS/BR numbers are very logical and in blocks, but wagon numbers appear to be random and all over the place. For this reason, I never found it necessary to apply the correct numbers to any of my 4mm scale wagons.....shock-horror. I have just made a good start in 7mm by applying an incorrect number to a wagon despite having gone to a lot of trouble to find it! I didn't spot the steel instead of wooden chassis!!! Anyway, Cambridge Custom wagon transfers will keep me on the path of righteousness from now on and bring the curtain down on my own double standards. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted January 14, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2017 Good plan Coach! Mr Isherwood's products are excellent in that respect. We are all hiding issues like that in the closet. We built a batch of PD wagons and didn't realise we had put different underframes on opposing sides of the same wagon as PD had helpfully put them both on the same fret. Havent had the heart to hack them off and change them ....yet Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted December 3, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 3, 2017 A major reason why there aren't any model shops nearby is the cost of rents. This means that a retailer has to maximise the return on every square inch of shelf space. This is why the only model shops that still exist, as far as can see, are those that cater for the RC enthusiast. The product costs a fortune (at least to my eyes) but the return on shelf space is enough to keep the shop going and pay the owner's mortgage. The general run of railway modelling, RTR or kits, just doesn't retail a at high enough price to pay the rent compared with the size of the shop. A know that this doesn't apply to firms like Hattons but they have the space and the volume of sales to keep their head above water. But, having said that, even they moved out of their Liverpool premises and I wouldn't mind betting it was because the rent on their previous site went up to the point where the survival of the business was at stake. Liverpool is booming right now and it's about time too. In addition, the sheer volume of products available on the net gives it an enormous advantage, and, it is available on a screen just front of you. My experience, and I do most dealings on the net or at exhibitions, that the net is more expensive because of postage mostly, but it is so much more convenient than ringing round trying to get a supplier for a must have item. I case in point is when I wanted a lens hood. No more photographic shops in Harrow for the same reason, rents are too high. So I took myself off to Tottenham Court Road and found that not one shop had one. Again, the reason is that shelf space is at a premium because of sky-high rents. I came home, switched on the computer, called up Amazon and within a few minutes I had one, bought from an agent of Amazon in Germany. But, the article was made in China and shipped from Hong Kong. All for a 52mm lens hood! If traders want to thrive they have to get an internet presence, a good internet presence, and put in the hard work at model railway exhibitions. In addition, the organisers of model railway exhibitions have to do their part and invite layouts which will attract modellers who will buy from traders. Too many layouts are simply a showcase for RTR and the traders who sell stuff to make a model railway lose out. A shame perhaps, but there's no other way. Regards But if more people bought models from the shops, then the shops could afford to pay the higher rents. A bit like chicken and the egg. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) I've gone 0 gauge and am buying ready-to-plonk track, ready-to-run locos and rock-n-roll rolling stock. Holy-schmoly double standards....I'm a revivalist box opener. Edited December 3, 2017 by coachmann Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted December 3, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 3, 2017 But if more people bought models from the shops, then the shops could afford to pay the higher rents. A bit like chicken and the egg. Not as easy as that unfortunately; if a shop sold more models it would need larger premies and have to pay higher rents. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now