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Hornby Princess Coronation Class (Duchess)


Dick Turpin
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With Hattons having stocks of 'more than 10' left, has initial demand now dwindled for this loco or is the price a put off?

attachicon.gifR3555.JPG

 

Then again we don't know how many hundreds they have.

 

The answer to that,I suspect ,is in Hornby's ordering/ allocation/distribution system.Is it..put crudely.....the bigger you are,the more you get ? Though I doubt the stock runs into hundreds.On this particular model,there is a wide variety of retail prices..which gets even wider if you add on ebay mark ups.

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The answer to that,I suspect ,is in Hornby's ordering/ allocation/distribution system.Is it..put crudely.....the bigger you are,the more you get ? Though I doubt the stock runs into hundreds.On this particular model,there is a wide variety of retail prices..which gets even wider if you add on ebay mark ups.

It seems Hornby are up to their old tricks again though, ie short supplying to some retailers but seemingly supplying plenty to others.

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The answer to that,I suspect ,is in Hornby's ordering/ allocation/distribution system.Is it..put crudely.....the bigger you are,the more you get ? Though I doubt the stock runs into hundreds.On this particular model,there is a wide variety of retail prices..which gets even wider if you add on ebay mark ups.

The bigger you are, the more you get - what’s wrong with that? A small local retailer won’t need as many as a national box shifter.

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It seems Hornby are up to their old tricks again though, ie short supplying to some retailers but seemingly supplying plenty to others.

Well we can hope not but nothing under the sun is new.One train of thought is to bear in mind....just to further complicate matters...............sorry...........is that some retailers are commissioning variations of Hornby new releases .This might ....I emphasise might....qualify them for preferential treatment..Some might not approve but it is understandable in the circumstances.

 

Easy words but it in no way helps smaller retailers struggling to earn a living.Openness in dealing and even handedness in supply would be welcome.Level playing field ?

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The bigger you are, the more you get - what’s wrong with that? A small local retailer won’t need as many as a national box shifter.

Not quite the point and right or wrong doesn't apply here. Many small retailers preorder for mail order customers and find themselves embarrassingly short when their depleted order arrives and they are unable to fulfil those same orders.Yes this happened to me yesterday with the LBSCR "H" btw.. To state that one retailer won't need as much as another is a over simplified viewpoint.They all need an even handed approach

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My own feeling is that if this "undersupply" becomes more common then manufacturers (and in that I refer to the likes of Hornby and Bachmann) should follow the "American" way.

 

The likes of Athearn and Atlas announce a new model and at same time give a fixed date by which model shops have to place their orders which a year-or-so later the manufacturer fulfils. The model shops know that they will get what they ordered.

 

Its up to the model shops how many they order. They might order exactly the same number that their customers order or they could take a gamble and order more so that they will have some spare models.

 

For this system to work everybody has to come clean, which does not seem to be happening at the moment. The manufacturer has to make it clear that they will supply what the model shop has ordered and the customer should purchase the model when it arrives.

 

I know that many people only want to buy a model once they have seen and touched it. That's fine, but they must understand that they stand a chance of not getting the model they want. That's life in 2017!!

 

Keith

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My own feeling is that if this "undersupply" becomes more common then manufacturers (and in that I refer to the likes of Hornby and Bachmann) should follow the "American" way.

 

The likes of Athearn and Atlas announce a new model and at same time give a fixed date by which model shops have to place their orders which a year-or-so later the manufacturer fulfils. The model shops know that they will get what they ordered.

 

Its up to the model shops how many they order. They might order exactly the same number that their customers order or they could take a gamble and order more so that they will have some spare models.

 

For this system to work everybody has to come clean, which does not seem to be happening at the moment. The manufacturer has to make it clear that they will supply what the model shop has ordered and the customer should purchase the model when it arrives.

 

I know that many people only want to buy a model once they have seen and touched it. That's fine, but they must understand that they stand a chance of not getting the model they want. That's life in 2017!!

 

Keith

To do that you need also to confirm the price, and be confident on the quality.

Given the pounds performance that’s a little risky right now, the dollar is stable enough.

 

Under supply is not a new problem, and it’s a better problem to have than over supply, which has been a problem of several years.

It’s a sign that Hornby is doing what the retailers want, less stock = less dumping, rare models = less discounting.

 

Isn’t this what everyone’s been screaming for ?

 

But now retailers want one more than their neighbours shop so they get the one extra sale, guess what.. if Hornby did supply, the retailers would be swamped and back to discounting again to get rid.

 

Careful what you wish for, but if Hornby does sell out, and collectors prices rise, Hornby would be wiser to increase their RRP to match it, and rake in that extra margin rather than increase their supply and be stuck with it.

 

I think one of the issues previous CEOs have missed, is Hornby isn’t typical retail, there is no fashion, there is no waste disposal, models don’t end in the bin, and they hold a high residual value. The only way through it is new toolings, which is fashion in itself.

 

Maybe adopt the Brawa way of doing things... make a minimal amount at a very high price, depending how they sell make more and scale lower. The pkp pt31 was made in a run of 50, at £500 a piece, it hasn’t been repeated and they hold their value, I’ve only seen 2 or 3 change hands since, though there is one for sale in China, will set you back £900 though.

Edited by adb968008
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If Hattons had originally sold out of R3555 to pre-orders and Hornby had also sold out where did the extra stock come from?

Cancellations.

 

Several times I’ve acquired a sold out model, due to a cancellation, sadly all to often that’s through age attrition of Railway modellers between order and delivery.

I cancelled some preorders myself this year owing to death of a fellow high volume collecting family member.

It’s higher than you think, one shop told me over 50 models of a limited edition were released owing to death or otherwise total loss of contact with a modeller between order and delivery.

 

Other times it’s prices rises, job losses or just change of interest.

 

But if your sold out in advance, the only time you discover what’s spare is when the credit card transactions are actually approved, declined and when the shop hits the phones and email to track people down.

 

If you remember the DJ models RMWeb yellow J94, a vast number of preorders were not honoured, in many cases duplicated and they ended up supplied out to the trade to clear.

Edited by adb968008
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Phew! 

 

My 'local' model shop (not huge or as well-known as others that have been mentioned but excellent shop nonetheless) has just 'phoned to say that he has taken deliver of his batch of SWS's and has put mine on one side for me.

 

You guys have had me worried these last few days... :fie:

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Not quite the point and right or wrong doesn't apply here. Many small retailers preorder for mail order customers and find themselves embarrassingly short when their depleted order arrives and they are unable to fulfil those same orders.Yes this happened to me yesterday with the LBSCR "H" btw.. To state that one retailer won't need as much as another is a over simplified viewpoint.They all need an even handed approach

 

But if I had bought 250 from Hornby as a commission job I would not have the same view of "an even handed approach" that you might have in respect of the standard model.

As a "special" customer I would expect better than average treatment. Tis how the wheels of industry turn and are greased.

Bernard

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It seems Hornby are up to their old tricks again though, ie short supplying to some retailers but seemingly supplying plenty to others.

 

I would agree that seems to be the case, it seems strange that they went from sold out on pre-order a few weeks ago to having plenty. I know what answer I would get if I asked Hornby for some more!

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Well we can hope not but nothing under the sun is new.One train of thought is to bear in mind....just to further complicate matters...............sorry...........is that some retailers are commissioning variations of Hornby new releases .This might ....I emphasise might....qualify them for preferential treatment..Some might not approve but it is understandable in the circumstances.

 

Easy words but it in no way helps smaller retailers struggling to earn a living.Openness in dealing and even handedness in supply would be welcome.Level playing field ?

 

But if I had bought 250 from Hornby as a commission job I would not have the same view of "an even handed approach" that you might have in respect of the standard model.

As a "special" customer I would expect better than average treatment. Tis how the wheels of industry turn and are greased.

Bernard

 

Which is a point I have already made...as you can see.

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Received mine today, not had chance to unleash it yet but on looks alone it is superb, nice little touch having two sliding roof panels. Detail is excellent throughout.

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Guest Midland Mole

Well despite staying fairly positive throughout the day, I cant say I'm in the in the best of moods.

We got 50% of the Staniers we ordered, only just enough H Classes to cover pre-orders and our Atholls are completely MIA. In the year and a half I have been working at the shop we have never failed to fulfil pre-orders.

It's bloody depressing having to ring people and tell them we cant supply them with the item they ordered. The fact other places seem to have a glut of them only makes the feeling worse.

 

Alex

 

(this is my personal opinion and does NOT represent Footplate)

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