Rails of Sheffield not holding S/H stock they are taking orders for

[Paul-H]

Hi all

 

Anyone had this before with Rails of Sheffield

 

Looking on their site the other day for a Graham Farish Black 5 and they had one listed that had a number change so you would think it was a quite unique model and the price was good, so I ordered it, selecting Paypal for payment, thought it was a bit odd that when I paid it would not let me use my Paypal balance but insisted on using the Credit Card I had on file. I was out and using my phone at the time and didn't see one little clue.

 

When I got home I checked on my PC and after seeing this description "Class 5 45206 BR Lined Black Early Emblem - Pristine.(Originally announced as Weathered with running number 45216)" and thinking it was a custom job 

 

I then saw Availability: Ordered on request,

 

How can you order a second hand custom model on request 

 

Anyone had this with them, whats going on.

 

I have emailed them but not got any reply yet

 

Paul

[DCB]

If anyone asked to use my credit card instead of PayPal balance I would suggest where they could stick their product.

Sounds like you are getting a rather elderly unused loco which it is probably unwise to suggest is "New."

 

Rails of Sheffield do have some very good bargains as they quite often list second hand stock incorrectly so it does not attract the interest it normally would.

[Paul-H]

I was thinking they were getting on the pre order bandwagon like with new releases take orders for when stock eventually comes in, now they are taking orders for when anything might come in, new or old.

 

Never had them ignore my emails before though, so that's new

[micklner]

Could be any old tat , you are buying unseen. Poor listing at best. I would get a refund.

[Paul-H]

I have asked them to cancel the order, but as they are not replying to me I don't know what's happening.

 

Paul

[Oliver Rails]

Hi, All stock listed on our website is brand new. Our preowned stock is currently on ebay and in store only. With regards to the Graham Farish Class 5, Bachmann had originally announced in the catalogue it would be weathered with running number 45216 but they released it as pristine 45206. We have not altered or customised this model it is brand new.

 

We do custom weather certain models but these are clearly marked.

 

If you have requested the order to be cancelled we will be in touch shortly.

 

I hope this clears things up.

 

Thanks

Oliver @ Rails

Edited May 9, 2018 by Oliver Rails

[Paul-H]

Having the professional courtesy to reply to any of your customers emails would have helped a lot in this situation

 

All I asked was are you actually able to supply the item I ordered, not responding to those emails will only make me think the worse ?

[Pteremy]

I agree, but with an important caveat - most customers have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they will get a response to an email. More generally I have always found Rails to be good at communication. So my advice would be not to write them off on the basis of just the one experience. 

[phil-b259]

Could be any old tat

 

Not so

 

Please be aware that the word 'new' in the retail context DOES NOT mean 'fresh out of the factory. 'New' as far as trading standards is concerned means it is unopened / unused / unaltered from when the manufacturer produced it. The product can sit in a store room for 20 years in such a situation and still technically be advertised as 'new'.

 

Conversely something that has been taken out of its box and used a couple of times but was only made a month ago cannot be advertised as 'new'

Edited May 9, 2018 by phil-b259

[Bernard Lamb]

Having the professional courtesy to reply to any of your customers emails would have helped a lot in this situation

 

All I asked was are you actually able to supply the item I ordered, not responding to those emails will only make me think the worse ?

 

Oliver has taken the time and trouble to reply to you on here.

You can at least have the decency to acknowledge his reply and thank him.

No doubt he will chase up the staff before too long.

They will get round to it rather more quickly without people like you pestering them.

Cool it, or do you just want to moan?

Bernard

[LBRJ]

Oliver has taken the time and trouble to reply to you on here.

You can at least have the decency to acknowledge his reply and thank him.

No doubt he will chase up the staff before too long.

They will get round to it rather more quickly without people like you pestering them.

Cool it, or do you just want to moan?

Bernard

 

Very much so.

 

A reply from Rails was on this forum (so anyone reading the OP would also know the true score) within 16 hours of the thread commencing!

Eight of those hours being what we may refer to as sleep time, let alone not business hours.

So basically a reply was in the public domain within 4 hours of receipt.

That is excellent communication by anyone's standards (or it should be regarded as such)

 

Well done to Rails

[NINJA]

If you see an item that you would like to buy on Rails E Bay site, does anyone know if it can be purchased over the phone?

 

Bit of a Luddite, never bought anything via an e bay transaction.

 

Thanks.

[Oldddudders]

If you see an item that you would like to buy on Rails E Bay site, does anyone know if it can be purchased over the phone?

 

Bit of a Luddite, never bought anything via an e bay transaction.

 

Thanks.

 

Ring them to find out?

[micklner]

Not so

 

Please be aware that the word 'new' in the retail context DOES NOT mean 'fresh out of the factory. 'New' as far as trading standards is concerned means it is unopened / unused / unaltered from when the manufacturer produced it. The product can sit in a store room for 20 years in such a situation and still technically be advertised as 'new'.

 

Conversely something that has been taken out of its box and used a couple of times but was only made a month ago cannot be advertised as 'new'

 

New or not ? that is irrelevant, the item has not be seen therefore any old tat could be a very good description until you actually see it. !! otherwise how do you know what the item actually is? = buyer beware .

[caradoc]

From the information provided so far I'm not sure why the OP believed this model was a) second hand and b) custom finished; The 'originally announced as etc' wording indicates to me that the manufacturer has decided to amend the loco number and finish after it was first advertised. And describing the item as 'any old tat' seems a little unfair to an established and successful retailer.

[JDW]

If you see an item that you would like to buy on Rails E Bay site, does anyone know if it can be purchased over the phone?

 

Bit of a Luddite, never bought anything via an e bay transaction.

 

Thanks.

 

I'd guess so.  They had a couple of second hand models on eBay a year or two back, I was interested but wanted to have a look in person as they were modified.  I phoned them up and they had them available to look at when I went in to the shop a day or two later, I was satisfied so bought them there and then.

[dpgibbons]

Rails have a generous returns policy so you should have no difficulty sending an eBay purchase back if it not as described. 

 

If you buy Rails eBay items in the shop or over the phone I would ask for a discount given that they save on eBay fees if they sell direct. 

Edited May 10, 2018 by dpgibbons

[phil-b259]

New or not ? that is irrelevant, the item has not be seen therefore any old tat could be a very good description until you actually see it. !! otherwise how do you know what the item actually is? = buyer beware .

 

Did you actually read anything I wrote?

 

Trading standards rules applies to online retailers too you know - any business claiming 'old tat' as you put it to be 'new' would be exposing themselves to a rather lager fine or worse.

 

Whether something is legally 'new' or not has nothing to do with how old it may be or how long it has been sitting on the shelf

 

Hence a Lima Crab steam loco that is still within its intact packaging and has never been taken out of the box can still be sold as 'new'

 

It might well be 'old tat' to you - but from a legal perspective its not and the retailer can quite legitimately describe it as 'new'.

 

By contrast lets imagine a retailer wants to sell a Hornby 800 unit which has been taken out the box and run on their demo test track for a few days. Even though it may be in perfect condition and only a few months old it must NOT be described as 'new'.

 

Ebay have two definitions when describing the condition of an item

 

New :-A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item. See the seller's listing for full details.

 

Used :-An item that has been previously used.  See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.

 

Note the complete absence of anything related to the products age (or phrases like 'old tat') in those definitions. Rails of Sheffield will work on the same basis to comply with trading standards rules!

Edited May 10, 2018 by phil-b259

[phil-b259]

If you see an item that you would like to buy on Rails E Bay site, does anyone know if it can be purchased over the phone?

 

 

Yup it can.

 

Make a note of the e-bay item / listing number and give them a call.

 

I got free delivery (and maybe a bit off the price too) as Rails then avoid paying the e-bay fees they get charged when you buy online.

[J. S. Bach]

 

Please be aware that the word 'new' in the retail context DOES NOT mean 'fresh out of the factory. 'New' as far as trading standards is concerned means it is unopened / unused / unaltered from when the manufacturer produced it. The product can sit in a store room for 20 years in such a situation and still technically be advertised as 'new'.

 

 

Here that would be called NOS = New (but) Old Stock.

Edited May 10, 2018 by J. S. Bach

[LBRJ]

I have bought stuff over the phone and avoided the postage too.  Its not too far from me to their shop if I want to go fetch it  for myself.

 

I also notice that the OP has scuttled off his thread today without a hint of an apology to the shop

 

Id also doubt that "new" would cover all manner of ancient  things that were at best "new to market" - maybe "as new" would be a better term

[phil-b259]

Here that would be called NOS = New (but) Old Stock.

 

This is of course one way round the problem - and to be fair many retailers do tend to highlight when what they are trying to sell may be quite dated by the use of such phrases. However technically it is not necessary for compliance with trading standards rules as regards the condition of an item.

 

Of course there is a difference between 'new' -as in 'newly arrived in store' (which technically comes under advertising) and 'new' as pertaining to the condition of the merchandise. However retailers claiming something to be 'new' (either with respect to its arrival in store, its price or its condition) when it is not, are breeching trading standards and will face large fines if caught.

Edited May 10, 2018 by phil-b259

[Paul-H]

So I am in the wrong for asking a question and the dealer is in the right even though they still have not replied to a single email, or supplied the goods or given an indication of when they will cancel my order, or given an answers as to when they will be supplying the item I bought in good faith.

 

Guess it's obvious we have some Rails fanboys here.

 

Can a mod lock this thread as it's become pointless now.

[micklner]

Did you actually read anything I wrote?

 

Trading standards rules applies to online retailers too you know - any business claiming 'old tat' as you put it to be 'new' would be exposing themselves to a rather lager fine or worse.

 

Whether something is legally 'new' or not has nothing to do with how old it may be or how long it has been sitting on the shelf

 

Hence a Lima Crab steam loco that is still within its intact packaging and has never been taken out of the box can still be sold as 'new'

 

It might well be 'old tat' to you - but from a legal perspective its not and the retailer can quite legitimately describe it as 'new'.

 

By contrast lets imagine a retailer wants to sell a Hornby 800 unit which has been taken out the box and run on their demo test track for a few days. Even though it may be in perfect condition and only a few months old it must NOT be described as 'new'.

 

Ebay have two definitions when describing the condition of an item

 

New :-A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item. See the seller's listing for full details.

 

Used :-An item that has been previously used.  See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.

 

Note the complete absence of anything related to the products age (or phrases like 'old tat') in those definitions. Rails of Sheffield will work on the same basis to comply with trading standards rules!

 

I was referring to unseen item which the original post said was secondhand. A general comment that wasn't referring to Rails in anyway. 

[bike2steam]

Very much so.

 

A reply from Rails was on this forum (so anyone reading the OP would also know the true score) within 16 hours of the thread commencing!

Eight of those hours being what we may refer to as sleep time, let alone not business hours.

So basically a reply was in the public domain within 4 hours of receipt.

That is excellent communication by anyone's standards (or it should be regarded as such)

 

Well done to Rails

 

And what's more, I know some business's that only look at their e-mails once a week. Lock the thread.