Hattons pre-owned items

[Sjcm]

11 minutes ago, MikeB said:

But presumably with Hatton's IT capabilities, what they pay for second hand items isn't any individual's decision, but based on some sort of algorithm based on original cost, current market value, condition and demand.   

That would be some computer system. I mean the variances are astronomical just on individual models and liveries, or say one had a newer type of chassis or a motor that fails often. That sort of knowledge you can't really programme into an algorithm while bidding on someone's collection

[HExpressD]

I'd be willing to bet that the prices are set by a person, or team of people, presumably some more aware than others as some prices seem pretty good, and some are completely out there

[Bigskybirds]

It seems to me the price is set more on the condition of the box than the item.

[Rich_F]

1 hour ago, Bigskybirds said:

It seems to me the price is set more on the condition of the box than the item.

 

Look out for the knackered box but great condition locos/stock inside. I've found early 00s Bachman/Heljan stuff falls into this category & you can grab yourself a great deal!

Edited August 23, 2023 by Weeny Works

[MikeB]

3 hours ago, Sjcm said:

That would be some computer system. I mean the variances are astronomical just on individual models and liveries, or say one had a newer type of chassis or a motor that fails often. That sort of knowledge you can't really programme into an algorithm while bidding on someone's collection

AI can probably do it all in a few years’ time if it's worthwhile for anybody to develop the system, but even now I would be surprised if there wasn't a basic system to give a base price based on the original selling price and condition and which told the buyer if an item is still available new and they already had 4 second hand ones, or if the item is generally unavailable and on 10 people's wish list and likely to be sold without appearing on the website.  I agree there must be an element of personal knowledge, as the descriptions and prices of some things, such as European HO equipment, are often surprising, which suggests to me that Hatton's buyers may not know too much about railway modelling outside the UK and USA. 
 

[John M Upton]

I presume Facebook randomly selects a photo from the appropriate website to advertise it, this was a poor choice!

 

[Bigskybirds]

But does it come in a good box? That's all that matters.😁

[GWR-fan]

The following was an interesting example of pricing.  When initially listed a few days ago the asking price for this pre-owned trainset was GBP176.00,  now reduced to GBP130.00.   At the same time there was a new trainset available for sale for GBP137.00 (since sold).    There seems little continuity in the pricing of items.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1464322/hornby_r1281m_po01_red_rover_train_set_with_class_67_in_db_livery_three_wagons_and_oval_of_track_wi/stockdetail

 

[John M Upton]

I just looked up that trashed Bachmann 37:

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1403483/bachmann_branchline_32_377ds_po10_class_37_0_37034_in_br_blue_weathered_dcc_sound_fitted_pre_owned_body_of_32_/stockdetail

 

They want £196 for it!!!

Doesn't even have a good box...

[Dunsignalling]

Hatton's "Pre-owned" system seems very random, I've bought four "non-runner" Hornby West Country locos off Hatton's in the past year-and-a-half. Prices were such that I'd have been OK with getting three working locos and a source of spares out of them.

 

One actually ran just fine, and still does. Presumably it had received just enough "percussive maintenance" in transit. One was fixed in less than five minutes, but another had a split gear. I'd guessed that was the problem before buying it, and had a spare in my stash. I would have left well alone had I not.

 

The last ran fine on its own, but suffered a dead short when coupled to its tender. It had been fitted with a replacement tender chassis with the opposite pick-up polarity to the loco. That was easily confirmed as it was factory weathered, so was for/off a 'Plymouth' (Hornby hasn't done any other WC so finished). I knew those are wired backwards from previous experience.

 

Latest purchase was a Bachmann 'N' in a "good box" which actually came with all the internal packaging entirely undisturbed! That set me back the princely sum of £57. 😃 

 

Some of their used prices are plain silly, but there are good deals to be found if one is canny, able to fix minor issues, and willing to accept that you might occasionally come unstuck. That hasn't happened to me yet, but judgement only gets you so far, and my luck won't hold forever....

 

John

Edited August 28, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[NZRedBaron]

On the subject of pre-owned items, I've been looking at some of the second-hand rolling stock there that interests me, but I'm uncertain where to ask about it here- it's old Lima Models stock, you see.

[GWR-fan]

11 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

........................................

 

Latest purchase was a Bachmann 'N' in a "good box" which actually came with all the internal packaging entirely undisturbed! That set me back the princely sum of £57. 😃 

 

........................................................

 

John

 

The price of the Bachmann N class has remained steady for some years hovering around GBP55.00 - 60.00,  however, of late there has been a surge in price.  Similarly the price of the old Bachmann Manor (and Mainline model) has seen a surge since the recent releases by Dapol and Accurascale.  Even the Bachmann split chassis Hall class has doubled in price over what I was paying just two years ago.

[Dunsignalling]

5 hours ago, NZRedBaron said:

On the subject of pre-owned items, I've been looking at some of the second-hand rolling stock there that interests me, but I'm uncertain where to ask about it here- it's old Lima Models stock, you see.

Bearing in mind that none of it will be less than twenty years old, and there's no telling how it's been treated or stored, caveat emptor is the best advice I can give.

 

However, Lima models are pretty robust and if it hasn't been wrecked externally, it's likely to be in reasonable working order, or fairly easy to restore to it.

 

See-before-you-buy is preferable, and probably cheaper, i.e. swap-meets, but your "handle" suggests those offering the stuff you desire may not be very local!

 

John

Edited August 29, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[irishmail]

6 hours ago, NZRedBaron said:

On the subject of pre-owned items, I've been looking at some of the second-hand rolling stock there that interests me, but I'm uncertain where to ask about it here- it's old Lima Models stock, you see.

Cant realy go wrong with the Lima models.  Yes, they are not as detailed as todays models but then again they dont have fragile bits that fall off them as soon as you look at it. You can add extra details as you wish, thats called modelling  :)  .  Lima motors are easily stripped down and cleaned, as an example,  I have a Lima 33 which I completly stripped down and cleaned the gears and motor, reassemble and lubricated with Hobe-lube, added extra pick-ups to all wheels including the ones with traction tyres on and it runs a lot smoother then my Heljan one.

[NZRedBaron]

Sounds fair; I do feel like some of those old GUVs and CCTs would be useful, no matter the era.

[Rich_F]

I'm a sucker for a good condition Lima. I look for the blue box items as they're later & often good quality & still run decently. They're easy to service (after you watch a couple of videos & look how to reassemble them). 

 

Some of the Lima models were detailed for their time & are still sought after. The 20s, 47s, 59s, 60s & 67s spring to mind. 

[MattR]

57 minutes ago, NZRedBaron said:

Sounds fair; I do feel like some of those old GUVs and CCTs would be useful, no matter the era.

 

Indeed! I just resprayed two Lima GUVs into rail blue this weekend and added newspapers branding transfers from Railtec. Throwing in a Lima BG in blue and grey and weathering them all, I now have a little empty newspapers van train for my Class 40 to pull, based on this photo.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by MattR

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, MattR said:

 

Indeed! I just resprayed two Lima GUVs into rail blue this weekend and added newspapers branding transfers from Railtec. Throwing in a Lima BG in blue and grey and weathering them all, I now have a little empty newspapers van train for my Class 40 to pull, based on this photo.

 

 

 

 

 

TBH, I'd draw the line at the 64' Lima BG when proper 57' Replica ones can be had for very similar money.

 

John

[MattR]

36 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

TBH, I'd draw the line at the 64' Lima BG when proper 57' Replica ones can be had for very similar money.

 

John

 

I did not know that! I'll keep my eye out for one. Thanks!

[97406]

I recently purchased a Heljan Class 58 from Hattons advertised with loose bogie frames for around £80 or so. On receipt of the loco I simply pushed the bogie frames back onto the little pegs that hold them, and I now have a perfect working loco. I do wonder why someone at Hattons didn’t try that but an excellent bargain anyway!

Edited August 29, 2023 by 97406

[MattR]

My aforementioned Class 40 was listed as "body loose on chassis" on Hatton's, which was somewhat worrying. However, this was because the previous owner had removed the body screws, all 8 of which were supplied in a small ziplock bag along with the model. All went back in just fine and was good to go.

[2E Sub Shed]

4 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

TBH, I'd draw the line at the 64' Lima BG when proper 57' Replica ones can be had for very similar money.

 

John

Even available new direct from Replica (but not in Blue/Grey)

 

Replica BG's

[NBL]

9 hours ago, Weeny Works said:

I'm a sucker for a good condition Lima. I look for the blue box items as they're later & often good quality & still run decently. They're easy to service (after you watch a couple of videos & look how to reassemble them). 

 

Some of the Lima models were detailed for their time & are still sought after. The 20s, 47s, 59s, 60s & 67s spring to mind. 

I wonder how wee learned to do things before youtube..

 

The 31, 47, 59, 73, 92, 101, 121 & HST are great models and respond very well to a bit of detailing.  The 40 is great between the cabs.  The 20 would have been great if it wasn't too short, and the 156 would stand up very well to the Realtrack example if it had a proper underframe.

 

The GUV, CCT & MK3's are pretty good and there are a few goods wagons that stand the test of time - BEV, PGA, PCA, Seacow/Sealion.

 

I treat buying stuff from Hattons the same as I treat buying any used item - if I think it's worth it at the price asked, I'll buy it with the expectation that I'll need to do some work on it. 

 

If it's too expensive for me, I don't buy it, there will always be others available

[GWR-fan]

The sublime to the ridiculous,  however, the box looks to be mint.  No idea of the state of the contents.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1465056/hornby_r2186_po05_class_j13_0_6_0st_in_black_pre_owned_numbers_removed_repainted_replacement_b/stockdetail

 

[Halvarras]

5 hours ago, GWR-fan said:

The sublime to the ridiculous,  however, the box looks to be mint.  No idea of the state of the contents.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1465056/hornby_r2186_po05_class_j13_0_6_0st_in_black_pre_owned_numbers_removed_repainted_replacement_b/stockdetail

 

 

I noticed that one - I hope the contents weren't created by the same 'modeller' responsible for this (but I have my suspicions.....):

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1465071/bachmann_branchline_32_129_po21_class_45xx_2_6_2_prairie_tank_69089_in_br_lined_black_with_early_emblem_pre_own/stockdetaild

 

I've consulted my treasured 1958 Observer's Book and the following number series (69090-on) belonged to an NER 'N10' 0-6-2T, so heaven knows what 'squinted-at lookalike' the perpetrator was seeking to recreate with this.

 

Maybe the other one was left in its box for a reason 😲!

Edited August 30, 2023 by Halvarras
Added number series