Pre-ordering Athearn Roundhouse products in the UK?

[nathan70000]

There are a few upcoming Athearn products I would like to pre-order, but ideally I'd want to avoid the cost of shipping from the States. Do any UK retailers offer the ability to pre-order and reserve an import like Gaugemaster with Walthers products, for example?

 

There are one or two Athearn distributors in the UK but they only seem to order in the modern era stuff, I'm interested in some of the upcoming 40s/50s era releases.

[mdvle]

7 hours ago, nathan70000 said:

There are one or two Athearn distributors in the UK but they only seem to order in the modern era stuff, I'm interested in some of the upcoming 40s/50s era releases.

 

Anyone who stocks any Athearn stuff should be able to order whatever you want (assuming it is still available) - it will just be a matter of finding a retailer you like and making the specific request of the item you want (for best results use the item number provided by Athearn).

 

Rails of Sheffield has posted in the past in this section about stocking and ordering US stuff but there will be other options that may be more to your liking.

 

 

[F-UnitMad]

13 hours ago, nathan70000 said:

ideally I'd want to avoid the cost of shipping from the States.

You'll find that the shipping cost will be covered in the price a UK distributor charges, plus the VAT. 

If a model costs, say $100 in the USA, you are not going to get it for the exact equivalent price over here.

[long island jack]

Invicta models always seems to have plenty Athearn stuff, maybe worth a call

[nathan70000]

25 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said:

You'll find that the shipping cost will be covered in the price a UK distributor charges, plus the VAT. 

If a model costs, say $100 in the USA, you are not going to get it for the exact equivalent price over here.

Not quite. I've done the maths and whilst yes items are more expensive, there is a still a slight discount over ordering from the US most of the time. I.e. I was looking at some PRR hoppers on eBay, altogether with postage and tax it came to around £120. Rails has similar N&W ones for £89, which is slightly more than they cost in the U.S. but still cheaper than buying, shipping, and then paying the Royal Mail processing fee.

 

Occasionally U.S. retailers discount so much that it does become cheaper.

[F-UnitMad]

My point really was that you won't avoid shipping costs entirely, but yes shopping around is highly recommended.

[nathan70000]

46 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said:

My point really was that you won't avoid shipping costs entirely, but yes shopping around is highly recommended.

I certainly appreciate your input, don't worry 🙂

 

I'll send Rails an email, see what they can do.

[z4driver]

I've pre-ordered Athearn stuff from https://mech-models.com with no problems. I've got a couple of items ordered with them at the moment

 

Lee

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by z4driver