Closure of Eileens Emporium

[macgeordie]

I was directed to this site by a friend of mine which should be very useful for metal components.

 

http://www.metalsmith.co.uk/metals-materials.htm

 

Ian

[EEType4]

I can only echo the sentiment of the previous posts and how sorry I am to hear of EE's closure.

I have run my own business for 25 years (not model railway related) and can attest to the incredible amount of hard work and heartache that goes into such endeavours, none of which shows up directly on the balance sheet.

It can't have been an easy decision by any means but full credit for not "burying your head in the sand" and letting things get worse,  alot do.

These are unprecedented times for traders with who knows what to come.

Good luck and good health in all you do.

[adanapress]

And also from me. so sad. best wishes o all affected, hope the New Year brings you better news, many thanks for your excellent past service and wonderful well thought out range.

[Andy Vincent]

On 17/12/2022 at 11:32, billbedford said:

 

Is this what you found?

 

https://www.albionhobbies.com/wp-content/uploads/AA-Precision-Metals-2020.pdf

No - I stopped at the web page itself and noted that the only sub-menu only had aluminium tubes. Not really sure that any B2C web site at the end of 2022 should be relying on downloads rather than having a proper online presence. Aside from the obvious reason, Google ranks web page hits much higher than anything in a downloadable file so many prospective customers wont see the site listed when they search for a product.

 

That said, many thanks for all the suggestions - which reassuringly also shows that communities are still more helpful than search engines!  

 

Andy

[djparkins]

2 hours ago, Andy Vincent said:

No - I stopped at the web page itself and noted that the only sub-menu only had aluminium tubes. Not really sure that any B2C web site at the end of 2022 should be relying on downloads rather than having a proper online presence. Aside from the obvious reason, Google ranks web page hits much higher than anything in a downloadable file so many prospective customers wont see the site listed when they search for a product.

 

That said, many thanks for all the suggestions - which reassuringly also shows that communities are still more helpful than search engines!  

 

Andy

 

Try this link - came up third in google when I searched Albion Alloys

 

https://www.albionalloys.com/en/

 

As can be seen on Hannants Web Site - AA do wire/rod as well, though it is not readily apparent from their Albion Alloys' own web site. They do seem more interested in selling through dealers. Excellent quality though.

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?adv=1&product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362490&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=&keyword_search=&setPerPage=25&sort=0&search_direction=0&save_search_name=&save_search=

 

DJP

[animotion]

On 12/12/2022 at 08:35, Jol Wilkinson said:

 

Squires of Bognor and Hobby Holidays are the two I have in mind (they were both at Scaleforum this year).

 

A number of suppliers best known for other products also supply some of the materials that EE were well known for. Brass wire and tube is available from PPP and Alan Gibson. K&S metal is available in many model shops. 

 

It is also worth looking outside the model trade if you are looking for good quality tools, e.g. in the jewelry sector. Cooksongold supply high quality Busch drill, Valorbe files, Dremel accessories, etc.

I was saddened to here the news of their closure as I myself have bought items from them at a show they have attended. But I think Jol hit the nail on he head when he said it's worth looking outside of the model trade for good quality tools. That is what you are up against when trading and unless you have great buying power or offer what nobody else offers you are going to struggle to survive. I have used the jewellery sector for my tools and they are hard to compete with when it comes to the range of material and tools they offer. Cooksongold and Cousinsuk are the two main suppliers in the UK. The metal materials I have always gone to is Metalsmith which probably have the best range of materials for the hobby. Lets hope no more other traders fall by the wayside because they are the ones who help fund model railway shows along with the public.

 

Thomas

[MacDuff999]

Although not a particularly regular customer, I did tend to make my way to Eileen's as one of the first and most important stops at shows they attended. I always had really good, friendly service from the staff, and will certainly miss the excellent range of products amd materials for the finer scale modeller. My best wishes - and thanks - to and for all who have been involved in such a fantastic business which has served our hobby.   

[Blandford1969]

At some point I hope @Derek Russan comes back to see all the support from many customers they have had. Lets hope they all have a better 2023 in whatever they do next.

[G-BOAF]

Sorry to read this. Only recently placed my first order with EE for some materials and tools and was very impressed with the service (and packing of handrail wire)

[vikingsmb]

sorry to hear this, hope everything turns out ok 

it is getting harder and harder, I try to support my local model shop (lendons) much as I can

[T0ny]

I am sorry the EE has closed, it was a good site to get all sorts of odds and ends from. Jackson's Models, wigton, Cumbria (https://www.jacksonsmodels.co.uk/) have a good selection of models and other materials etc. No conection except that it is just up the road from me.

Edited January 5, 2023 by T0ny
Replaced ommission

[TRAILRAGE]

Very sorry to hear this. Always Friendly and helpfull and a real loss to modellers,

 

Wishing you all the best and many thanks to you all.

 

Best regards Trailrage

[Petri Sallinen]

I am very sorry for hearing that. We have made good business with Derek and got very useful items and materials for making our hobby better and easier in Finland. I hope all best for Derek and his family.

 

Best Regards

Petri Sallinen

Mestarimallit Ltd

Helsinki Finland

https://mestarimallit.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Mestarimallit

Edited January 20, 2023 by Petri Sallinen

[Trains4U]

I’ve only just heard.

how sad, a great loss to the hobby.

 

I hope all turns out well for everyone at EE.

[Neil W]

Very sorry to hear about closure, hope things work out for the team.

 

I started kit building end of 2021 and built up my toolkit by visiting your online store and your stall at STEAM in Swindon, was hoping to see you this year at a show.

 

You were the first go to place and will be very hard to replace

 

All the best, Neil

[robertcwp]

The Statement of Affairs has now been published on Companies House website here.

[Bucoops]

Very sad to see it all laid out like that. Makes interesting, but morbid reading. 

[D-A-T]

As a pure layman with no knowledge of Bankruptcy or Insolvency I find it surprising that the Insolvency Practitioner only expects to raise £5,000 from stock with a Book price of nearly £100,000. Is this normal?

[Compound2632]

A knock on effect: ordering some etched components of Bill Bedford design from Wizard Models, I learn from Andrew Hartshorne that his stock was manufactured by (or perhaps for) Eileens...

[Michael Hodgson]

14 minutes ago, D-A-T said:

As a pure layman with no knowledge of Bankruptcy or Insolvency I find it surprising that the Insolvency Practitioner only expects to raise £5,000 from stock with a Book price of nearly £100,000. Is this normal?

Pretty much, yes, it's not that unusual although 5% is on the low side.  Insolvency's job is to pay the creditors as best they can, so they raise as much as they can as quicky as they can which often means "hold a fire sale" of stock and other tangible assets.  They can't take their time with it and hold out for better prices, their time is too expensive.   A competitor might be willing to take if on as a job lot if they can get it a significant discount, but usually the unsold stock is stuff that the business was having trouble selling anyway (otherwise they would have managed to sell it themselves!).  So slow-moving, or obsolesecent things that have perhaps lost demand  as better value items have come onto the market, and possibly some of the stock has been damaged or stolen since the last stock check.  These should probably have been written down in value on the books, but often book-keeping admin gets neglected with smaller businesses that are struggling. 

 

But there's often bargains to be had if you're in the right place at the right time.  The other day we went to M&Co, a clothing shop on the high street that is forced to close - got a lot of stuff at discounts of 30% to 70% from the usual retail price.  Staff who are working out their notice probably aren't going to take as much interest as usual in any shoplifting.  But on the final day, they'll still be stuck with some that nobody wants because they're not popular sizes etc.

 

 

 

[hayfield]

38 minutes ago, D-A-T said:

As a pure layman with no knowledge of Bankruptcy or Insolvency I find it surprising that the Insolvency Practitioner only expects to raise £5,000 from stock with a Book price of nearly £100,000. Is this normal?

 

The trouble is its what is called a fire sale, the accountants want to spend as little as they can and sell it quickly

 

Plus if the stock is valued at trade prices, whoever buy's it will not want everything unless someone wants to restart Eileen's, it will be a trader who will sell everything back into the trade, as for the unique model railway tools there will be a limited numbers of potential buyers. No doubt someone will want to buy it, and if you have enough time and space and can sell items on eBay then you could make a few £'s profit, but would you want all the hassle ?

[Bucoops]

I did actually register an interest in buying some of the stock and was told my details had been passed to the relevant person. I've not heard anything yet. I suspect it unlikely I will be contacted and it will get sold as a job lot but thought it worth a try - 1) to stock up on the items I used Eileen's for and 2) feel like perhaps I'd helped creditors a little bit. But if they are only expecting to realise £5k on it all (wonder how much their fees will take out of the sale of assets?) that's awful.

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

As the following will prove, I thankfully know nothing about this sort of thing, but I assume it's not feasibly/legally possible to return stock to suppliers to mitigate creditors liabilities? I thought goods remained property of the supplier until paid for in full?

 

Mike.

[Compound2632]

10 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

As the following will prove, I thankfully know nothing about this sort of thing, but I assume it's not feasibly/legally possible to return stock to suppliers to mitigate creditors liabilities? I thought goods remained property of the supplier until paid for in full?

 

The suppliers are well down the pecking order of creditors to be paid off - first the staff wages owing, then HMRC... 

[spamcan61]

45 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

As the following will prove, I thankfully know nothing about this sort of thing, but I assume it's not feasibly/legally possible to return stock to suppliers to mitigate creditors liabilities? I thought goods remained property of the supplier until paid for in full?

 

Mike.

That is indeed on the T&C's of most suppliers, whether it actually stands up in court is another matter.