RMweb Premium Popular Post St Enodoc Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted January 14 13 hours ago, jjb1970 said: Hand bags. Seriously, what Mrs JJB and the daughter consider a reasonable amount to spend on a hand bag and the importance (indeed necessity) of having a room full of the things is horrifying🫣 It's worse than shoes..... Veronica and I have a deal. She doesn't ask how much I spend on trains and I don't ask how much she spends on shoes and bags. Domestic bliss reigns (mostly...). 16 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerzilla Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 23 hours ago, Brocp said: Even the big gaming studios are struggling, Insomniac, who made Spiderman 2 for the PS5, need to sell 6-7million units before they break even. The development cost for it was $350 million US (according to the massive leak that happened around Christmas). Plus they have to give nearly 30% of each sale to Disney/Marvel for licencing. Without game prices increasing its simply not sustainable. Throw in the fact games are taking longer to make and get on the shelves (sort of like what's happening with rtr stuff) it's becoming a pretty risky business for game companies now, Sony losing COD from 2027 onwards could be the final nail in the coffin for at least Sony unless they change things massively. I know we're drifting off topic but, when id Software released Doom in 1993, it was profitable after ONE DAY, such was its popularity. Not surprising that the developers went out and bought Ferraris! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenGiraffe22 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) It's a real shame, when I got back into the hobby about 8 years ago I bought everything from Hattons as they seemed to be considerably cheaper than everywhere else, but in recent years that's been less and less the case and when other retailers can offer free postage I changed my retailers of choice for entirely selfish financial reasons (I mean, adding £4 postage to every item you order adds up). But I wish everyone the best! I'm sure you all have transferable skills that other businesses will welcome! Edited January 14 by GreenGiraffe22 Typo 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 3 minutes ago, GreenGiraffe22 said: It's a real shame, when I got back into the hobby about 8 years ago I bought everything from Hattons as they seemed to be considerably cheaper than everywhere else, but in recent years that's been less and less the case and when other retailers can offer free postage I changed my retailers of choice for entirely selfish financial reasons (I mean, adding £4 postage to every item you order adds up). Thats an advantage of their Trunk service but I wonder what the costs of that are - items tied up sold but not paid for taking up warehouse space. But that is ending Feb 5 so everyone who has ordered exclusives which are still to come will have to pay postage on what is in their trunk and the exclusives separately given the Genesis coaches for instance are now stated as May/June. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Butler Henderson said: Thats an advantage of their Trunk service but I wonder what the costs of that are - items tied up sold but not paid for taking up warehouse space. But that is ending Feb 5 so everyone who has ordered exclusives which are still to come will have to pay postage on what is in their trunk and the exclusives separately given the Genesis coaches for instance are now stated as May/June. You paid for pre-ordered items, and they became yours, as soon as they arrived at Hatton's, or upon placing an order for something already in stock. Hatton's just held them until you requested delivery, then you only paid the carriage. In the interim one could remove a model from the trunk and obtain a card refund, with the item going back into stock. John Edited January 14 by Dunsignalling 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JohnR Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 32 minutes ago, Butler Henderson said: Thats an advantage of their Trunk service but I wonder what the costs of that are - items tied up sold but not paid for taking up warehouse space. But that is ending Feb 5 so everyone who has ordered exclusives which are still to come will have to pay postage on what is in their trunk and the exclusives separately given the Genesis coaches for instance are now stated as May/June. Items in your trunk are paid for. What is NOT paid for is the shipping. So if you pre-order something to your trunk, when it arrives, your card is charged and it is placed in your Trunk until you decide to ship it (along with anything else that may be there) 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Ah apologies - have only trunked pre-orders so was not aware of the payment arrangement on in stock goods. Still there must be a cost in terms of warehouse space or maybe with the lack of Bachmann products teher was ample space spare. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSG Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 The trunk service didn't create cashflow issues (because the items were paid for when they went into the trunk, not when they left it, and carriage was paid for when it was incurred). But it did, obviously, take up storage space. I presume that worked for Hattons because they had a large, modern warehouse that had more capacity than was strictly needed for just retail stock, so they were able to utilise the extra space by providing a unique (and, to customers, valuable) service. It certainly gained them extra business from me, and probably other people as well, so it was a creative way of exploiting their infrastructure assets. It would be nice to see other retailers picking up on the idea. But it does, of course, need there to be the space available. It might not work for retailers in smaller units, and particularly the retailers operating from more traditional city centre premises where space is at a premium. 1 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 (edited) Why do I keep looking to see how many O Scale Dapol unlined Black Terriers are still in stock? (currently 202). I don’t model in O Scale - and never have - and I wouldn’t trust my painting and lining skills on anything big enough to be visible anyway. But they do look very nice. Guess I’ll miss all this even more than I thought. In the scale I do model in - HO - there are some fantastic Crafstman Building kits from a range of manufacturers still showing. These are priced at £200 - £300+ which I’d say is a fair price for that kind of genuinely rare and sought after limited run item. They’ve not been discounted, and that seems fair to me: they’re the kind of high value, slow moving item that used to reside on the top shelf or in the window of a store waiting for someone to either save up or give in and buy it. Sadly beyond my budget. Not so sure the last two hundred and ninety-three Peco HO Scale Unifrog #6 Long Crossings (Code 83) will shift quickly, but perhaps there’s another story there (Hattons taking on Hornby excess stock has been discussed previously - this looks to be an outlier from Peco though). I hope that staff are bearing up - can’t have been an easy weekend. Thoughts remain with them all, Keith. Edited January 14 by Keith Addenbrooke 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 42 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said: Why do I keep looking to see how many O Scale Dapol unlined Black Terrier’s are still in stock? (currently 202) I keep wondering why they made so many! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 3 minutes ago, Hal Nail said: I keep wondering why they made so many! Perhaps they hoped to sell them? I know somebody with half a dozen O gauge terriers (though they're not Dapol ones) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Darius43 Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 Guardian Article For the sake of balance… Cheers Darius 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Fair Oak Junction Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 (edited) I tried to go to the Weston show today. It was way too busy for me to go in sadly, but that is ultimately a good thing because it means it's doing well. But what stood out to me was just how many young people there were in the queue. Certainly didn't give the impression of a dying hobby populated by mainly older people, not that I ever bought into that idea. Edited January 14 by Fair Oak Junction 8 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 13 minutes ago, Darius43 said: Guardian Article For the sake of balance… It uses the phrase "historically cheap international shipping,".... What colour is the sky on their planet? As a modeller of American O Scale myself, importing from the US has never been more expensive!! The current & recent £-vs-$ exchange rate doesn't help either, of course. 2 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 On 13/01/2024 at 17:21, Bucoops said: Maybe hoping the longer they had stock the longer they had jobs? Wouldn't blame them! I always felt the staff there were very pleasant and willing to help (if they could) Not the cheapest place for electronic bits but useful if you wanted a few without the hassle of online. Shame it went belly up. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Bucoops Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 4 minutes ago, melmerby said: I always felt the staff there were very pleasant and willing to help (if they could) Not the cheapest place for electronic bits but useful if you wanted a few without the hassle of online. Shame it went belly up. I used to use Tandy way back - we had a local one and they were very knowledgeable and very happy to help. Then they went under, and I had to use Maplin mailorder. Very effective, used it quite a lot. Then we got a local shop. Gradually the component side shrunk and the gadget side increased - changing with the times I guess. In the end the component section consisted of a small cupboard and a pile of catalogues. If their system said they had it in stock, I had to usually find it myself as the staff had very limited knowledge of that side. Sad really but no surprise when they went. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 27 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said: It uses the phrase "historically cheap international shipping,".... What colour is the sky on their planet? As a modeller of American O Scale myself, importing from the US has never been more expensive!! The current & recent £-vs-$ exchange rate doesn't help either, of course. Been in the same area for the last 7-8 years It was $1.25 in Dec 2106 compared to $1.27 currently It was $2.01 in Jan 2008 but but dropped about 60c over the next year or so. It was $1.09 in 1985! 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Bucoops Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 19 minutes ago, melmerby said: Been in the same area for the last 7-8 years It was $1.25 in Dec 2106 compared to $1.27 currently It was $2.01 in Jan 2008 but but dropped about 60c over the next year or so. It was $1.09 in 1985! When we went over to visit my brother (NJ) once it was 2:1 which was great. It was also par with the Canadian dollar so they were happy to accept US$ when we went to their side of the Niagara falls. I think the worst rate we had for a trip was $1.12. We spent somewhat less than usual on that trip! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 (edited) 1 hour ago, F-UnitMad said: It uses the phrase "historically cheap international shipping,".... What colour is the sky on their planet? As a modeller of American O Scale myself, importing from the US has never been more expensive!! The current & recent £-vs-$ exchange rate doesn't help either, of course. I assume they're referring to the cost of shipping i.e. 2000 USD or so to ship a container from China to Europe pre covid. Import duty is another matter. You can get a heck a lot of toy trains on a 40 foot container. Edited January 14 by spamcan61 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted January 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14 On 13/01/2024 at 00:31, Bucoops said: I have an awful lot of Maplins branded batteries from when they had their firesale. We go through them quite quickly so not that long until I am out and will have to look for another bargain source. I've still got about a dozen rechargeables that are now sadly failing to hold much charge. I have no idea how old they are but were bought when my wife was working in Stockport, so at least 10 years ago. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
autocoach Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Just waiting for the shipping notice for the trunk stuff I asked to clear out a few days ago...Lately I have been modeling US HO only but Hattons remained the best place in the world to buy Peco Code 83/70 and Oxford Miniatures 1/87 HO vehicles on availability alone. ' US prices for Code 83/70 and OM at online dealers in US reflect limited 3rd party distributorship and markups for small imported orders. If something was unavailable it would take months for fulfillment of an order and also a high risk of cancellation. Prices at US Local Hobby Shops with very limited supplies of PECO are twice the price at Hattons including postage in 2023. Atlas and Walthers compete with Chinese made Code 83 HO track that has thick rail web and other appearance issues. The other competitor is Micro Engineering which is made USA and is very prototype in appearance but has recently changed hands as the original creators/owners retired and the new owners have yet to prove reliable suppliers and only distribute to local hobby shops direct which means the hobby shop has to be ordering enough to make the order profitable with shipping. Micro Engineering even made HO code 55 flex track for true siding rail weight appearance but I have not seen it available lately. ME turnouts are not as reliable as PECO and are difficult to rig for hand throwing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porfuera Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 3 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said: Why do I keep looking to see how many O Scale Dapol unlined Black Terriers are still in stock? (currently 202). I don’t model in O Scale - and never have - and I wouldn’t trust my painting and lining skills on anything big enough to be visible anyway. But they do look very nice. Go on... you know you want to... otherwise why would you keep looking...? 🤣 🤣 🤣 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 3 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said: Why do I keep looking to see how many O Scale Dapol unlined Black Terriers are still in stock? (currently 202). No other loco nor wagon or coach is in three figure quantities. Hornby setrack pieces are upto 5546 (R609), their own brand decoders upto 2546 (Next 18) and there are 1358 packs of Skale Lighting plugs and 1030 of the fuses! Their own brand wagon loads are upto 233. Other items over 99 are; 1243 Hattons track pins 845 Hornby Magazine Loco Manual – Vol 1 Express Steam 528 Hornby R8250PU Controller with wall plug 459 Hornby R9284 Skaledale Station Office 424 Intentio OO Street pavement - pack of 4 internal corner stones 402 Intentio OO Street pavement - pack of 4 external corner stones 365 Dapol OO Catenary wires 10 x 138mm 363 Intentio OO Street pavement – pack of 4 with manhole covers 293 Peco HO Code 83 Unifog Diamond Crossing 259 Hornby R8014 Point Motor 240 Hattons Digital Solenoid Point Motor Decoder 238 Hornby RJ12 cable 211 Intentio OO Street pavement – pack of 4 straights 201 Intentio OO LNER/BR trackside speed signs (32) 162 Peco HOn3 flexible track 160 Hornby R978 Brick walling corners 145 Intentio OOLNER/BR lineside platelayers hut 134 Oxford Diecast OO Land Rover Defender 110 with rail wheels Railtrack 128 Dapol OO Catenary wires 10 x 155mm 120 Peco OO scatter – woodland ground cover 143 Hattons screwdriver set inc tweezers 119 Hornby R7337 transformer 115 X-Trains bookazine 115 Hornby R8087 Track Cleaning Rubber 113 How to build your first Hornbhy train set with DVD 113 Hornby R8249 decoder 104 Hornby R510 Platform shelter 103 Corgi 1:64 Best of British London Bus – Union Jack Thinks a bigger discount will be coming, probably after Feb 5 when the trunk closes Edited January 14 by Butler Henderson 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 2 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said: I've still got about a dozen rechargeables that are now sadly failing to hold much charge That could be said of new ones as well (AA, AAA), I didn't think much of them and they didn't last long although there are some D size in the DAB radios still going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 14 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14 I've got a couple of new UK wagons in the trunk and I keep thinking of other things to make up a bigger order, I haven't found anything yet as they are always all sold!🙂 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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