Hattons Model Railways of Widnes (formerly Liverpool).

[Gwiwer]

It's really up to Hattons to determine their pricing, isn't it? If it doesn't sell at that price, it doesn't sell. If it does, someone didn't do their checking.

 

Quite right.  Caveat emptor.  He (or she) who pays £160 when they could have paid £139.99 is the loser.  The misleading statement regarding having sold the item new does require correction however.

[10000]

I will never understand why people call hattons " box shifters " , or Any form of negative attitude towards them . Whilst not being local to hattons, and wanting to support my local shops , 99% of the time they can't be beaten for price , and it makes no sense to shop elsewhere . I have had nothing but first class service from them , always at a great price. Long live hattons !

But they can be beaten on price. The retailer I use tends to price the same as Hattons ( apart from when they are doing really cheap deals). So I have a £4 saving with no postage to pay.  Add to which I am a long term customer and have spent a lot of money with him over the years so he frequently knocks a bit more of the prices for me. Example I paid £95 each for the LMS twins. 

 

Don't misunderstand I am not knocking Hattons as I occasionally buy from them, an example being an American diesel last week, and as per usual they gave excellent service - ordered Wednesday night , dispatched Thursday where it went to Warrington sorting office and stayed there all thro' Friday finally arriving to me on Saturday morning.

[andyman7]

I would concur - I will certainly not knock Hattons but I have beaten them again and again on price, including from places such as Hamleys in London! Hattons actually appear to have a fairly sophisticated pricing structure, and where a newer item is in high demand they will not do big discounts.

 

Recent examples below are Hattons price, and the price I paid, in all cases from proper retail shops with a high street presence:

- Bachmann Class 44 blue sound fitted - Hattons 'bargain' (and admittedly a good price) - £129. My purchase - £117

- Bachmann 10001 GSYP - Hattons £99. My purchase - £81

- Hornby Northern Pacer - Hattons price £80. My purchase - £50

[250BOB]

My model shop....The Hobbygoblin in Stoke on Trent......is well aware of Mail Order prices, e.g.Hattons etc.,

 

However, he makes a real good effort to get close to their prices........and I help keep a local model shop on the high street near me. in business.   Then when I just need a pack of rail joiners....or one Peco point, he is still there for me to use.

 

Its not always about the price........but it is with some folk, who seem to make it their aim in life to find the cheapest possible deal..... good luck to them.

 

Bob

[oreamnos]

I agree it's not always about price, but here in the "Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area" (Los Angeles city proper alone covers more than 400 square miles) there are surprisingly few shops dedicated to model railways, and frankly the reason why is because they do not even try to match the price of US online discounters such as Brooklyn Locomotive Works in New York.  As I understand how the retail business works in the US, the shops all pretty much source their inventory from Walthers (which is the biggest wholesale model railway distributor by far over here in the States).  The shops get a discount "for the trade" from Walthers which they then don't pass on to the retail customer in order for them to actually make a bit of a profit on what they sell.  So prices in shops here are pretty much what they call "RRP" in the UK.  The only time I've ever bought a loco or bit of stock from a retail shop in the post internet age is when I've found something of interest in a "bargain bin," and not all shops here have such a bin, though there is one that does in Provo, Utah that comes to mind.

 

I'd love to support my "local model shop," but high prices, the fact that shops here don't have to accept returns of defective items like they do in the UK, and of course the fact that none of them stock any British outline means that there is very little reason for me not to look for the cheapest deal possible online.  It's really a pity.

 

Matt

[leopardml2341]

- Bachmann Class 44 blue sound fitted - Hattons 'bargain' (and admittedly a good price) - £129. My purchase - £117

     but........ does the sound on the 44 work OK - I would like to buy one but don't want the same hassle I had with D27 - see other forum posts.

 

Thanks,

[antrobuscp]

Hattons is effectively my local model shop. I usually order online and go to the shop to pick up, rather than use the post. The range is good, and the prices are competitive. Pre the web, their prices seemed to me to be more or less always the cheapest. Since then, with the pre-ordering and email facility to notify arrival even if not ordered, the pricing seems more sophisticated. I've put this down to them using the demand information that the website must give them via those facilities.

 

Over many years, I've certainly had no complaints with their service, be it postal or in the shop. On the very odd occasion I've had a problem with something, it's been swiftly dealt with.

 

Colin.

[Removed a/c]

Of the online retailers I use, they are the easiest to order and buy from hands down.  

[john dew]

And undoubtedly, as far as I am concerned, the quickest turn round

 

Last Thursday evening 9.30pm (PST) I ordered a Loco and some decoders.......in Vancouver we are 8 hours behind the UK so Hattons actually received the order at 5.30 am Friday Nov 22

 

5 hours later it was picked and packed!

 

10 am this morning there it was on the Doorstep courtesy of Royal Mail Non Western Europe Airmail (I guess even Canada Post played their part!) ........cost 5 GBP ......which was half the VAT saving (it was a Collet a veritable bargain at 55GBP VAT inc)

[Removed a/c]

That is quick John !! I usually find it takes 5 business days and I am in Ontario. 

[andyman7]

     but........ does the sound on the 44 work OK - I would like to buy one but don't want the same hassle I had with D27 - see other forum posts.

 

Thanks,

Well, put it this way, at that price I can justify the cost of a reblow if necessary. The RRP for this model is over £200.....

[Gwiwer]

Items have arrived from Hattons here typically between 5 and 10 business days (so 7 - 14 actual days) from date of order but with the record currently held at 3 days.  That record is shared jointly with three-day transits from Sheffield and Camborne over the years and all originated with Royal Mail via regular (as opposed to special or courier) airmail.

 

No-one makes money keeping stock in warehouses or on shelves so it's in everyone's interests to shift orders ASAP.  Once it's left the shop the rest is in the lap of the mail Gods who often smile upon us but not always. 

[bescotbeast]

I'd like to share my own recent experience with Hatton's who I've been using for well over a year and from totting up have spent £1799.56 with them and up till now have had a faultless service like everyone else who's posted. In August I bought the Bachmann Class 44 with sound, it arrived and ran on my layout but with a stutter which I put down to needing running in, anyway in October the chip fried itself and created a short circuit every time it was placed on the track , so I rang Hatton's and spoke to a helpful assistant who found my order on the PC and told me to send it back 2nd class so i'd get my postage back.

              A replacement loco was dispatched by our good friends Yodel, I tracked the progress of the parcel via my PC and it was showing with the courier on Sunday 17th November so I waited all day in vain and it never arrived. Monday the 18th my wife and I went out to our friends and didn't return till late in the evening, when we returned I found a card from Yodel saying the package was with my neighbours, so after popping across the road and retrieving my parcel it was duly unwrapped and placed on the layout. As soon as power was applied I knew it wasn't right, the loco moved a meter very, very slowly and appeared to be dragging itself along. As it was now late I left the loco till the next day. When I tried the loco the next day it exhibited the same behavior so I picked it up and turned it over to see that a drive shaft was loose which explained it's very sluggish performance, so I thought I'd take the body shell off to see if I could rectify the fault without having to go back to Hatton's for another replacement, whilst getting the body off I noticed that the bogie with the loose drive shaft was now loose and that one of the power pickup wires had now come off. Once the body was off I realised that it was a too big a job to try and reconnect the drive shaft so I called it a day and immediately put the body shell back on, a call was put into Hatton's and again there were most helpful about it. Yet again the loco was posted back to them and this Saturday just gone I received a call from Hatton's asking what did I want to do, my answer was i'd still like a 44 so can I have another replacement loco?, their reply was owing to the nature of the fault they would have to wait till a manager was in on Monday (02/12/13). I expressed my dissatisfaction with this result so after being on hold whilst the assistant consulted another member of staff, I was then informed that the loco is a slow runner implying I didn't know my a##e from my elbow which I found patronising as I know from the first loco the speed curve for this model and it was also implied from the language used that I wasn't being completely honest with them about the nature of the fault. I asked if I could speak to the other member of staff who'd made this judgement on me, a short while later the "Product Specialist" rang me back to chat about the condition the loco was received back at Hatton's, it turns out that by now the dodgy bogie was no longer attached to the chassis. I explained my story to the member of staff as I've explained in my rambling post and I was informed by him I'd have to wait till Monday so a Manager could make a decision.

    Monday came and I rang Hatton's, spoke to an Assistant, explained my story once again and was then put on hold, when Hatton's came back on the phone it was the Product Specialist I'd spoken to on Saturday, he explained that he'd looked at the loco with his manager and that I'd be given a full refund. I told him I didn't want a refund but a replacement Class 44. He explained that the replacement loco had been tested before it was dispatched to me and that owing to unusual amount of problems I had had they felt it best if I came in store to buy any future locos so that I could test them for myself, he also pointed that in their view the fault the damage to the loco was indicative to the bogie being "pulled off". As you can imagine I wasn't happy with that last statement, I mean why would I decide to wreck a loco that has cost me £133 in the short time I'd had it? I also pointed out to them that as I live in East Sussex and they are in Liverpool how was I meant to visit the shop and were they effectively barring me from eHatton's?

             As it currently stands I've asked the manager to give me a call so we can discuss this matter further, I'm still waiting to hear from him and I'm unsure how I stand with any further purchases from eHattons including the pre-ordered Bachmann Covhops I've got on my account.

                                                    As I said at the beginning of this lengthy tale I've always been a satisfied Hatton's customer, in early November I ordered a Heljan Baby Deltic which I've not had any bother with.

                                                                                            Simon

[250BOB]

That sounds like a really bad experience Simon.......and one of the main reasons I avoid mail order like the plague.

 

A relationship with a local model shop is my recomendation, but I appreciate that isnt always possible for everyone.  I accept I have to pay a bit more perhaps, but the buying experience is so much more satisfying.

 

Bob.

Edited December 3, 2013 by 250BOB

[oreamnos]

When I return items to Hattons from California, I always include a letter explaining the reason for the return.  This is usually sufficient but I have had instances recently where although I described what the fault were in my letter, I've received polite emails from them explaining that while they are happy to help they can't find the fault.

 

So on my two most recent returns I actually sent a picture to Hattons along with my letter highlighting the part that is missing or broken.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and Hattons have emailed me in one instance to thank me for sending a picture to clear up their confusion.

 

With mysterious poor running or electrical faults a picture certainly may not tell the story or may not even be possible, but where it is I would recommend this approach.

 

Matt

[bescotbeast]

That sounds like a really bad experience Simon.......and one of the main reasons I avoid mail order like the plague.

 

A relationship with a local model shop is my recomendation, but I appreciate that isnt always possible for everyone.  I accept I have to pay a bit more perhaps, but the buying experience is so much more satisfying.

 

Bob.

Bob I did have a local model shop at Peachaven "Loconotion Models" who were great for the small sundry items like fishplates,paints etc but a bit pricey for new locos, unfortuantley they closed down and I believe my closest shops are either over at Ford or somewhere in Eastbourne.

  As it is i'm still waiting to hear from the Manager to establish if i may still use eHatton's for any future purchases. Regarding taking pictures this is something I wish i'd done but at the time it never occurred to me i'd encounter such problems but if this ever happens again you can bet the camera will be straight out.

                                                      Simon

Edited December 4, 2013 by bescotbeast

[JBM37404]

They now have a very handy 2nd Cabinet to view in the store. I am a very old customer of the place and never had an issue although can always pop in as they are my local shop. I dont tend to buy new as I butcher most things or at least weather so am very pleased they have started showcasing second hand.

[250BOB]

When I return items to Hattons from California, I always include a letter explaining the reason for the return.  This is usually sufficient but I have had instances recently where although I described what the fault were in my letter, I've received polite emails from them explaining that while they are happy to help they can't find the fault.

 

So on my two most recent returns I actually sent a picture to Hattons along with my letter highlighting the part that is missing or broken.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and Hattons have emailed me in one instance to thank me for sending a picture to clear up their confusion.

 

With mysterious poor running or electrical faults a picture certainly may not tell the story or may not even be possible, but where it is I would recommend this approach.

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt

Anyone living in California is excused.

Bob

[250BOB]

Bob I did have a local model shop at Peachaven "Loconotion Models" who were great for the small sundry items like fishplates,paints etc but a bit pricey for new locos, unfortuantley they closed down and I believe my closest shops are either over at Ford or somewhere in Eastbourne.

  As it is i'm still waiting to hear from the Manager to establish if i may still use eHatton's for any future purchases. Regarding taking pictures this is something I wish i'd done but at the time it never occurred to me i'd encounter such problems but if this ever happens again you can bet the camera will be straight out.

                                                      Simon

Hi Simon

I know its not easy for a lot of people to find a good local and reasonably priced dealer................even I have to travel 20 miles to my local shop.

I'm just one of those people who beleives strongly in the saying  "use it or lose it".....like our local high streets.

Bob

[Jenny Emily]

I ordered stuff from Hattons, taking advantage of their Christmas sale on Sunday night. Everything arrived safely by Monday night. I specified Yodel delivery, and it certainly worked well.

[Butler Henderson]

What would have Yodel have done if no one was in? For that very reason I placed an order with Model Railways Direct last Thursday evening on the basis that postie would knock on the door on Saturday with it, which he did. It was also slightly cheaper than Hattons.

[ChrisB]

I'm not normally one for airing my grievances in public but..............

 

After having had years of excellent service from Hattons, I bought a bundle of stuff about 6 months ago including a sound fitted diesel. When the package arrived, there had obviously been a packing error (the part numbers were very similar) and I received a sound fitted steam loco. I rang Hattons who politely told me that if I sent the item back, they would send the correct item out upon receipt and I would be reimbursed for the postage. As the value of the item was over £200, I felt I really ought to send it recorded just in case it went astray and to make sure there was no risk of nding up substantially out of pocket..

When I was reimbursed £4, I rang them to say that It had cost more than that to return it but was told that it was policy to only refund the £4, that I had only needed to send it second class and that this was clear in their terms and conditions. I explained that I was only trying to do the decent thing and had not read any terms and conditions as I was just correcting their mistake. Again, I was told politely but firmly that they would only refund the £4 as this was their policy.

 

Now I'm sure I could have made more of a fuss and got my extra couple of quid back eventually. There were a few forthcoming items which, whilst not on pre order, were set up for me to be notified by them upon arrival. Some of these have come and gone and others have yet to become available but I would have bought them all from Hattons.

 

Instead, I did what we are all free to do and voted with my feet. I have since spent several hundred pounds with some of their competitors and have received excellent service.

 

The episode was a shame as, like I have said, I had always previously enjoyed a fantastic service from them but there are options.

 

As an aside, I do support my local shops where I consider it viable and don't mind paying more up to a point but sometimes, that gap is just too big.

[Removed a/c]

Sorry but I have to side with Hattons on this. They have policies in place and I am sorry but the customer is not always right. Had the locomotive not arrived they would have probably just written it off. It is the cost of doing business. 

 

As a consumer it is your responsibility to read the terms and conditions. Hattons can hardly be blamed for you not reading them. 

[ChrisB]

I responded on the day it arrived. I was told to send it back - was not told to send it back in any particular way. I wrapped it up and took it straight to the post office. I don't think most people would have seen any need to read any terms and conditions first.

Each to his own though. As I said, I thought it was an unfortunate situation and was surprised by the response.

 

I don't dispute their right to refuse but I was only guilty of going the wrong way about helping them correct their own error.

 

Bottom line was that I was unhappy and voted with my wallet.

Edited December 10, 2013 by ChrisB

[bescotbeast]

Regarding my own issues Hattons contacted me today and have stated they have no problem with me ordering further locos from them, I was reimbursed for the Class 44 as they have no further models in stock. Regarding sending back the problem locos each time they told me to send it back 2nd Class so that I would be reimbursed.

                                                                          Simon