RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 6, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2013 Plenty of Oxford Diecast and EFE with 20% off, but this is where I see MZ's problem: even with that discount those items are still more expensive than online retailers' normal prices. As an example, I bought a Dennis F106 fire appliance elsewhere for £10 and MZ's price is £14.99 so with 20% discount that's still a whole £2 more. Alas it's only Modelzone's - and others of course - problem if everybody buys solely on price and doesn't give any concern to the other things local shops can offer. And I'm sorry but if folk do their shopping entirely on a price basis we all get the lack of local model shops they deserve (although as I've already said the presence of deep discounters is not the only problem for the likes of Modelzone but it sure as heck hasn't helped the survival of more than a few specialist model railway retailers). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted July 6, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 6, 2013 Are these sort of 'discounts' currently happening at the Signal Box as well? Indeed what is the S.P. there? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Made a visit to Modelzone in Pompey this afternoon, not a great deal of discounts available, but, well pleased to pick up a Hornby R2962 Railfreight liveried 56040 "Oystermouth" for £79-99 the shop by the way was fairly busy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkwolf1877 Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 A quick definition: Administrators - officers appointed to trade the company as a going concern. Not knocking you're reply but why close online sales then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 6, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2013 Made a visit to Modelzone in Pompey this afternoon, not a great deal of discounts available, but, well pleased to pick up a Hornby R2962 Railfreight liveried 56040 "Oystermouth" for £79-99 the shop by the way was fairly busy. thats pretty good considering there are no discounts on Hornby stuff!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 6, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2013 Not knocking you're reply but why close online sales then? Presumably to reduce costs and try to establish the most profiable, or at least non-loss making, parts of the retail business. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Jonboy Posted July 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2013 Making a guess here but couriers are very tight on credit control at the best of times, let alone if they know there are issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Not knocking you're reply but why close online sales then? It's more expensive to maintaina website and send stuff out than to shift it at the stores themselves. Plus, as nobody is really sure when the business COULD be liquidated (not saying it will) they don't want a big list of orders that they would have to refund should the worst happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Wonder if people would have a different view on a lot of their prices if they dropped them by £4 but charged a Personal financial transaction Processing charge of £4 at the till. Seems to me a lot of people will use mail order and overlook the P&P charge, obviously not so much of an issue if ordering a number of items but I have seen a number of threads here where people have seemingly ordered a coach or a road vehicle on its own for £xx whereas the actual price to them is £xx+typically £4 and in all honestly hardly any cheaper than the RRP and in some cases more. Helping out on a trade stand at show reinforces this view as someone will comment along the lines of "its £2 cheaper at Hattons", they tend to look at you as if you are barking when you point out its £2 dearer at Hattons unless they live near the shop, and the classic expression from them is when you refer to someone else having it cheaper than Hattons in any case.! did finally buy a MPV yesterday, the price had dropped to £54.20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete55 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Wonder if people would have a different view on a lot of their prices if they dropped them by £4 but charged a Personal financial transaction Processing charge of £4 at the till. Seems to me a lot of people will use mail order and overlook the P&P charge, obviously not so much of an issue if ordering a number of items but I have seen a number of threads here where people have seemingly ordered a coach or a road vehicle on its own for £xx whereas the actual price to them is £xx+typically £4 and in all honestly hardly any cheaper than the RRP and in some cases more. Helping out on a trand stand at show reinforces this vuew as someone will comment along the lines of "its £2 cheaper at Hattons", they tend to look at you as if you are barking when you point out its £2 dearer at Hattons unless they live near the shop, and the classic expression from them is when you refer to someone else having it cheaper than Hattons in any case.! did finally buy a MPV yesterday, the price had droppedq to £54.20. Absolutely correct! My local model shop prices are discounted, but typically higher than most box shifters......but add on the postal charges and the local shop is often cheaper, or very little difference, plus the added bonus of being able to see and handle the goods first. Not to mention the free coffee!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2013 Wonder if people would have a different view on a lot of their prices if they dropped them by £4 but charged a Personal financial transaction Processing charge of £4 at the till. Seems to me a lot of people will use mail order and overlook the P&P charge, obviously not so much of an issue if ordering a number of items but I have seen a number of threads here where people have seemingly ordered a coach or a road vehicle on its own for £xx whereas the actual price to them is £xx+typically £4 and in all honestly hardly any cheaper than the RRP and in some cases more. Helping out on a trand stand at show reinforces this vuew as someone will comment along the lines of "its £2 cheaper at Hattons", they tend to look at you as if you are barking when you point out its £2 dearer at Hattons unless they live near the shop, and the classic expression from them is when you refer to someone else having it cheaper than Hattons in any case.! did finally buy a MPV yesterday, the price had droppedq to £54.20. Very good points - I have bought from Hattons (a D95XX, and on the second occasion a bulk pack of wagons) and found in the case of the latter that with the postal charge added-in the saving compared with usual retailer level of discount was minimal. I'm quite sure that what I bought at Modelzone last week, which filled two carrier bags - one quite heavily, would have incurred some hefty postal charges and was therefore 'a good deal' - especially as I would have bought most of it at Modelzone (simply for shopping convenience and time saving) over the coming 12 -18 months. To be honest I don't think that by continuing to buy from my two 'local' modelshops (plus Modelzone) I am particularly hitting myself in the wallet. And those two model shops continue - I hope for a long time to come - to be there for other things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Lime Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Easy, never get married! Aaah, if only the RMWEB marital advice line had been in existence in the 1980's it would have saved me from three expensive mistakes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 There's an illuminating article on the problems facing High Street retailers in today's Observer. One thing that I was unaware of was that Business Rates are set by HMRC and not by local authorities. They also make the valuations upon which the Rateable Value is based. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffalo Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 I knew and agree that business rates are set nationally but I thought that exemptions (such as for regeneration areas) were not decided at Westminster. As for business premises valuations, I think they are still done locally. The old Borough / District Councils' Valuation Office has less influence where planning etc is moved from the BDC / RDC to things like Development Corporations, these quangos seem to be able to do whatever they like! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Lesson number 1 NO wife ever smiles benignly when you are spending your money on your hobby. She's just found the bargaining tool she needs for that new kitchen/conservatory/lounge suite you'd told her you couldn't afford....... Edit for spelling! Or reward for not kicking up a fuss for a girls only weekend in London. Just had the call. "There's a closing down sale at Modelzone -do you want anything?" Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 It's more expensive to maintaina website and send stuff out than to shift it at the stores themselves. Plus, as nobody is really sure when the business COULD be liquidated (not saying it will) they don't want a big list of orders that they would have to refund should the worst happen And the website (and the systems that sit behind it to allow you to place orders) may very well be hosted by a third party, so you've also got all of the issues with getting credit from suppliers. I went in to my local ModelZone the other day, but had the same problem as other people have commented on. Even with 20% off there are cheaper local suppliers and the model railway section was very sparsely stocked. So I didn't buy anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted July 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2013 I bought a new occasional table for the living room. What is it the rest of the time? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 If I were a teenager seeing my local railways for the first time in 2013 I would be switched off completely by their banality. I'm pretty sure people were saying the same thing 30 years ago about BR Blue, and look how many BR Blue layouts there are now... At least today's railways have a bit more variety in terms of colour! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br-nse-fan Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 At least today's railways have a bit more variety in terms of colour! Color, yes... but some of the liveries look as if a bunch of toddlers attacked the trains with crayons! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShuntShed Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 It would be nice to find out the last time someone on here brought something substantial in modelzone such as a loco or a train set. Most of the time i just go into modelzone for a look, see a loco i like and then find it cheaper online because most of modelzones products are RRP. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2013 It would be nice to find out the last time someone on here brought something substantial in modelzone such as a loco or a train set. Most of the time i just go into modelzone for a look, see a loco i like and then find it cheaper online because most of modelzones products are RRP. I bought a Hornby 'Castle' there last year - but it was substantially reduced and ex display cabinet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br-nse-fan Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 It would be nice to find out the last time someone on here brought something substantial in modelzone such as a loco or a train set. Most of the time i just go into modelzone for a look, see a loco i like and then find it cheaper online because most of modelzones products are RRP. I've purchased a few items from The Signal Box, all discounted items... never actually bought anything from MZ however. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 It would be nice to find out the last time someone on here brought something substantial in modelzone such as a loco or a train set. Most of the time i just go into modelzone for a look, see a loco i like and then find it cheaper online because most of modelzones products are RRP. I bought 2 x 2EPB's from them (MZ Stratford) and loads of smaller items (MZ Peterborough) up to about six months ago. My main concern was that they did not have a test track of any kind, and if there had been anything wrong, their policy was to send the model back to the manf. and await their decision before any refund or replacement would be made. Bad policy. Steve's Trains4U, in Peterborough where I lived then, had/has a far more customer friendly approach (as well as a vastly superior range) and thus got the vast majority of my business. Their shop is on an industrial estate and therefore not an "impulse buy" location. When asked why he would not move to the city centre, it was the much higher rent, NOT the rates, that made that uneconomic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 On a slight tangent. I attempted to pop into Invicta Models on Friday afternoon. They weren't open yet but the look of the shop and layout as seen through the window was impressive. They've spent a bit of cash setting that up. A few blue and yellow Athearn and Silver Atlas boxes were spotted as well. Dangerous for me as its only 10 mins away. (25 mins if I attempt it during the school run) Sadly parking around there is a nightmare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 8, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 8, 2013 On a slight tangent. I attempted to pop into Invicta Models on Friday afternoon. They weren't open yet but the look of the shop and layout as seen through the window was impressive. They've spent a bit of cash setting that up. A few blue and yellow Athearn and Silver Atlas boxes were spotted as well. Dangerous for me as its only 10 mins away. (25 mins if I attempt it during the school run) Sadly parking around there is a nightmare. Andrew Go by train then you wont be able to carry too much away from the shop!! Looks good news if they have American outline stuff in there.. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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