Hattons Preowned

[Dan Griffin]

I find it difficult that a retailer like hattons are attempting to rip some people off. I look on their preowned site most days, today I noticed there is a Hornby terrier described 'like new' but its clearly missing its smokebox door. that's not 'like new'! and a Hornby sentinel, only a few quid cheaper than a brand new one, which comes with a years Hornby warranty, a second hand one doesn't. 

[ThaneofFife]

id be tempted to ring them up point out the faults and try to negotiate a price more fitting if i felt the advertised price was incorrect.

[bigdaveadams1]

Has anyone sold anything to Hattons? If so, how'd it go?

[Simon Moore]

They currently have 3f locos new for £60 second hand £75.

 

Crazy.

[delticfan]

I suppose they are struggling getting the models to sell from Hornby and Bachman like everyone else but I can't see how they make up their prices for what is basically people's broken cast offs in some cases. Can't be doing much for their reputation, I would rather deal with lthe likes of homes or invicta.

[Stevelewis]

id be tempted to ring them up point out the faults and try to negotiate a price more fitting if i felt the advertised price was incorrect.

Not  much  point in bothering!! Although  I am  a long  term  hattons  customer   and  i do  buy  quite a lot  from  them  I get  frustrated  by  their  communications.

 

I have  contacted  them  quite a few times  re  price  anomolies  but  nothing  ever  gets  ammended.

 

Currently  they  list  some kato  items  at  well above  the 'new' prices   obtainable from other  retailers  in  the  UK

 

Incidentally  i  have  only  purchased a few  minor items from  the S/H lists  where  i can see  unopened packs in the photos!!

[coachmann]

Their prices for old tat raise the eyebrows. Pssst, wanna loco with no chimney? Or a 'Manor' from the dinosaur age described as 'poor runner with back axle out of line'? I realise its a broad church but which thick congregation are these aimed at?  

Edited July 5, 2015 by coachmann

[4630]

Their prices for old tat raise the eyebrows. Pssst, wanna loco with no chimney? Or a 'Manor' from the dinosaur age described as 'poor runner with back axle out of line'? I realise its a broad church but which congregation are these aimed at?  

 

The gullible?

 

A fairly numerous congregation in my experience.

[Simon Moore]

I emailed them yesterday pointing out the the 3f prices & the standard 4 with a broken chimney. They said they would pass this on. I also pointed out I wasn't alone & to check the big model forums as there were discussions taking place.

 

I think that hattons second hand is aimed at the same gullible cretins that buy from Gostude on ebay. He currently has a craftsman class 28 kit for £130 you can buy it new for half that price.

Edited July 5, 2015 by Rhb Simon

[delticfan]

I used to buy a lot from hattons mainly Bachmann wagons in big batches every few months, it has been difficult doing this what with availability and general price hikes but the pre owned stuff really puts me off shopping at hattons it's like they want you to buy this stuff, I don't and I can't be bothered sifting through the endless lists of the stuff. Hattons are a no no for me now.

[Les1952]

Hattons pricing has always been idiosyncratic at best, and at times highly peculiar.  Why should the secondhand be any different?

 

As to old tat, they are buying collections and giving a preliminary valuation unseen.  I doubt if ANYONE on this forum has a collection that doesn't contain a single item of old tat (that derelict you have for spares?).  

 

Given the profile of the advertising I would imagine a number of these collections come from home clearance- Fred dies or goes into care and relatives take the easy option when disposing of the model railway stuff.  So Hattons get a mixture of good(ish) stuff and old tat, in some cases the chimneyless veteran that Fred probably kept for spare parts being included.

 

Personally, a good deal of secondhand stuff I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, no matter who was selling it.  I've browsed Hattons list (and secondhand lists from other retailers), but haven't bought anything.

 

Would I use the existence of the secondhand list and the dubious quality of some of it as an excuse NOT to buy ANYTHING from Hattons?   No- amongst other things I've a WD saddletank on order from them that I can't get by any other means. 

 

Fred's chimneyless loco, like the chimneyless locos on eBay, will probably eventually go to someone who needs mechanical parts to restore a loved veteran.

 

Les

[paulbb]

I have bought some pre-owned wagons (Airfix, Mainline) that have been reasonably priced and in good condition, and the shop is OK for that.

Locos are another matter, I would not buy, as dont have to and I am not a collector - though their prices are interesting to compare to Ebay's.

[delticfan]

Poor old Fred, I've told the Mrs to sell each bit on its own on eBay!

[coachmann]

Circle of 3rd radius track Hornby £21.20....Hattons £22.00. just thought I'd chuck it into the debate.

[Gwiwer]

I no longer bother with Hattons pre-owned listings which I note are no longer by any means all "like new" as they once were.

 

Only once have I bought anything from that source and then it wasn't available anywhere else that I could find.  Hattons photos showed the box seals to be intact despite listing as pre-owned and upon arrival it certainly was "like new" as the tissue was still around the box and the model had clearly never been removed.  

 

Too many pieces are now listed at inflated prices on the apparent premise that someone will pay up and there are some absolute wrecks in there too.

[Horsetan]

I remember the days when "pre-owned" was called, more simply, "used".

[Fat Controller]

I remember the days when "pre-owned" was called, more simply, "used".

or 'Second-Hand'.

There is occasionally a sign near Folkestone West station advertising a 'Pre-owned baby sale'; I think they ought to look at the wording.

[Horsetan]

.... occasionally a sign near Folkestone West station advertising a 'Pre-owned baby sale'; I think they ought to look at the wording.

 

Given the numbers of small children trafficked into this country from overseas, maybe that's not quite so far from the truth.....

[Trevellan]

Has anyone sold anything to Hattons? If so, how'd it go?

 

I'm currently in the process of selling a batch of models to Hattons - 18 coaches and two locomotives. All items are as new, and were only removed from the packaging for inspection or, in the case of the locomotives, for testing. They have all been carefully stored since.

 

Hattons offer was around 25% lower than my valuation (which allowed for their mark-up). I only accepted because selling items individually on eBay or RMweb Buy & Sell would have been more time-consuming; time which I don't currently have. I had considered taking the store credit option, but this has to be spent in one go and cannot be used for part or pre-orders, thereby largely negating the benefit.

 

The models were collected today (at no cost to me) and I await acceptance and payment from Hattons. Even if the rest of the transaction goes well, I very much doubt I'll use this service again. Selling items individually takes longer, but I'd suggest this is the better option.

[stovepipe]

Most of the modern stuff seems to sell eventually, but if you go back the full 6 months that they have listed, it is mostly buses, and 1970s and 1980s railway gear hanging around. Hattons don't seem to reduce prices after a time, so I wonder where it goes after 6 months - possibly as job lots to a few favoured s/h dealers? If you have some shows nearby then I think they represent a better opportunity, but I guess those overseas and in 'dry' areas for shows could well be tempted.

[Robert Shrives]

Hi ,

Agree with most of above , but fun at lunchtime to muse over offerings... Last few days two Dapol N 121 models got priced at £95 with one a dummy , N gauge forum members picked up on this and postings flew !. Well I emailed Hattons and with in minutes a fulsome reply from the Pre -owned section manager noting error and pricing changed - I had suggested £35 but he went for £40 which was same as other new dummies on page - but it was a green whiskers version -most sought after version it seems.

 

So if you do see howlers drop them a line and suggest option and I am sure some haggling possible ... I got a fiver off stuff a while back but with best will in the world no one person is going to know all aspects of the hobby so howlers and misjudgments will occur.

 

Old rule is the sale value of an item happens when the seller matches the expectations of a purchaser. It is only worth a million if somebody will pay a million. Hattons will learn this but with the hobby having flat sales if Hornby to be believed  then the S/H, used or preowned must give some cashflow for Hattons.  No idea of right off time but if space can be found then it costs not a  lot tohang on to it. Rails of Sheffield have a fair sized room shelved out and with boxes as well is a good place to find bargains.

cheers

Robert       

[NickL2008]

With all of the silly prices Hattons charge for their tat, second hand, "Like New" there should be a thread on the Wheeltapers section called "Hattons Madness" !

NL

[Bernard Lamb]

With all of the silly prices Hattons charge for their tat, second hand, "Like New" there should be a thread on the Wheeltapers section called "Hattons Madness" !

 

NL

However the bottom line is what matters and in that respect they do seem to be doing a better job than Hornby.

Bernard

[Richard Lee]

Would be interesting to have seen what they tried to sell them for on their website.  It always amazes me the descriptions given to items and the fact that items with identified faults are being sold for more money than new items.

I havent seen anything to tempt me on there since this went live. May be someone on the forum has had a good experience buying from the Preowned section?

I have bought their second hand stuff twice.  The first time irritated me to the point that I cancelled some pre-orders with them, and moved them down my list of suppliers.  That was a Hornby E2 with minor damage, but not specified as a poor runner.  The minor damage to the buffer was minor.  Unfortunately, it ran like a pig.  I tried wheel cleaning, gunk removal and careful re-lubication, but it still ran poorly. At one point it wasn't working at all.  In the end, I got a Hornby Railroad S&DJR Jinty from Amazon so that I could use the chassis.  It works a lot better now, and I have the Jinty body on the old chassis in case I ever want to do a Christmas round the tree layout; however, but I wouldn't have paid what I paid for the E2, the Jinty and two lots of overseas postage if I had known.

 

The second time left me a good deal happier, I am pleased to say.  The Jinty had given wistful thoughts about LMS through coaches.  I saw a couple of Mainline early LMS corridor coaches that were £11 and £11.50 each.  These are the ones that Bachmann still makes, from time to time.  When Bachmann make them again they are expected to be about £23 to £25 each, depending upon what discount the shop gives you.  Even allowing another £9.99 for a packet of Bachmann metal coach wheels I felt that I didn't do too badly, and I didn't have to wait for Bachmann.

[black and decker boy]

I've bought a few S/H Bachmann wagons (combined into other orders) where they are under my internal value limit (max £8 for 10ft WB and max £14 for LWB air brake). I also got an ex-Dapol/Hornby pug for £35 which was much cheaper than eBay.

 

That said, most of their pricing is laughable and I wouldn't touch it.