SGP

I have six layouts in 6 gauges and build layouts for others. I have plenty to do and earn good money doing it. All I am doing is trying to post some facts. I think I'll just keep my facts to myself in future .... your loss.

Says a lot when I offer facts and the owner of the forum sides with comments against what I am trying to say.

Bullhead is a waste of effort. I bought some Peco O gauge bullhead and it is the same as flat bottomed with different chairs. Bullhead should NOT be flat bottomed. It looks ridiculous. Maybe not so much in N scale but then, why bother?

I was not inferring. You know what I meant. Gaugemaster can offer a discount because they are not the importers ... Bachmann do that themselves. Are the T's crossed and I's dotted now? Can you understand what I am saying? Gaugemaster used to offer discount on a lot of lines when they weren't the importer / supplier but they got the job of main suppliers when the previous importer / supplier passed the ball.

I didn't say they did. I can't cross every t and dot every i. Read my post for the information it infers I said that Bachmann are their own importers and suppliers and so Gaugemaster can offer a discount on Bachmann items as they then become a retailer on those goods. Bachmann supplies Gaugemaster and so so does Hornby so Gaugemaster are able to offer a discount. Gaugemaster imports Piko / LGB / Heljan etc and so therefore cannot offer any discounts on those brands With the likes of (say) Piko and LGB, Gaugemaster are importers and distributors and cannot undercut the trade they supply. The only time that Gaugemaster CAN offer discounts on the goods they distribute to the trade, is when all stock has sold out at outlets and there are no further orders.

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but Gaugemaster are the UK suppliers / wholesalers / importers now on most of the items they stock. Therefore, they are not allowed to offer discounts to the public except on Hornby / Scalextric / Airfix / Humbrol / Bachmann and the like where they are just stockists. Likewise, buying direct from Hornby or Bachmann you cannot get discount for the same reason. Look at Gaugemaster's prices on (say) Piko / Heljan and there is no discount because they are supplying the trade. Conversely, look at their (say) Hornby / Bachmann prices and you will find a RRP and a discount price because Hornby and Bachmann do their own importing and distributing.

I can never understand how shops (models or otherwise) make a living. First you have to buy or rent a shop, pay business rates on it and then stock it. Stocking a model shop with just a quarter of a million quids worth of models (that's not much stock today) would cost wholesale more than half of that from the shops coffers. Then they have to sell it on and plough back into stock as stock depletes. Then there are staff costs and write offs ... and the shopkeeper pays income tax and stamp on any profit he makes. Then of course, you are always reliant on someone actually wanting to buy your stock. That to me is a nightmare. If I had the money to invest in a shop and stock, I wouldn't bother ... I'd just salt it away and drag an income from it ... then get an ordinary job working for someone else. Some friends I know (we all have well paid jobs), whenever we go into a model shop, they always ask for a discount ...... they wouldn't go into a supermarket and ask for a discount. What makes a model shop fair game? Most people forget that turnover is not the same as profit. It may look like the shop is minting it but some are just about covering overheads. Worse, when retirement beckons, and the stock has to be reduced, I'll bet they still get asked for further discount.

Reminds me of the old joke ..... A bloke goes into a store to buy a book .... "How much are your books on xxxx?" he asked. "£50" replied the shopkeeper. "That's a bit expensive", the bloke said, "they are only £20 at the shop down the road". "Why don't you buy it from down the road then?" replied the shopkeeper. "I would", the man said, "but they don't have any left". "Well", said the shopkeeper, "Ours are only £20 when we don't have any".

009 / H0e couplings are garbage at the best of times. At least the differing heights make coupling a lot easier. When the couplings are exactly the same height there is no way they will couple up. When they do eventually couple, only one loop does the job whilst the other can't lay flat. Roco's plug links are the best although only good for permanent rakes.

No silicon carbide allowed.

I once bought an item from USA for just under £15 but the postage was £20. En-route the exchange rate changed out of my favour. Upon delivery I was charged on the £15 AND the £20 postage AND the Royal Mail handling fee. I refused the parcel and it was sent back to seller (although he claims he never got it back). So, I lost about £35 and customs / Royal Mail were a bit out of pocket as well. I bought the item in UK eventually for £25, only a bit more than what customs and RM were going to add on. Everything comes to he who waits. I bought a Toys R Us model exlusive to USA but with postage and added costs, it cost me £95 to get it into my hands. Six months later, surplus stock was being sold in Forbidden Planet for £40 and Toys R Us in UK for £30.

I thought that went down to £30 a few years back. It used to be £18 merchandise and £36 gift but these were reduced to £15 and £30 respectively. However, I tried to buy an item from USA recently under £15 and the import was to be applied from £zero. So that has all gone out of the window. Worth noting that those previous figures didn't apply if you went over or if the exchange rate changed en-route. An item worth £14.50p when bought could be £15.50p on receipt. If an item (say £20) arrived here, you would pay the levy on the whole £20 (not the £5 it went over) PLUS the postage and any insurance. Postage was ignored if under the threshold but added if over. Also there would be the £8 Royal Mail handling fee added on top (more with couriers). Not worth the hassle unless a real must have. Books however are exempt from all charges.

I remember when I first started in G scale (1998), their LGB prices were always the cheapest AND they offered free postage on stuff that heavy. They are still among the best prices for Scalextric, probably THE best prices when you factor in free postage. There are model shops that are a pleasure to buy from and some that aren't. I always find Gaugemaster in the former category.

Roofing felt over decking boards looks good. It may protect the boards from the weather but wood pigs get underneath and into the grooves where they can munch away undisturbed.

Since January, buying from a country other than the EU has changed as well. Previously I could buy from USA (for example) up to the value of £15 and incur no extra charge. That has now changed to zero. So, why should ROW have to suffer a tax hike?

I did email Pen and Sword with some info that could have been added to the book (didn't realise that the author was on this forum) but although they said they would forward the info to him, no reply was forthcoming. The info was regarding the rough riding of the Co end, the noise level being radiator fan end, and the preference of the ConDor drivers to couple pairs of Co-Bo's with the Bo cabs outermost. Where a single Co-Bo was used, the locomotive would be turned so that the Bo end was leading. Most if not all ConDor photos will back that up. When the locos were used short haul or later on when transferred to Cumbria, then the drivers were not as fussy.

I ordered mine from WHS as well and the day it arrives in stock they refund my money. Probably because they had the RRP as £30 whereas everyone else had the RRP as £40. I'm a bit annoyed about the refund though as I bought it on a double deal with a CD that I wasn't too fussed about getting but it meant I got 15% off the order with free post. They have refunded me £21.24p which means I paid full price for the CD and got less back for the book leaving me with an £8.76p shortfall on their price.

Ultrasonic discs to excite water have been available on model boats for years. Maplins used to sell them for less than a tenner. The clever part here is getting a vibrating disc large enough to fit into a small space and to mask the noise of the vibration. The downside of this system is once blown clear of the chimney, the vapour being cold tends not to rise but to gravitate.

That may be the answer to a totally different question.

Here's one that I have just received. I'm not even going to try to work it out. (Valid from 28 May 2021 until 31 May 2021. Applies to final value fees on up to 100 listings. Item must sell within the first listing period. No insertion fees apply. Private sellers activated on managed payments only. Offer excludes the 30p order level fee for private sellers activated to managed payments. Other fees, including any international fees, still apply.)

I had a conversation with an eBay rep the other day. A seller pays eBay ALL the fees now that were previously shared with Paypal. That means that eBay pays the Adyen fees (Adyen won't be providing eBay with a service for free) but I threw a curved ball into the conversation ...... buyers are still given the option to pay with Paypal, so who pays the Paypal fees? Certainly not the buyer, so who does? Is it the seller for accepting Paypal or do eBay cover Paypal's tab (who also aren't providing the service for free)? The eBay rep said that eBay are considered to be "the shop" so eBay cover the Paypal tab. If that is the case, why add all this complication that theoretically costs them more?

Great British Railways will eventually become British Railways .... the same as New Pence became Pence.

I pre-ordered a Hornby item many months ago. The shop still has the item as a pre-order to this day yet the item has been and gone at all other outlets. A phone call confirmed that the item would eventually arrive, yet a year further on, it hasn't. As it was, I managed to buy from a different shop though at a £10 price lift. Seems to me that it is best to pre-order from two or three outlets and then cancel the stragglers. Too much of that though might enforce a non returnable deposit.

Are you sure your name's Dave, Rodney?

All sorted now. Managed to get a one to one telephone call with eBay. I paid them on my credit card although it was a bit naughty on their part .... I had listed an item for free that didn't sell. They automatically re-listed it twice before I sorted out how to take the listing down. For the two automatic re-listings (which I thought I had opted out of on the original listing) they charged me 2x 35p. I only wanted £4 for the item. Not worth the bother of selling as I'd have been in the negative with postage if it had sold. Re-listings should be inclusive (in this case free) especially if I am unaware of a re-listing.