Trojmiasto

Thats ok - given the amount of agreement, probably best left as it is. I just think there is an inherent contradiction in how the thread is set up at present in that it has been explicitly designed to post a bargain, yet being part of a forum people naturally want to discuss that bargain, ask questions regarding the retailer or items for sale, hence the suggestion to try to provide a platform to be able to facilitate this whilst keeping most recent bargains at the top of the section as per any other section of a forum. I've just come to the realisation that it doesn't matter how many times you ask people within this thread not to post so-called 'irrelevant' posts and to be responsible, they naturally want to discuss things within the environment of a forum. As I say, it was motivated from missing a bargain myself due to discussions about a different bargain.

I was thinking about the format of this thread following on from newbryford's reminder regarding its purpose. Personally, I recently missed out on the Lionheart deal which I thought was absolutely fantastic. I know that I looked at the latest updates on the page on the day, however I didn't check back on the thread later on. The main reason for that was because all of the updates to the thread were around the subtleties of the Amazon pricing algorithm, none of which contained a bargain and to be honest with you I got a bit fed up with checking back constantly as it felt like people would just keep posting along those lines for the rest of the day. We are getting to a similar position again now. The odd poster is putting up individual items, but the majority are from the same location - Ellis Clark and Hereford Models. Thats great, but in amongst that there are various posts on items that people have had (including the Lionheart models), opinions on whether something is a bargain or not (including myself in that!) and queries over postage charges for individual suppliers, to name a few. Is anyone here familiar with the site hotukdeals? I can't help but feel that the format there would greatly help the content of this thread. This question is really addressed to a moderator, but in essence would there be a possibility to have a dedicated section of the forum to bargains akin to the Modelling Questions, Hints and Tips that this thread sits in now? When a bargain is found, people just simply start a new thread within that section and any discussions or feedback from that bargain is contained within that specific thread. Then, the core topic at the top remains the bargain, and this can be edited by the original poster should they wish to add any further bargains, along with the discussion below. For example - you would have a Ellis Clark thread started by the original poster who posted the link to it initially. Then, any discussion on bargains from that page, or any links to bargains from that site would all be contained there. They wouldn't be in the thread dedicated to, Hattons, for instance, so you are not having to trawl through pages and pages of comments not related to bargains - you can literally just go to individual threads and find what you need. Likewise, you wouldn't receive notifications for threads that you didn't want to follow, such as the `A. Oakes is no-where near where I live so why are you posting about it' brigade. The threads will rise and fall as and when new bargains are posted. What do others think of this?

He's usually quite prolific on eBay and similar to Rails, this kind of stuff usually finds its way on there. It's probably been set up given that eBay haven't announced any £1 final value fee promo offers recently in wake of the ongoing situation so that the items are sold direct. Had some good stuff off Ellis in the past, but found more recently some of his prices to have become a bit more keen, but that's probably true of the whole industry.

Fantastic bargain, but am honestly a little frustrated having seen it now as I looked at the thread on Friday, but when I started seeing the various posts on the Amazon pricing algorithm, I switched off and sadly missed one of the bargains of the year for sure. Please keep those bargains coming.

Pretty sure they've become more scarce than they previously were now, but recall these 5MTs in excellent condition selling for in and around the £40 mark on eBay. They look nice and on the flat they perform perfectly fine. However, their incline haulage ability is pretty woeful unfortunately.

Sorry - the page is different from earlier, now they are showing in stock.

Now showing OOS

2 for 1 week at the A Oakes sale this coming Saturday, but make sure you bring your passports or any other suitable ID document... ...it's one offer per family!

You're looking over 200 at least ... oh sorry, you said carriage numbers, not pounds!

Still some bargains to be had for anyone in and around the West Midlands today at the A Oakes 70% off sale. For instance, there's a Heljan 009 L&B loco for £84 in the window, with a number of Bachmann wagons around £5 a pop including Pill Box's and LMS variants. There was a Maunsell Open 2nd there when I left for £11 which I thought was insane. There were a couple of steam locos left, as well as three class 71s for £50.99 each.

We've been here before though - having to trawl through posts of 'look what I've just bought'. I'm happy for them, as I'm happy to hear of a charitable cause doing well, but it doesn't really belong in a thread for people looking for bargains if they can't purchase the items themselves. It should really have its own topic.

I certainly agree with you - my comment was more aimed at the original poster, as other than the bargain they'd had through the purchase of their set, I couldn't see a bargain that I could view and purchase myself, unless I was missing something.

Glad to hear of the success - I'm struggling to find the bargain?

Those photos have the infamous Gostude written all over them. I'd suggest to avoid him, and this listing, like the plague.

If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts is your local area?

Is this nationwide?

Definitely - crazy money. In comparison, it will probably get you just under a third of a Bachmann coach at current RRP...

Are there any left for anyone else to purchase?

This announcement is very much a statement of intent from a company that is looking to blow major competition away. From a steam perspective, they've hit Bachmann hard on traditional solid ground - Thompson A2s should have come from Bachmann to complement their coaching rake and match the impressive Peppercorn variant, as should the 78000 given that they already have the chassis from the Ivatt 2MT. It is a further illustration just how far off the pace they have slipped - pushing prices up and pleading poverty when the reality is they have simply fell behind. They cannot compete with Hornby on this scale, and they cannot enact change quick enough to meet deadlines - some of which have been exceeded by years as opposed to months that we've become accustomed to. Fantastic offering from Hornby - I'm not a diesel fan, but even I'm looking at the Floyd 56 and thinking how I can justify it on a 60s steam shed. There's diversity and willingness to explore new markets whilst keeping in touch with its traditional base. The Duchess of Atholl looks really tempting, as does the A4 and Teak set in their decades range.

With respect, that was not the point of my post.

You certainly got your wish - re-release at £224.95. An increase in RRP of over 100% in seven years, with no change to the model. Hopeful I'm not the only person concerned about the direction this hobby is heading.

Hyperinflation at its finest - making items look far more of a bargain than they actually are to drive secondary sales post initial release.

You'd probably better looking at the 10+ listings that have appeared on eBay over the weekend. Think more people have bought with the view to making a buck as opposed to a layout, and to be honest, the way that high end models are priced nowadays, I really don't blame them.

If anyone genuinely wants four, just add two lots of two to the basket to get around the issue...

Only applicable if you buy two though, which I did. Thanks OP - will suit a younger member of the family really well.