GWR-fan

Another vote of confidence in the store. I long ago gave up on other retailers and depend entirely on the store for my needs. If Hattons do not stock it then I do not need it. It is almost embarrassing looking back over my account, I had not realised just how much stock I have purchased over the years.

So every thing is rosy between the company and its retailers and we can place our pre-orders once again in the confidence that our selected products will be available because (quote) "........we want to ensure that those of our retail stockists who invest in this side of the business can survive and we have striven to provide a fair playing field for all." Alas, will those stockists that are currently investing in the business still be in good graces in January, 2022? Those stockists who fall by the wayside and fail to meet Hornby's dedication and devotion to the consumer community will no doubt be unable to take pre-orders next year, however, will the all important consumer be made aware of those "favoured" stockists and those who to avoid long before pre-ordering time?

Given that many have had their pre-orders cancelled will they be so willing to commit to pre-ordering the 2022 production come early January next year? Will a potential downturn in pre-orders lead to a reduction in production numbers and lack of availability of specific items. Low production numbers would ensure limited or negligible discounting. The current cancellation of pre-orders is not limited to just a few items which may have been a result of limited production runs, but it seems that the cancellations are across the spectrum of Hornby production. This indicates a specific targeted market strategy.

Jason, I believe that you are on the wrong track here. The retailer in question has not previously offloaded new stock.

This stock is from an ex-dealer and not direct from Bachmann.

When you are a manufacturer and have an online presence selling at full retail then any store selling below MSRP is competition to your online sales. Any sale below MSRP impacts on your ability to sell at full retail. By being able to guarantee supply, even if at full retail price, then you even out the competition by depriving the competition of stock or by severely limiting stock the competition has for sale.

I believe that any retailer who exports in excess of $80,000 Aud in goods to Australia in a financial year is required to charge the GST on sales to Australia. Oddly, Hattons have never charged me GST on many, many sales since the tax was required to be imposed on foreign companies.

Last night a little birdie landed on my shoulder and had a few words with me. Earlier this year Hornby introduced a tier system for its dealers ranging from tier 1 getting the most advantageous pick at the pie, followed by pier 2 and then with pier 3 getting to pick over the scraps left over from the previous two piers. I do not know the criteria used to select what tier a retailer would be classified as. The impact of cause is if you were lower on the tier scale then you had your preorders drastically reduced. With just an email and no other correspondence it would seem that a major distributor of Hornby products was simply advised that your custom is no longer needed. This then allows the company to further increase online web sales, restricting the quantity available through the retailer newtwork.. Those who are quick to condemn retailers for failure to honour pre-orders maybe should know who is actually pulling the strings. One assumes that the retailers are being punished for accepting pre-orders beyond the quantities that they were "entitled" too, but could it be that those promised pre-order quantities were severely reduced in a monopolistic move to maximise profits for this year by the company. Could it also be a possibility that the Hornby Margate management team are not on particularly "friendly" terms with their Chinese manufacturers and that production runs are in the order of barely 500 units and not the expected 1000 - 1500 units? Word is that the Hush-hush will be in particularly limited supply so any pre-orders may be severely restricted. Could the switch to increase online sales by the company be associated with a certain CEO receiving a GBP 6m bonus should Hornby make a profit for the financial year? Could the drive to receive a bonus be at the expense of the retailer (and customer) loyalty built up over many years? Could it be true that warranty returns are refurbished and then returned to retailers as new stock?

The DCCconcepts Team, many thanks. I found the description on the Rails website a little confusing (although totally correct it would seem), however, you have explained it exactly how I had hoped the set up would work with analogue. I liked the frog polarity, momentary switch actuation and led position feedback all in one unit as a definite plus. Plus at any point in the future the point is set up as a decoder so conversion to DCC would simply require DCC power and addressing the accessory decoder.

Rick, if you have handlaid track then a simple re-gauging will be a doddle. Not just Dapol, but many "OO" manufacturers, including both locomotives and rolling stock, are a little lax with standards like back to back. You will also find that Dapol metal wheelsets are considerably less expensive than say Hornby or Bachmann wheels. I prefer to avoid Dapol wheels unless fitted to Dapol rolling stock as from my experience the axle length may be less than the standard 26.5mm used on Hornby and Bachmann rolling stock and wheels tended to drop out if Dapol wheels were fitted to other than Dapol stock. If you are thinking NMRA standards then you are in the wrong arena. Even simple things like conforming to NEM standards for couplers is very lax. Dapol rolling stock also suffer from coupler droop, so Dapol rolling stock does not always freely couple to other manufacturers' stock. The pin on the coupler hook also droops so low that it hits the railhead on points (switches) and crossings.

The market is simply not there for liveried but unlettered coaches, let alone undecorated cars. The percentage of those amongst us who want to and actually do reletter or renumber models is very small. The aftermarket suppliers take care of them. Many manufacturers have supplied un-numbered or partially numbered locomotives and coaches and generally the model is left as the manufacturer supplied it. Often I see Hornby and Heljan locomotives released many years ago still with a partial class classification but no cab number suffix. In general, people have little interest in finishing off the model and the manufacturer is well aware of that. Years ago Hornby supplied additional coach number decals with many items released. To this day people buying these old coaches still find the original decal sheet in the packaging. I highly doubt that Hattons would release an incompleted model as in reality it would sell at the same price as a full liveried model. Do not expect it to be less expensive. Look to the latest release of the "OO" class 25 "Ethel" from one manufacturer. While it does not have a motor it still costs the same as the motorised version. Undecorated or incomplete models usually remain on the wharehouse shelving as there is such little demand for them.

After further investigation on alternate point control mechanisms I believe that comparatively priced and possibly better quality mechanisms are available so have lost my interest in this item. If I only really just want analogue control then a Cobalt Omega will do what an "analogue" (?) Rails Connect set up will do.

I believe that you should delete this posting until you actually have proof and permission to publicly state your insider's intelligence on the subject.

This Gaugemaster decoder does similar functions (except possibly polarity switching) and states DCC or DC input. https://railsofsheffield.com/products/39226/gaugemaster-bpdcc81-any-scale-standard-point-motor-decoder-w-cdu-3-pack-

If you went with analogue control for a point then using say a Peco PL-10E point motor, GBP7.00 and for changing the frog polarity and led activation for point position, a PL-1005, GBP7.50, you will have spent GBP14.50 (Hattons prices). The additional few pound for the Rails decoder does not seem that much extra and you have the capability for DCC operation at a later date.

If it somehow worked on DC power then it has convenient features like the frog polarity change, the momentary switch capability and the point position illumination. A conventional control panel layout would require the wires routed for the momentary switch and the led's so no change there. If I wanted to operate it on DCC at some point in the future then the decoder would just need addressing. I am still unclear if the unit works on DC power alone, i.e., not in a DCC environment.

I still am confused by this release from Rails as while it is a DCC item, the blurb to me indicates it may be used with 15 - 18 volt DC, quote: "For DC use, 15 - 18 volt DC is perfect and connections are polarity free". The blurb states that the accessory decoder may be powered by the DCC bus or by DC power. Given it is an accessory decoder then why the momentary switch for actuation and why DC power may be used as a substitute. Granted the solenoid may be actuated by a DCC controller but I am wondering if DC is powering the accessory decoder and there is a standalone momentary actuation switch, is a DCC handset actually required if running analogue DC? I like the momentary actuation switch, the facility to illuminate a control board plus the provision for powering a frog all in one unit. (Image from Rails website)

Financing a repeat run of a single locomotive like the Rocket would be peanuts compared to re-releasing the APT in a 5, 7 or 14 car run. Hornby had a plan for the Rocket with additional items like coaches and rolling stock to be released so a re-release was warranted. After waiting years for an air-smoothed Merchant Navy did Hornby immediately re-release another model in an acceptable timeframe given the anticipated demand for the model? After all the models released over the last two years, Hornby will be cash strapped for sometime into the future, especially as refinancing deadlines approach. A repeat APT run, highly unlikely in a reasonable timeframe.

Given the "proposed" solidarity, how many entrepreneurs will see an opportunity to buy directly through Hornby and then place a profit margin on an eBay sale? Principles are one thing but when those principled people see the Hornby stock sold out will they pay more simply to get a set? Hornby may release a second run but then of late subsequent releases are not generally forthcoming. If you can swallow your principles then you will deny someone else of an eBay sale at a premium price. Think of it that way rather than sticking to your guns. Look to the Rocket release where pre-orders were cancelled only to see ridiculous sale prices on eBay.

Hornby a year or two ago had quite a few items on eBay at full retail price. I cannot recall their eBay name.

No doubt the shareholders will be happy, online sales up, firesales down.

Personal opinion, but is buying from the Hornby website giving into corporate "bullying"? Sure, you are almost guaranteed a sale but at what expense to the hobby in general?

Do not assume that reruns of a model are not retools or partial retools. Several years ago when Hornby moved to new manufacturers when Sanda Kan shut down it was found that the old tooling was generally not compatible with the diecast machinery in use at the new facilities. Retools were required to make the tooling compatible.

I recently pre-ordered a "kerosine castle" from Rails at almost GBP200.00, by far the most expensive new loco I have ever purchased. Rising prices are par for the course. I have been closely following Hattons pre-owned prices for the last four to five years. When I say "closely" I mean really scrutinising the prices on a daily basis. A loco that I could buy from around GBP50.00 two years ago is now pushing close to GBP80.00 for the same model number. A few weeks ago an old Hornby class 29 was listed for GBP70.00. Currently a Lima 45XX which used to sell two to three years ago for less than GBP20.00 is listed close to GBP40.00. Even wobbly runner Bachmann split chassis 2MT locomotives are close to GBP50.00. Look to the rising prices for old Lima "flying bananas" in any livery, most with livery defects. I never see any criticism of rising pre-owned prices.

As well as the new 2021 items, Rails has instock a lot of nice new Scenecraft buildings. Alas, like most retailers, the weight of each item is not shown so when one wishes to purchase several items then exceeding the 2 kg postage limit places a customer at the mercy of the freight courier companies. It is difficult to assess the weight of a resin building just going on dimensions. A few months ago the purchase of a few items had my package at 2.2 kg. Another store would have split the items into two packages with postage around GBP24.00 total. Not so with the freight company. My 2.2 kg package was cubed at 5 kg and my postage cost GBP57.00. If I want some of the new Bachmann buildings then it will need to be single purchases.