Trains4U

18 minutes ago, Banger Blue said:

I was umming & arring over placing an order but like others was going to wait for a price announcement. That’s given my decision making a shove in the right direction!

I much prefer to take orders on trust. I trust that most people who place pre orders with us will honour their commitment.  It has worked well so far.

Trust in the supplier can be a tricky thing for customers, especially given the issues with crowdfunding deposits lost in the recent past, and I don’t think it is morally right to be taking deposits up front, but that  is a personal decision.

3 days in and this has proven to be one of the most popular preorders in such a short time that I’ve ever experienced.

I expect we will sell out of some versions before release 

You can find the link to our order form on our homepage.  No deposit required and no obligation!

Look what’s arrived!

On 10/06/2021 at 19:39, IRC said:

Hello @Trains4U

Would you know when the order form for your exclusive BBA’s will be available please?

Hi, sorry for the delay, the order form can now be accessed here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSean3LVVxx_o6ns-xV8zLLBfs9P-Zxt-auMXi_UX9PSVHCArw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thanks

We are also taking orders...

Let us know what you want

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2JBxsjQIMNx7zZrxPPWwzBCufEE1f5g2P3yxWwolukS07Og/viewform

Help struggling retailers by not buying from them?

Sorry, maybe I misinterpreted the point you are trying to make, but how does that help?

I've had confirmation that they are at the Heathrow reception centre - so we are at the will of the customs officials, but all going well, it shouldn't be more than a few days before we get them.

We have a lot of people still to contact and an enormous number of models to send out, so please be patient with us.

The recent announcement and debate around a competing product has clearly brought our models to the attention of new customers, as we have seen a flurry of orders for Cavalex MGRs over the weekend.
 

Whilst we have inevitably had a few cancellations, we are in a position where we are having to increase our production run as we have orders for 90% of our planned run, with some variants having significantly oversold original estimates.
 

We know that our MGR is expensive, but you can see why when you look at the details.    From the outset, our aim has been to focus on quality without having to be constrained by price.  This means that we can concentrate on ensuring that the end products are as fine and detailed as possible, whilst avoiding any obvious compromises in the tooling or construction methods.
 

We have a couple of revisions and alterations in the works that will ensure that our accuracy levels are unsurpassed.    Watch out for our final decorated samples which are due very soon!



But here are a few tasters of the detail you can expect:
(Factory finished first samples shown)

 

20 minutes ago, andypops said:

Can I just check my pre-order is in and you haven’t started asking for payments yet? I don’t want to be disappointed on these...

Hi

Don’t worry, we have plenty of stock.

we are processing payments as the wagons are now with UK customs and we are expecting them in the next week.

We should get to you soon!

Ive still got loads

No

this has been picked up and is being corrected 

I am seriously impressed with the finish of the hoods on the CDA

it looks like real tarpaulin 

Ooh they do look good!

Yes

R3434 “Channel Packet” and

R3435 “Royal Mail”

expect to pay £230-£275 if you manage to locate a second hand one though.

They are on the way!

we have been exploring shipping options.

I hope to have a clearer picture early next week, but hopefully they will be with us soon!

Our stock has arrived...

http://www.trains4u.com/p/51638/Accurascale-ACC2400-KUA-KUA-Nuclear-Flask-Carrier-Twin-Pack

9 minutes ago, spikey said:

 

Is it not the case with other major suppliers nowadays that in practice you place an order and hope for the best i.e. you don't know for sure what you're getting until you open the carton?

Not with any of the other 20 or so suppliers I deal with, No.

15 minutes ago, LimboBrit said:

Could it be that the feedback they were getting from retailers on pre-order quantities was proving to be too inaccurate to be used when placing orders at the factories leaving models either in short supply or leaving Hornby with excessive stock? And/or they see this as a way of boosting their average selling price?

No

We place our orders in January 

production quantities are known (or at least planned) at that time and we are advised at the time or shortly afterwards if any items are restricted and given allocations.

what is happening is that confirmed orders are being arbitrarily reduced by the supplier at short notice before delivery for whatever reason.

It may be that covid has impacted factory capacity and Hornby have decided to have less of everything rather than none of something, restricting supply, there may be other reasons, we haven’t been told.

all we are told is that our allocation is reduced, here is what you are getting and that’s final.

Lots of you are getting in a froth about how commissioned models might affect tiering decisions.

to quote Hornby’s press release:

Such Tier 3 designated retailers may also manufacture their own branded model railway items which might possibly conflict with those produced by Hornby Hobbies Ltd.

livery commissions are not own branded, they are clearly manufacturer branded, though may have some retailer branded packaging elements, such as a label or differently coloured box.

The KFA that I commissioned is exclusive to us, but not forever, and is in a Cavalex box

The HAA is a Cavalex model and branded as such

none of these examples contravene the statement above.

42 minutes ago, Trains4U said:

in all honesty, I don’t know.

Under current circumstances, I’m not sure I can guarantee anything as we have been subjected to some allocation reductions.

 

I know I’m unlikely to be allowed any more of the popular items than I already have on order.

Having typed the above, I’ve just checked my emails to find an order amendment from Hornby

(2 of the Beatles vans reduced)

sigh...

9 minutes ago, LaGrange said:

 

I guess a HAA and CDA isn’t a core Hornby model? 

I think that’s the second time you’ve pushed that button...

Those models are commissioned from a manufacturer.  We are not the manufacturer, we have no financial or other interest in the manufacturer and we do not own the tools.

We have a degree of (time limited) exclusivity over some of the production run.

we have exclusivity on the KFA and some other forthcoming models

we have done it in the past with Bachmann

 There are lots of other retailers in the same position (Kernow, Gaugemaster, TMC, Olivias, Rails, Harburn... the list goes on)

I’ll also stress that Hornby did say that T2 retailers should still get most , if not all of what they order, though I suspect advice will be provided on how many are available to each retailer where product is scarce.  I’m also hopeful that in future the confirmations will be more concrete, giving retailers confidence in how many models they can offer for preorder.

I’m not suddenly going out and ordering 500 of everything, it’s not how we work and Hornby wouldn’t allow it anyway.   

10 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

Gareth, do you feel confident that you can order enough to fulfil all pre orders though with that info, or too early to say in this latest development? That was the missing assurance I noted from the statement. 
What worries me the most at present is the lack of confidence in two smaller shops being able to supply certain popular items. I respect the honesty that they told me that was a risk. 

in all honesty, I don’t know.

Under current circumstances, I’m not sure I can guarantee anything as we have been subjected to some allocation reductions.

I know I’m unlikely to be allowed any more of the popular items than I already have on order.