Sooo.. and I'm asking , not challenging...
The UK customer would rather have a engine setting on the shelf than pay £5.00 for a part they believe to be worth say £2.00 ?
Kato, Athearn, Marklin, etc has some level of supporting parts supply at the Manf. and/or dealer level. And I was glad they did.
And I'm sure the other customers like me, cusses the price and repaired the item and was happy with the item looking right & running around the layout again.
And ohh I'm well aware of the 'parts Dept. in the Automotive world.
I worked at Auto. dealerships for 15+ years.
The existence of a parts Dept. Allows more profit to accessories to be installed on new car purchases.
Profit from wholesale to garages.
Profits from selling to body shops.
Profits from parts to its service Dept. for labor & parts profit.
A correctly controlled investment of inventory is well worth it.
And just plain old showing the customer its support of products under warranty and after.
With that history of mine, its the other reason "I wonder why 'spares' aren't more available"
But its the way it is.
Oh-well ...
PS : I guess its a UK thing?
It's like, I see guys complaining about Manf's duplication of engines.
I'd think the competition would be good for pricing and advancing technology of a product. And the consumer benefits..
One of the pillars of capitalism and all that !! B)
Howard