I know I haven't changed my settings, but I see that now when I look to see what is in stock or able to be preordered, which used to only show new stuff, the pages now include pre-owned.

anyone else noticed this ? I was looking through the Farish freight wagons, haven't looked to see if the same applies to the rest of the site.

......

have just checked N - diesel locos and that's the same

Yes I have noticed pre owned on Hattons not sure what that is all about, I think they should have a seperate area for pre owned personally.

Happening to me too. My entry is by bookmarks like Farish N Steam or Dapol N Diesel etc and this only included NEW before - but now has Pre-owned interspersed. Dangerous for the unwary.

Maybe it is a mistake by Hattons. They recently made a mistake and charged full manufacturers price on orders instead of their discounted prices. Perhaps this is another unintentional IT change.

I have emailed Hattons to ask. Won't get a reply today obviously.

Happened the other week.  I quite like it but I don't like the fact they have 2n'd hand more expensive than new -and advertising them like that side-by-side doesn't make much commercial sense to me.  They are obviously cashing in (i.e. greed) on the fact that folk may pay £ for having the same loco but with different running numbers.

Quote from: RST on January 01, 2014, 09:26:55 AM
Happened the other week.  I quite like it but I don't like the fact they have 2n'd hand more expensive than new -and advertising them like that side-by-side doesn't make much commercial sense to me.  They are obviously cashing in (i.e. greed) on the fact that folk may pay £ for having the same loco but with different running numbers.

I made the point about the higher than new prices in the email quoting the example of the Farish 25/3 new at £49 and used at £80. See if I get a reply. I really like Hattons and do 99% of my purchases with them - but they aren't perfect about walking the talk.

Quote from: RST on January 01, 2014, 09:26:55 AM
I quite like it but I don't like the fact they have 2n'd hand more expensive than new -and advertising them like that side-by-side doesn't make much commercial sense to me.

Makes perfect commercial sense. Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it -- no more, no less. If such items sell at the higher price, then clearly that's what those items are worth in the eyes of the people who buy them. Hattons seem to have extremely dynamic pricing; if such items didn't sell at the premium price, Hattons would surely lower the price.

Quote from: RST on January 01, 2014, 09:26:55 AM
They are obviously cashing in (i.e. greed) on the fact that folk may pay £ for having the same loco but with different running numbers.

It's not greed; it's business. Don't forget they're selling something completely non-essential, so it's not like they're forcing people to pay over the odds for medicine or baby food or something.

Cheers, NeMo

QuoteSomething is worth what someone is willing to pay for it -- no more, no less

Something is almost always  worth what it's worth.  What someone wants to pay for something is totally different.  You even hear professional valuers reminding people the same thing.  This is where you see the likes of "E-Bay madness" set-in because folk can't remember reality and it's quite comical to watch.

Seen this mentality develop on car clubs the last few years.  Folk started devaluing their things simply because the first person thought it was "not worth it", then everyone else jumps on the band wagon for no real reason.  5 years down the line it's perpetuated to the point nobody can understand why they are stuck with a worthless hobby.  It's not the market that's done it -THEY started it themselves and very difficult to get out of.

I agree to some extent what you're saying though.  Providing a product is priced fairly, there's no real reason to complain but I personally think what Hattons have done in a couple of cases just looks stupid and looks greedy to me but appreciate not to others.  That said, I don't walk down the high street all day pointing and yelling at prices I don't like -which is the danger on here.  Fair play to Hattons if someone is that desperate.

Quote from: RST on January 01, 2014, 05:19:39 PM

QuoteSomething is worth what someone is willing to pay for it -- no more, no less

Something is almost always  worth what it's worth.  What someone wants to pay for something is totally different.  You even hear professional valuers reminding people the same thing.  This is where you see the likes of "E-Bay madness" set-in because folk can't remember reality and it's quite comical to watch.

I think we're arguing over the differences between "worth" and "value". I can't remember which is which. Suppose you had only had a single photograph of your grandmother with you, perhaps at a birthday party when you were little. That photograph would be worthless to me because it doesn't have any value (to me), but it'd have huge value to you.

Perhaps a better example would be two identical houses, one in a chic London suburb and one in a rundown former mining community somewhere. Identical houses, same bricks, same plumbing, same sized garden, etc. One of those houses would be worth much more than the other because more people would want to buy the house in London. You might even say that the London house overpriced would depend upon how much value you attach to proximity to London and the elegance of the surroundings. I'd probably enjoy the mining town more, but then I was a geologist for a while and like that sort of thing!

The tricky bit in business is finding the fair price, but most retailers are after the highest price they can charge. Makes sense for them (and don't forget, these are businesses employing people and paying taxes, so making a profit isn't intrinsically a bad thing).

You and I probably have a pretty sophisticated view of what the price of a used Poole-era Farish 47 should be, or how much we'd spend on a Minitrix brake van. I admit that I pass over 90% of the used stuff at train shows simply because it's overpriced (in my opinion) for what it is. But clearly others see things differently, and if there is an upside, then maybe it's that a healthy (= profitable) secondhand market maintains the value of our collections and, now and again, allows for a few really good bargains. That said, when it comes to real bargains, it seems a lot easier to get new stuff for a song than worthwhile used stuff.

Cheers, NeMo

Hattons have replied to my email as follows :-


Thank you for your enquiry.

All our pre-owned items are listed in with our new products as of current, however all of pre-owned items are clearly labelled as such in our listings with each item labelled as such in its product description.

Kind regards,


So it is a new deliberate move - and no mention of the occasional used item priced higher than new price.

I still like Hattons service but will really have to watch out for this when shopping in future.

I hadn't notice the used stock , but so long as it is marked thus there's no problem.
Hattons are in business to make money and if people are prepared to pay high prices
on used stock good luck to them. If you pay a high price for used stock it would be better to use Hattons rather than Ebay private sellers as you are dealing with a reputable business and there would be consumer protection.

got the following reply from them to my e-mail about this

"On ehattons.com and hattons.co.uk there is no filter available to remove pre
owned items at the moment However this is something we are looking into."