Based on the level of advertising in model railway magazines, trying to buy models direct from individuals suggests that a big part of their business is now the second hand trade. In my view, I would not go anywhere near them or the any other traders for either selling or buying. You get a pittance selling and charged sky high prices if you are a buyer. You definitely get better money selling on eBay even with their charges and careful watching and monitoring of lots if you are a buyer usually results in a model a lot cheaper than the dealers if you are patient.

Hattons must be facing some significant challenges with no Bachmann products to sell and now being a trier 3 Hornby retailer. I am sure this explains their drive into the second hand market, plus this is likely to have better margins than selling new items.

Quote from: Bigmac on June 26, 2022, 10:40:51 AM

Quote from: PLD on June 26, 2022, 12:04:37 AM

Quote from: Bigmac on June 25, 2022, 08:51:12 AM
the much missed EBay madness thread.

indeed so.

yup - shame it got high-jacked by one or two individuals with an unhealthy infatuation over (what they considered to be) high prices; but it got so corrupted from its original theme as a result that it had probably run it's course and reached the point it was right to kill it off... 

You cant mean it?

every word... it had got so personal by and about one member, the only realistic options left to the moderators were kill the thread or kill that member... would you have preferred they did the latter? 

Quote from: PLD on June 26, 2022, 06:38:46 PM

Quote from: Bigmac on June 26, 2022, 10:40:51 AM

Quote from: PLD on June 26, 2022, 12:04:37 AM

Quote from: Bigmac on June 25, 2022, 08:51:12 AM
the much missed EBay madness thread.

indeed so.

yup - shame it got high-jacked by one or two individuals with an unhealthy infatuation over (what they considered to be) high prices; but it got so corrupted from its original theme as a result that it had probably run it's course and reached the point it was right to kill it off... 

You cant mean it?

every word... it had got so personal by and about one member, the only realistic options left to the moderators were kill the thread or kill that member... would you have preferred they did the latter? 

made no difference to me what "they" thought of me and what i said.

Quote from: Only Me on June 26, 2022, 09:36:00 PM
Thought the had killed you... doh we must have sent the lads to the wrong address 😀😀😀😀😀

Well... you know what those fast-food delivery outfits are like... you order a KFC, but what do they deliver... 

Quote from: Only Me on June 26, 2022, 09:36:00 PM
Thought the had killed you... doh we must have sent the lads to the wrong address 😀😀😀😀😀

nope-still alive and kicking ass. Just a shame the thread got the chop--i enjoyed it--so did lots of others.

Quote from: Only Me on June 26, 2022, 09:57:23 PM
A thread is a thin line between fun and abuse the moderators have to act as they see fit...

yes--that was the gist of what a mod said to me when i asked why the entire thread had disappeared.  But it didnt worry me what the keyboard warriors had to say to me at the time; i'm thick skinned ( and headed ).

I do buy American stuff from Hattons as their prices are generally OK, but they do make mistakes.  My favourite was offering an articulated 2-car SP Daylight set for £120 just before they were being rerun by Kato, and available on advance reservation from Train Trax for £40!

Going aside from prices, does anyone start to feel that Hattons have become a bit lost?

After loosing Bachmann's patronage, their own RTR seems to have stumbled - the OO gauge 66 being well received, but with a few notable (albeit small) issues. Their O gauge models again look very good, but this has to be a relatively small market, and given big cuts in the prices of their A3s and A4s, one wonders if they've hit realisation that the big influx of O gauge models in recent years isn't totally matched by a market of folk to buy and use them?

Interesting times as always....

Cheers,
Alan

Quote from: Dr Al on June 27, 2022, 04:51:52 PM
Going aside from prices, does anyone start to feel that Hattons have become a bit lost?

It has been a long time since we had what felt like personal service with parcels tied up with string from Hattons.
They need to figure out what they are. Manufacturer, retailer, or second hand dealer. One of those probably needs to go.

Of course, Kernow and Rails also have manufacturing ambitions.
Rails has also lost out because of this. Kernow cleverly worked through Bachmann to market their models through EFE Rail. 

Bob

Are they really "manufacturers" though?  In my opinion they're just commissioning stuff and selling under their brand.

I think Hattons are, in a way that Rails/Kernow aren't. The Hatton's 66 is "theirs", in every conceivable way. The others just commission other manufacturers.

Quote from: ntpntpntp on June 27, 2022, 05:53:57 PM
Are they really "manufacturers" though?  In my opinion they're just commissioning stuff and selling under their brand.

The line was probably crossed when they started wholesaling their branded products to other retailers. (Including main rivals such as Rails). You don't see Rails branded products elsewhere...

Chanced asking about it and advised it is 'sold as seen' 

Have bought a few items from their preowned, some hard to find and some that needed work, the ones that needed work were generally languishing on the list for months, for preowned I prefer rails as they generally take an offer on eBay.

One advantage that Hattons has is their "Trunk" service, especially for overseas deliveries, postage racks up to quite a lot if buying individually, wish Rails would do something similar, outside of that it's a case of phone a friend!!

My experience has been 90% of items are a bit on the high side, get to the list as it come out and the other 10% may be a bargain or hard to obtain piece.