Grim reality starting to bite the N Gauge market?

[Mr Sprue]

Although I have never been a devotee of Rule 1, the sheer fact is I couldn't afford to go down that track( ) now.

I'm not sure if I follow what does rule 1 mean! 

[Sprintex]

Rule 1 = "It's my railway and I'll run what the hell I want"


Paul

[Mr Sprue]

Rule 1 = "It's my railway and I'll run what the hell I want"


Paul

Ah right..... I like it. Seems Newportnobby is a man of good philosophy! 

[d-a-n]

I've not been in N gauge long (around a year) and came into the hobby while there was a bit of sale stuff going on at Hattons. I've seen a few dry spells over this year when there isn't much on sale and generally I won't buy anything. Now that I know what I want/need and have an idea of what it's worth to me, I will bide my time on most items. However, there are a few exceptions - the Newpaper Express train set I've been so excited about is on pre-order at around £80 as this is a bargain - I don't want to find it's going on sale at nearer to £100. I've not pre-ordered it but if it's on the same boat as the pre-ordered train set, I'm going to snap up some blue mk1 SO carriages and a blue 08, IF it is around £65 as these things don't seem to hang around very long (even though I can't justify pre ordering one - mrs dan will be furious...)

To summarise:
If it's a bargain to me I'll pre order it. If it is likely to sell out quickly, I'll buy if the price is right (just north of 'bargain') If it's too expensive (£100+ for a diesel) I'll just get fixated on something cheaper...

[zwilnik]

How many cars would Ford sell if every one was sent back after 2 hours cos bits dropped off, or the engine smoked and seized up?

About 250,000 apparently...

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131126/AUTO0102/311260052/Ford-recalling-140-000-13-Escape-SUVs-fire-risks

[Greybeema]

Maybe its a case of less is more.  How many people have more stock than they can accomodate anyway? 

When I do go out buying, I usually buy the train I need in as close to one lump as possible (loco & rolling stock).  Then I might not buy anything for months.  I don't have numerous pre-orders on the go (last one was the Brighton Belle).

I would be very specific about what I want to run on the layout and would be willing to search or modify to get it.   A driver for this might be that I model the North Kent line and there is no RTR EMU stock available - so I have to go for kits if I want the Class 465/6 Networkers that I need (btw need another three)...

Before I go much further though I need to buy the Man-cave to house the layout semi permanently - which might spur more buying....  Roll on the summer...

[pape_timmo]

How many cars would Ford sell if every one was sent back after 2 hours cos bits dropped off, or the engine smoked and seized up?

About 250,000 apparently...

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131126/AUTO0102/311260052/Ford-recalling-140-000-13-Escape-SUVs-fire-risks

Ah... Maybe Ford was a bad example...

You get the point tho, at least Ford is doing something about it, although it doesn't inspire confidence if they've already recalled them for the same problem.

If it's not fit for purpose, do something about it as the builder, don't expect the customer to accept it.

Cheers, Timmo

[pape_timmo]

That Ford has an appropriate name too, it's what you'll shout when it goes up in smoke... ESCAPE!!!!

[zwilnik]

[

Ah... Maybe Ford was a bad example...

You get the point tho, at least Ford is doing something about it, although it doesn't inspire confidence if they've already recalled them for the same problem.

If it's not fit for purpose, do something about it as the builder, don't expect the customer to accept it.

Cheers, Timmo

Yup. Ford are pretty much in the same area of quality control and customer care as Dapol. Basically, if they can get away with it, they won't fix anything because the insurance claims cost less than the cost of the recall. They had the huge scandal a couple of decades ago with their SUV that exploded if another car crashed into it in a particular spot. They didn't recall it until they were forced to by lawsuits. We're lucky that Dapol engines just break down and don't work rather than actually exploding and hurting you.

[Maurits71]

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/28/bmw-3-series-5-series-x1-x3-z4-brake-recall/


Still an interesting topic, still feel that a lot is I wish , or I want and to many people imho haven't got a clue.

Little example. Somebody mentioned about the cost of a loco which was around £ 17,--  this price means that it has a retail price of around £ 65,--  but closet to £ 80,--


It's that simple. Shipping cost, import duties, bit of margin for the wholesaler, bit of margin for the retailer , vat and there we are. And if you think this is gready I can tell you it's not. Any way I don't see too much production coming back to the UK in the next couple of years but that's me personally.

[EtchedPixels]

I can believe the production cost is £17/unit but I can't see the full cost being that including R&D and toolmaking, although it depends massively on sales volume.

[ParkeNd]

Model trains do seem quite cheap compared with say photography. But unlike photography buffs model train aficionados do seem quite happy to receive new locos DOA and then take them apart and resolder wires etc to make them work. This sends a message to the manufacturers that model locos built to 1970's British Leyland standards is acceptable.

More should be sent back to the supplier and thence to the manufacturer to make the required standard clear.

[silly moo]

I agree with sending faulty locos back but sometimes there's the risk that there are no more of that particular loco left, the replacement might be worse or that you are thousands of miles away.

Badly adjusted pick ups and poor soldering seem to be quite common and the locos shouldn't leave the factory in that condition. Sometimes locos that run well on the shop test track develop faults after running in.

I think those modellers that choose to do their own repairs should still send the manufacturer an email describing the repairs they had to make, it might not make much difference but it's worth a try and would provide more realistic feedback.

I still think one of  the main problems is that it is too expensive to do proper in factory quality control and as mentioned in other posts some locos are poorly designed in the first place.

[Michael Hendle]

Hi
For me any thing over about £85.00 is out of my league,I was thinking of getting the Hornby Arnold Brighton Belle but looking at the prices meant it beyond my income level,£129.00 for the 2 Power Cars and £79.00 for three trailer cars which comes over £200.00 for the proper formation.

I'm single my wife died 10 years ago and we had no children,so it's no good saying ask relatives for money for Christmas and Birthdays. I'm on a basic state pension with a small occupation pension.
Now I have to look at the 3 major shops and ebay for bargain deals.

Mike