DJ models - Dave Jones new venture

[trkilliman]

The only occasion I spoke to DJ was at a Bristol Thornbury show. It would have been just after he joined Dapol,  and on this occasion I found him a tad surly. Maybe he had just had an awkward customer and I got the fallout! I know that Dave Jones does have a lot of fans out there. As time has gone on it has shown he was a leading light in Dapol. Many,if not all models seem to be attributed to him so he is obviously a talented chap. He has all of the connections and inside knowledge. Couple this with the Qof S he puts high on the agenda of his DJM venture and on paper he looks set to do very well indeed. I do wish him every success in his venture, and will make purchases as and when he releases something that fits in with my layout.

Dapol. Good to see they are releasing a Grange, something I will have a couple of. As has already been said this is a natural progression from the Hall. I hope they prosper by finding a suitable replacement who can take them forward. Having three major manufacturers in N can only be good for us, so I hope the smaller two survive in their own right.

Steve

Falmouth

[Mr Sprue]

As with the majority here I wish DJ well in his new venture, but it is a little concerning what Tank has mentioned. As with all business's integrity is paramount and people do not forget the past, especially when it concerns the loss of hard earned money.

[Tank]

As with the majority here I wish DJ well in his new venture, but it is a little concerning what Tank has mentioned. As with all business's integrity is paramount and people do not forget the past, especially when it concerns the loss of hard earned money.

Happy to answer any questions via PM if anyone has concerns.  Even if DJ would like to contact me to sort this out.

[ScottyStitch]

Tanks revelation certainly is a concern.

I also wonder how realistic it his for Dave to personally check every engine. This may be possible whilst he's producing less desirable/niche models such as the ones he's suggesting for the initial run. But if the venture becomes a success and he starts producing machines that require a larger production run, how can he achieve his own personal quality control whilst still maintaining a decent delivery schedule?

It will be interesting to watch developments.

[OwL]

It is early days yet, but I do remember having great difficulty contacting Dave in a previous enterprise. Let's hope all the above requirements will be met in due course - and certainly before he starts trading.

Same here.  As many know from the N'thusiast thread, he still owes me £300 and others.  I certainly wouldn't trust him again in regards to giving my money.

Did anyone see RMweb?

There is a member called General-Torvek who has repeated what has been said here about Jones ripping off people in his past venture and his post has mysteriously vanished!
What kind of censorship is that?
All the guy said was 'Although he wishes Dave well people should beware before giving him money up front due to issues with N'thusiast'
I cannot believe they deleted it so quick when all he was trying to do is point out issues he may have experienced with
DJ.!!!
That has really shocked me and I'm glad this forum is a place where people can express themselves about issues honestly without fear of censorship like has occurred elsewhere.

[Tank]

That's the second post that I know of that has been deleted on there.

[OwL]

That's the second post that I know of that has been deleted on there.

It seems the way posts were deleted (the posts did not breech that Forums rules in my view) shows too harsh a censor.

I think that is wrong, and people have a right to know about past goings on. Not to stitch the guy up, just so that people can be cautious and make better informed choices.......

Let's not forget that £300 is a lot of money to loose. He should have the decency to account for that.

[Bartercode]

The message coming through from reading the entries on RMweb and the blurb on the DJModels website is that no one will be expected to pay money up front and that he is hoping to sell through third parties. If so, then consumers purchasing the products will be less at risk than through his last venture. Individual bits of information do seem slightly contradictory though - so maybe we just have to wait and see how things develop.

I did wonder if Farish, Hornby or Dapol might bring out competing models, rather like the Dapol/Farish battles of old  - but the current supply situation, with apparently long delays, probably makes that unlikely. DJ does boast that the supply problems of old have been sorted and he has capacity to accept commissions from third parties. I wonder how he has uniquely worked out how to achieve this?

[OwL]

He has probably got his pick of Chinese factories now after building up strong relations with them in his old job meaning he probably feels unlikely to encounter supply issues.

[Michael Shillabeer]

As mentioned previously contact details should be on the website, however, they are can be found here:

http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/ltd/djmodels

(Companies House website is having issues displaying more than the company number)

Michael

[AndyGif]

don't look now, but there is a new member who goes by the name of  DJM Dave  that joined a few days ago....
Guess he's just waiting out the anti spammer  period, before posting 

[Agrippa]

Re Michael Shillabeer's post, to get anything other than basic info on a company you have to cough up , the "companies in the uk " website will have to pay Companies House for details, so possibly cheaper just to go to the Gov.uk website. You can also get details of directors and previous posts held etc.

In my last job we would check some prospective clients thus, often you would enter a name and find that the person had  been a director of a dozen companies with similar names eg  XYZ Roofing , XYZ Contractors , XYZ Builders
etc, usually defunct or struck off, that's when the signal went to danger.

Always worth remembering because if you deal with a limited company which goes bust, the
average punter loses almost everything after the big boys have picked the bones clean.

Not casting any aspersions on the aforementioned model business, just talking generally in
a land of rogues, conmen, shysters, flim flam artists and thieves in suits.

[Bartercode]

Always worth remembering because if you deal with a limited company which goes bust, the
average punter loses almost everything after the big boys have picked the bones clean.

Not casting any aspersions on the aforementioned model business, just talking generally in
a land of rogues, conmen, shysters, flim flam artists and thieves in suits.

Even well-intentioned businessmen can hit unforeseen problems, or be grossly overoptimistic and overambitious. People trying to make a business out of their hobby could be particularly at risk.

Let's hope we can get these models through independent retail outlets, where the risk to the consumer is so much less. Buying by credit card also offers a degree of protection.

[zwilnik]

Even well-intentioned businessmen can hit unforeseen problems, or be grossly overoptimistic and overambitious. People trying to make a business out of their hobby could be particularly at risk.

Let's hope we can get these models through independent retail outlets, where the risk to the consumer is so much less. Buying by credit card also offers a degree of protection.

Absolutely.

I'd say that one thing that points in Dave's favour on this is that he didn't use the bankruptcy protection to dodge debts from his previous company and immediately start another one. He went off and got a job for a few years instead.

Typically the dodgy ones just close one company and start another (usually under shady tricks to dodge the bankruptcy rules).

[Agrippa]

Let's hope we can get these models through independent retail outlets, where the risk to the consumer is so much less. Buying by credit card also offers a degree of protection.
[/quote]

Way to go, buying that way involves much less risk to the consumer, though I imagine most
of the cottage industry type of model suppliers are kosher. Just if it's a one man band type
of business and the proprietor has some problem like illness or a technical hitch your order
might not be dealt with, though depending on how you pay you might not lose any cash.