Dapol Collectors Club Ceasing

[dannyboy]

Dear Club Member,



As I am sure you will appreciate 2020 has not been a difficult year for everyone. Dapol is weathering the storm and is in a robust position. We however recognise the need to redistribute our resources and efforts to maximise our efficiencies as a company.

It is with this in mind that we have had to come to the difficult decision that we can no longer continue to sustain the Dapol Collectors club. The release of manpower this decision creates will allow staff members to concentrate on and expand their core duties within the company. Therefore, we wish to notify you of the following:

The club will shut down from 1st November 2020.
As a thank you to you all, we are making one last special club offer with some amazing deals, please see attached. Orders must be received by 1st November 2020.
For non-utilised paid membership, we would like to offer you the choice of reimbursement, either:
A further £25 discount from any order you place from the supplied list of special offers.
Or a one off pro-rata payment for any outstanding balance of your club membership. Any part months will be rounded up in favour of the club member.
Please provide notification which re-imbursement method you would prefer on the supplied special offer list.
The club discount will end on the 1st of November 2020.
All club special pre-orders will be honoured, at the advertised price to those current members who have placed a pre-order for any given item. You may choose to cancel your pre-order if you wish. The balance of any remaining stock will be placed for sale exclusively through the Dapol website (or via our telesales team).


Orders will only be taken through email or post.

This letter announcing the closure of the club supersedes any previously publicised material or pre-recorded information that may be broadcast subsequent to receipt of this notification.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the years that the collectors club has been in existence.



We wish you all the very best for the future.



Kindest Regards,



Team Dapol.

[njee20]

Great typo in the first line. Pretty sure they don't mean it hasn't been a difficult year...

Don't understand what constitutes a "non-utilised paid membership", any ideas?

Some great offers, trying to avoid going to town, as I really don't need any more of what's in there! I get there's a lead time before publication, but a bit weird they were talking about the next Collectors' Club Specials in the issue received 2 days ago!

[dannyboy]

I can only think that "non-utilised paid membership" means that you have not availed of the club members discount in the current membership year. . I have just sent off an email requesting a pro-rata refund, as like you @njee20 , there was nothing that I 'needed', so I resisted and sent the email before I could have another look at the list  , so we will see what happens.

[njee20]

I, on the other hand, have just totted up £220 of stuff I don't need. It looks like it's basically saying "you have a live membership, either we'll refund you the pro-ratad balance of your membership, or you can just have £25 off an order", presumably as that's easier for them to administer.

How do club orders work? You email it off, do they contact you for card details or something?

[NGS-PO]

I, on the other hand, have just totted up £220 of stuff I don't need. It looks like it's basically saying "you have a live membership, either we'll refund you the pro-ratad balance of your membership, or you can just have £25 off an order", presumably as that's easier for them to administer.

How do club orders work? You email it off, do they contact you for card details or something?

I usually send the form back with a covering email with some of the payment details and then i follow up with a second email with the remainder of the payment details.

I note that they are asking for the items you do not want to order to be deleted from the form.

Best

Scott

[Bob G]

I managed to pass the £200 barrier also. Two locos, a coach and a lot of lightbars, in readiness of high window Maunsells in the right colours

I am guessing that the Club, like the Digest, needs a lot of manpower to do it right.
Since Joel is an Accountant first and MD second, he sees the drain it has on his bank account.

Nevertheless I'm astounded at the reductions. This looks more like an exercise in generating ready cash than anything else.

Best
Bob

[Skyline2uk]

As a non-member I am not privy to the items being discounted, but I am curious if it's special club items (50007 for example) or everything they happen to have in stock?

Skyline2uk

[Bob G]

The only club loco is the malachite schools and it is at full price of £95.
Other N discounts are approx 50% give or take.

[njee20]

As a non-member I am not privy to the items being discounted, but I am curious if it's special club items (50007 for example) or everything they happen to have in stock?

Skyline2uk

Neither! Appears to be a subset of their stock items, but 50007 is excluded (they still have stock of that). No 50s, HSTs, HIAs, MJAs or various other bits I'd have! Lots of mk3s, silver bullets, FEAs, Megafrets. I've bought a pair of 66s at £57 each, an 86 for £60 and two pairs of Megafrets at £21 each; so very favourable.

[Skyline2uk]

Was given a look at the list and thankfully not much of interest to me.

If I had money to burn would get some 33s, but that's about it.

That being said it's all great value, fill your boots members!

Skyline2uk

[geoffc]

As a club member I really enjoyed the open days, a free wagon, free food and the NQP sale. I wonder what will happen to the NQP stock now, will it be sold at shows if we ever get shows again? I wonder what the situation with the shop will be, as a club member you got 15% discount, how will they price it now, full retail and people will go to the likes of Hattons and Rails or discount it and upset their retailers.
I always thought the club was a loss leader for the company, with the uncertainty of when things will return to normal re Covid 19 (if ever) and the extra work involved for exporters to the EU from January 2021 it is only sensible to maximise the company resources in the best possible way.

Geoff

[dannyboy]

I have just sent off an email requesting a pro-rata refund, as ..... there was nothing that I 'needed', so I resisted and sent the email before I could have another look at the list  , so we will see what happens.

I have just received an email from PayPal stating that they have been notified of a refund from Dapol. Now that was quick.   

[Bob G]

I wonder what will happen to the NQP stock now?

Don't NQPs get sold by DCC supplies?
The flash sale we've just had were not for NQP products but for retail products.

Bob

[njee20]

Yep, I imagine it'll all get routed through DCC Supplies, potentially along with the "NOS" that tends to get dumped through the Collectors' Club. I've bought a handful of bits over time, a couple of coaches and a loco that I can think of, plus 50007. I'm not surprised they're moving away from it, I can't imagine it pays for itself.

[JBQFC]

I have had a reply to my order Email asking me to phone the office to pay for the order

John