How do you become a Hornby dealer?
Scott Hunter
them. How do you buy at wholesale prices direct from Hornby can anyone help
me?
John Turner
"Scott Hunter" wrote
Yes, open a retail shop and provide evidence of your credit worthiness and
you're away!
John.
John Ruddy
<jo...@53amodels.karoo.co.uk> wrote:
>Yes, open a retail shop and provide evidence of your credit worthiness and
>you're away!
>
>John.
>
I've often wondered why this hobby hasnt really been affected by the
e-tailing revolution, and that all those web sites which sell Bachman,
Hornby, etc, are just the web versions of real shops, rather than a
proper e-tailer like amazon.
John Ruddy
JC
slightly similarly to Amazon, it doesnt have, and cant seem to get, half of
the stock it lists! (Well, in my experience anyway).
Justin
"John Ruddy" <jruddy...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:am783vcnh7hgh51cr...@4ax.com...
John Turner
"John Ruddy" wrote
> I've often wondered why this hobby hasnt really been affected by the
> e-tailing revolution, and that all those web sites which sell Bachman,
> Hornby, etc, are just the web versions of real shops, rather than a
> proper e-tailer like amazon.
Why do you consider that Amazon is a proper e-tailer and those specialist
retailers with website not to be? Are you one of those individuals who
would like to see the death of the local model shop to be replaced by some
spurious part-time dealers operating something resembling a service from
their garage or basement with their only investment being a computer?
There have been attempts at the latter and none have succeeded, basically
becaue those who have tried have failed to grasp the basics of the hobby,
and if you don't know what they are I'm certainly not going to tell you.
John.
Wolf Kirchmeir
=>I've often wondered why this hobby hasnt really been affected by the
=>e-tailing revolution, and that all those web sites which sell Bachman,
=>Hornby, etc, are just the web versions of real shops, rather than a
=>proper e-tailer like amazon.
ROTFL.
But seriously folks, nobody knows what a proper "e-tailer" is, since no one
has been able to make a decent profit at it. Not even Amazon.
Personally, I've spent quite a few bucks on the web -- almost all of them on
software, which should tell you something. I've also bought a few books -
including one from Amazon. By the time the shipping and handling was added
in, the "discount" wasn't one. So Amazon has lost me for ever. Too bad, so
sad.
Wolf Kirchmeir
If you didn't want to go to Chicago, why did you get on this train?
(Garrison Keillor)
Andrew Robson
free sites we host for charities and railway clubs etc). Most try and make a
buck off the internet.
I disagree about "successful web traders". We have web site operators
profitably selling everything from music to tomato seedlings.
What seems to set a good operator apart from a bad operator is knowledge of
their product. It is easier to sell a book (sorry to any book sellers
reading) but a lot harder to sell a model railway engine. I would argue that
more dollars are spent by enthusiasts and collectors than the mums and dads
buying christmas presents. It is harder to sell to an enthusiast that has
knowledge. They like to touch and feel first.
It comes down to "knowing your product". "knowing your target customer
base", "knowing what customers are looking at & for", "matching your product
to your needs". Sounds just like real business planning doesn't it. Only the
delivery method changes. Trouble is most people skip straight over this.
We have one specialist in Sydney (Afferent Media) that is a guru in this
area. Talks to a business as marketing experts and then converts that to
smart websites. He sometimes tells me the horror stories. Like a major
commercial retailer that did not actually mention their main product on the
web site. :-)
Andrew
"John Ruddy" <jruddy...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:am783vcnh7hgh51cr...@4ax.com...
Wolf Kirchmeir
=>It comes down to "knowing your product". "knowing your target customer
=>base", "knowing what customers are looking at & for", "matching your product
=>to your needs". Sounds just like real business planning doesn't it. Only the
=>delivery method changes. Trouble is most people skip straight over this.
Excellent reminder of the basics!
The rest of your post confirms what I've suspected -- that e-tail works, and
works well, for the market niches or situations where the customers know
exactly what they want. It does not work for customers who like to "shop" --
that is, the ones who like to wander round a store, perhaps holding a short
shopping list as an excuse, poking and prodding and not really sure what if
anything they want to buy.
I like to "shop," too, and find e-tail sites just don't work well enough for
that. I also like to find out what's available -- and again, almost no site
I've ever visited makes that easy. One manufacturer's site doesn't even have
a search facility, let alone a simple text-style catalog - just page after
page of "shopping cart" pictures. Yecch! Takes forever to find what you're
looking for. I visit that site as little as possible, and resent every minute
I have to spend searching for the information I want. I never buy there,
either.
But when I know exactly what I want (eg, software), e-tail is fast and
efficient.
Mal Thomas
Mal Thomas
"Wolf Kirchmeir" <wwol...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:jbysxveflzcngvpbp...@news1.sympatico.ca...
>.... It does not work for customers who like to "shop" --
> that is, the ones who like to wander round a store, perhaps holding a
short
> shopping list as an excuse, poking and prodding and not really sure what
if
> anything they want to buy.
>
>
While I agree with this to a point, e-tailing can also successfully target
overseas customers who just don't have access to a plethora of shops to
wander around and browse. Whilst the 2 or 3 local model shops make a very
good attempt at stocking the essentials, because of the smaller market here
they just can't stock everything a railway modeller requires. And because
of a smaller market, stock doesn't change often.
Therefore the existence of e-tailers specialising in model railway
paraphernalia is a boon to us out here in the colonies. The situation may
be different in other states but where I am in West Oz I need to rely on
e-tailers in the UK. I would love to support the local retail shops and I
do often for supplies that they have, but on a lot of occasions I need to
use UK based e-tailers (the ones I have used are brilliant - pricing and
delivery have been really great).
So if you are comtemplating setting up a model-railway e-shop, then please
be aware that there is a large customer base out there. But I think you will
need to have something really special to compete with the long established
'big-boys'.
Just my 2 bob's worth.
Cheers
Mal
John Ruddy
Well, thats a nice reply, i must say! Do you believe that amazon will
kill off all high street book shops? Why do you assume that I would
frequent such a web site, instead of the local model shop, which is
run by a leading member of the local model railway society? I
certainly wouldnt buy something from someone who was operating from
their garage, whether it was a model, a book, or indeed anything else.
John Ruddy
John Turner
"John Ruddy" wrote
> Well, thats a nice reply, i must say! Do you believe that amazon will
> kill off all high street book shops? Why do you assume that I would
> frequent such a web site, instead of the local model shop, which is
> run by a leading member of the local model railway society? I
> certainly wouldnt buy something from someone who was operating from
> their garage, whether it was a model, a book, or indeed anything else.
At least three books shops have shut in Hull in the last couple of years,
and whilst I'm not blaming Amazon, they might well have had some impact.
Now I gather you were not impressed by my reply, well look at it slightly
differently. Fifteen years ago when I invested my life savings and a bit
more in opening my model shop I had enough bottle to do it without asking
for help or advice, but did so on the strength of my own judgement.
It's only paid off because my wife and I have worked a combined average of
120 hours per week over that time, and because we had some knowledge of what
we were talking about.
We also considered that the customer was important and always tried to put
them first. I'm not saying we alway got or get it right, but we try 110%.
Now tell me, if you deal over the net, how do you know that the people you
deal with are not working out of a basement or a garage? It's amazing how
many of the *net only* dealers just use a Box No and have a *no callers*
note on their site. Doesn't that tell you something?
You still miss my salient point asking why you consider that an existing
model shop with a website is not the way forward. I suggest it's the very
best way to go, model shops generally are the ones with the knowledge and
expertise. Why would you prefer to deal with an amateur?
Well there you are; I've given you more advide than Tesco would if you asked
them about opening a supermarket.
John.
John Ruddy
<jo...@53amodels.karoo.co.uk> wrote:
>You still miss my salient point asking why you consider that an existing
>model shop with a website is not the way forward. I suggest it's the very
>best way to go, model shops generally are the ones with the knowledge and
>expertise. Why would you prefer to deal with an amateur?
>
>Well there you are; I've given you more advide than Tesco would if you asked
>them about opening a supermarket.
>
>John.
>
Except I neither want or need the advice - for the simple reason it
wasnt me wanting to become a Hornby dealer, nor was it me who want to
open up a website from my garage to sell model railway equipment. I
merely wondered what the reasons were for e-tailing a la amazon had
not taken hold in our hobby when it seems to have done in almost every
other.
I hope you are more friendly to your customers.
John Ruddy
MartinS
> On Fri, 31 Jan 2003, "John Turner" <jo...@53amodels.karoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>You still miss my salient point asking why you consider that an
>>existing model shop with a website is not the way forward. I
>>suggest it's the very best way to go, model shops generally are the
>>ones with the knowledge and expertise. Why would you prefer to deal
>>with an amateur?
>>
>>Well there you are; I've given you more advide than Tesco would if
>>you asked them about opening a supermarket.
>
> Except I neither want or need the advice - for the simple reason it
> wasnt me wanting to become a Hornby dealer, nor was it me who want
> to open up a website from my garage to sell model railway equipment.
> I merely wondered what the reasons were for e-tailing a la amazon
> had not taken hold in our hobby when it seems to have done in almost
> every other.
>
> I hope you are more friendly to your customers.
I don't think John was being rude, just outspoken (like a Yorkshireman).
I am sure he is friendly to his regular customers. As he says, I don't
think anyone runs a model train shop with the object of making piles of
money; like most other businesses, it is very competitive.
--
Martin S.
KimPateman
>has been able to make a decent profit at it. Not even Amazon.
>
Yes they have. Amazon bought-out their vastly superior rivals CD-Now, sold off
all the stock and added that figure to their 'profits' column.The service at
CD-Now is now so bad I transferred all my business to CD-Universe. Amazon will
probably buy them out now and do the same again.
kim
Wolf Kirchmeir
=>>But seriously folks, nobody knows what a proper "e-tailer" is, since no one
=>>has been able to make a decent profit at it. Not even Amazon.
=>>
=>
=>Yes they have. Amazon bought-out their vastly superior rivals CD-Now, sold off
=>all the stock and added that figure to their 'profits' column.The service at
=>CD-Now is now so bad I transferred all my business to CD-Universe. Amazon will
=>probably buy them out now and do the same again.
=>
=>kim
Thanks for proving my point. :-)