New Supplier

[GNER 373]

Ok I'll keep this short and sweet and direct!

The business I help run is currently a craft supplier and we are moving into the arts and hobby sector which includes of course Model Railways.

We have met with a rep from Hornby today and have the latest catalogue etc.

What I would like to know from you is basically which Hornby Locos/Rolling Stock/Sets/Packs of theirs would make you part with your money? All help is massively appreciated as we'd like to get this going ASAP. Forum members may benefit too...more details to come when finalised. Many Thanks!

 

[rail-britain]

Many years ago I met up with a Hornby rep, but I found their terms very restrictive
An odd one was that they would not enter into a contract until I had shop premises, yet I countered that that many mail order businesses did not have a shop, to which the answer was evaded and simply returned that it was now a requirement to have a shop premises

From a shop point of view, you need to pretty much cover all the requirements, including parts, accessories, and rolling stock
However, you may be able to restrict this to just rolling stock
I would then look at small numbers of sets (probably two of each), and then moderate numbers of locos and coaches, and slightly higher numbers of wagons
You could also offer bulk lots for your own sets (something I used to do quite well out of); loco plus coaches / wagons, as well as rakes of coaches and wagons

I was trading in the sectorisation period through Lima
I offered a customised set of loco and coaches together, often these sold out within 2 hours of an exhibition opening, I just couldn't supply the demand

 

[valenta]

Being the proud owner of a model railway, I love the interacate designs on the HST models, particularly like the Grand Central with the pleasing orange and black. I love all the steam locomotives, couldn't choose a superior one.

 

[GNER 373]

Thank you for the input. We are lucky enough to have commercial premises we use as a craft shop, which we would include the 'Hobby section' plus a large e-store too.

Keep the suggestions coming thanks again!

 

[Tim R-T-C]

For me it is not so much what you stock, but how the website is arranged.

The majority of modellers (and most importantly, those who are willing to spend a lot of money) will model a particular region and period and it is incredibly handy if a website allows locos, coaches and wagons to be sorted into these sorts of categories.

Obviously it requires a lot of work from the person inputting the data, but the rewards should be more sales as it makes it a lot easier for customers to find what they are looking for and most importantly find things they did not realise were available. At a model show, you can point out to a customer browsing NSE coaches for example, that some appropriate wagons have just been released, but on a website they would only find it if they looked.

 

[GNER 373]

For me it is not so much what you stock, but how the website is arranged.

The majority of modellers (and most importantly, those who are willing to spend a lot of money) will model a particular region and period and it is incredibly handy if a website allows locos, coaches and wagons to be sorted into these sorts of categories.

Obviously it requires a lot of work from the person inputting the data, but the rewards should be more sales as it makes it a lot easier for customers to find what they are looking for and most importantly find things they did not realise were available. At a model show, you can point out to a customer browsing NSE coaches for example, that some appropriate wagons have just been released, but on a website they would only find it if they looked.

And that is exactly where my website building expertise comes in! I have thought about a grouping process that is more detailed than for instance Amazon's efforts of 'You may also like these'.

Good Call

 

[allticketspls]

For the non-enthusiast, you will never go far wrong with Flying Scotsman, Mallard & the other celebrity locos.

The problem with established modellers is they already have a supplier and, if it's a box shifter like Hattons, Rails, etc. you are going to have a very hard time competing. For local trade I would offer 3-4 train sets, a few steam locos, about the same number of diesels and on the coach/wagon side I would keep about 10 different wagons & coaches across the age periods.

Start small and if the business is there you can build on it, if there is no interest you won't have much stock to shift out. Same applies to scenery, only keep a small amount and don't forget, you can always order it in for customers.

 

[GNER 373]

For the non-enthusiast, you will never go far wrong with Flying Scotsman, Mallard & the other celebrity locos.

The problem with established modellers is they already have a supplier and, if it's a box shifter like Hattons, Rails, etc. you are going to have a very hard time competing. For local trade I would offer 3-4 train sets, a few steam locos, about the same number of diesels and on the coach/wagon side I would keep about 10 different wagons & coaches across the age periods.

Start small and if the business is there you can build on it, if there is no interest you won't have much stock to shift out. Same applies to scenery, only keep a small amount and don't forget, you can always order it in for customers.

Thanks, were definately looking to grow outwards starting local and spreading out, learning to walk before running!

We have some finances that we can Market ourselves with on a national basis so hopefully we'll grow to be a competitor in the Market not only a store but an online retailer too!

Cheers some really helpful advice lads (or lasses, hard to tell from Avatars!)