Express Models

I've never had a response to the couple of e-mails I've sent them. On the rare occasions I've called them I got someone to talk to though. What's the problem?

Doug

I'm happy it's just not me...

I'm looking for info on whether can do a lighting kit for a Hymek, and also how best to route the wires between units on a 110 DMU kit.

Ian

Doug Cowan wrote:

If you have been trying to contact them this week they are off (probably there now) to Nottingham show this weekend so they will have more important things to do than answer e-mails! They will be answered, but next week at best. I have never had a problem getting through on the phone. The works can take many weeks, months even to reach you, but they are a small outfit that produce quality goods so they are in demand.

Persevere my friend, I am still awaiting the heljan 33 kit after several months. This week I was told they will start to loom at it after this weeks show, good things come to those that wait, which is particually relevant to today!

I must confess I tend to use separate Lenz function only decoders in each car of multiple units although I think it's Roco ?? do a 4 pole electrical coupler. Express do a range of small multipole connectors although they and the necessary cables don't look even remotely realistic from a scale sense.

I've bought some Class 37 taillights from Express for use in a variety of locos. Also, I've started using SMT and lighthouse leds from Rapid Electronics (and white lighthouse leds from Express) together with fibre optic tube from Maplin to cook my own lighting for a variety of loco's The 'tube' end of the lighthouse leds can be filed into a variety of shapes (i.e. the top light on a Class 170) also on the 170, all the lights can be done with 2mm lighthouse leds including the door lights.

Doug

Doug Cowan said the following on 17/03/2006 20:38:

This seems to be quite common for model railway suppliers. Whilst there are those who will correspond by email quite happily, it seems that there are an awful lot who publicise an email address, then don't bother checking it. I could rattle off a fair few names. To my mind, that's like having a phone number then ignoring the phone when it rings, or chucking the post in the bin unopened.

I find it slightly irritating that people like Alan Gibson don't have an email address, but that is infinitely better than having one and taking no notice of it. (And in Alan's case, he is quite happy to answer the phone!) I prefer emails because the enquiries aren't exactly life-threatening issues, and an email can be replied to at leisure, whereas a phone call demands an immediate interruption to whatever the trader is doing.

So a plea to any traders who may be reading this - if you publicise an email address, then use it! I know our "resident" trader does just that.

Good point, others I'd like to nominate for no email/website frustration includes.

1. MRJ/Wild Swan
2. Silver Fox Models
3. Yorkshire Woodcraft

Come on guys email/website should be a core part of your business by now. Most inexcusable IMO is Wild Swan. However, given that the can't ever meet any publishing deadline. I suppose that a website or even a email address for the editor of MRJ a still a long way off.

David

davidcharlesworth said the following on 18/03/2006 08:57:

Just in case anyone got the wrong idea from my post, I would say that it is up to each individual trader as to whether or not they have an email address/website - I just ask that if they do have one then they actually use it.

I do agree with David though that these days if you don't have a web presence, then you are severely restricting your marketplace. It's all very well being the only person who sells that essential widget, but if no-one knows about it then it ain't going to sell!

(...and I would add Branchlines to the "no website" frustration, but he does reply to emails!)

"davidcharlesworth" wrote

Wild Swan is effectively a one man business run on a part-time business. I discussed with them some time ago why they do not use the internet (and email in particular) and they implied they didn't have the time to do the extra work that would be involved.

John.

As a small trader in a different specialized market, my experiences of the Internet for trading purposes over the past five years support both the views. A website is an essential marketing tool, especially in niche markets. However, maintaining that presence can be a pain.

It is essential to have control over your website from day to day. This means learning to write HTML and acquiring the software to write it and upload the result. The time involved is just about cheaper than magazine advertising, once you are over the steep part of the learning curve.

However careful you are, and whatever software you use, any computer used regularly on the Internet is going to pick up something nasty in the way of worms and viruses. All ant-virus software is retrospective, so can only protect you against known threats. My solution is to have an Internet-only computer: complete separate from the main machine. When anything nasty gets through, the hard disk is wiped and essential software reloaded. I keep back-ups for this purpose on CD-ROM. Time taken to clean and reload is usually a working day, every six months or so.

Emails are seldom a burden, except where drawings or pictures have to be taken from the main computer. Emails are quicker to reply to than telephone queries, although phone calls from knowledgeable customers are often a pleasure.

To summarize: the Internet is an essential markeing tool, but careful planning and some training are vital. Otherwise, it will seem to be more trouble than it is worth.

"Tim Christian" wrote

The downside with emails is they generate a lot of extra traffice, I know this because I personally will querie things using email which I'd never bother to write a letter querying.

As an example it's so easy to email the local Council and say 'why are you doing this or that' whereas normally you'd let it pass.

That extra workload necessary to respond to such queries as 'when is so and so coming back into print' could be a real extra burden for a one man business.

John.

On 18/03/2006 11:00, John Turner said,

It would also be a good indicator of which titles are in demand and worth reprinting!

On 18/03/2006 10:51, Tim Christian said,

You don't need to write HTML these days, but if you do want to, the "software to write it" is Wordpad, and to upload it you can use Internet Explorer. i.e., you can create a web page with nothing more than what you get with Windows. I personally use IBM Websphere Homepage Builder for the websites I maintain, which has a minimal learning curve, although there are no bells and whistles. Actually, I think that's a good thing - I'm not tempted to use flashy gimmicks just because I can :-)

I might have got the wrong impression here, and sorry if I have, but do you think a website is hosted on your own computer? It isn't, and uploading a website is one of the lesser security risks around. It also isn't necessarily true that any computer will pick up something nasty - but it is true if you just rely on Windows and your ISP's "protection".

Not strictly true - heuristic scanning can detect virus-like activity even if the actual virus is not known yet. This doesn't always work, but depending on your AV software, is generally pretty good.

Phew - if you need to do all that every six months, I would suggest that the time could be more profitably spent learning a little more about how to protect your machine. For instance, you may be able to stealth your router, which makes your machine invisible to the internet. A good wake-up call is to visit

, and run their Shields Up tests. I bet your machine fails, as do the vast majority out there. (Mine passes all tests, nah-nah!!) You should also have a good firewall which can block traffic in both directions (Windows firewall only blocks incoming). My router is stealthed so well, that my firewall reports no incoming access attempts to block! Incidentally, GRC is a very reputable site, and is one of the de facto sites used by professionals, so you don't need to worry about what it may be doing.

If that sounds a bit OTT, I can honestly say that in the 8 years of having an internet connected PC, I've *never* had any successful access attempt or virus do any damage, unlike a machine a colleague brought in for me to fix that took two days of fighting to fix - he relied on Windows and Blue Yonder to protect him!!!!

I've deliberately not mentioned which software I use because this isn't the place for "my firewall and AV software is better than yours". It probably isn't the place for this post either, but what the hey????

No, I am aware that my website is hosted by the ISP!

Isn't Wordpad OTT for HTML. For small jobs I use Notepad. Being brought up on CP/M and ED, I tend to be minimalist. However, dedicated HTML editors do save a lot of work.

Protecting a machine in the way you suggest also involves more work and expense. This machine does have protection, but I simply work on the priciple that more protection is simply a challenge to the wreckers out there who, will one day, ... .

Since heuristic scanning doesn't always work, my original statement about protection being retrospective remains valid.

I rpobaly strip this machine more often than necessary. This is triggered by my noticing oddities, rather than a vrus being detected.

Guess we'd better leave this OT subject, though, before someone complains.

Word pad can add formatting instruction's to the text. Note pad is the one to use. And front page Express is included in IE should you want it.

Can I nominate Totally Trains - Ordered twice on line via their website. First order came through eventually, although far longer than promised, no emails from them to say it would be delayed or why. Second order never came at all - several emails sent to them, but no answer. I telephoned the shop to be told "the owner does it all at home", "the quantities in hand on the website are never right" and that he had no idea why my order was delayed or whether or not it was even being processed. So I cancelled it - still no response to my cancellation email. Considering they have an on line shop, I think it is exceptionally bad practice to ignore their own T&Cs by not delivering within their quoted timescale and not advising of delays (both as promised) and then not even bothering to reply to emails asking for updates.