Hornby shambles

John Turner said the following on 30/01/2008 14:41:

Bloody hell - is that what they cost these days? How on earth can they justify charging that much for advertising literature?

I wonder how much the Squires catalogue would cost if we had to pay for it.

The cost of paper catalogues has risen. That's just a fact of life. The other fact is that there's a difference between a mail-order catalogue, which includes an order form, and a product-list or promotional catalogue, which doesn't have an order form. The latter are browsed, and the sellers hope that eventually the browsers will wander down to a shop and actually buy something. Many of these catalogues do not result in sales -- people buy (and often collect) them just to look at and fantasise. Erm, pardon me, plan a layout.

I also note that the only catalogues I get for free are mail-order catalogues. And the sellers stop sending them after a year or so if I don't buy something...

Still, a catalogue should be accurate "at time of going to press". But that is generally months before the products actually arrive at the warehouse. Lead times for product development are increasing. IMO, that's in large part because an "announcement" is made, and the product is or is not put into production development depending on the response. More and more "announced" products arrive late, if they arrive at all.

HTH

You pay for it in the prices charged. Some are very expensive.

Indeed - the truest words ever spoken are "There's no such thing as a free lunch". The only time you get a deal is when the vendor can't shift the goods, and there's generally a good reason for that! On the Hornby catatlogue I agree with Wolf - most copies I'll bet are sold as a product in their own right for people to own rather than for reference, as Hornby's web site is a much better bet for simply browsing. Cheers Richard

And looking at the pic in Rail Express they have invented a new railfreight sub sector symbol as well on one of this years 60's. All the mistakes probably make it more collectable :)

Chris

Wolf K. said the following on 30/01/2008 15:24:

I regard the Hornby catalogue as just that - a piece of literature advertising their wares. Because they have a website, I don't feel the need to buy the paper version, which is why I was astounded at the price.

I'm afraid that paying for this sort of stuff really goes against the grain for me - perhaps that's because I work in an industry where catalogues and brochures are thrust at you. I don't mean just the likes of RS and FEC where the higher prices subsidise it, but even small companies chuck out at least a glossy brochure. I could just imagine the response if we were asked for one of our brochures, and I said "Sure

- that'll be a fiver please." We wouldn't get the job.

Nope - advertising needs to come out of the overhead side of things, and the profit margin needs to cover that.

beamendsltd said the following on 30/01/2008 16:28:

Do people really do that? Mind you, I'm always bemused by the collector market in general :-)

"Paul Boyd" wrote

Indeed and that's my philosophy, but if Hornby are able to charge the proverbial arm & a leg and achieve the same aim then that's clever .................... but they seem to have an inability to compile an accurate catalogue.

Last year as an example the whole catalogue section referring to the recently released Class 56 diesel was totally confusing. The price list was even worse with the 'Coal Sector' model referred to as 'large logo', which it clearly is not.

This year there is a need to 'clarify' numerous prices, and further inaccurately detail the planned releases for the 'Schools' class loco. Seems the two Southern Railway locos are to have BR numbers!!!!

John.

Last time I had a Squires catalogue, all of the vaguely electronic items were directly from the Rapid catalogue with a considerable mark up.

MBQ

"Paul Boyd" wrote

They do indeed. I know several people who have every single Tri-ang/Hornby catalogue right from issue No 1.

I have to say the collectors' market bemuses me too, and even though I've been a collector myself (pre-War Hornby O-gauge) I never felt the need to own everything produced, but simply bought nice items if they came my way.

John.

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com said the following on 31/01/2008 09:01:

Ah, yes. I wouldn't buy electronic items from Squires. In fact, all of the suppliers of electronic parts to the model railway industry charge an arm and a leg. Fortunately I work in the electronics industry!

John Turner said the following on 31/01/2008 10:01:

At Warley one year I saw a bloke ferreting about a second-hand stand with a big sheaf of closely hand-written lists in his hand, with things ticked off. It really did look as though he was more interested in completing the list than the actual models themselves, judging by the way he was scowling at everything. Sad to be so obsessive, but each to their own, I guess!

You're right, that's the way it's done. We've come to expect "free" advertising brochures, catalogues, job estimates, etc etc. What this amounts to in each individual case is a subsidy of the non-buyers by the buyers. But since "everyone does it", everyone has an increased overhead, which raises prices in general. What's more, it diverts resources: in "devleoped" countries, advertising consumes about as much of the GDP as education does. Considering that much advertising doesn't increase sales but merely shifts market share around among suppliers, much advertising is a waste.

But that's enough digression.

That's called marketing surely, you can add all the junk mail you get through the post to the list as well. All the advertising is paying for free to air commercial TV and radio and all those free websites that we all use :)

Chris

From my perspective, it depends on who the catalogue is for. If it's intended as a resource for the trade, then it should be free. I've twice worked in retail management, for different employers, and on neither occasion did any of my suppliers charge for catalogues and product listings. I simply wouldn't have done business with any supplier that wanted me to pay to find out what they could sell me.

However, if the catalogue is aimed primarily at consumers, and isn't essentially a mail order catalogue, then I think having a cover price is reasonable - particularly in light of the "collectable" aspect of hobby product catalogues. In that case, though, I would still expect anyone with a trade account to get a free copy for business use, with additional copies for resale being charged for.

Mark

The simple solution is a downloadable PDF. Easy to update and no paper cost. Their web site always seem slow for browsing.

Am not a collector, buut do like to read and drool over various bits over the year. Worth it for me. Very nice one this year. cheers, Simon

"W" wrote

In 2001 and 2002 Bachmann made their catalogue available on CD-ROM.

I recall that for some reason, it was more expensive than the paper version.

Not surprisingly demand was insufficient for copies to be pressed (or burnt) in subsequent years.

For good images of current items, I find Hattons website hard to beat although out of stock items can be difficult to find. I do enjoy browsing through a paper catalogue though, and preparing a wish list.

DW

"Computers would change everything" they said. They have but even with desk top publishing (DTP) you still need to proof read a document prior to it going to the press.

Was the catalogue printed in China to ?

Two reports on Hornby :-

say they had a good run up to Christmas but experienced a pre- Christmas slowdown and had delays in introducing new products in continental Europe.

I agree the catalogue is now seen more of a sales item or a collectable but at the price it is I would like to see more for my money.

How about a CD ROM version or even a DVD with video clips of the models ?

BUT PLEASE REMEMBER HORNBY ..... PROOF READ IT !