Hornby no longer posting to Europe

[Yelrow]

Hi, just had an email saying that in view of brexit, they will no longer post to Europe.   This was followed by a second one, showing new releases of coaches, for me to buy.. Apart from left hand not knowing what right hand is doing, is this not a tad shortsighted, bearing in mind they need our business.

[westernwill]

They did not say they were no longer posting to europe, just pausing taking non-uk orders until Jan 4th.

 

Mainly because of uncertainty about price and shipping costs.

[Yelrow]

But is this  not a busy sales time. Nobody else i deal with has done this.

[ColinB]

I wonder if they are a bit swamped with orders. I ordered some Scalextrix cars and  powertrack for my son and it took ages for them to come. Same with a couple of spare parts I ordered off of them.

Now I don't want to go into the Brexit debate, but perhaps they are a bit worried what our Continental friends might do with the mail, if we do not get a deal. In the past (many years ago) the French have been known to be very petty if they don't get their own way.

[RB51]

Seems a pragmatic approach in uncertain times. At least they have had the courtesy to inform as wide a group as possible with e-mail and Facebook comms.

 

R-

[Going Spare]

If there is no deal, customs requirements/declarations may well differ and tariffs imposed on the purchaser? 

[The son of Triangman]

A sensible business decision. No one knows what deal if any we will get from our EU bosses.

[atom3624]

It is a very sensible decision, and only a temporary one.

There are global Hornby dealers who may well be able to cater for some of the overseas purchases aren't there?

 

It is a momentarily uncertain time, nevertheless quite an interesting one.

 

Al.

[EricJ]

I live in Ireland and I have a number of preorders that are sold out but not dispatched yet. Todays emails were of no comfort. Deal or no deal at this late stage will impact the global Hornby dealers as trade deals have to be agreed before trade can resume. I do hope Hornby can find a quick solution and honour the preorders for their patient customers.

[atom3624]

That is very unfortunate for you, but I'm certain it's going to be very short-term, and resolved before any of the major pre-order locomotives will even have any final paint on them.

 

Al.

[JJ73]

Yes I got the same emails about the 'UPDATE' & then the emails about the Carriages - I'm sure that Hornby didn't mean it, like that way!!!

[Chris Nicholas]

This even made the BBC news site:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55329570

I service a lot of vintage watches and my European customers are also asking how this will work in the New Year with regards to customs and import duties.  I'm assuming it will be like any other non EU country is today but hoping for final clarification soon ...

Regards, Chris

[AndyMac1707817969]

I am sure just like any other business Hornby's mailing list is just a list of mail addresses and thus contains no Geo location information. Hardly reasonable to assume you would not receive all emails which you have subscribed to the same as everyone else irrespective of where you reside.

[Bulleidboy]

Well said Andy_Mac - most of us are probably on many general mailing lists. I get several a day from numerous model railway suppliers. At this time of the year, the problems with Covid (staff shortages) and Brexit a couple of weeks away, it seem a very sensible decision. BB

[DBfan]

The realities of Brexit are coming home to roost

[Going Spare]

Not necessarily - there is a period of uncertainty at the moment as to what the future holds until a trade deal is or is not concluded.

[Bulleidboy]

Not necessarily - there is a period of uncertainty at the moment as to what the future holds until a trade deal is or is not concluded.

Your quite right - everything is "might be" or "could be" - nobody seems to know. All news appears to be negative!  We must not get political.  Happy Christmas

[AndyMac1707817969]

Every Christmas I swear this is the last year I will sell items around this period. I think however I will also take a break. Apart from the uncertainty of Brexit the postal system is an absolute mess and although some people are sympathetic many still seem to think parcels should be with them, within a day or so and don’t seem to give a thought to anything but what they want. Many people seem to think you run Royal Mail wanting you to explain why your parcel took a week to arrive while another they ordered at the same time took 2 days. I do point out if they want it next day they can choose Special Delivery at either £8.80 or £11 but they don’t want to pay apparently ‘my’ postage charges are too high.

I doubt Hornby will be the only company to do this, especially I assume that they sell relatively little into Europe from the UK. If it’s going to cause a lot of complaints then best to walk away for the time being. People can be very unsympathetic to other people’s and business’s problems. A big increase in problems for very little reward is not something any business needs.

[Traincliff]

I visited our Post Office here in Dorset today and there were several notices up stating "No post to Europe accepted until further notice". This is certainly due to the border closures but I think Hornby made a wise decision just in time.

[Mikey1707822023]

EricJ don't bank on Hornby honouring preorders. I live in England and they didn't honour mine ordered directly with them! Even worse they kept saying the delay was because of quality check issues, yet others received theirs months before those emails. On my last email, they cancelled my order. They said although my email clearly said pre-order, it wasn't. They had deliberated taken more orders than the number of locos being made in case people canclled their order but they didn't. It was the worst customer service experience I had ever had. It would have been much better if they had been honest and said you are in a waiting list and will only get one if others cancel.

[atom3624]

Border closures are more through COVID precautions than Brexit.

 

Al.

[EricJ]

Latest update, Hornby still can't dispatch to Ireland. Issues with their courier DPD and customs paperwork. I hope this gets resolved before the big pre-orders start to arrive in April-June. Talking about the W1's etc.