A poor year financially

[Fazy]

if ford produce a new model the old model is then discontinued and only what’s already made will be sold. Unlike Hornby which has to produce a new batch so new costs need to be added. The Royal Scot has close to 150 parts on the body alone! When you start pull the things apart very labour intensive.

[james_nelmes]

First priority of a business is to survive. If products are priced too high, they will not all sell but equally if they do all sell, they may be under-priced. Put simply, if it’s too expensive to me, I won’t buy it, but if it sells out that’s good for Hornby and the hobby.

[ColinB]

Well Fazy you can have your opinion I will have mine. Hornby products are priced about 10% too high compared to all the other manufacturers. With that second 10% price hike, I think they assumed all the other manufacturers would follow, which they didn't. Trouble is for last two years they have not made enough new products. I had a request from TMC yesterday for payment for a carriage, I couldn't remember ordering it, until I realised I ordered it in January 2022. As to the 150 parts, does a Dapol Manor not have a similar amount? Another one to compare is a Hornby class 87, Bachmann class 90 and Accurascale type 92, similar styles but very differing prices. As for Ford when they release a new model, they don't put up the price of of all the other models, that is done when they have a general price rise and yes they are still making all those other models.

[Tony57]

Hi

Why is Oxford Rail rolling stock so much cheaper than Hornby main range, in view that Oxford Rail is part of the Hornby Group of companies or is Hornby railways being marked up higher than it should be?.

[Fazy]

It really doesn’t matter what I or your good self think, Hornby knows it’s costings and overheads and will price accordingly. I came back into the hobby 20 ish years ago a Bachmann Bo-Bo would cost £50 a few years later they doubled. People where up in arms,

things were said like

“that’s the end of the hobby”

“the company will be bust in a year,”

“that’s it I’m out of the hobby” blah blah blah,

well the companies didn’t go bust people are still buying things and the prices aren’t £50 not even £100. More like £200-£300, for a Bo-Bo diesel and multiple Units in the realms £400-£850 depending on the model.

yet the companies are still going and people are still demanding bigger and better.

who’s wrong? It’s not the companies someone is buying the models. Someone has the money to buy the things.

I wish it was me but I bought 3 princess royals from Hornby over the last two years.

[ColinB]

Actually if it wasn't Hornby it probably would have gone bust, some of those loses would have taken very many companies down. People will buy Hornby because it is Hornby but their market is getting smaller, most model railway enthusiasts are getting quite old. You can see that by their focus on new outlets, TT and Hornby Dublo range. When the Duchess of Atholl came out in Hornby Dublo they were sold out immediately, there are still are City of Lichfield HD models still available and that was released before Christmas. The limited edition Queens Jubilee loco only had so much interest as sadly she died, previous to that I am sure Hornby were having issues moving them. Only time will tell, they come up with ideas like their new "Bluetooth System" but if you have to wait two years for it, then people won't bother. It should have been available with the release of the new catalogue.

As to the cost of locos, I ordered the new class 87 off Hornby (old release with new paint job). I pre ordered it off TMC so its cost will be substantially more than when I ordered it. At recommended retail it is only £40 cheaper than the Accurascale sound fitted class 92 loco, which also has working pantographs rather than a chap plastic one. Considering a Loksound sound decoder is about £100 plus, it shows how expensive that class 87 will be. I am tempted to cancel the pre order since it has been a long time coming, but that would be unfair to TMC.

[Aussie Fred]

Considering the dumping of a harmless comment I made in another thread by moderators, I think this thread has gone as far as it can go and it's time it was locked or even deleted. Too much bitterness shown by some towards Hornby. I don't know why they still deal with Hornby or even are in the hobby at all.

[dBerriff]

Dunning–Kruger effect in action. As if running a business was not already hard enough. Never mind. Back to the joys of what for me is an escapist hobby.

Edit: sorry, I was just fed up with some of the comments I see on social media. I really do enjoy my time with the hobby and when I look at the modelling magazines I honestly believe that we have never had it so good and at so many different levels.

[SteveM6]

Dunning–Kruger effect in action. As if running a business was not already hard enough. Never mind. Back to the joys of what for me is an escapist hobby.

 

 

Gentlemen, I give you the winner of the comment of the year.