New club membership

[NewbieJ]

Hey guys,

 

Was wondering what has happened to the old memebership page. I see that they have decided to cull the 6 magazines and replace them with 4 basically.

 

Does this mean that when renewing that only the voucher will be applicable and that there shall be no more loco options?

 

Any other info relating to this would be of great help

 

thanks folks :)

[DMU mad]

I'm not too sure about it all either. 

By the sounds of it, you only get 4 magazines a year, rather than 6 + "The Collector Plus" issues. There is now no choice of membership - just the £20 voucher (which can only be spent on club exclusive models). The only beneficial difference is the online section with the pre-order system and I guess online Club Member account section too. 

If all this is correct, I won't be renewing. 

[walkingthedog]

I'd already decided I wasn't going to rejoin next year as I don't see the point. 2 years is enough for me. 10% discount wasn't really worth anything as you can buy the products from retailers with far more than 10% off. I always thought the magazine was aimed at the younger modeller, I never looked forward to it arriving and generally read it in a few minutes and binned it. 

This year they sent me the loco instead of the 20 quid voucher. I rang them and they said keep the loco which just proves what it's worth. I returned it. 

[Gary_Leeds]

Well I'm still waiting for a reply from the new club team to my questions about how the new club works. Yes it looks like we lose a few magazines a year, we lose the £20 voucher that can be used to buy anything or the loco if you want it. We lose the automatic Collectors Club discount (e.g. Terriers when released are £35 each instead of £65 each to non members) and get it replaced with a single £20 off voucher. The new club looks totally worthless but until someone at the new club can get back to me I wont know for sure.

 

Also I wonder where members that joined half way though the year stand with regards to their copies of The Collector? January will come and they will still be due 3 copies as per their membership terms. Also if existing members pre ordered Ltd edition locos that are now not due out until June 2015 do we have to rejoin even though they were announced in 2013! to still get them and will the price go up to the full price to then use our discount code on.

 

I actually found that the 10% discount on certain items did work out cheaper to get direct from Hornby rather than the Liverpool based shop because there was no postage.

 

Give us priority pre ordering on things like xmas, roadshow and limited edition wagons (and not just 1 or 2, let us pre order up to 10 incase we have friends or family that want one for xmas) way before they go on sale to the general public and I may be interested. Failing that, then in the words of Peter Jones, Im out

[walkingthedog]

I only joined to see what it was like. 

[NewbieJ]

Well I'm still waiting for a reply from the new club team to my questions about how the new club works. Yes it looks like we lose a few magazines a year, we lose the £20 voucher that can be used to buy anything or the loco if you want it. We lose the automatic Collectors Club discount (e.g. Terriers when released are £35 each instead of £65 each to non members) and get it replaced with a single £20 off voucher. The new club looks totally worthless but until someone at the new club can get back to me I wont know for sure.

 

Also I wonder where members that joined half way though the year stand with regards to their copies of The Collector? January will come and they will still be due 3 copies as per their membership terms. Also if existing members pre ordered Ltd edition locos that are now not due out until June 2015 do we have to rejoin even though they were announced in 2013! to still get them and will the price go up to the full price to then use our discount code on.

 

I actually found that the 10% discount on certain items did work out cheaper to get direct from Hornby rather than the Liverpool based shop because there was no postage.

 

Give us priority pre ordering on things like xmas, roadshow and limited edition wagons (and not just 1 or 2, let us pre order up to 10 incase we have friends or family that want one for xmas) way before they go on sale to the general public and I may be interested. Failing that, then in the words of Peter Jones, Im out

I agree... but I assume that if you paid for something anf its in the terms of agreement and since you paid, you must be entitled to get the 'Collector' magazines and also Im sure that if you pre-ordered something then you must get it at the price you agreed on or else its just false advertising.

 

Hope you will share with the rest of us when/if you hear back from the club team :)

[NewbieJ]

Ya I used also go for the loco as even though they were more or less the same type (shunter type loco) I felt that it was worth it rather than a voucher

[walkingthedog]

You can pick up brand new club locos a toy fairs for a couple of quid. 

[walkingthedog]

Don't they have toy fairs in other countries?

 

They have quite a lot of foreign model railway products at the fairs in the UK so why not vice versa?

[NewbieJ]

You can pick up brand new club locos a toy fairs for a couple of quid. 

Assuming you are in the UK.

 

Very true...but alas Im not Im in Ireland

 

[walkingthedog]

You can pick up brand new club locos a toy fairs for a couple of quid. 

Assuming you are in the UK.

 

Very true...but alas Im not Im in Ireland

 

Toy fairs are not unique to England. I saw one advertised in Perth WA so I'm pretty sure Ireland have them. 

[NewbieJ]

Will have to keep my eye out for um and try and go to one here at least...if not prob will have to make a trip to the UK for one

[walkingthedog]

I'd have thought that was a bit over the top. You could get a decent loco with the money you spend getting over the Irish Sea. 

[Rob_F]

The big question for me is will be still get the 10% off all Hornby products?  The info released so far (in the yellow circle) says "10% discount on your selected club brand products" which I read as "my club" brand being Hornby so 10% off all Hornby products.

With the 10% discount buying from Hornby direct is now generally cheaper than the box shifters, especially with free postage.

I guess time will tell.

[walkingthedog]

It does say you will still get 10% discount. 

[Gary_Leeds]

Well I'm still waiting for a reply from the new club team to my questions about how the new club works. Yes it looks like we lose a few magazines a year, we lose the £20 voucher that can be used to buy anything or the loco if you want it. We lose the automatic Collectors Club discount (e.g. Terriers when released are £35 each instead of £65 each to non members) and get it replaced with a single £20 off voucher. The new club looks totally worthless but until someone at the new club can get back to me I wont know for sure.

 

Also I wonder where members that joined half way though the year stand with regards to their copies of The Collector? January will come and they will still be due 3 copies as per their membership terms. Also if existing members pre ordered Ltd edition locos that are now not due out until June 2015 do we have to rejoin even though they were announced in 2013! to still get them and will the price go up to the full price to then use our discount code on.

 

I actually found that the 10% discount on certain items did work out cheaper to get direct from Hornby rather than the Liverpool based shop because there was no postage.

 

Give us priority pre ordering on things like xmas, roadshow and limited edition wagons (and not just 1 or 2, let us pre order up to 10 incase we have friends or family that want one for xmas) way before they go on sale to the general public and I may be interested. Failing that, then in the words of Peter Jones, Im out

I agree... but I assume that if you paid for something anf its in the terms of agreement and since you paid, you must be entitled to get the 'Collector' magazines and also Im sure that if you pre-ordered something then you must get it at the price you agreed on or else its just false advertising.

 

Hope you will share with the rest of us when/if you hear back from the club team :)

well I sent it on the 28th November and still have no reply so have resent it again. Maybe admin can give someone at Hornby a nudge to check the newclubs email address sometime

[walkingthedog]

Have any of you lot ever relocated an office from one place to another. There's a huge amount of work involved transferring phone systems, getting the web site to work even with the hinderance of the IT experts and a thousand other things, then you start getting people contacting you with queries. Well I've done it twice and it ain't easy. It's not as if your chasing up life saving medication, it's a toy club. 

[steven_hughes]

Have any of you lot ever relocated an office from one place to another. There's a huge amount of work involved transferring phone systems, getting the web site to work even with the hinderance of the IT experts and a thousand other things, then you start getting people contacting you with queries. Well I've done it twice and it ain't easy. It's not as if your chasing up life saving medication, it's a toy club. 

The problem is that Hornby have out-sourced warehousing to a third party company.  Now if things get behind all Hornby can do is "fine" them - in the old days hornby could get extra staff in and work all hours to get it out, and the staff cared about there brand.  Now it's done by a third party who will do things to keep in with the budget and simply say to Hornby "your sale was too successful and you haven't paid us for this amount of work" so will get away with a shody service.  In 4 years time (or whenever the warehouse contract comes up for renewel) it will come move to another company with the same thoughts.  For normal sales volumes it probably works really well having it oursourced, but for someone like hornby who rely on fluctuating dispatch it's not good at all.

A real shame as it will put me off ever using hornby again if they can't get stuff out on time.  Be interesting to see how the new warehouse affects trade supplies as it's all coming from the same warehouse logistics company.

[walkingthedog]

What's this got to do with the club relocating. 

[Gary_Leeds]

Have any of you lot ever relocated an office from one place to another. There's a huge amount of work involved transferring phone systems, getting the web site to work even with the hinderance of the IT experts and a thousand other things, then you start getting people contacting you with queries. Well I've done it twice and it ain't easy. It's not as if your chasing up life saving medication, it's a toy club. 

I have done it several times involving businesses carrying million pounds worth of stock that needed relocating along with the offices and its totally different to moving a collectors club with a few thousand members. The club could be located anywhere. The stock is all probably at Margate/Canterbury already. The only thing that they need access to is the member database which if its not already on Hornbys intranet can be emailed in 5 minutes from Leicester to Margate

 

If they are not ready to receive questions then why bother putting an email on their website saying contact them if you have any questions?

[walkingthedog]

It's not the stock that's a problem. I get the impression that they are being contacted by members asking about the vouchers and the discount etc. Just wait until they're settled in. It's not urgent.

 

When we relocated our Aeronautical Information Service flight crew briefing offices (twice) we had to keep things going H24, if we hadn't aircraft wouldn't have been able to depart as they have to have access to briefing by law. That was great fun. 

[ModelerXYZ]

I was going to consider joining thee club, but now that they've changed it, I think I won't. 

[walkingthedog]

I wasn't going to rejoin but as has been pointed out the 10% discount and free postage is good value. 

[richard_bowd]

i emailed the other day about the membership and just received this if its any help

 

Thank you for your email, we will no longer be sending out the loco’s with the membership packs however we are now including a £20 voucher which you can spend on exclusive club models of your choice.

 

Our new memberships will include:

• 3 magazines and a winter special edition

• £20 voucher to spend on exclusive club models

• 10% discount on club branded items

• Discounted entry to various UK attractions

• Club badge and Membership card – postal only

• Online exclusive club pre-order

• Club exclusive forums

• Competitions including chance to win entry to events and brilliant prizes!

• Sneak peeks with the development teams

• Junior section with competitions

 

The new prices are: UK:                EU:                          ROW:

                                £20 Postal             £25 Postal           £27 Postal

                                £15 Download    £15 Download     £15 Download

 

Kind regards

Hornby Hobbies Club

[trainlover23]

 

The problem is that Hornby have out-sourced warehousing to a third party company.  Now if things get behind all Hornby can do is "fine" them - in the old days hornby could get extra staff in and work all hours to get it out, and the staff cared about there brand.  Now it's done by a third party who will do things to keep in with the budget and simply say to Hornby "your sale was too successful and you haven't paid us for this amount of work" so will get away with a shody service.  In 4 years time (or whenever the warehouse contract comes up for renewel) it will come move to another company with the same thoughts.  For normal sales volumes it probably works really well having it oursourced, but for someone like hornby who rely on fluctuating dispatch it's not good at all.

A real shame as it will put me off ever using hornby again if they can't get stuff out on time.  Be interesting to see how the new warehouse affects trade supplies as it's all coming from the same warehouse logistics company.

Hornby have not out sourced anything they have simply moved the warehouse to Canterbury. As for the Collecters club the reverse applies they have bought back in house from an outside "supplier" As for the statement in bold well I have seen some rubbish on here and this is right up there with the best