'Arriving Soon'

[Peter Stiles]

I miss the "Arriving Soon" section that used to be on the Hornby website.

It was a (semi-)regularly changing section that helped salivate the wallet, reminding one of things that had been announced months/years ago but were now On The Boat (as it were).

[Will Hay]

Given that I waited thirteen months from pre-order to arrival of my R3957, I can imagine why 'arriving soon' has been dropped.

[96RAF]

One of the railway mags used to carry a back page add charting progress of various manufacturers models along the design to production to sale route. Maybe a similar bar chart would be useful on site.

There has to be a pre-release announcement else no one would be able to order these models and the accepted way these days seems to be a model is only valid for production if pre-order sales exceed the break even cut off number.

[DBfan]

As has been suggested the use of quarters eg Q1 Q2 Q3 etc is a far better idea. The other way to stop all moaning and groaning is not to announce models until just before they are due in the shops. Other companies seem to manage okay with this method.

[DBfan]

@96RAF

........... Maybe a similar bar chart would be useful on site.

There has to be a pre-release announcement else no one would be able to order these models ..........

 

 

Point A Due to the different lead times for magazine publication it could lead different charts being shown in different magazines. Also things can change quickly to make the all charts useless.

Point B A pre-release announcement need not be to far in advance and orders could be paced. Bachmann did this with the latest batch of improved 47s and they still virtually sold out with in hours of the announcement

Also production slots are at a premium and shipping is still difficult, so not showing arriving soon information may be a good idea and save a lot of grief.

[96RAF]

@DBfan

Point A - my idea was to have the bar chart dynamic and thus reflect actual events along the supply route from design to delivery. Delays or short cuts would immediately show up. The chart for each future forecast model could feature on every product page as applicable. A bit like the church ‘large musical instrument’ (profanity filter necessary replacements for the obvious word) fund indicator growing towards the final target.

Point B - Grabbing a production slot is key once you have decided from Pre-order stats that a model is viable. Glad its not my job.

[Basingstoke]

There are some interesting concepts expressed above. I wonder if somebody could clarify the following issues please?

1. Is it fact, or just supposition, that "a model is only valid for production if pre-order sales exceed the break even cut-off number"?
2. Whichever, are pre-orders placed with dealers taken into account, as well as pre-orders placed through the Hornby website?
3. I have pre-ordered a couple of models from the 2022 range with my usual dealer. They were both originally scheduled for "Autumn 2022". On looking at the Hornby website, they have both now been shifted back to "Expected Autumn 2023", along with a lot of the 2022 range. Does this mean that those items have not yet hit their "break-even cut-off number"?
4. Is it therefore in modellers' interests to place a pre-order, in order to get the item over the hurdle of qualifying for production, simply because not doing so may lead to the item at worst never being produced, and at best seriously delayed?

I think these issues need to be clarified because if the pre-order process works imperfectly then the outcome may be (1) lots of dissatisfied customers, including people who lose interest because the delays are simply too long, and (2) Hornby cancelling perfectly viable projects. Not what anybody wants.

Personally, I like the pre-order system, and the fact that it enables me to budget well in advance for major purchases. What I do not like at all is when the release is repeatedly shifted backwards, usually around the time that one was expecting to receive the item.

As an example, about four years ago I placed a pre-order with a dealer for a locomotive produced by one of Hornby's rivals. It is still seemingly on their production schedule. However they have since released more than one livery variant of the same class of loco, one of them very recently, while the item I would like (which is by no means a shortlived or unpopular livery) has been repeatedly shifted down their production schedule. This is difficult to understand, and leads to a very great feeling of dissatisfaction.

We have all been through a difficult couple of years, with Covid, and the consequences of chaos in the world's economy. Against this background, Hornby, to their credit, managed to release many of their 2021 range very promptly. When times are difficult it is even more important for manufacturers to keep in touch with their customers about issues such as this, and to do their utmost to stick to the original release schedule