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NEWS AND UPDATES
Clarification On The New Back Order Policy
If a product is
listed as a advance reservation at time of order
that item will be ordered as such with a deposit as
needed for non Track Crew Members.
If you order and "in stock" and you need 10 but only
5 where available in the past if you answered yes to
the back order / advance reservation question we
would automatically back order. Because we have had
problems with customers not understanding the back
order process causing cost related problems we have
decided to end that procedure after 17 years. In
this example the 5 will not be back ordered and you
would have to reorder in the future on another
order.
Also, all in
stock items will now be shipped. There are no holds
to SHIP AS ONE as we have done for 17 years.
What's Wrong With
People?!?!
Why are people mean, rude, disrespectful and
unkind?
Recently I have had a very small amount of people
contact BRH via email or by calling that have not
been very pleasant people to try to help and deal
with. As in
these News and Updates I am very frank and direct so
that there is no confusion. I put as much
information on our website to explain the state of a
products status and our policies. All people have to
do is read a bit. And yes there is a lot of
information that we have, but frankly, I am getting
very very tired of one big question, "when is this
going to available".
If it states that this item has "unknown
availability date" it means just that. We do not
know. Even if the manufacturer or wholesalers gives
a date that does not mean the product will arrive on
that date. It is not the fault of BRH. Please do not
shoot the messenger. I alone pass along what
information is shared by the manufacturer or
wholesalers .
Just the other day a customer of BRH emailed and
stated: "Not to name names but I have experienced
‘back order’ untruths from the company whose name
begins with ‘A’ and is a synonym of the word for a
book filled with maps."
Another friend works in doctors office and
advised me that 80% of their customers do not listen
or follow instructions.
Why do people seem to think they are 'owed'
something?
So the real bugaboo is that people are down
right rude when I point out the obvious information
out to them. They think I am rude. I do not sugar
coat the situation and some people just do not grasp
the state of the hobby and get rude with me. I will
explain things twice to someone, but on the third
attempt of repeating myself I will be more forceful.
If I lose a customer then so be it. They most likely
will be a problem customer down the road.
So, read the information we supply and fill the
personal information screens out correctly. Some of
you are not doing that. It can cause problems down
the road with shipping and order fulfillment.
Also the other day there was another attempt from
some criminal to secure $1,400 worth of model trains
fraudulently via our website. I stopped that attempt
cold.
If the 1% of rude customer contacts continues to be
a very time consuming issue I will have to
reevaluate even trying to talk or email people back.
Most rude customers and customers that do not
understand how things work or seem to be just
ignorant, will cost BRH in the long run. There
may be only one solution and I hope it does not come
to that.
Thanks for letting me rant a bit.
Frank Ruby
Owner / Blue Ridge Hobbies.
02/24/21
Fedex Inbound Delivery Update
2am
As of this time there are 4 boxes still not received
from 02/23 update.
Out of the 4 there are 2 groups of two large boxes. Out
of each group only one each is scheduled to arrive
Wednesday 02/24. This does not help us. With only one
box from each group coming in we mostly will not be able
to fill orders from those groups until all boxes arrive.
Here are the Fedex.com tracking numbers so you can see
for yourself:
935236783457
935236783468
935236781064
935236781075
Also, the 6am Monday to 6am Tuesday orders did not ship
form the Milwaukee warehouse. They are expected to ship
today. The Easton warehouse picked and shipped the order
on Tuesday and it is scheduled to arrive on Thursday as
of this update.
02/23/21
FLASH UPDATE
Fedex Inbound Delivery Update
As of this update BRH has not received inbound
deliveries for the last 3 days from Fedex. Orders placed
before 6am on 02/18 and 02/19 are somewhere within the
Fedex shipping system currently listed as Pending
Arrival with no further information. We know the
shipments left the Milwaukee / Chicago area but we
have no further information at this time.
Also, orders place from 6am Friday 02/19 until 6am
Monday 02/22 did not leave the Milwaukee Warehouse on
Monday but should leave today. Orders from 6am 02/22
until 6am today are being picked for potential shipment
today.
The Easton Warehouse is about a day behind with no
delays in shipping once it is received by Fedex. Orders
are arriving with 3 days at this point. We are moving as
much product to fill orders from the Easton Warehouse as
needed.
Orders via UPS inbound from Canada are not experiencing
any delays from what can tell.
So, again, we are sorry for the delays but they are
beyond our control.
02/21/21
Weather Related Delays
BRH has been doing its very best to get your orders
shipped out to you as quickly as possible when we are
awaiting items from the warehouses and
manufacturers to fulfill your orders. However, this past
week has been a big challenge with all of the weather
related issues in the midwest on top of the unfortunate
delays due to higher than normal shipping volumes since
this time last year, BRH is now 3 days behind.
It is not that the product is not on its way to us, it
is just taking an extended times. The Wednesday delivery
did not occur until Saturday for example.
More information below.
Internet Outage Again
Last Tuesday evening at the BRH office we lost our
internet connectivity when a repairman was working on
the line outside of the office. The cable company was
not called by BRH or our neighbor. The repairman stated
there was an issue with the line. We where not
having an issues until the he arrived. He was there for
about 30 minutes and then left and did not advise
whether he completed his task. All we knew as that the
internet was down. So we had to call the cable company
to that repair person back to turn the service back on.
One line representative and two supervisors later we got
a different repairman to restore the service. That
process took 3 hours and should have not occurred to
begin with. We last 4 hours of productive work that
evening.
Retail Store Remodel
BRH is planning on remodeling the retail store to
help more reflect the current state of the model
railroading hobby and to more reflect how BRH currently
is operating the retail store.
So, we will be selling off ALL of the current retail
store in stock inventory to make room for more new stuff
and to reorganize the front of the store to work better
for the current working situation due to Covid and the
very high volume of internet orders. The retail store
has been at the same location for over 10 years now and
it is time for a change.
We will announce the date of the sale 2 weeks prior.
Another Icon Closes! Well sort of.
I just found out recently that Caboose in Lakewood,
Colorado closed. So yet another large model train
related hobby store bites the dust! But really the
forerunner for Caboose was the iconic 18,000sf Caboose
Hobbies, a store I frequented for over 15 years when I
lived in the Denver Area. My understanding from talking
with current BRH customers that live in the area, they
stated that the owners really never had a good grasp on
operating the Lakewood store at the level that Caboose
Hobbies Broadway store operated from what I
remember when I lived in the Denver area.
Blue Ridge Hobbies was originally modeled after Caboose
Hobbies growing within 2 years into a 5,000sf store with
an every increasing customer base and sales, both online
and in the retail store. Unfortunately the economy
tanked and model railroad items where hard to find to
stock the store. The situation has not changed much
since then. Now BRH is mostly an online store which is
what I understand the new owners of Caboose had issues
with. They also could not find enough product to sell
and started selling used items. Much like the old Mizell
Hobbies just off the Boulder Turnpike who also closed.
BRH only sells new items and we do not purchase
old / used products and reduced the size of our retail
store.
We are sorry to see the hobby continue to shrink for
many reasons, but to see another large store fall by the
wayside is a shame.
Policy Changes
Due to recent issues with back orders and our ship
as one order policy and the abuse by a very very small
percentage of customers that can not seem to figure out
how the policies work, these polices will change
effective immediately.
SHIP AS ONE ORDER: As of 02/21/21 will we no longer
offer SHIP AS ONE ORDER. Customers with on current SHIP
AS ONE parameters will be 'grand fathered' in. Orders
going forward will no longer be allowed this option. All
items with in an order will ship immediately. No more
holding orders. Back orders will no longer be allowed
(see below). Advance reservations will still be allowed
(see below).
The reason for this change is that, despite written and
verbal communication with customer, some do not
understand how this policy works. With some cusotmers
not understanding that we hold merchandise in hand until
all of the order is received for shipping, per their
request, and we charge for the merchandise on hold of
shipping. These customers seem not to understand that
sometimes it take a long time to complete an order based
on current manufacturing processes due to Covid. Thus,
without contacting Blue Ridge Hobbies, they do a credit
card charge back when they simply could have called BRH
to have the order cancelled under the order cancellation
policy.
When doing this the customer does get their money
back via the unwarranted charge backs since BRH was only
following their instructions. This costs BRH money on
two fronts. One - the credit card processing company
charge $25.00 for each charge back regardless of the
situation plus BRH gets stuck with the merchandise that
customer does not want to pay for thus BRH has to return
it to the wholesaler or manufacturer. Two - the cost to
send it back usually involves a 20% restock fee from the
wholesaler or manufacturer plus the cost to ship the
item back to them!
With BRH pricing being as low as they are we can not
longer take the chance any longer with impatient and
frankly rude customers.
The reason for the change is that the less than 1%
percent of people ruin it for the 99.9% that are honest
and follow the rules.
BACK ORDERS / ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Due to the seemingly
long wait times for items that are back ordered due to
manufacturing and Covid issues, BRH will no longer be
allowing back orders effective 02/21/21.
So if you order 3 and only 1 was available, in the past
if you answered the Back Order / Advance Reservation
question on the personal information screen at check out
YES, the item(s) would have been back ordered. Due
to sometimes long wait times for product and customers
not keeping there credit card information up to date and
not understanding how back orders work, we will no
longer be allowing back orders.
For new items announced by manufacturers and for new
items only, BRH will still accept advanced reservations
as these advance reservations are sometimes the only way
to get the product. There still will be a deposit
charged for all advance reservations accept for Track
Crew Members.
So if the item(s) are out of stock or we are sending you
less quantity then you ordered, you will have to place a
new order for that item(s). BRH does not control the
inventories of the manufacturers and wholesalers or the
manufacturing capacity of the manufacturers this
creating the need to change the policy.
----------------------------
In the past BRH has done its very best to offer the best
prices and customer service. However people seem to think
that the rules and policies that BRH has developed over
the years do not apply to them.
When these people continually cost BRH money we have to
respond thus the changes to these policies.
Every policy that BRH has has been developed is due to the
abuse of the less then 1% of people. We update these
policies when the abuses warrant the change.
Atlas Back Order / Advance Reservation
So you think you have
been waiting a long time for a back order / advance
reservation?
Well this week we received some HO scale GP38-2 from
Atlas that where ordered by customers in July 2016. That
is a four and a half year wait which is entirely too
long! Something needs to be done about the delays in
getting product made. This length of time to wait is not
appropriate in any industry.
Please keep in mind whether it is a short wait or
a long wait, you will need to keep your credit card up
to date or you run the risk of your order canceling
since your credit card has expired.
Upcoming Order Deadlines
Attention! Orders due this week - don't miss out!
February 25: Broadway Limited Preorders
Order deadlines approaching soon:
February 28: Trainworx Preorders
February 28: Walthers Winter Buy Orders
March 15: Rapido Preorders
March 15: Trainworx Preorders
March 31: Bluford Shops Preorders
New Atlas/Trainman/AtlasO HO and O Arrivals
Plenty of in-demand new products have arrived from
Atlas. In HO Scale, Atlas 89' Flatcars, Berwick 50'
Boxcars and intermodal
containers, as well as Trainman EMD GP38-2s are now
shipping. In O Scale, new AtlasO 40' Wood Reefers are
rolling into stores now.
All of these models have proven popular and most road
names and road numbers are sold out, but we still have
limited
quantities on hand. Order now for best selection.
HO SCALE
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE 89' FLAT
CARS
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE 50'
BOXCARS
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE INTERMODAL
CONTAINERS
O SCALE
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE 40' WOOD
REEFERS
Broadway Limited Announces More Popular N Scale Sound
Stock Cars
Broadway Limited is offering more road numbers and
schemes on its wildly popular PRR K7 Stock Cars with
animal sounds. Based on
cars used to haul all kinds of livestock these
sound-equipped cars feature an on-board circuit and
speaker that's motion-activated to generate cattle or
hog sounds. Sounds operate on any DC or DCC layout. In
addition, Broadway Limited is also offering
non-sound-equipped stock car two packs in matching
schemes. These cars are very popular with N Scale
modelers and typically sell out quickly, so order now!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE K7 STOCK
CARS
New Preiser HO
Figures Include North American Police Sets
The latest HO figure sets to arrive from Preiser include
three different North American police sets. Each set
includes six uniformed officers that will look perfect
in diesel-era scenes from the 1960s to the present.
These sets are in addition to over a dozen new sets now
in-stock and selling fast.
Order now for best selection!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER PREISER ITEMS
Exciting New HO and
N Scale Announcements from Rapido Trains
HO Scale modelers of Canadian iron ore operations will
love the new NSC Barrel Ore Hoppers. These unique cars
feature cylindrical
bodies with sliding covers that shielded the processed
ore during transit south to the steel mills at Hamilton,
Ontario, during
harsh Canadian winters. These highly detailed models
will be available in both long and short versions as
six-packs and
individually. They ran in entire trains, so order enough
to meet demand. In N Scale, the 1959-1986 GM New
Look-Fishbowl Bus is
expected to be as popular as the HO version. This
detailed, newly tooled model features interior seats,
real rubber tires, accurate
decoration and working headlights/tail lights. Now is
your chance to start taking customer preorders for these
HO and N models.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BARREL
HOPPERS
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE FISHBOWL
BUSES
Weather Delays
02/15/21
Snow is expected overnight in the Milwaukee and Chicago.
Today's large amount of orders may not depart the
Milwaukee warehouse. Today's Easton warehouse order
should leave Tuesday.
Fedex Weather Alert!
Winter Storms
February 14, 2021 5pm
Winter storms are causing hazardous conditions across
the U.S. Our top priority is the safety and well-being
of our team members, as well as providing the highest
level of service to our customers. Although contingency
plans are in place, some service delays and disruptions
can be anticipated for inbound and outbound shipments
across the U.S. FedEx is committed to providing service
to the best of our ability in areas that can be safely
accessed.
02/14/21
Happy Valentines Day
BRH will be closed tomorrow for Presidents Day since
there are no deliveries scheduled and the USPS will be
closed as well.
Fedex Weather Alert!
February 11, 2021
FedEx Express experienced substantial disruptions at the
Memphis hub last night due to winter weather conditions.
Potential delays are possible for package deliveries
across the U.S. with a delivery commitment of February
11, 2021. FedEx is committed to provide service to the
best of our ability.
Operational impacts to other FedEx operating companies
may vary due to local weather conditions. Winter Storms:
February 11, 2021
FedEx Express experienced substantial disruptions at the
Memphis hub last night due to winter weather conditions.
Potential delays are possible for package deliveries
across the U.S. with a delivery commitment of February
11, 2021. FedEx is committed to provide service to the
best of our ability.
Our Competition Is Way Behind!
Recently one of our on line competitors announced that
they where finally adding three new brands. They are
Noch, San Juan Details formally Grandt Line (part of San
Jaun Car Company and Northeastern Scale Lumber.
They are 17 years behind the curve. BRH has offered
these brands for the last 17 years and at a better price
then our competitor!
New Advance Reservation and Back Order Arrivals
New product is coming in from Bowser, Rapido,
Prieser, Noch, Altas and Classic Metal Works to name a
few. We are working diligently to process the new
arrivals and get them out to you ASAP.
Announcement From Tichy Train Group
We have several announcements concerning our products.
First we have eliminated our old 9000 series decal
numbers, all of these decals are available in the 10000
series numbers we are using now.
Old to New Decal list
Our new Decal Catalog containing all 450 of our decals
in full color is now available. The link is below or you
can reply to this email to request a copy. Remember to
give us a mailing address. All of our other catalogs are
available under the catalog tab on the home page of the
website.
Decal Catalog
We have just run 200 sets of the main body panels, base
and accessory buildings for our coaling tower kit #7010.
Due to the very significant cost of assembling these
molds and running them, we are forced to increase the
MSRP of this kit to $170 effective March 1st. This is
the first price change on this kit since 1993 when we
introduced it. If you ever wanted to get one, now is the
time to buy it. For those of you unfamiliar with this
kit the BRH part number is 293-7010
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Finally, we will be increasing the MSRP of all NBW and
rivet packs from $3.00 to $3.50 effective March 1st due
to the cost of labor and processing on these parts.
Again, we have never changed the pricing on these items
since the first ones were introduced over 20 years ago.
We will be re-evaluating many of our prices over the
next several months as we are seeing significant price
increases in many of our raw materials, the worst one
being a 50% increase in the cost of our kit boxes as
well as a doubling of the lead time.
We continue to have significant delays and other
problems with the post office.
Don Tichy
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BRH will be updating the images and pricing as they are
updated by the wholesalers and Tichy.
More Price Increases Coming?
This is the season for price increases. We have
already heard from Tichy Train Group, Woodland Scenics
and Kadee. Each year in April more announce as well. We
are expecting price increase from Atlas as well next
month. We are also hearing about shortages of key
components to make products as well.
So best to order what you think you may need so you have
what you need when you need the product!
Upcoming Order Deadlines
Attention! Orders due this week - don't miss out!
February 15: Rapido Preorders
February 17: Atlas/AtlasO/Trainman Preorders
Order deadlines approaching soon:
February 28: Trainworx Preorders
February 28: Walthers Winter Buy Orders
March 15: Rapido Preorders
March 15: Trainworx Preorders
SceneMaster HO and N Scale Metal Industrial Fence Now
Shipping
New SceneMaster HO and N Scale Metal Industrial Fence
kits are perfect for securing structures of any kind, as
well as animal
pens, storage yards and more. The kits include
appropriate metal mesh fence material and molded fence
posts to create fencing
similar to widely used chain-link fencing. Multiple kits
are easily combined for large areas. Metal
Industrial Fence kits are in-stock now
and selling fast, so order now.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE FENCES
Faller Makes Nuremberg New Product Announcements
Even though the 2021 International Toy Fair in Nuremberg
has been cancelled, Faller has announced its new
products flyer with
plenty of exciting products. Notable new models include
the new HO Scale Brick Freight House - Goods Shed which
will make a great
addition to any North American freight house or yard
scene. In addition, several other new Faller HO and N
kits will have great
appeal to North American modelers, so make sure to check
them out. Other new products include new HO and N and
LED streetlights
that are perfect for lighting up North American layout
scenes. We're taking preorders for all of these new
models now - don't
miss out on these all-new sales builders.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL FALLER ITEMS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FALL 75th
ANNIVERSARY CATALOG
THANKS FOR THE
SUPPORT! |
