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NEWS AND UPDATES
09/30/22
Hurricane And
Vacation Update
As of this update, BRH shipping
department is currently operating.
The vacation to Walt Disney World was cut short by one
day and the Washington DC trip Thursday until Monday was
cancelled. Amtrak cancelled the Auto Train we had
scheduled for Thursday late afternoon on Tuesday. We
tried to extend our Disney stay by 2 days but we could
only get one additional day so we decided to head out
ahead of the storm yesterday morning at 5am instead of
staying last night and leaving today which would have
not been a good thing. We normally travel via I-4 up
I-95 but could have gone via I-75 to Atlanta. The issue
would have been leaving the Orlando area yesterday
morning via I-4 and the heavy rains.
The storm, as of this update, is heading towards
Columbia, SC so we will be on the west side of the eye.
However heavy rain and strong winds are expected
starting Friday a.m. continuing until Saturday a.m..
All orders placed have been submitted to the wholesalers
and manufacturers for shipment to BRH today and
tomorrow.
Weather caused power outages, down trees on my personal
property and possible internet outages may cause
shipping delays. You just never know! Today the wind
caused a brief, very brief power and internet outage.
09/11/22
Advance
Reservations
Currently BRH is not listing items on our
product search that are advance reservations for all
manufacturers except Broadway Limited and Rapido.
The reason for this is the restrictive MAP policies that
some manufacturers are imposing on dealers.
However, if there is an item that you would to pre order
/ advance reservation or back order, then just email BRH
at:
contactus@blueridgehobbies.com
and I will get the BRH price for the advance reservation
emailed back to you. If you accept the price BRH will
place the pre order / advance reservation or back order
under the BRH store policies for pre order / advance
reservation or back order.
Where's Your Local Hobby Shop?
Do you have a local hobby shop? Has your shop
closed recently?
Maybe I have found on reason?
Recently while
trolling around on Amazon I found the Bachmann page
for people to order direct from Bachmann via Amazon.
Listed there is the Ho Scale Echo Valley train set being
for $223.43 with Prime one day free shipping!. A great
price. Here is the issue. The BRH cost from or
wholesalers is $229.50 from one wholesaler and $215.74.
If BRH priced matched this there is only $8.00 in
profit. Plus the shipping would be expensive as this set
is a large package!
This is just one example I have found. I the past
I found the same type of issue with Lionel train sets
being sold on Amazon and at Macy's.
Not only are the manufacturers allowing the lower price
to occur, but they seem not to care and correct the
pricing issues. Granted most hobby shops can not
buy in the volume that an Amazon can buy so they
get a volume discount, but it is unfair that a local
shop will not get that sale. Yet, the purchaser most
likely has come to the LHS for advance on that item or
will come to the LHS for servicing questions since
Amazon will not have the answer. The LHS will not only
not et the original sale but have to act as Amazon's
customer service.
This happened at BRH over and over again wasting a lot
of time for BRH without any income coming in! I am sure
that other LHS's have had the same issue.
Do get me wrong, I want to help and help the hobby grow,
but the LHS has bills to pay and needs income to keep
operating. This type of situation does not help!
Fall Vacation
Starting on September 21st through October
5th BRH shipping will be closed for our annual Fall
Vacation. This vacation is a big one this year as I will
be turning 65 years old on the 20th! Medicare here I
came! I had better check my zip code to see if I qualify
for additional discounts!
As I do each year at t his time I again will be off to
Disney World as well as Marineland (I visited there to
see Flipper back in the mid 1960's). After my week at
the mouse I take the Amtrak Autotrain from Orlando to
DC. In Washington, DC I will be attending a wedding for
a friends daughter over the weekend.
This means that BRH will still be open for online orders and
the orders will be placed with wholesalers and
manufacturers during this time so you can place your
order as normal.
The last order BRH will place before the vacation is
Thursday 09/15 at 6am to allow the order to arrive at
BRH shipping no later than Tuesday 09/20 the last day
BRH will be shipping until 10/04 when I return.
Recently BRH switched back to Fedex inbound shipping and
the orders the last two weeks have been trending for a 3
day ship time from warehouse to BRH. Something we have
not seen in 5 years or so. This must be do the lower
volume of on line sales that have been occurring as I
have reported.
So, get your order in
by 09/15 to your order for the last two weeks of
September so I can ship to you by 09/19!
Fedex Over Charges!
A couple of weeks ago I let you know that
Fedex was charging a fuel surcharge and not passing it
along to the Fedex Ground franchise route owners since
they actually pay the fuel cost.
Well, over the last year every now and again a add on
charge show up on our Fedex statement. It is called
additional handing and cost $16.00 each time this
occurs.
Every time I call Fedex about this add on charge I get a
different answer as to what this charge is for as there
seems to be no documentation for the reason for this
charge.
In review the latest Fedex statement on Thursday this
charge again appeared. I called Fedex and was told that
because the 38 x 3 x 3 box (a track box) fell off the
conveyor belt and it cost $16.00 for them to pick it up!
I advised the Fedex rep BRH would not pay for that
charge. Then there the rep did not say anything else.
After 2 minutes I ended the call and dialed Fedex back.
Another rep advised me that the reason for the charge
was that the box was not sealed properly. This was a
totally different reason and a bogus one at that. I
called the customer and found that the package was not
damaged!
So why is this occurring. Only Fedex knows that answer!
BRH will not be paying these fraudulent charges!
Also, on this same
statement something new showed up as well. This was over
and above the normal residential delivery fee. I was
told that it was charged because the address was out in
rural Massachusetts. In fact this address was just
outside Worchester, MA and new two interstates!
We disputed the charge and the response received was
that this customers zip code was some list that BRH has
never heard of or seen. If this was a known situation it
should be part of the pricing offered by Fedex
Shipmanager. Not a fee the sneak in on a statement after
BRH received pricing and BRH billed our customer based
on what Shipmanager quoted BRH. What a scam!
This charge is also bogus and BRH will not pay it!
Why is it that Fedex has no customer service and tries
to rip off people?
Fedex Shipping Policy Change
While this does not affect the bulk of the Fedex
Ground shipping, we have had to update the Fedex Ground
shipping terms and conditions
Effective
09/09/22
Due to additional costs that Fedex adds to packages shipped via
Fedex Shipmanager by adding fees after the price is quoted via Shipmanager
via our statement from BRH. Unfortunately if this occurs, which is a
rare occurrence, BRH will have to recoup these additional charges, that are
unknown until we receive our statement from Fedex, for you, our customer. So
an additional charge will occur if this situation arises. Copy our statement
can be forwarded to you as proof upon your email request for this
information.
BRH apologizes for this situation but it is beyond our control.
To avoid this potential situation, pick USPS only as your shipping option.
However, sometimes with large packages, even with these fees that
Fedex charges after the fact, it still may be cheaper to ship via Fedex
Ground than with USPS which is usually much higher than Fedex Ground.
BRH does its best to keep our prices for product low. We have no control of
the cost of shipping. Shipping is a pass through cost to you, our customers.
New N Scale Boxcars Arrive from Broadway
Limited
The N Scale USRA 40' Steel Boxcar from Broadway Limited
is based on cars developed by New York Central and
adopted, with few changes, by the United States Railroad
Administration as a standard design. As the second most
numerous boxcar on North
American rails, models of these cars are in high demand
by N Scale steam and classic-diesel-era modelers. The
Broadway Limited models feature road name-appropriate
body and door styles; metal wheels and magnetic knuckle
couplers. They'll operate smoothly on Code 55 and larger
rail and will negotiate curves as sharp as 9" radius.
The cars come in two and four-packs in a variety of road
road names and road numbers. Some are already sold out
and others are in short supply - order now for best
selection!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
09/01/22
Labor Day Weekend
As with every holiday, inbound to BRH and
outbound to our customers shipments get a bit out of
sync this week.
The USPS, Fedex, UPS and our wholesalers and
manufacturers, as well as BRH will be closed for Labor
Day. This closure will put shipping behind one to two
days.
Sorry for the delay, but BRH has no control here and
will process your orders within 24 hours of arrival at
BRH and ship to you as soon as possible.
Inbound Shipping To BRH
Over the last couple of months inbound deliveries to BRH
began arriving later and later in the day. In fact on
average from 4pm to as late as 8pm each day via UPS.
Last week BRH made the decision to have most shipments
from the Milwaukee warehouse shipped again via Fedex
since the Fedex Ground deliveries arrive much earlier in
the day.
Hopefully this will allow BRH to ship to you, our
customers a bit sooner.
Fedex Holiday Season Rate Increase
As FedEx prepares for high demand during peak
holiday season, we are adjusting our networks to best
deliver for our customers. To continue providing you
with the best possible service during this challenging
time, beginning October 3, 2022 through January 15,
2023, FedEx will implement a peak rate increase.
Effective October 3, 2022, the base rates will change to
reflect these peak rates. The Blue Ridge Hobbies
percentage off discounts that we pass along to our
customers will not change and continue to apply to the
peak rates.
As the surge in residential volume continues to grow,
beginning January 16, 2023, FedEx will also implement a
base rate increase to the FedEx pricing program that
Blue Ridge Hobbies uses. Effective January 16, 2023, the
base rates will increase. The percentage off discounts
will not change and continue to apply to the new base
rates for Blue Ridge Hobbies customers
As recently announced, shipping executed between July
25, 2022 and October 16, 2022 may qualify for a rate
incentive, subject to eligibility requirements and other
terms, will be passed along from Fedex to all Blue Ridge
Hobbies customers that are shipped via Fedex.
Preorders / Advance Reservations
Don't forget the BRH is taking Preorders / Advance
Reservations from Broadway Limited and Rapido order as
these manufacturers seem to be the only manufacturers
that can get products made in a timely manner.
This past Thursday we shipped a large amount for Rapido
items that arrived from Rapido in Canada!
BRH Is Not The Only One That Has Slow Sales
From Fox Business:
Amazon to close, scrap plans for dozens of warehouses
amid slowing sales growth: report
Amazon posted its slowest sales growth rate in two
decades earlier this year.
The consulting firm MWPVL says that the online retail
giant is either closing or abandoning plans to open 42
facilities across the country totaling almost 25 million
square feet of usable space, Bloomberg reported.
The firm says that Amazon has also delayed opening 21
other locations and canceled several European projects,
mostly in Spain.
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So not only is BRH a bit slow. but the biggest online
retailer is slow as well.
THANKS FOR THE
SUPPORT! |
