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NEWS AND UPDATES
05/08/22
April Sales Report!
As predicted April 2022 Sales where down. The higher
gas prices and over cost of living issues are driving
down sales. Not to forgot the lack of product
availability. We are reliving 2008-2012 again! But this
time there seems to be an easy fix! The war in Ukraine
is not helping either!
Anyway, BRH sales are down 17% year to year. New
customers up 23% however and returning customers up 55%.
Daily transaction up 13% but they are smaller
transactions. Totals per transactions down 17% as well
as item per transactions down 24%.
Can't sell what you do have to sell.
This is not the fault of BRH. It is a manufacturing and
wholesaler issue.
So again, as I state each week, think ahead about what
you need and order when it is available so you will have
it when you need it!
People Don't Read!
Why is it that people just want to waste my valuable
time?
BRH has received several 1 star reviews again about
store hours. Some complaining about the former $50 store
visit request policy. So I recently ended that program
and have closed the retail store to visitors since March
7th. Yet BRH just got another bad 1 star review. This
person had the nerve to say "OPEN
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. FEE WILL APPLY CONTACT FOR
DETAILS." .
I could not believe that. BRH just ended
that policy!
Again, someone that did not read the wealth of
information on the Google Reviews as well as the BRH
Store Hours page!
I continually get emails and calls from people asking about a
specific product and availability.
If they would have taken the time to put the same info
they are emailing BRH about into the Product Search Page
they would get the exact info.
When I send or tell them about the Product Search Page direct link and
the exact link to the item they emailed BRH about, I
usually get no response.
Also, as noted all over our website, BRH for the last
two months, does not have any retail store hours. Why is
it that people continue to contact BRH about picking up
at the retail store because they live nearby? Simply
stated on the same web pages they got the phone number
from it states just that!
Then when I tell them about the new policy and why
BRH retail and shipping does not have set hours
now you never here from them again! If they needed model
railroading "stuff" they most likely would order online
and have it shipped. Since BRH has very very low prices
and that they live nearby why didn't they order from
BRH? If you order from BRH then the shipping should not
be that expensive! Certainly less then ordering from
some business out of state!
Also, another local person called and left a message
about something they saw on the Product Search page and
wanted to pickup. When I explained that BRH is an online
retailer and that 99.9% of BRH business is from online
shipped sales he said he would order online. To date BRH
has not seen that order.
And so it goes!
Shopping Cart Updated
We have updated the shopping cart personal
information fill in screens so be aware.
We have changed the sequence, removed some questions and
added new ones pertaining to the
Miniature World of Trains™.
Some
of our customers use "auto fill" to answer questions. By
doing this some of the questions could be answered
incorrectly which may lead to delays in shipping your
order to you.
Miniature World of Trains™
MWOT™
credit card investments and donations placed via your
Blue Ridge Hobbies shopping cart order have started to
be processed finally this past Thursday. This is a new
credit card processing system from the project and
is taking a little longer to learn then the BRH
processing system.
Receipts for your donations and investments will be
emailed via the BRH shopping cart order number that you
placed it on. They will show up on your credit
card statements as a Miniature World of Trains™
transaction.
Some of these donations go back as far as early 2022.
Sorry for the delay but it took a while to get the
credit card processing company to understand how the
project needs to process credit cards at this time.
On Monday it is our plan to do a regional press release
here in the Upstate of South Carolina and get some
location news coverage about the project. The press
release will talk about the project but no a specific
location. Right now we have 7 in mind. The last time we
announced the permanent location we wanted for the non
profit version when we where seeking funding, the
location was revealed and within 30 days the building
was sold to a developer thus nixing the lease deal. We
will not make that mistake twice!
We will however talk about the project and what we are
planning for the venue. Hopefully someone will cover it
on the local news, radio and print. I will let you
know if something positive happens.
Join
your fellow model railroaders in
investing /
donating /
volunteering
to help build this new venue.
05/01/22
Slowest Time Of The Year
Currently orders are down, emails and voicemails are
down and it is even quieter on some of the model
railroad forums I monitor. Welcome to Spring!
For the next two months it is the slowest sales
period each year for model railroading sales.
However, it is the best time of year to order from the
list of in stock products in our product search as the
holiday season restocks are arriving after Christmas
2021 sales.
So, again, with the supply chain issues and the
continued price increases coming down from
manufacturers, again I suggest that you think
ahead about what you may need for your fall model
railroading. Purchase now to get the things you need
while they are in stock!
Tichy Train Group
From Don:
We have put this
off as long as possible, but unfortunately, we are
raising prices on most HO scale detail items. Most
freight car parts, trackside details and window &
door packages will be going up by $.50 per pack.
Freight cars and structure kits will not be going up
at this time. Assortments and other miscellaneous
items will be going up about 10%. Most of these
prices have not changed in over 12 years, some have
not changed in twenty years. The new pricing will
take effect on May 1st. Orders will be accepted at
the current prices until then.
At this time we
still have all items in stock but this is subject to
change due to supply chain issues. Our wire supplier
now has a 5 month lead time instead of the 1 month
we have had for the last 30 years. We were recently
quoted 8 months lead on our truck screws. Machinery
repair parts are another major unknown.
Thank you for your
understanding and support.
Altas Suspends Sale Of Mærsk A/S
Due to a cease-and-desist request received from
Patrade A/S, legal representatives of A.P. Møller –
Mærsk A/S, Atlas must cease sale of all products
using the Maersk Logo and name and remove all
references to Maersk from our website. We no longer
have these items in our inventory and have already
removed them from our website. We are required by
Patrade A/S to request that all Atlas distributors
and dealers also cease sale of these products and
specifically remove them from your website and
online stores. We apologize for the inconvenience
that this may cause. Thank you in advance for your
cooperation.
The list of items affected by this C&D notice are as
follow:
Item Numbers and Description
50004164 N 40' STANDARD HEIGHT CONTAINER MAERSK [MRKU]
SET #1
50004165 N 40' STANDARD HEIGHT CONTAINER MAERSK [MRKU]
SET #2
50004166 N 40' STANDARD HEIGHT CONTAINER MAERSK LINE
[MRKU] SET #1
50004167 N 40' STANDARD HEIGHT CONTAINER MAERSK LINE
[MRKU] SET #2
3006345 O 40' CONTAINERS MAERSK MRKU 5193122,
6231269, 6311770, 5752489, 5592436, 5628902,
6115700, 5347172 (GRAY/BLE/WHITE)
3006355 O 40' REEFER CONTAINER MAERSK-SEALAND MWCU
6195137, MWCU 6196128, MWCU 6197715, MWCU 6195142
(WHITE/BLUE)
In addition to the above, the Maersk Limited Edition
Fantasy scheme HO SD-26 locomotives, items 10 003
734/10 003 762, will be held upon arrival pending
approval from Maersk. Maersk HO 48’ Well Cars, items
20 005 998 through 20 006 001 have been canceled and
will not be produced at this time. Further updates
will be provided as new information becomes
available.
We are hopeful that this measure will only be
temporary as we are attempting to obtain a license
from Maersk, which will allow continued production
and sale of branded models.
Miniature World of Trains™
The
MWOT™
Project continues to move forward towards a late 2023
opening.
The
MWOT™
Project credit card processing is finally set up so all
of your BRH to
MWOT™
can now be processed. Sorry for the delay. They
will show up on you statements as Miniature World Of
Trains. Thanks again for your donations!
If you can not invest to help create the Miniature World
of Trains™
then a donation is a great option!
Join
your fellow model railroaders in
investing /
donating /
volunteering
to help build this new venue.
04/24/22
Why Does BRH Require A Credit Card Deposit
Again this week older back orders / advance reservations
are arriving and we
are finding that the credit cards on file, even though
they have valid information,
are not processing for one reason or another.
BRH will reach out to the customer a maximum of three
times via shopping cart email(s)and / or a call(s) to
the last contact information we have on file. If we do
not get a response then we will cancel the order and
then you will lose your deposit!
In addition, you will no long be able to make an order
with BRH in the future!
Recently I have had several customers that did not take
care of a older situation with a credit card and they did not
understand why I will not work with them on a new order.
Simply put, those customers did not honor their purchase
contract with BRH thus we can not take a chance that
they will do the same thing again!
This cost BRH money and leads to higher overall prices
for people that honor their order commitments.
Credit Card Up To Date?
To
avoid losing you back order or advance reservation make
sure your credit card information is up to date.
To
up date via our product search page just fill in the
normal personal information page and send your
information to BRH via our secure webpage:
Held Orders
Some of you have orders sitting at BRH for pickup
for several months now. These orders have been charged
to your credit card and are paid for. Since we have had
no response from emails and calls arrangements have not
been made to pick up your orders.
So, per store policy, these orders will be shipped to
you at your cost.
Sorry but we can not have these orders waiting at BRH
indefinitely.
Testors Price Increase
Testors is raising prices
44%-45% effective 5/15/22. We just received the new
price list and it is across the board, every item is
going up either 44% or 45%. Get it at the current price
while you can.
Miniature World of Trains™
The
MWOT™
Project is in the midst of it's largest fund raiser with
ads in the MRH (Model Railroad Hobbyist) newsletter
blast the best Tuesday and the Model Railroaders
Newsletter on Thursday. Coming up next week on Wednesday
will be the Classic Toy Trains newsletter.
Join your fellow model railroaders in
investing /
donating /
volunteering
to help build this new venue.
MRH (Model Railroad Hobbyist) Ad
THANKS FOR THE
SUPPORT! |
