Garden Railway Specialists Ltd - Negative Review

JimmyB

JimmyB

Now retired - trains and fishing
Country flag
Not sure if this is the correct place to post, but I am posting my dissatisfaction with this retailer (Garden Railway Specialists Ltd)
I ordered some parts for this retailer on 29 December, and the parcel arrived on 3 January, however on opening the parcel, i found some incorrect items windows and not roofing sheets. I immediately emailed them and I was informed to return the items, a couple of other emails the same day to confirm how to return and when the correct items would be dispatched, and was informed;
"Just put them in an envelope or Jiffy Bag, sell taped to a bit of card. They should arrives safely. We will reimburse you the postage once they arrive.We will send the 4 roof sheets on Tuesday for a Wednesday delivery."
Today Thursday 9 January I see my return has been received, but no sign of my replacement, so I emailed them for tracking details and got this reply;
"Sorry the lads have waited for the windows to arrive back which mean they will be sending the plastic roofs today for you."
This is not good enough, not what was agreed, especially as the error was theirs in the first place.
 
JimmyB said:
Not sure if this is the correct place to post, but I am posting my dissatisfaction with this retailer (Garden Railway Specialists Ltd)
I ordered some parts for this retailer on 29 December, and the parcel arrived on 3 January, however on opening the parcel, i found some incorrect items windows and not roofing sheets. I immediately emailed them and I was informed to return the items, a couple of other emails the same day to confirm how to return and when the correct items would be dispatched, and was informed;
"Just put them in an envelope or Jiffy Bag, sell taped to a bit of card. They should arrives safely. We will reimburse you the postage once they arrive.We will send the 4 roof sheets on Tuesday for a Wednesday delivery."
Today Thursday 9 January I see my return has been received, but no sign of my replacement, so I emailed them for tracking details and got this reply;
"Sorry the lads have waited for the windows to arrive back which mean they will be sending the plastic roofs today for you."
This is not good enough, not what was agreed, especially as the error was theirs in the first place.
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Bit rough considering this is holiday season Flu season and some of us are under several inches of snow
 
Far from being the worst, in my experience. There is another well known G Scale supplier in the south east, who I had spent money with in the past, at shows, that I emailed twice and telephoned once, and I never got a response to my enquiry.

David
 
What really got my back up is they promised they would be dispatched and delivered by last Wednesday, and did not even post them till Thursday. If they cam clean and said, they would not sent the correct items until they had received the return, then ay least I would have known.
 
JimmyB said:
What really got my back up is they promised they would be dispatched and delivered by last Wednesday, and did not even post them till Thursday. If they cam clean and said, they would not sent the correct items until they had received the return, then ay least I would have known.
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They do occasionally have a bit of a 'take it or leave it' attitude. You're lucky, when I was sent a wrongly labelled set of wheels (the manufacturer's error, not theirs) they didn't even re-fund the return postage :punch::punch: and no, they don't send out the replacement item until they've received the return.
 
One of the problems with this hobby is there are too few Retailers so no incentive for competition or aggressive marketing. You always get the cop out that it is Manufacturers that set the price not the Retailer but I find it strange that even many 2 nd hand items are all similarly priced no matter who you but then from. As for " Black Friday" I must have blinked and missed all the offers for Garden Railways.
 
brokenwing said:
but I find it strange that even many 2 nd hand items are all similarly priced no matter who you but then from.
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I guess the price is the price, second hand condition will always be a price issue. Sadly to get a good bargain 2nd hand you need to find someone unaware of value (tech savvy sellers will always do net research) or sadly someone desperate to move things on either due to bereavement, cash needs or just get rid of.
 
But, going back to the original issue - I'm with Jimmy: customers shouldn't be treated as an inconvenience to the retailer's business activities. If a problem crops up - communicate the issue.

It's a bit like the old BR comment that the trains are delayed because of too many passengers :swear::swear:
 
dunnyrail said:
I guess the price is the price, second hand condition will always be a price issue. Sadly to get a good bargain 2nd hand you need to find someone unaware of value (tech savvy sellers will always do net research) or sadly someone desperate to move things on either due to bereavement, cash needs or just get rid of.
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brokenwing said:
One of the problems with this hobby is there are too few Retailers so no incentive for competition or aggressive marketing. You always get the cop out that it is Manufacturers that set the price not the Retailer but I find it strange that even many 2 nd hand items are all similarly priced no matter who you but then from. As for " Black Friday" I must have blinked and missed all the offers for Garden Railways.
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In terms of economic marketing structure, you have what's known as an oligopoly - a market with few sellers. Because of this, with or without a formal or informal agreement between the sellers, sellers can easily keep track of each others' prices and so with new goods there is no incentive to cut prices because sellers know their few competitors would quickly follow suit and they could end up selling the same quantity of goods but at lower prices and in the case of second hand goods, it is easy to check what other sellers are charging and follow suit.
 
I have had a "love/hate" relationship with the retailer in question for over 20 years. They do have some interesting trackside items that tempt me back and, did some once, unique track powered NG locos and rolling stock. You can find from time to time some reasonably priced and interesting 2nd hand rolling stock (never locos) too.

Sadly a theme seems to be that thay are more focused on micro managing profits, rather than broader aspects of service. When I bought my first live steamer from them,19 years ago, they asked if I could pay with my debit rather than credit card. I asked if they wouldn't mind splitting the difference on their transaction costs if I did, 50p on debit card v 2.5% on £1300 on credit card. They said no. I used my credit card :D I also asked if they could give me some advise on the loco's operation. I was waved away with the comment, "Don't worry you will soon get the hang of it" (that was before paying). Over the years I have bought further live steamers, some quite large and pricy, but none from that said retailer. Max
 
Unfortunately physical shops dealing with our wants are pretty scarce, even with LGB & Pico etc, specialist help is few and far between
 
Rhinochugger said:
You're lucky, when I was sent a wrongly labelled set of wheels (the manufacturer's error, not theirs) they didn't even re-fund the return postage :punch::punch: and no, they don't send out the replacement item until they've received the return.
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Well a week since they have had the parts back, and I have received the correct items, however a sn0togram has been sent as I have not seen the postage promised. Their error, why should cost me to send their good back.
 
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