It’s been a while as we’ve been so busy. Hey, that’s not a bad thing and I’m certainly not complaining, but I did have the intention of trying to keep the social side of this company a little more, well….social. I mean the last post was way back in March (that seems like a lifetime ago
We’ve been to a few more toy fairs and the outdoor show season is well and truly under way now, and we are desperately trying to keep up with the mail-order in the warehouse.
Jim is constantly making cups of tea and by the look of his face in the picture seems to be drowning in a sea of model military planes (he loves it really J ). In the office both Jim and Jock (yes he in Scottish and yes we do call him Jock) tend to spend the whole day listing the models. Now you may think (if you love model cars / buses / planes / etc) that this sounds like an ideal job, but when you buy a collection in and all of the models need some sort of ‘clean’ or ‘repair’ it can get a tad frustrating. Jim does tend to have a habit ‘telling’ everyone in the office about every little problem there is with the current model he is listing!! Then he just goes and makes another cup of tea and he seems to be back to earth again. Jock’s choice of language is ‘interesting’ while he is listing. I am actually starting to think that Russ enjoys getting the damaged models in just to wind the pair of them up.
Damo is now working with us full time which is great, as the warehouse is a thankless task and needs someone with his almost Rainman skills. He really does have a natural ability for remembering the strangest things !!??!! but he can certainly lift and shift more than the average human.
Anyway, better go and carry on listing these new Norev models that have just come in. It also looks like Jim is making another cup of tea – hurrah !
Note how long it took Jim to list the planes - he had to change his t-shirt.
]]>It’s been a while as we’ve been so busy. Hey, that’s not a bad thing and I’m certainly not complaining, but I did have the intention of trying to keep the social side of this company a little more, well….social. I mean the last post was way back in March (that seems like a lifetime ago).
We’ve been to a few more toy fairs and the outdoor show season is well and truly under way now, and we are desperately trying to keep up with the mail-order in the warehouse.
Jim is constantly making cups of tea and by the look of his face in the picture seems to be drowning in a sea of model military planes (he loves it really). In the office both Jim and Jock (yes he in Scottish and yes we do call him Jock) tend to spend the whole day listing the models. Now you may think (if you love model cars / buses / planes / etc) that this sounds like an ideal job, but when you buy a collection and all of the models need some sort of ‘clean’ or ‘repair’ it can get a tad frustrating. Jim does tend to have a habit ‘telling’ everyone in the office about every little problem there is with the current model he is listing!! Then he just goes and makes another cup of tea and he seems to be back to earth again. Jock’s choice of language is ‘interesting’ while he is listing. I am actually starting to think that Russ enjoys getting the damaged models in just to wind the pair of them up.
Damo is now working with us full time which is great, as the warehouse is a thankless task and needs someone with his almost Rainman skills. He really does have a natural ability for remembering the strangest things !!??!! and he can certainly lift and shift more than the average human.
Anyway, better go and carry on listing these new Norev models that have just come in. It also looks like Jim is making another cup of tea – hurrah !
Note how long it took Jim to list the planes - he had to change his t-shirt.
]]>When the days start to get a bit longer we tend to make the most of it and pretty much attend shows every weekend. Russell loves nothing more than having a loaded van of stock, driving to the show, setting up the stand (well - we do more of the setting up, he does more of the chatting to other exhibitors) and trading for a few days. I think it is a welcome release from the day to day packing of orders he endures.
We have all the usual shows lined up this year, so if you usually see us at a particular show, you'll see us again this year - e.g. Goodwood (Festival and Revival), Silverstone Historic, NEC Classic. As i mentioned we have something lined up pretty much every weekend. Quite often we will be at 2 different events on the same weekend - yes we do have that superpower!
We will, throughout the year, try to give away spare tickets that we have for shows - so it is worth creating an account on our site and then we can email you when those tickets become available !!!
Something else that is worth bearing in mind is, if you find something on our site and would like to look at it before purchasing we can bring it to a show for you. The internet is all well and good, but sometimes you need to see a model before deciding. If that's the case then feel free to email us.
Anyway........this weekend we will be at the 75th Goodwood Members Meeting (sorry no spare tickets for that one), so i'd better be off and go fill the van so Russ has everything for you guys.
]]>Russell and Damo spent most of last week up at the Excel in London exhibiting at the Historic Motorsport International. Shows / Exhibitions are a big part of the business for us during the supposed warmer and drier months. Any typical show will take a least one full (very full) vanload of stock going to the show and a team of us spending a day setting up the stall.
However, over the weekend not only did we have the show at Excel, but we also had Race Retro at Stoneleigh Park to set up and exhibit at.
So, Wednesday saw us drive up to Excel and cope with their in-house logistics. This ‘logistics’ can only be best described as absolute chaos organised by people who have obviously never set up a show before – they just enjoy dictating what we can’t do. I mean, have you ever tried to unload a sprinter van full of model cars in the timeframe of 45 minutes set by the Excel staff. We were half way through unloading while getting grief from the staff when someone else from the show decided to tell us that we couldn’t put the stock in front of our stand as we were blocking the walkway !!!! I’m not sure if he hadn’t of walked away at that point quite what sort of response he was about to get !
Anyway, after a few hours we eventually managed to get the 1000’s of model cars displayed on the stall for all the awaiting Londoners over the following few days. Russell and Damo were set and could get back to their hotel and Mel and I could drive back.
Thursday saw storm Doris. Doris was trying her best to stop Mel and Jim attending and setting up at Stoneleigh. No mere storm could stop us. I know that Jim called when he arrived to say they were closing the hall shutter doors as everything was blowing over, but they still managed to get it all done – top effort (no doubt eased with the occasional beverage or two). I mean once you’re at Stoneleigh you don’t need to drive anywhere so why not have a beer or two to help. I’m sure Mel has actually been given bottles wine by customers in the past (hint if your reading this and thinking of attending shows, Mel does always appreciate the gifts).
So,
Excel = Done.
Stoneleigh = Done.
Meanwhile I’m back in the office with Jock. Jock is still, as always, listing new stuff on the website and I’m trying to get all the mail-order out – sorry if your parcel is slightly late. I have been coming in early and leaving late to get them all done, but it may be a few hours later than anticipated.
A colleague who used to work here used to have a saying about this place and it rings very true……
“It’s not a job, it’s a f*@#ing adventure!”
]]>Over the years we must have handled so many models. You know the rare ones that pop up on eBay and you think "i used to have that one", well multiply the "one" by 100 and you would have an idea of how we feel every day. As a retailer you cannot keep hold of the models, you have to sell them - otherwise you end up with a warehouse full of stock......hang on, that's what we have got !
So, where are we going wrong. Well i don't think we are, but i cannot see the light at the end of the listing tunnel. This is not a complaint, merely an observation , and an insight into how things are here. Hey, hopefully it doesn't end, or i could be looking for a different job!
I'm currently sat at my desk surrounded by Minichamps, Spark and Anson models. Jock (yes he is Scottish) is listing Franklin Mint trucks, and Jim is photographing and listing some odd 1/18 scale models. Such is a typical day here. We do at least manage to get some heat here from a portable heater, but you have to feel for Damo in the warehouse as it is cold down there. Anyway, enough of me babbling on i have to go, looks like a rep from one of the wholesalers has just turned up and we obviously need to order some more stock !!!
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So we finally decided to get round to having our own website. We have the basics built and now it is just a case of adding some content. Of course, we have over 15,000 different models in stock and that adds a fair bit of backbone to the site, but that is never enough.
So......we need a bit more than that. This site, over time, should hopefully give you an insight into us and what we do. The stupidly long hours that we all work during the summer exhibitions, the bedlam of Christmas mail-order and the "how on earth does anybody find anything in the warehouse" comments when trying to pick orders.
Let's see how this progresses. You never know, you may end up feeling sorry for us and end up buying a lovely model or two (or more....)
Cheers,
Mat.
RMT.
Looks like Jim's making ANOTHER cup of tea.......
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