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Post by superwarp1 on Jan 24, 2024 20:20:45 GMT
Sad as they had great prices and great service.
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Post by Country Joe on Jan 24, 2024 20:48:12 GMT
Thanks for letting us know, Gary. This is sad news.
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Post by Traindiesel! on Jan 24, 2024 20:52:16 GMT
Wonder what happened? They made a big deal about being sold and having a sale. I guess this was the plan all along.
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Post by david1 on Jan 24, 2024 21:04:53 GMT
I thought they were sold to a distributor and all their inventory. Guess not. Great place to buy trains. Time moves on.
Dave
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Post by josef on Jan 24, 2024 21:47:41 GMT
I used them a lot, and I mean a lot. Great service, fast delivery. etc. Sad to see them go.
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Post by Adam on Jan 24, 2024 22:31:16 GMT
Very sad to see a well respected business close.
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Post by runamuckchuck on Jan 24, 2024 22:47:25 GMT
Let me get this straight.
Hatton's of the UK buys Model Trains & Stuff.
Then Hatton's goes under and takes Model Trains & Stuff with it?
I certainly hope the Model Trains & Stuff owners did not take Hatton's stock as payment!
What type of kooky/inept business dealing is this?
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Post by rockymountaineer on Jan 25, 2024 0:10:46 GMT
Sad turn of events. I made several nice purchases from them over many decades.
One never knows for certain what will happen when change of ownership occurs. I thought we were told their inventory was being consolidated to a warehouse in the Midwest, where website operations would continue under new ownership. Well that certainly didn't last very long. So who knows what really transpired behind the scenes.
Ironically, I just visited their website a few days ago... but didn't buy anything. And this customer-notice banner wasn't posted yet.
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Post by eddieg on Jan 25, 2024 2:13:10 GMT
Great prices, that is why they are not there anymore.
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Post by broadbrush on Jan 25, 2024 17:47:45 GMT
Interesting turn of events. They survived the demise of the local hobby shop while reinventing themselves to become an ecommerce leader. Then they are sold and are out of business in months. Ted Klein was quite a character, he ended up being banned by a number of casinos because he was a successful card counter at blackjack. I remember him handwriting receipts and calculating sales tax and total in his head as fast as he could write (probably why he could count cards). I believe he died right around the beginning of covid. I hope his family sold the business free and clear last year and didn't get roped in the collapse.
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Post by dlagrua on Jan 25, 2024 22:09:24 GMT
IIRC Model Trains Stuff was originally a retail store in Baltimore that closed and became a large online dealer with a rather large warehouse. I would guess the company had 8-10 employees.The business was sold and then disappeared. Its possible that it could reopen again under a different name but there is not a lot of info out there. It is a shame that a 103 yr old business had to close.
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Post by atsda on Jan 26, 2024 0:50:38 GMT
That is too bad. There was a long history behind them. Starting as M. B. Kleine on Gay St. in downtown Baltimore near City Hall. IIt was like a Madison Hardware. Then they moved to Baltimore County with a storefront; then they went warehouse with web sales. I only used them when they were downtown. Alfred
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Post by firewood on Jan 26, 2024 4:47:31 GMT
Hattons, who bought out MB Klein/ModelTrainStuff, announced they were shutting down with “no debt”. So what happened? See the reasons here, including the FAQ explaining their decision. I know my friends who model British prototypes will also be disappointed. www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/hattons-share-immense-sadness-reveal-28416174The big question - who is buying or bought all that inventory on both sides of the pond? Is a new online company being set up or is a liquidation planned? Dave |
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Post by healey36 on Jan 26, 2024 18:35:16 GMT
"Unsustainable market conditions" tells you nothing; you're still left to wonder what has changed so precipitously so as to cause these long-running enterprises to fold the tent. Can it be something as simple as sales volume is shrinking, possibly rapidly? Hobbyists say it's not, interest remains high, but one has to wonder.
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Post by dlagrua on Jan 26, 2024 22:45:08 GMT
Let me take a guess at why Hatton's is closing. The UK has some extremely strict rules that businesses must follow. This goes so far as to what products they sell, how they are made, how safe they are to use, what materials big brother allows in them and so forth.Then they tax them to death with all kinds of fees and punitive taxes. In essence they strangle retail businesses so they can't make any money.
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