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Back to the Grindstone!
11:57 PM PST, 7/20/2010
Holidays for 2010 have now all come and gone Happily, Classic Toys & Models is the best grindstone I've ever gone back to and that is really saying something; I've enjoyed every job I've had in the 40 years since I left college. This one is the worst payer, but you don't need quite as much when you get old and the perks, like sitting in the sun in your own back garden whenever you have a coffee-break, weather permitting, are just the best!
The rest is down to you. I've always tried my best at every job, but the reaction I get from my eBay customers gives me the best 'feelgood factor' ever.
Our three current grades of Scalextric Track-Cleaner will now be available in packs of 2, without braids (some of you say you have braids coming out of your ears by the time you've got your track clean. Point received loud and clear! Pictures at right show how packs will look.
The view from my office window last January (coffee-break not in garden)!
It has just occurred to me that I had never posted a blog about our Scalextric Track-Cleaners; it's been nearly a year since we intorduced them. I guess I was just too busy reacting to your suggestions (keep them coming - I'll try to keep up) regarding different grades and pack combinations. That leads me nicely to our next release:
Recent comments have included requests for Dual-Packs of just one particular grade and "could you have a lower price without the free sample braids?"
The answer is yes; I will trial it in all three grades on our Auctiva Commerce store (http://shop.classictoysandmodels.co.uk) by the weekend and have a full set of eBay listings ready for them within a couple of weeks.
Like many, we decided to stay in England this year and booked an apartment on the Clowance Estate at Praize-an-Beeble in Cornwall (timber cabins in the wooded estate of a country house) and booked a cheap room (in advance) at a Travel Lodge (basic, but new and clean and fantastic value at £19 for three of us) in Gloucester to break the journey down there. We can get to Tenerife from the North of England faster than we can to Cornwall! We nearly had a spanner in the works when our travel booking agents rang me on my mobile just after we'd left home, saying that our booking actually started on Saturday rather than the Friday quoted on our reservation!
We tried a few B&B's and came away a bit shocked at the prices that the ones that weren't already full were asking, but it was starting to look like a case of pay for somewhere fast or not leave ourselves time to find anywhere to eat!
Pure luck, however, stepped in and killed both birds with one stone.
Happily we fell on our feet and found this beautiful old thatched inn, ironically called the New Inn, at the tiny village of Coleford, near Crediton in Devon.
It was a wee bit over the top of our usual price range, but worth every penny; nice big en suite rooms, soft beds and great food and just remember to duck in some of the upper corridor doorways/stairways if you're 6 foot or thereabouts!
Much as I'd have liked to sample the full range of ales on offer, I'm old enough to know when discretion is the better part of valour, so settled for the Sharps ominously named 'Doom Bar'. Lovely pint, nicely kept. You can find them at www.thenewinncoleford.co.uk
Meanwhile, back at the shop, I've a couple more Scalextric-related projects, which will be appearing under the Hi-Spec banner, on the boil, but one of them is going to need to be produced in more than one version. I'll post more on those as they get closer to fruition as they will most likely be available for some models quite soon while others have to wait for further development. Watch this space - I'll try to keep you updated with short posts as each development becomes available.
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New XVR Lamp or Scalextric momo-bulb fitting
3:17 PM PST, 2/7/2010
A new lamp, that we call the 'XVR' series, for Scalextric's 'monobulb' under-floor bayonet fitting light bulb goes on sale at Classic Toys and Models today.
Prices will start from £1.98 for a pack of 2, up to £7.25 for the 10-pack.
'XVR' stands for 'extended voltage range' and it will replace the current 'Supa-Brite' lamp giving a far stronger light output at lower voltage levels. We have been testing it for 2 months and are satisfied with its' durability under the rough and tumble of Scalextric racing conditions! There's no such thing as a 'free lunch'. A bulb whose element gets almost white hot at 6 volts is going to be feeling the strain at double the voltage, which is why we had to conduct the extended test before releasing it. we won't pretend it's going to last the incredible 40,000 hours that the 'Supa-Brite' was rated at, but it's performance accross the voltage range is just as good as Scalextric's original product, but with a much lower replacement cost!
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New Item: 30-pack added to hi-spec braids range for Scalextric.
2:55 AM PST, 2/19/2009
I've been thinking for some time now, that we need an interim pack size (some of you have asked for one) between the 10-pack and 100-pack. A little rule-change by eBay has prodded me into acting on it.
This one, our new hi-spec 27mm 30-pack is my first experiment. If it goes well, we will be offer the same option for 20 and 40mm braids, too.
I'd known for some time now that my smaller hi-spec 4-packs had not long to live, as eBay had decided not to accept buy-it-now, including store, listings that were under £0.99 in the future. They've been good enough to leave my existing listings running, but it was only a matter of time before these started to run out. My 10-packs are actually far more popular. They benefit from being in the same basic postage class as the small packs and their bags and labels cost exactly the same, so you do get more for your money, but it was nice to be able to offer a new customer a really cheap 'taster' if they weren't quite sure! So. I've a spare slot on my hi-spec braids page now. I have had several suggestions in the past that there is too big a gap between my 10-packs and the bulk 100-packs, and I've certainly noticed you buying 10-packs in multiples of twos or threes, so I'm now introducing the new 30-pack. I'm starting with the 27mm braids ,as they are our most popular size, and that is where the vacant slot on my braids page is but, if you want the same pack size in 20 or 40mm, drop me a line (message-box or e-mail, I don't mind) and I get a new listing for those online as fast as I can. This will offer you a bit more discount than the 10-pack (saving £0.44) and still remain within the bottom postage bracket. It will also save the planet from two extra little plastic bags and labels and save our fingers from wearing out too! -
40mm - 100 pack is back!
10:20 AM PST, 1/19/2009
Just a quick note to any of you who are waiting. Our 100-pack of the 40mm hi-spec braids, which has been out of stock for a fortnight, is back in again now.Same Quality
Same Performance
And same Price, too!At £15.95 for a bulk pack of 100, this ultimate preformance braid, in the long term, also turns out to be the cheapest option. -
Merry Christmas to customers old and new!
7:38 AM PST, 12/16/2007
Ho, ho, ho, and all that.
To celebrate CT&M's first year of trading, as a Christmas present, all orders placed between the 15th and 21st December, for domestic delivery, will be automatically upgraded to First-Class Post in a valiant attempt to get them to you before the Christmas Holiday!
My 24-hour turnaround (weekends and Bank-Holidays excepted) is, of course, automatic all year round!
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Merry Christmas to customers old and new!
7:28 AM PST, 12/16/2007
Ho, ho, ho, and all that.
To celebrate CT&M's first year of trading, as a Christmas present all orders, placed between the 15th and 21st December, will be automatically upgraded to First-Class Post in a valiant attempt to get them to you before the Christmas Holiday!
My 24-hour turnaround (weekends and Bank-Holidays excepted) is, of course, automatic all year round!
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Another new item from CT&M
7:44 AM PST, 10/28/2007
Starting on Tuesday, my twin and 10-packs of Scalextric Replacement Headlamp Packs will be available, at an even lower unit cost than my already popular single item. I am setting up the listings to commence tomorrow (Monday, 29/10/07).
I'm sure they will be popular, but would still expect to be able to fulfill all Monday's orders on Tuesday, as my normal shipment practice!
Unlike my braids, these are not of my own manufacture. I'm not set up to compete with the Chinese in the field of miniature glass-blowing round tiny electrical components, so these have to be Chinese imports.
They are great little lamps, with excellent power and a 16,000-hour life rating. I'm not absolutely sure I'm going to live long enough to complete my verification test on this claim (I'd have to drive the same car, for one hour per day, for the next 43.84 years)! I also wonder whether they thought to allow for their little bulbs being slammed into skirting boards at speed on a regular basis? Mine are fine so far, but I've not even managed 0.1% of the test yet!
Finally, thank you all for the brilliant feedback on my braids as well as the other bits; you're making me blush!
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NEW! Hi-Spec Pick-up Braids
9:44 AM PST, 9/29/2007
Today marks a new milestone for CT&M, with the announcement of the first product of our own manufacture!
Our new Hi-Spec Copper Pick-up Braids for Classic (and newer) SCALEXTRIC Cars satisfy two demands with one set of products:
- A direct spare part to replace the standard component at a highly competitive price, which is also a profound performance improvement, with gains in the fields of reduced friction, power, smoothness and handling.
- The super-slim braids are made from copper, rather than steel, so are able to conduct more power through a slimmer section, which means they can pass the current that the motor requires, whilst exerting less pressure on the track has a dual benefit.
- Less friction
- Lower ride-height at the nose
- Our new braids can effectively pick up power, when set so close to the slot-guide that it can run its' maximum depth of blade in the slot, that the nose of the car does not skip out of the slot on cornering, at speeds that would be impossible with a higher ride-height.
- The use of copper braids also helps to reduce the tendency for the track rails to 'carbon up'. That is the grey film of carbon that builds up on the surface of a steel component when passing current to a similar one. As the rails are still steel it does not prevent the build up totally, but the need for track-cleaning becomes much less frequent!
- A clean, carbon-free track means continuous power flow and hence, smooth control.
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We're back!
2:29 PM PST, 7/21/2007
Holidays are now over for another year and the store is open once more, though I nearly stayed in my seat and waited to go back to Lanzarote, when we landed at Kirmington! When is our Summer going to come?
I will get the shop re-populated over the weekend as far as possible with everything adapted to the new format. (Buzzwords: 'seamless' and 'integration')!
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Clod Buster spares
11:07 AM PST, 6/27/2007
27/06/07: just found a small box of spares for the Clod Buster. There's a B-parts, couple of sets of C-parts and a G-parts sprue, also an incomplete A-parts (only parts 1,6 & 7 on it - I might not bother to list that one).
I've listed one set of the C-parts straight away, but I'll leave the other one, along with the B and G-parts, until I get back from holiday (see separate post). Anyone missing the first one then has a chance to catch the second bite of the cherry!