"Boos for Brookhurst Hobby. Long winded rant " Topic

After finally deciding to get started on putting together a 15mm South African bush wars force, and getting the first wave of what I could from Mark at Scale Creep, it came time to order some Peter Pig figures to round out what I needed. We have three choices for Peter Pig here in the good old US of A; Order directly from Peter Pig and pay a 25% surcharge for shipping, wait for what you need to randomly appear in our marketplace, Ebay, etc…, or order from Brookhurst.

Brookhurst seemed the most expedient option so I went to their site to log in and had no clue what the password I had set up previously is (my fault). So I requested my password which I was promptly assured was on it way in an email. Four hours later, no email. Checked my spam and my filters and didn't see any blocks on their email address and thus soldiered on. Four days later and after several attempts, I finally got an email from them.

Now able to log in, I set about placing my order. I quickly found I was going to be limited to viewing 10 (irc) items at a time as any change in the number of items per page took me back to the entirety of the Peter Pig line, not just range 17. So I patiently sorted through the pages checking off the items and quantities that I wanted each item taking quite a bit of time to update my shopping cart as I went. Ending up with 10 packs of infantry and nine vehicles (finally) I headed for the checkout where I found that they do not take paypal, only credit cards. So I dug out the plastic and dutifully typed in the info and sent my financial info into cyberspace.

I was very pleased when I received an email only minutes later that my order had been received and was being processed. A few hours later two emails informed me that it had been sorted and shipped and was on its way, short eight of the nine vehicles and one of the infantry packs, all out of stock. I was kindly invited to try again in "2 to 3 weeks" as they were expecting a large shipment from Peter Pig soon.

You guys tell me if I'm wrong, (and I know many of you will not hesitate), should Brookhurst (A) Have an automated inventory so you know what's in stock and what's not? (B) Give the consumer a chance to hold the order until it can be shipped in its entirety instead of jumping through the hoops and paying another shipping fee ($8.00), or, finally, (C) Allowing the consumer to cancel the order in its entirety?

Before you guys say it, yes I could have called to see if I could determine what they had in stock. I suppose I could have also attempted to cancel the order except the emails on what was out of stock and what had already been shipped (including tracking which I verified) were received at approximately the same time and actually seen by me at the same time. Leaving me to pay to have it shipped back if I do not want it or pay another shipping fee for an additional order in the future. Another $8.00 USD for shipping is not going to break me, thank goodness, but it just seems an unnecessary waste of funds. Thanks for allowing me a rant.

I don't ever buy from a place without automated inventory.

A,B & C.

Really, if you can't get an inventory system you are going to be a one man band operating on a shoe string. Most of the smaller businesses I deal with (not just in gaming) will let you know if they don't have your stuff in stock before charging & shipping – even automated inventory systems get it wrong from time to time, or if you are Amazon it seems to be all the time.

It is just about financially impossible for a business to stock all of PP's SKUs in any meaningful number, which makes an automatic inventory even more relevant. If I ever decide to pull the trigger and buy PP figures for a project I have been thinking about, I am just going to order direct in order to save all of the "out of stock" hassle that I know will be coming me way.

That is basically why I stopped ordering from them years ago – generally never got more than 1/5 to 1/3 of what I actually ordered.

What is this "try again" business? They're in retail, and they can't figure out how to backorder?

Other than that, truthfully the whole experience sounds no worse than trying to give money to Litko. and far better from giving Eureka a credit card at a convention. THAT will not happen again.

We're a small hobby. Able ambitious young retailers don't grow up saying "some day I'm going to stock wargame figures and associated terrain!" Note and applaud good service when you find it, and work around the others.

I stopped using Brookhurst long ago. Order direct from Peter Pig. I have several times and I always get the order in two weeks or less from England to the US, and never had any problem with an order. Don't worry about the difference in shipping – Brookhurst makes up for it in their retail prices. You really aren't losing anything ordering direct. I've often found it's actually cheaper to order direct from England for many companies than to order from a US retailer, and I usually don't have to wait any longer for the package to arrive.

+1 to all. I gave up trying to order Langton and just go direct.

I gave up on Brookhurst a couple of years ago.

I have had very good service from Brookhurst, EXCEPT for the exact problem you mentioned -- I never know which part of my order I am going to get.

Brookhurst is not the same since Larry retired. But they should have an inventory program. It helps everyone out. They could also find out what sells the most hand have more of that stock at hand.

I generally have had great experiences with Brookhurst online, but several times I have encountered the same 'out of stock' message. So, I would also agree on points A, B and C. I've stopped ordering from Brookhurst because of this, but still always end up dropping cash there at Historicon!

I've order from Brookhursts many years ago, looking for various Peter Pig stuff. And of course a few of the items were not in…ok no biggy. But I guess fortunately for me, I visit the Los Angeles area a few times a year, and I make it a point to make a stop in there and the guy over in Pasadena. If you have never been there before, at first glance, all your questions will be answered as far as inventory goes. There are tons of miniatures packages in various boxes on counters and the floor. Along with a lot of racks with another ton of packages hanging. They are not really in any order, so plan on taking some time to thumb through their stuff to find what you're looking for. The guys there are great and very helpful, but, there is no hard-core organization of their products. They remind of an 'ol school gaming shop with stuff everywhere…control chaos if I may.

Good luck!

P.

Here's a crazy idea, email or call them ahead of time to see what's in stock. I do, never had a problem with them, great product, same day shipping.

This is why bricks and mortar stores can't compete with the manufacturer in online sales. I do buy from my local store whenever possible, but for online orders I go direct. Stores cannot stock everything.

Back in them days, I used to email them in advance and they'd check on what was in stock, but I haven't ordered in a few years.
I guess there's a new owner now?

Courtesy of Peter Pig, at conventions Brookhurst ins into what I think of as "English System Retailing." No pack is lebeled with its contents, but only with a catalog number and "Joe! What happened to that catalog? I'm sorry Sir: we've got a catalog around here somewhere." I do buy from such companies at conventions--but Saturday afternoon, after I've bought everything which IS marked so I can read it without a crib.

I cannot imagine spending thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on inventory, transporting it hundreds or thousands of miles across a country and then not being able to tell the potential customer what's in the bag, or where he needs to look to find the Afrika Korps. But I know at least three firms at major HMGS-east cons who have such a business model.

Then they go home and blame the flea market for disappointing sales.

Brookhurst really needs to and rethink a lot of their procedures.

Here's a crazy idea, email or call them ahead of time to see what's in stock. I do, never had a problem with them, great product, same day shipping.

Actually, that is a crazy idea and should be totally unnecessary if you're offering an online checkout. If I have to call a retailer about their stock, why not just order over the phone?

All,

"I was very pleased when I received an email only minutes later that my order had been received and was being processed. A few hours later two emails informed me that it had been sorted and shipped and was on its way, short eight of the nine vehicles and one of the infantry packs, all out of stock. I was kindly invited to try again in "2 to 3 weeks" as they were expecting a large shipment from Peter Pig soon."

Now that is super strange to me. I've ordered from Brookhurst more than a dozen times the past few years (I'm a compulsive buyer ;) ), and while often times the stuff (Peter Pig in particular) is not in stock.

But I've never received a 'try again' message. I place my order, they immediately ship what they have, and then whenever they receive the out of stock stuff, they ship it to me. That's the only issue I've ever had with them: once it took me about four months to receive some out of stock stuff.

V/R,
Jack

The exchange rate is so favorable right now, you really should just order direct from Peter Pig.

Direct order is best. PP is a great cmpany

Interesting. I have never, ever received a message of any sort from Brookhurst about stuff I had ordered that was out of stock; I only know I'm getting an incomplete order when it arrives.

LT

Re: the above.

Since most of the trouble I have had recently with Brookhurst has been with orders of Tumbling Dice 1:2400 ironclads (their Victorian line), I did something I should have done years ago. I visited the Tumbling Dice website.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, rather than the 47 different models Brookhurst lists, not all of which were ever in stock, there are actually 81 models in that line (all of them in stock, of course), their postage from the UK was not significantly higher than Brookhurst's from California, and my order was shipped the day my money arrived through PayPal.

In the past, I have limited my overseas orders to things that were not available in the US. I believe I have seen the error of my ways.

LT

I am wondering if Brookhurst Hobbies will be here in 3 – 5 years given the declining customer service. Once this starts it is only matter of time before the business closes up.

I can only answer for many years ago when I was stationed in California and visited Brookhurst every few months. They are a brick and mortar store. In addition to wargaming figures they sold a wide selection of plastic model kits, boardgames and various hobby items. I understand they added R/C to their line. So while it will no doubt hurt their bottom lime if they do get out of the mail order business I suspect they will survive.

I always remember how much fun it was shopping there. Only semi-organized it was like a treasure hunt many times (I do plastic kits, armor and back then aircraft as well).

The two times I tried ordering online from Brookhurst (once in 2003 and last time in 2016) were both a fiasco.Should not have to call/email about stock if they have an online ordering system.

Too many companies out there offering good service to waste my time with Brookhurst.

Brookhurst stopped being relevant a long time ago.

In a galaxy far far away…

It's 2017.

No website should have products listed without some kind of note or marker indicating that it's out of stock. If it doesn't have that marker then the normal and reasonable assumption is that it is available!

Telling a customer in a shipping notification email that fully half the order isn't in stock is ridiculous!

…and even worse is telling the customer to "check back"???….so the customer's order is simply called complete and the rest of what you wanted is simply ignored??? The order should stay open as having unshipped items, the COMPANY should be the one to keep track of it and fill the order when the stock arrives at their building!

You DON'T make the customer start a whole new order when they "check back in a fee weeks"!

Wow.