As most of us will be aware (especially those in the UK!), the world has been a crazy place over the past few years and all of our lives have been impacted in various ways. Whether it's pandemics, wars, politics or economics, things haven't been easy for quite some time.
Sadly, businesses don't escape these factors either and Pendraken has also been facing its fair share of issues for some time now. Sales peaked for us during the initial months of the Covid pandemic (as they did for many hobby businesses) and have reduced since then as you'd expect. But when you combine that turnover drop with the huge increases in costs that we've seen in the past 2-3 years, it doesn't make for good reading. As a result, for the first time in our history, Pendraken ran at a loss during the 22-23 tax year, by a considerable margin.
To quickly summarise everything that follows, we're going to be fine but we need to make some changes to our pricing and future plans. If you're interested in the details, read on...
Some of you will remember that we last put the prices up in January 2021 due to the exceptional cost increases that we'd seen due to the pandemic. We took a bit of a gamble there and only raised our prices by 9%, generating somewhere around £18,000 extra income per year, even though we'd seen costs go up by £35,000. We'd hoped that we'd see some of the materials costs come back down to somewhere sensible and things would balance back out again but unfortunately things haven't worked out that way.
So what's happened?
Materials
The metal prices came back down late last year but are now increasing again. Both metal and MDF are now approximately 50% higher than the pre-pandemic levels, adding somewhere around £15k-£18k to the annual materials bill. Things like acrylic have more than doubled, and mould rubbers are up 30%-40%.
Brexit
Without getting into a political debate on this, Brexit and the UK's withdrawal from the EU single market has been a big hit. The fees and handling charges that now apply for our European customers are very high, especially on a regular sized order. Nobody wants to order £40 worth of wargames figures and then have to pay another £25-£30 in fees just to receive your package, so it's completely understandable why those customers are going elsewhere for their goodies.
Prior to the July '21 deadline, our EU sales were around 19%-20% of our turnover. Now we're at 8%-9%, so we've lost over half of our EU customers, which in monetary terms is something like £30,000 per year of lost sales. The only way to get this back is to try and access the EU's IOSS VAT system but this comes with an annual cost of £2000-£3000 to the business. We'll come back to this below.
New Building
Firstly with this, the move to the new building is a real positive for our business and will prove a sensible move in the long-term. Unfortunately the short-term is a bumpy road and there's been a lot of unexpected extra bills as a result of our new home.
Many of you will remember the saga of our storm-damaged roof, which resulted in the insurance company refusing to pay for all of it and we had to find £13,000 ourselves to get the roof fixed. We've also had to put £1000's into other repair work on the heating system, a new roller shutter motor, etc, that would usually be the responsibility of the landlord in a rental unit.
We also didn't expect our business insurance to double overnight (circa £2000 increase), due to there now being a 'rebuild' cost in the event the building falls down. A £400,000 rebuild valuation on a £150,000 building doesn't make sense to me, but that's insurance companies I guess.
And my favourite random increase was our water bills. As the owners of the building we now have to pay a drainage charge for water that simply lands on our property, so there's an extra £600 per year for the privilege of being rained on.
Business Rates (Property Tax in the US I think?)
You probably won't have seen this mentioned in the news but the UK government decided to revalue all commercial property earlier this year, pushing 1000s of businesses into new taxes. For those unfamiliar with commercial rates, your business premises are rated by footprint and usage and then a Rateable Value is assigned to it. Businesses below a 12000 rating can get rate-relief from the government, businesses over 15000 can't get support, and everything in-between is pro-rata'd.
One of the reasons we chose this building was that its Rateable Value was 11750, meaning that it was exempt from business rates. The new valuation this year jumped us up to 14750 which we felt was incorrect, so the Valuation Office came out and measured everything for us... and decided that we should be 16000 instead. Furthermore, they backdated this to when we moved into the building and sent us a bill for £5000.
Long story short, we believe that a mistake has been made and we need to appeal it. Until then though, we're on the hook for the full payment and it's likely going to cost us more money to challenge the valuation.
Shipping
Before the pandemic I'd be surprised if we lost more than 5 or 6 packages per year. Things would get delayed here and there but your orders would almost always turn up eventually. Over the past 6-9 months though, it feels like the various postal systems have crumbled and just since the start of the year we've had almost 30 packages confirmed as lost, totalling over £2000 of goods. We've had to replace all of those missing packages at our own expense, and as anyone who's used the Royal Mail claims system will tell you, we're not getting that money back. I'll be surprised if they reimburse us more than £300 for the whole lot.
With the increases to UK minimum wages adding another £10k+ to the wage bill, it's a tricky time right now and we need to tread carefully to make sure that we get through it OK. We've not spent 30+ years building our business just to get scuppered at this point, especially when we've got so many plans for the future.
So the question now is what are we going to do about it?
New ranges / Design work
The most immediate change we'll need to make is to pause all new design work for the rest of this year. In reality this won't make much difference from a customer perspective as we've got piles of things that have been sitting at Pendraken HQ for months (and years in some cases!) so we'll be able to prioritise getting those released. Once we've cleared the decks and the finances have improved, we can then get the sculptors back to work and make some progress on our plans.
This change won't affect the first batch of six Sci-Fi ranges, as those are already in-hand and almost sculpted. It also won't affect things like the Dungeon relaunch or upcoming British modern vehicles, as those have already been designed too.
It'll just mean that things like our Crimean range revamp, ACW additions, or a potential Nap Russian range, will need to wait until next year before we can start scheduling them.
New Website
The second priority is going to be moving to a new website, with full IOSS functionality, so that we can start to win back some of those EU customers. Our current website platform (EKM) promised us an IOSS feature in order to get us onboard, which was 2 years ago. They've broken every promise since then and are now telling us that it'll be another 2-3 years for it, which is frankly ludicrous. We've actually explored our legal options on this, but they've been too careful in their wording to us and we don't have enough for a case.
So we'll need to get a new website online and ready for the autumn hopefully. We're going to do everything we can to minimise the impact to our customers but there will be some things that we're not able to do seamlessly. The major pain is that we're not sure if we'll be able to bring your order history over to the new website accounts, so we need to look into that. You'll probably have to create new passwords to activate your website accounts, as those are encrypted and we can't export/import them into the new site.
The new website is going to be a ton of work and another £2k-£3k of costs, so we'll do our best to get it up and running as soon as possible. The new platform should allow us access to a lot of new features though, so we've got some plans for that.
Price Increase
Sadly there will have to be a price increase across the majority of our products, but we're not going to do this until January 1st 2024, so you've got 5 months advance warning! The changes above should steady things enough for the next few months and then we can prepare the price increase ready for the new year. As a rough estimate on the new pricing, standard packs will go from £6.00 to £6.50, army packs from £36 to £40, MDF bases from £1.30 to £1.40, that sort of level.
We'll let people know more info on this as we get closer to the time.
Books
All of the books that are in our physical shop have now been added to the website for you to browse the selection: https://www.pendraken.co.uk/books-1114-c.asp There are a couple missing images but we'll get those sorted asap. Shipping will only be available within the UK as standard, but we can get quotes for anyone overseas. The books are very reasonably priced so this should make it a lot easier for folks to have a look and grab some reading material.
Stock Levels
We've always tried our best to keep as much as possible in stock at all times, but we might have to run down some of the less popular lines rather than restocking as soon as a couple of items go out of stock. We'll monitor this one though and make sure to minimise the impact on availability.
New Product Lines
We've got some plans for new product lines that don't require much buy-in so we're going to explore those and we'll have more news for you soon.
Staff Hours
Our last option but something I'm reluctant to do is to cut our staff hours. Many of our employees are reliant on their Pendraken wages for their households, so it's not a preferred option. There may be areas where we can save a few hours though, such as quiet times when there's no orders to cast up, or by removing Friday's post collection and only doing Mon-Thurs post. We'll monitor this and see what can be done.
And that's everything I think! Apologies for the long post here but we've always tried to be as open and honest as we can, especially when it comes to having to raise our prices. As mentioned above, the long-term viability of the business looks fine but there's some short-term hurdles that we need to get over first. We've always had the most incredible group of supportive and loyal customers, so I want to thank you for that on behalf of everyone at Pendraken HQ.
As always Leon you have been up front and honest with us.- Thank you
You seem to have been hit with a number of things you had no very little idea they were coming. The measures you are putting in place, seem completely logical to me.
As to the price rises, my personal opinion as I have stated previously is that there are two things that I am concerned about
1. That you and your employees get a reasonable living wage
2. That you are still here in 10,15,20 years time when I want to fill out an army or pick up a new period.
To that end I feel that you should charge what you need to. This is a relatively cheap hobby, and you are certainly not the most expensive for 10mm anyway. If you were, I would still buy your stuff, as your ethics and customer support are second to none.
Hopefully the sculptors will be able to find work elsewhere while you are having a pause.
I hope these changes help you out of the difficult times you are having.
Thank you for the update, wishing you and yours all the very best for the future in these difficult times. Take care. :)
You've been unfailingly decent down the years. Nobody wants to see you go under; do what you must to stay afloat.
Completely agree with the previous posters.
Nobody wants to see prices increase but it is the way of the world. In comparison with the percentage rise in the cost of some of my groceries your proposed increases seem more than reasonable!
As Orcs says, here's to Pendraken being around in 20 years, or more, time.
As always we completely appreciate your honesty and transparency in all matters relating to the company. The most important thing as others have already said is that you continue to trade now and for many years to come and that all staff make a decent living from it. To be honest I was expecting you to have already put up prices due to all the factors mentioned. Your planned prices increases are fine and I con't think anyone could object to them. Fingers crossed this financial year will be better for you all.
I echo the thoughts of the others, do what you need to keep going and a price rise is hardly unexpected given everything else going on. Sorry to hear about all the unexpected bills, good luck with sorting them!
Likewise do what you have to...
Appreciate the update Leon - feels you are having a number of unexpected issues following the move. Feels particularly galling to have an increase in your insurance costs, whilst they fail to pay out on a storm damage claim.
As the others say the long-term existence of Pendraken is what matters - and with overall increasing costs then putting up prices is hardly unexpected. At least you are giving good notice unlike supermarkets and the like who constantly push their prices up.
You'll still get my money, it's the quality of product and service that I love.
Can we set up a standing order?
The price increases are not an issue as far as I'm concerned. It just reflects what is happening everywhere. They will put you where Magister Militum have been for a long time - approximately 21p per figure. I wouldn't baulk at another price increase in the not too distant future. I'd also get a different insurer. I don't know what it's like in other countries but it seems to me that central and local government in UK just sees businesses as a cash cow to be milked for all they are worth.
Sobering news, thank you for sharing it Leon. Echoing the other chaps you must charge what you need to keep afloat and provide decent wages for your staff. I'll still be buying.
Being upfront like this is such a rare thing in any industry. Do whatever you need to Leon, we'll all understand.
Leon,
As always you've been transparent in outlining the current situation and the problems you are facing. The price increases to be honest I think are at the low end and the figures still work out incredibly cheap. I'd be more than happy to see them increase slightly more if necessary especially with a five month notice!!
As to everything else it also makes sense especially reviewing stock levels etc. it may add slightly to some return times but casting certain items/ ranges to order may make some modest savings. A lot of the other issues are out of your control and without getting embroiled in the Brexit debate like you when I had Crann Tara 40% of my business was from Europe that dropped to 10%! Any way good luck and I'm sure the vast majority of your customers will support your decisions.
As that is your 1st post welcome Graham....
As a newer customer, I appreciate laying out all the business pressures behind the cost increase.
Seems like a no-win situation for a lot of businesses these days.
I'll still keep my orders coming in!
(Just got to get through my giant pile first. ;) )
Thanks for all of the positive responses guys, I really appreciate it.
It's just a funny old time at the moment, I can't remember a point when there was so much outside friction affecting businesses. There's always been bumps and little fires to put out, but these days the fires take up so much effort that it limits the amount of time left to actually work on/in the business.
I keep hoping for a few months of calmer waters just to regroup but I'm not sure when that's going to happen. If Putin could just disappear overnight, and the UK government could stop trying to ruin everything (politics, I know!) then things might improve for all of us.
QuoteHopefully the sculptors will be able to find work elsewhere while you are having a pause.
We've spoken to the main sculptors to explain the situation and they're all good. Techno has some work coming from other clients I believe, so that will fill the gap until we're back.
QuoteFeels particularly galling to have an increase in your insurance costs, whilst they fail to pay out on a storm damage claim.
Yeah, I'm not particularly happy about that either. When they first came out and assessed it they decided that we needed a new roof and it was all fine. Then they weren't happy with the quote from the roofer so sent a fancy chap in a tailored suit driving a Jaguar to assess us again. I made him climb up on the roof with me...
In the intervening time though, we'd obviously tried to fix the roof as best we could to mitigate further damage. So when Mr Jaguar turned up it didn't look anywhere near as bad as the original assessment, and I think that's what changed their minds. We should have just left a gaping hole in the building for 3 months and then they'd have paid out.
QuoteI'd also get a different insurer. I don't know what it's like in other countries but it seems to me that central and local government in UK just sees businesses as a cash cow to be milked for all they are worth.
We've changed insurer thankfully, so not dealing with Ageas anymore. We put a complaint in about the whole experience with them and they sent us a cheque for £100...
I think with the government and the commercial rates, it's a sweetener from the government to local councils. With the decade-long austerity measures we've seen and the cuts to local funding, I think the government have agreed to this revaluation on commercial properties as a way to get more cash to the councils.
If we fail in our challenge then our property has gone from £0 commercial rates to £7700 in the space of one year, so imagine that multiplied across 100s or 1000s of businesses in a region. There is some support in place that's supposed to limit the increase to £600 extra per year, but as we've seen, the councils are doing everything they can avoid giving that to businesses. In our case they've backdated the revaluation so that they can get us on a higher starting price before the £600 is applied.
QuoteLeon,
...when I had Crann Tara 40% of my business was from Europe that dropped to 10%! Any way good luck and I'm sure the vast majority of your customers will support your decisions.
As you say, the drop-off on EU orders has been massive for some companies, I think we're actually at the lower end of that impact. I know some wargames companies were doing over half their business to the EU and they're down to virtually nothing now.
All I can politely say is that the Government are absolute sh*t. The alternative would be a stream of invectives that start with the letter f, between four and seven letters long, ending with K, R, S and G.
Well that's it! I'm off! I shall be spending all my hard won pennies at ... err ... um ...
There is no reasonable sensible alternative.
I'm content that Pendraken does what it needs to survive. Hopefully this is a temporary low. I still need the rest of my Bishops' Wars forces.
and Ancient Indians.
and Amazons
and more SF
and Peninsular War
... you get the idea
Regarding insurance companies, Craig Murray recently posted a fascinating blogpost about his experience: (ignore for the moment any political views you may have of him):
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/08/modern-life/
Soooooooo, it looks like the Pendraken club has to order £30K of stuff to make up for EU losses, whose in? :):)
{Hopefully it's not 30 of us at a grand each....}
Astonishingly upfront and frank about things. I'll definitely continue to support you, I'll move my 10mm projects to the fore.
All the very best
Thanks for the open communication
As others have said do what you need to do to make sure Pendraken is still going strong in 20 years and all involved are getting a reasonable income
Good to hear that the sculptors will be ok during the pause
PS I'm very glad you included the quick summary early on, it was all sounding very bleak
Quote from: sultanbev on 02 August 2023, 05:34:33 PMRegarding insurance companies, Craig Murray recently posted a fascinating blogpost about his experience: (ignore for the moment any political views you may have of him):
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/08/modern-life/
Wow, that's a lot worse than ours! Thankfully we've got a friend as our broker so he took the lead on most of the dealings with Ageas and kept on at them for us.
Quote...I don't know what it's like in other countries but it seems to me that central and local government in UK just sees businesses as a cash cow to be milked for all they are worth.
The same attitude by government exists in the United States as well. :-q
Leon, its been a while between orders but joining those who appreciate the forthright and transparent overview you've laid out of current pressures and future plans. Obviously, here's hoping that the stars align in Pendraken's favour, with a little help from the 10mm community of course!
Best,
Bartek
Canberra, Australia
Well done Leon for a very transparent statement. I think the bulk of customers won't blink at the price rises given current circumstances.
Sounds like a larger Colours order then 🙂, as well as a Warfare one.
Edward
Leon I know we spoke about a number of these when I was down at gaming central that is your new premises. You do not want to get political, so I guess I have to.
The government is not fit for purpose - and that is putting it politely. If they came out of their Ivory Tower (very posh indeed), they would immediately see 5 shop fronts of which 3 are shuttered. Fleecing the remainder will not make up for the shot we took at our own feet. I am probably preaching to the choir about Brexit as a concept as well as how it has been implemented and yet some people deny the reality that surrounds them....
I am in the unbelievably lucky position that I landed on an express career elevator when I came back to the UK,
BUT I am not representative at all.
The price increases are very, very mild all things considered and more than understandable even under normal circumstances. I remember my first order of the OLD SciFi range was 1.20 or 1.50 a pack, so the current 2.20 quid is nothing to write home about. Especially considering other companies price points and price development since 2008.
It makes me sad and furious how incompetent and stubborn people can cause so much damage. However, this would not be Pendraken without:
QuoteI made him climb up on the roof with me...
:d
Better yet if you had asked him to hand you the tools while you explain how stuff works to him. :D
Thank you Leon for sharing. Not much I can do on the other side of the pond except to keep buying product to support you.
Really seems to be heading into a "dark" period for the hobby in England. First Arrowhead Miniatures then Magister Militum closing up shop.
I know most of the companies we deal with are 'mom & pop' shops that come and go but for some reason this seems different. Hope I'm wrong.
Dale
Leon, I would definitely look at the "rebuild" valuation the Insurance company has decided to give you. Usually the Rebuild valuation is LESS than the market valuation of the property (as the market valuation includes the cost of the land the property is on). The actual rebuild valuation of the property should be shown on the deeds.
Quite often Insurance companies will sell you a "package" which is unsuitable and overvalued (for example my 70 year old Aunt was paying for a £5000 bicycle insurance as part of her property insurance even though she doesn't own a bicycle...nevermind be able to USE said bicycle).
It my be worth contacting them again, or another Insurance company (in fact it's probably worth contacting every Insurance company you can and asking for a bespoke Insurance policy (quoting the rebuild valuation found on the deeds if you are happy with that valuation (sometimes a more recent quote from builders in the area is needed). The Insurance company CAN NOT dictate the valuation on the policy, if you want to under-insure then that's your lookout if you own the property and said property is detached and doesn't run the risk of a claim being made against the property if damage could occur.
If you rent I'm surprised the Landlord doesn't have Landlord Insurance on the property (although I've absolutely no knowledge of how Business policies operate). It should declare if there is on the rental agreement (if so the Landlord is passing the costs onto you as part of the rent). If this is the case, then the Landlord should be the one organising the rebuild valuation and would need to be contacted if you feel the rebuild valuation is way too high (and they would need to be able to validate the valuation to you)
Anyhow definitely worth challenging the rebuild valuation by the insurance company if you feel it's WAY over valued (don't worry the insurance company will assess the rebuild costs again should you need to make a claim). For example we halved my Aunt property insurance payments by challenging the insurance package (and what additional coverage had been added unasked for over the years) and we dictated the rebuild valuation for the property (and they were charging about 100K over the £200K market valuation for a modest Bungalow). Quite often the first agent you talk to in the call centre is "pushed" to maximise profits rather than finding a product that is right for you (and will swear blind that's the best that they can offer you). However speak to a different agent (sometimes in the complaints or retentions department) and it's a different story.
The practice isn't illegal, but it certainly falls within a moral "grey" area when it comes to insurance companies overcharging for coverage which you haven't a hope in hades of claiming the full amount (eg a 70 year old lady claiming £5000 for a non-existing bicycle) because it's all shown in the small print that everyone either signs (or clicks on the accept button) without a double check.
Lastly when all else fails, as a "Hail Mary" it's always worth contacting your MP about the situation. It's highly unlikely that they will change the laws and challenge things in Parliament, but as a matter of course they will throw a few letters about to the involved parties in an attempt to poke them into reviewing things.
Thanks Leon an honest and helpful insight into the realities of running a family business - thank you.
Leon
Thanks for sharing. You have identified the issues which is half the battle, as they can be divided into those you can respond to directly - ie price rises to cover increase in materials/wages/rates- and those that will take time via third parties.
Shipping; A lot of mail order using RoyalMail are now manditory signed for. The wargame customer profile is most likely to be retired, free nester with disposable income. You have also a brand loyality and the current customer base will accept the need for you to retain your margins if Pendraken is to survive.
EU customers. IOSS is the long term answer. Suggest your website/shop window displays nett costs. N Ireland is spared via the Windsor Framework from customs decs.Republic of Ireland being in EU is not. I need to check the new EU rules about UK firms attending shows in Europe with trade samples. Might be worth checking if the cost and time could be recovered in sales?
US market? The current low on Sterling should make Pendraken good value - even with shipping? Does the forum have any leads/intelligence on how this lucrative market can be cultivated? perhaps we need to inflitrate US wargame forums and do a bit of promotion for Pendraken??
Rates:Have you considered getting your MP Andy McDonald involved via a Private Office Query ? Costs nothing, but prompts an instant review. It is not unknown for a query over small business survival to appear at PMs Questions.
And for us in the Forum- keep wargaming Pendraken.
Re posting, dunno if this is relevant:
Was talking to another trader yesterday, they said that when RM 48hr tracked service was automated, their damage rate went up dramatically. So they've switched back to 24hr tracked service which is still manually sorted, and their damage rate has gone down again.
Quote from: Phaid_Knott on 05 August 2023, 01:12:50 PMLeon, I would definitely look at the "rebuild" valuation the Insurance company has decided to give you. Usually the Rebuild valuation is LESS than the market valuation of the property (as the market valuation includes the cost of the land the property is on). The actual rebuild valuation of the property should be shown on the deeds.
Quite often Insurance companies will sell you a "package" which is unsuitable and overvalued (for example my 70 year old Aunt was paying for a £5000 bicycle insurance as part of her property insurance even though she doesn't own a bicycle...nevermind be able to USE said bicycle).
It my be worth contacting them again, or another Insurance company (in fact it's probably worth contacting every Insurance company you can and asking for a bespoke Insurance policy (quoting the rebuild valuation found on the deeds if you are happy with that valuation (sometimes a more recent quote from builders in the area is needed). The Insurance company CAN NOT dictate the valuation on the policy, if you want to under-insure then that's your lookout if you own the property and said property is detached and doesn't run the risk of a claim being made against the property if damage could occur.
If you rent I'm surprised the Landlord doesn't have Landlord Insurance on the property (although I've absolutely no knowledge of how Business policies operate). It should declare if there is on the rental agreement (if so the Landlord is passing the costs onto you as part of the rent). If this is the case, then the Landlord should be the one organising the rebuild valuation and would need to be contacted if you feel the rebuild valuation is way too high (and they would need to be able to validate the valuation to you)
Anyhow definitely worth challenging the rebuild valuation by the insurance company if you feel it's WAY over valued (don't worry the insurance company will assess the rebuild costs again should you need to make a claim). For example we halved my Aunt property insurance payments by challenging the insurance package (and what additional coverage had been added unasked for over the years) and we dictated the rebuild valuation for the property (and they were charging about 100K over the £200K market valuation for a modest Bungalow). Quite often the first agent you talk to in the call centre is "pushed" to maximise profits rather than finding a product that is right for you (and will swear blind that's the best that they can offer you). However speak to a different agent (sometimes in the complaints or retentions department) and it's a different story.
The practice isn't illegal, but it certainly falls within a moral "grey" area when it comes to insurance companies overcharging for coverage which you haven't a hope in hades of claiming the full amount (eg a 70 year old lady claiming £5000 for a non-existing bicycle) because it's all shown in the small print that everyone either signs (or clicks on the accept button) without a double check.
Lastly when all else fails, as a "Hail Mary" it's always worth contacting your MP about the situation. It's highly unlikely that they will change the laws and challenge things in Parliament, but as a matter of course they will throw a few letters about to the involved parties in an attempt to poke them into reviewing things.
Thanks for the info, the whole insurance side of things is an overly-complicated nightmare to be honest. I'll have a check on the deeds and see if it shows a rebuild cost there.
We're lucky that our insurance broker is a friend of ours, so I spoke with him about the rebuild value when we took out the policy. He said it's largely due to the clearance costs so if the building burnt down tomorrow then there'd be a significant amount of money needed to clear the land and dispose of everything, potentially put in new drainage and power lines, replace foundations, etc before you were able to start rebuilding the place.
We've reduced the general insurance policy almost down to the bare basics required by law, so public and employer liability, basic stock and equipment valuation, things like that. We were limited a little in what we could do on the building insurance aspect as it's a requirement of the commercial mortgage so we had to send the full policy off to the bank before they'd even agree to lend to us.
There's also limitations when it comes to simply finding insurance cover as the majority of the companies won't touch anyone who is exporting toy soldiers to the States (due to the lead content, the small parts and the general US enthusiasm for litigation) so we've found for years now that we always end up with the same few options.
Quote from: Sunray on 06 August 2023, 11:52:24 AMShipping; A lot of mail order using RoyalMail are now manditory signed for. The wargame customer profile is most likely to be retired, free nester with disposable income. You have also a brand loyality and the current customer base will accept the need for you to retain your margins if Pendraken is to survive.
Questions.
I'm tempted to insist on Tracked only options for our international packages as that's where things are going missing. I might leave it until we get IOSS sorted out first and see if that remedies anything. From talking to other companies there's a bit of a conspiracy theory that some countries are treating non-IOSS packages a little 'differently' shall we say. We've had dozens of German parcels returned to us as 'no fees paid' but the customers have never had any contact from their customs people.
Quote from: Sunray on 06 August 2023, 11:52:24 AMI need to check the new EU rules about UK firms attending shows in Europe with trade samples. Might be worth checking if the cost and time could be recovered in sales?
When we last spoke to the Department for Trade the amount of paperwork required for us to take any type of show stand onto the continent was ludicrous. One declaration for of all the stock and another for all of the non-sale stand equipment on the outward journey, then the same again for your return trip. Sales statements for what was sold while in the EU and the VAT to be paid before leaving, the option for the customs people at any of the borders to insist we empty the entire van at the roadside, etc., etc. Just not viable in the slightest.
Quote from: Sunray on 06 August 2023, 11:52:24 AMUS market? The current low on Sterling should make Pendraken good value - even with shipping? Does the forum have any leads/intelligence on how this lucrative market can be cultivated? perhaps we need to inflitrate US wargame forums and do a bit of promotion for Pendraken??
US orders had gone up slightly since the £ nose-dived so that helped to offset some of the initial EU losses (11% of orders in 2019, 13% of orders in 2022, 11% of orders currently in 2023).
Quote from: Sunray on 06 August 2023, 11:52:24 AMRates:Have you considered getting your MP Andy McDonald involved via a Private Office Query ? Costs nothing, but prompts an instant review. It is not unknown for a query over small business survival to appear at PMs Questions.
If I can't get any joy with a surveyor and a challenge then we'll have to try our MP, yep. Ours is Jacob Young though (Conservative) so I'm not sure how much he'll be wanting to rock the boat.
Quote from: sultanbev on 06 August 2023, 01:56:48 PMWas talking to another trader yesterday, they said that when RM 48hr tracked service was automated, their damage rate went up dramatically. So they've switched back to 24hr tracked service which is still manually sorted, and their damage rate has gone down again.
That's interesting, our local sorting office is still entirely manual so we've not seen much damage in transit thankfully.
Good points Leon. You are on top of the game. Forgot you were Redcar- Don't discount Jacob Young as a boat rocker. He has working class roots, a social conscience, AND anxious to keep his seat in what used to be the Labour Red Wall.
I would counsel that you involve him via POQ sooner rather than later as a very senior council official always has to sign off in person the local governmnet reply to such a question. If there is any error in your rates, it will be spotted.
But its your train set. Your call.
Hi Leon,
sorry to read your news but thanks for posting, like the others have said.
The whole EU VAT thing is a real nuisance and has really curtailed my purchases. As you say, I don't want to order £50 worth of miniatures and then pay almost the same in VAT and 'admin charges' - this seems to be the way it works in Luxembourg, where I live.
Even ordering for delivery to my UK address is not that simple, as the local post office seems to do its own thing. This Easter I found delivery note on the mat saying the posty had been, but not leaving any details of the package. A trip to the office was fruitless as there was no code indicated so they had no idea what they were looking for. I was finally contacted by the manufacturer about two months later and informed that the package had been returned as 'refused' by recipient. Maybe just easier for the postman?
Do what you have to do and hang on in there.
Very sorry to hear this. I am planning on getting an 1859 Austrian army, 1864 Danish army and an 1866 Hannoverian army. I will hold on until the new website kicks in with IOSS. Meanwhile I am continuing to work on the 1866 Austrians and Bavarians and unpainted winter campaign FPW armies. Unfortunately a combination of Covid and Brexit seems to have killed off the Crisis show in Antwerp, just when I would have been able to get to it easily. Wishing you every success in the future and that things begin to turn around after the next general election.
As already posted, your openness and honesty are to be commended and once again show your commitment to we the customers.
I share the view that your price increase is a reasonable one and completely justified.It's good of you to give such a long notice period and much appreciated.
We all want to see the company succeed and for people to keep their jobs and support you in doing what has to be done.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the info, Leon, and sorry to hear of your frustrating challenges. I'm a big fan of Pendraken, and you've given a huge amount to our hobby. I'll be sticking with you, for the duration, which I hope will be a long time!
Thanks again for all of the positive comments!
Quote from: Malbork on 08 August 2023, 02:17:28 PMThe whole EU VAT thing is a real nuisance and has really curtailed my purchases. As you say, I don't want to order £50 worth of miniatures and then pay almost the same in VAT and 'admin charges' - this seems to be the way it works in Luxembourg, where I live.
Quote from: Leman on 10 August 2023, 02:19:52 PMI will hold on until the new website kicks in with IOSS.
Hopefully we can get the new site up and running quickly as we've got dozens of EU customers in the same boat and it's a real shame that these new processes have made it so difficult. We'll need to do an extensive promo run when we get IOSS activated so that we can try and tempt some of those customers back.
Quote from: Malbork on 08 August 2023, 02:17:28 PMEven ordering for delivery to my UK address is not that simple, as the local post office seems to do its own thing. This Easter I found delivery note on the mat saying the posty had been, but not leaving any details of the package. A trip to the office was fruitless as there was no code indicated so they had no idea what they were looking for. I was finally contacted by the manufacturer about two months later and informed that the package had been returned as 'refused' by recipient. Maybe just easier for the postman?
That's not good to hear, the Royal Mail level of service has taken a real hit with all of their strike action and ongoing disputes.
I regularly receive 'signed for' packages left at the front door with no signature given. I know they changed the requirements for Covid and went to photographs of abandoned packages as 'proof' of delivery but that can no longer be an excuse.
And I used to get the same treatment before Covid when I was running a business and books delivered were abandoned willy nilly in bins, behind flowerpots and at random neighbours with no note through my door.
I was also a Chair of Governors of a School and 'tracked, signed for' letters from the Local Authority that people's council tax were paying for were dumped through the door with no attempt to get a signature. I frequently reported the latter as a waste of tax payers money but nothing happened as far as I know.
This has all been in the lead up to privatisation and subsequent to the sell off. I know there have always been problems but it is much worse now.
I must say that the new private delivery companies are a damned sight worse and regularly adopt US style delivery of hurling parcels from vans at the drive, or attempting to smash 8inch parcels through a four inch slot, and unfortunately succeeding on occasion.
Anyway - best wishes for the future despite the current delivery systems. I remain happy to buy Pendraken.
Thanks for the update Leon. The price rises seem quite restrained considering all the issues you have had. As one of the lost package customers I am more than happy to pay extra in postage if that helps in any way.
All the best for the future and I will be ordering again as soon as I paint my last delivery :)
Gentlemen.
As my grandmother used to say "fair worms batter no parsons", and I think we can all agree that she was as natty as a fruit bat.
In her own, weird, oddly scented way she was right. I have read through Leon's honest and concerning post, and the resultant comments. It seems to me that the provision of good quality 10mm figures is shrinking, and I have invested too much time and pennies in our favourite producer to stand idly by as it goes through a tough patch.
So I sat down.
And made a decision. I am careful with the amount I spend*. I have a nominal monthly budget, but I have decided that for the next few months I shall double my spend. I realise that in the grand scheme of things, this will make as much difference as a PaK36 against a KV1, but I will at least feel that I am taking a practical step.
In real terms, this means that my lead mountain is going to grow, which may lead have consequences later, but it will also mean that I can get through the purchasing phase quicker. If I need paint, I shall go to Pendraken first. I may just have to buy a V2 missile for the Bishops' Wars Scots, and maybe one for a WWII objective as well. I shall definitely be drinking deep of the Amazon range which is surely, certainly going to get released soon. I'm twitching to add to my Cold War Brits, and if PaulR doesn't stop blethering on about his Russo-Japanese war fleets, I shall certainly have to retaliate with some ground forces.**
Hopefully, some of the rest of you will find that extra tenner down the back of the sofa and think about spending it with Pendraken.
I'm not being noble, I'm not looking for brownie points. I'm trying to help the good people at Pendraken get through a difficult situation. I've been buying from Pendraken for 10 years now, and I've always found them to be honest, fair, friendly and genuine.*** I keep my face mask that Pendraken produced for local services during the Pandemic. That act was the act of good people.
https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,19623.0.html (https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,19623.0.html)
By Milady's Dimpled Golf Ball, they put up with our inanity on a daily basis and it wouldn't be a bad thing if we could demonstrate a bit of support. I know that time's are rough all over, but as my grandmother used to say "when the toenail gets tough, the toffee get doughy."
I never ate her home made confectionary.
Thank you for getting this far.
*If you believe that, may I interest you in a 33% share of Runcorn Bridge?
**Actually, I could do with some trees, but they're not on offer. =)
***All except that 2017 incident with Dave in Reading. The nun was Ok, but the pony is still in therapy.
Hi Leon, glad you are optimistic you will get through all this. We are a very rich country that is very bad at distributing wealth more evenly.
Have you checked out which zone of the Teeside Freeport you are in? (it extends for 20 miles around the actual freeport, each 'zone' offers different 'benifits' (if you can call not having to consider enviromental planning a beneifit) anyway they may be something there to tap into. Rupert
Quote from: fsn on 11 August 2023, 08:30:38 PMThank you for getting this far.
And thank you for the kind words, that made me chuckle. Please don't unnecessarily enlarge the lead mountains though, I don't want anyone stretching themselves in these difficult times.
Quote from: rupert on 12 August 2023, 05:07:09 PMHave you checked out which zone of the Teeside Freeport you are in? (it extends for 20 miles around the actual freeport, each 'zone' offers different 'benifits' (if you can call not having to consider enviromental planning a beneifit) anyway they may be something there to tap into. Rupert
I'll check with our local business team but I'm sure we're not within any of the zones. They put out some info a while back showing which bits of Teesside are classed as within a zone and sadly we're not in any of them. Annoyingly our old unit might have been...!
Quote from: Leon on 12 August 2023, 09:08:00 PMAnd thank you for the kind words, that made me chuckle. Please don't unnecessarily enlarge the lead mountains though, I don't want anyone stretching themselves in these difficult times.
Every enlargement of the lead mountain is due to my own inability to paint fast enough. Besides which, my current Expected Date of Lead Mountain Exhaustion (EDLME) an hence continuance into another plane of existence is 25th April 2025. My daughter gets married in September 2025, and I want to be around for that.
In the grand scheme of things I am proposing a small increase in my outlay. My self imposed limit is more about my painting capacity.
Also, I can now put in bigger monthly orders without feeling guilty about breaking my own self-imposed rules.
Call it enlightened self-interest.
As hobbies go, it has to said that wargaming is relatively cheap compared to other leisure activities such as a football season ticket for example.
Most traders tend to gamers themselves and are very conscious of the effect on customers. I've tended to look at such increases as inevitable in today's world where not only have the prices of materials increased in their right but also the increased costs of moving them about.
Given the quality of the figures and the service that comes with them, especially being able to add odd figures or substitute figures, I'm happy for Leon to go ahead with whatever he needs to do to ensure the firm's viability.
Best wishes going forwards.
Quote from: DHautpol on 14 August 2023, 12:06:47 PMAs hobbies go, it has to said that wargaming is relatively cheap compared to other leisure activities such as a football season ticket for example.
Most traders tend to gamers themselves and are very conscious of the effect on customers. I've tended to look at such increases as inevitable in today's world where not only have the prices of materials increased in their right but also the increased costs of moving them about.
Given the quality of the figures and the service that comes with them, especially being able to add odd figures or substitute figures, I'm happy for Leon to go ahead with whatever he needs to do to ensure the firm's viability.
Best wishes going forwards.
There is no "like" credit on the forum as you have on Twitter, so I will give this post the wargamers' ultimate salute : - +1
If you don't mind me asking Leon, how's the relationship with Dark Horse in the US? I make my purchases through them, as I'm US based, but I'm happy to switch over to direct if that helps you more.
Your probably better sourcing "locally" if for no other reason that customs duties. Shipping would also be much higher from the UK to US.
Quote from: TheLimey on 15 August 2023, 02:04:08 PMIf you don't mind me asking Leon, how's the relationship with Dark Horse in the US? I make my purchases through them, as I'm US based, but I'm happy to switch over to direct if that helps you more.
Everything's great with Dark Horse, no worries there. Steve's spent a great deal of time and money building stocks over there so I'd always push folks to him first.
Quote from: Leon on 15 August 2023, 09:00:02 PMEverything's great with Dark Horse, no worries there. Steve's spent a great deal of time and money building stocks over there so I'd always push folks to him first.
Perfect. I've had no issues at all with him, so that's good to know.
Thanks Leon for letting us know. Being one of the customers whose package was lost, I cannot thank you enough pour sending me another one. It is absolutely correct tant Brexit and an implementation of other taxation mesure by the EU has made ordering in UK a real problem. I've been ordering minis from UK for the last 25 years and never had to pay a darn thing at the customs. As for now, a typical customs taxation would be around 10-20 euros supplement. Did it stop me ordering stuff in UK? I'm afraid, yes.
That said, I'm going to order a few packs from Pendraient right now !
Thanks for all the good job and the wonderful minis.
Thank you Leon for your openness.
If I'm correct once IOSS is on, I'll have to pay VAT but not the custom fees, so considering Italy has a strong let's say "tradition" in taxation, this will probably make it even with price rise...
Moreover from a personal point of view, I too had a roof damaged, insurance "issues" and some troubled waters in my business, so I can strongly relate. One thing I learned to cope with all the issues is to take them one at time, one step after another. I know it's grandmother wisdom but it does work.
Hold tight!
Just to keep everyone updated on a few things from this announcement:
Lost Packages
As expected, we submitted our claims to Royal Mail for around £2500 of parcels and they paid us... drum roll... £140.
Commercial Rates
We've had a property surveyor out and they're putting our case in to the valuation office / local council. It's a no-win, no-fee arrangement so we'll be paying them 25% of any savings they're able to make.
New Website
The costs for paying someone to do the bulk of the work were too high so I've spent the past 6 weeks building this myself. The new platform will have all of the same features and I'm working to make sure that it looks as similar as possible to the current one. There will be some elements that work slightly differently but hopefully not too much. Currently the only things that we can't transfer over will be your order history and any secondary addresses you've added to your account. We'll be able to download and save both of those from the current site but we just can't add them to the new one easily.
~X( >:(
:-SS :-w
:-B @-)
Royal Mail is a sh*t show. They must have the worst service in the world.I suppose you have looked at other carriers?
Quote from: paulr on 19 October 2023, 02:07:27 AM~X( >:(
:-SS :-w
:-B @-)
That about sums it up!
Quote from: Enigmatic Gamer on 19 October 2023, 08:45:20 AMI suppose you have looked at other carriers?
We've looked at a few but they're all either a lot more expensive (50%+ extra in most cases) or have a worse delivery record (I'm looking at your Hermes/Evri!). Unfortunately RM are still the most cost-effective option for the small-medium parcels.
Quote from: Enigmatic Gamer on 19 October 2023, 08:45:20 AMRoyal Mail is a sh*t show. They must have the worst service in the world.I suppose you have looked at other carriers?
They used to be good with committed staff who were proud of the service. Not sure what happened to them
Quote from: flamingpig0 on 19 October 2023, 02:28:30 PMThey used to be good with committed staff who were proud of the service. Not sure what happened to them
I think the staff as still the same type of people (at least the ones we deal with are) but there's definitely a sense of resignation about them when you ask how things are going. It should never have been privatised in my view, but that's a different discussion.
Yes, I don't blame the staff it's the senior managers who are responsible.
QuoteRoyal Mail is a sh*t show. They must have the worst service in the world.I suppose you have looked at other carriers?
I sympathise, Leon.
It's as bad over here in the US. I once sent out two parcels within a fortnight of each other, using the USPS standard boxes. The USPS succeeded in smashing the contents in spite of the heavy packaging. I complained, and a month later they replied saying they'd investigated themselves and found they were totally blameless. ~X(
Quote from: Poggle on 19 October 2023, 04:14:15 PM...saying they'd investigated themselves and found they were totally blameless. ~X(
Funny how that works isn't it!
We had one package to Australia, around £110 value and we'd paid Royal Mail £24-ish for a Tracked service. They lost the package completely, the tracking didn't work, and then decided that our claim was worth £8. So not even the cost of the postage that we'd paid them to lose it!
I am prepared to accept many brickbats, but Amazon are offering to deliver non-Amazon products.
Don't know how I'd feel about picking up my Pendraken goodliness from an Amazon locker. :-\
QuoteDon't know how I'd feel about picking up my Pendraken goodliness from an Amazon locker. :-\
Useful way of squeezing things past any household authorities.
Speaking to my RM local postie a few months ago, they are tracked now so their footsteps are recorded, too much lingering talking can get them into trouble! He said he'd give it 12 months before the whole thing collapsed under the weight of the management ineptitude.
Mark
Quote from: sultanbev on 19 October 2023, 06:27:03 PMSpeaking to my RM local postie a few months ago, they are tracked now so their footsteps are recorded, too much lingering talking can get them into trouble! He said he'd give it 12 months before the whole thing collapsed under the weight of the management ineptitude.
That sounds about right, our collection driver has told us that they've got GPS on all of the vans too and if he stops anywhere en route his boss would call him to find out why he's not moving.
QuoteUseful way of squeezing things past any household authorities.
;D ;D
Another quick update on this thread, the surveyor chap has finished what he calls 'Stage 1' of his process and has managed to get £1600 knocked off our 2023-24 rates bill, which is great news. He's now moved on to the backdated 2021-22 and 2022-23 bills to see what he can do there.
Great news indeed! Hope he can do the same for you on the other years 👍
Result!
As long as he doesn't charge you £1700 for his services. :-\
A positive note: my last four orders from Pendraken have arrived, median time, in under eight days after shipment notice. That includes what ever RM does, trans pond journey, US customs, USPS (and their bizarre routing schemes), and the final 27 hour donkey journey to our wilderness outpost.
Rates bill :-bd
Prompt deliveries to the wilderness :-bd
Quote from: d_Guy on 06 November 2023, 07:37:11 PMA positive note: my last four orders from Pendraken have arrived, median time, in under eight days after shipment notice. That includes what ever RM does, trans pond journey, US customs, USPS (and their bizarre routing schemes), and the final 27 hour donkey journey to our wilderness outpost.
Good to know Pendraken's prompt delivery works even across The Pond.
I am reminded of a conversation with a fellow countryman of yours who, when I asked where in the US he came form, replied that he came from a place so small and so remote that it was saved from being a one-horse town only by the fact it was too poor to actually afford a horse!
Also, I have Duelling Banjos as an earworm now!
Have to our RM post is far superior to Envi(Hermes) - parcels left in a different road at a non-existant address. Ho Hum
Evri ... because every parcel is lost, stolen or damaged? :)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 07 November 2023, 12:20:36 PMEvri ... because every parcel is lost, stolen or damaged? :)
:D :D :D :D
On the topic of poor delivery companies...avoid FedEx like the plague if you're posting anywhere outside England (or just in general). Had a company try and send me a parcel multiple times only for it to get a "delivery exception" and returned to sender before even leaving the sorting hub. The company were fuming as they gave no reason for rejections other than "training issues". I suspect they just didn't realise we existed on the other side of the Irish sea... Thankfully they've resent it with another delivery company and it should come tomorrow. 🤞🏻
On the topic of Evri they 'delivered' a package last week by not ringing or knocking - I was in, as was my daughter whose package it was- but having tried a side gate and broken the latch, by forcing the bottom of the garage door open a crack, breaking the opening mechanism, and jamming the parcel into the garage and running off. The garage was not marked as a 'safe place'. Discussions are 'ongoing'. >:(
Royal mail delivered a parcel to my daughter by dropping it over a gate into a bucket of water then photographing it and posting it on their site as proof of safe delivery.
Its a mad world.