Darstaed A4 loco Price Increase

Hello everyone.

Why has Darstaed increased the price of the A4 locomotive when they are not even available to buy yet ?

I have been waiting for my choice of A4 for over 3 years now and still no signs of this iconic locomotive.

Customers really do not like price increases when products don't actually exist.

I am sure i am not the only one concerned about this ?

I am only like you a patient customer. As far as I am aware the increase as warned in advance  only applies to orders made after the May cut off date.
Some dealers will have pre-ordered specific names etc. without customer reservations so may still be able to offer the pre-increase price.
As far as I am aware there is no difference in approach between the first batch of unlined bodies blue grey etc. and the later batch e.g. lined LNER and BR green.
I am hoping that the increase does not apply to all lined examples let alone all examples.

The above appears to have been confirmed in the August Darstaed Newsletter. The third batch being a particular finish and also 2 rail examples are at a higher price from the start but these are recent additions to what is being advertised.

One unfortunate by-product of certain dealers ceasing to be so means that some reservations by customers may have been lost to the system. My experience of the last 5 years is that Darstaed always tries to be fair to its customers.
When the first Darstaed loco was for sale, the J19, it was clear that orders had to be placed by a certain time to avoid a price increase. I see nothing wrong with that especially if the initial price is seen as good value.
Hopefully we will soon get an official reply to confirm the above.

Thorpe wrote:I am only like you a patient customer. As far as I am aware the increase as warned in advance  only applies to orders made after the May cut off date.
Some dealers will have pre-ordered specific names etc. without customer reservations so may still be able to offer the pre-increase price.
As far as I am aware there is no difference in approach between the first batch of unlined bodies blue grey etc. and the later batch e.g. lined LNER and BR green.
I am hoping that the increase does not apply to all lined examples let alone all examples.

The above appears to have been confirmed in the August Darstaed Newsletter. The third batch being a particular finish and also 2 rail examples are at a higher price from the start but these are recent additions to what is being advertised.

One unfortunate by-product of certain dealers ceasing to be so means that some reservations by customers may have been lost to the system. My experience of the last 5 years is that Darstaed always tries to be fair to its customers.
When the first Darstaed loco was for sale, the J19, it was clear that orders had to be placed by a certain time to avoid a price increase. I see nothing wrong with that especially if the initial price is seen as good value.
Hopefully we will soon get an official reply to confirm the above.

Hello Thorpe.

Thank you for your detailed reply , yes i originally had an A4 pre-order with a Mr. David Barnicoat but as you may know his business Darstaed UK is no more and has gone bankrupt by all accounts.
I was lucky enough to place another order with another dealer so i am happy now as i did not want to miss the boat , and of course the original ACE Trains A4 is highly inflated price wise now and out of my financial reach as with many other collectors.

Whilst the dealers will maximize their price on the Ace A4 sometimes the A4 sells away from dealers close to it's original price. However sometimes the parts may not all be original Ace
parts despite Ace boxes. Also even where they are all original Ace the grease used may have been inappropriate to UK climate leading to long term motor/gear damage if used regularly.
Hopefully Darstaed management have learnt from their mistakes with Ace and what will be produced under the Darstaed label will be mechanically sound with appropriate grease. Also the Darstaed versions are giving an opportunity to acquire names with liveries that are seldom available at any price.
From time to time some pretty good alternative obscure makes of A4 come up for sale at less than the Darstaed price or not much more and I would sooner have one of these than pay the inflated prices for an Ace A4. My preferred choice at present is to wait a bit longer for a Darstaed A4 and check it out running before parting with cash.

Hi Thorpe.

Thanks for that advice , yes the ACE A4 is totally over priced and many potential buyers are now waiting for the Darstaed A4 which i believe will be a much better model than the ACE version.

Some greedy dealers are asking £1300.00 for an ACE A4 , for that price i could get many more interesting O gauge items.