Ffestiniog t shirts and food overpriced?

After having had a great day out on the FR and the Llanberis Railways I am a little curious as to why Polo shirts cost more from the FR than for other places such as the WHHR. Or why the Llanberis coffee shop is so much cheaper than Spooners in Porthmadog. Seriously, I can't understand why the Ffestiniog is more pricey. The rail fares I understand as it is about distance and gradient but a Polo shirt is a polo shirt right? A chip is a chip?

I am proudly wearing my new Beddgelert Siding polo shirt that I purchased after a quick visit on Saturday. I wanted an FR one too but baulked at the 18.50 price instead of what I paid at the WHHR 12.50 I mean come on????

Didn't get to ride on the Llanberis railway as I went on the boat instead having already done the FR, will be going back to do it another time though. Gave my money to the cafe instead, 14.50 nearly as much as taking the family out for a 5 mile train ride, so I hope this helps keep that very sweet little railway line running.

But the pricing for T-Shirts and food on the FR is a bit odd. Anyone understand why they are as they are?

 

And postage on items purchased from the on line shop is a bit steep too, e.g. £5.00 on a £20.00 video. It seems a bit excessive.

 

I dont think its 'odd' or 'excessive', they are just trying to maximising revenue. Im sure if they thought it would be more profitable to sell some things cheaper they would, but a relatively small shop with limited storage space has a variety of different factors to bear in mind.

Chris

 

What a strange world we live in now, people buy T-shirts with logos on to say....... What??? That you belong?. To...... what??? Jeeez, give me strength!!! If you really have that much disposable, give it to a deserving charity or fundraising organisation that has a true & real mission, doh??!! Can't go on with this, as I need to go and puke!!

Cheers

Alan

 

''Maximising revenue'', now that's the nicest way of saying ''ripping people off'' that i've seen to date. It's the little things like that which leave the biggest impression to visiting customers. One of the reasons why i like to go to the north of England is that you get twice as much value for your money than you do in the south, it's all about principles !!

 

Thanks for explaining that, i thought the difference between north and south was largely down to economic factors, but no "its all about principles!!".

...back in the real world, the Festiniog is about the train ride not the shopping experience. I'd rather people found the shop to be a rip off than the ticket price.

Chris

 

I doubt that the FR shirts cost anymore to produce than the shirts at the WHHR but then it’s not about principles and it’s not about ripping people off, it’s all about branding in much the same way as expensive Bench or Nike shirts. You are paying for the brand not the material. The question is, how much demand is there for FR banded shirts? Not for me thanks at that price but no doubt there are a few who will pay the premium so that they can flash the logo ‘look at me’ style.
I’m not sure why the food is expensive, is it good food?

 

Of course I don't dislike the FR for trying to make money. I think they are a first class operation, and I really enjoyed my visit. However I did not spend more than £7.50 in their shop on a couple of nice loco pin badges (the engines that pulled me that day natch) and a few postcards.

At the WHHR I managed to get a child's book, signed by the visiting author, a Thomas flag (paper but hey cute enough) and the Polo shirt with the original old WHR symbol on it for 15 quid. The same lot would have cost over 20 from FR. I am still mighty tempted by the FR one though, for Xmas probably. The FR after all is a proper railway. I consider the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway a bloody good museum and cheap thrill, but a railway it is not, which is reflected in entry price.



(On the side subject of the WHHR running trains on the WHR line I can only say an extra mile of track would be very welcome at the WHHR but I can't see how they have the right to set up a rival revenue to the FR-WHR company when they did not build the actual railway, that would not be fair. However half a mile of track is too short - quite sad considering the amount of money WHHR put into the WHR may not extend much further but yeah a mile would be a fair approximation at the very least. In my opinion WHHR have ignored operational necessities and things they agreed to do were not done, they should not be throwing stones, but FR have behaved in a slightly bullying way all the same... fault on both sides but WHHR I maintain is NOT a railway anyway and no moral right comes to them to use another company's track.)


I still maintain that Spooner's is well overpriced. Over-charging is not exactly a rip off perhaps but maximising revenue can sometimes be taking the ****, especially when people only try to get meals or items at the railway because they love it.

Erm but buying a shirt or pin badge from a Heritage Railway is done for the sheer pleasure of taking a piece of the experience away with you. Whenever I put on a tie from HMS Belfast or the old style WHR polo shirt I remember the good time I had and I'm glad that I'm getting the railway's of North Wales promoted by wearing it. Plus it helps to get talking to other enthusiast, a badge of belonging to (by way of answering your question) a not easily identified social group but one that likes to meet and talk steam engines.
Plus the money that is spent in a cafe and/or at the shop helps keep museums and railways running, ones that are run by volunteers. Of course you probably think volunteering is a waste of time too, after all a steam train never sent someone's cancer into remission. But then I don't waste money on iPhone or Nike. At least buying a T-Shirt shows a simple joy in wanting to share a beloved interest, steam engines.


Why exactly would you believe in steam railway preservation and belong to a forum that is part of that if you don't believe in charitable money for heritage railways or indeed paying to help keep them in business? FR have the perfect right to charge whatever they want for a burger and chips and a shirt too. They money goes toward running a profitable railway (something British Rail never managed to do.) No profit, no railway. So that Alan is why you are wrong, and I don't understand you. Equally that does not mean that I do not find the differences in price markedly odd. Surely Spooner's pays no ground rent at the FR in Portmadoc? I've worked in a diner that sold food like Spooner's, I know the unit price, and I'm willing to bet the polo shirt supplier charges the WHHR the same as the FR. (That said the WHHR has never been a viable railway or operation, maybe it undercharges, I don't know but I'm not a wholesaler.)

As for my £12.50 to help publicise and fund railway preservation in Wales, you would rather I spent quadruple that on a football team kit? Do you only eat Tesco Value baked beans? Do you only drive a Korean made car? Get your hair cut by the council? People choose to use different images and brands that mean far less than a WHR shirt every day, but you consider a shirt that might help get an interesting friendship, conversation, or a possible visit to some wonderful volunteer railways a bad thing just because it doesn't eradicate cancer? Talk about strange.

 

Dunno, I drove down to Spooner's one evening for a light bite and baulked at the prices. Shame really as the food looked really nice and I understand it has won awards. That said the food at the Llanberris was gorgeous, and half the price, great friendly service too as we watched the trains come and go - waving to the passengers. Bet Spooner's is really tasty and a couple could probably eat there for an acceptable price. It did just look like diner food, but hey I LIKE diner food. Would have loved to eat there, but instead ran away.

 

A lot of the popular software packages for online shops only allow you to set a flat postage rate based on the value of the order rather than postage based on weight. £5 isn't bad value when you consider that some of the books stocked at the FR will cost £3-£5 each to post before you take into account the cost of packing materials (cardboard boxes aren't cheap!) and the wages of the person who packs the order.

Charlie

 

But Belhurst Productions absorb the packing within the price of the DVD and (unless I've read it wrongly), Graham Whistler only charge £1.50. QED.

 

£8 for an 8oz rump steak is too expensive for you? Where do you live? Somalia?

 

I'm curious to as know why people wish to compare prices in the North and South of England. Just to clarify matters, the Ffestiniog Railway is in neither.

I can assure you that the meals at Spooners are excellent and of ample proportion. The prices compare very favourably with other restaurants and pubs in Porthmadog and are cheaper than some. Next time that you are there, have a look around. As Andrew wrote, £8 for an 8oz steak with all the trimmings is pretty good by today's standards.

If you are a Real Ale drinker you will find that Spooners has, usually, eight real ales on offer at any one time plus the usual brands of fizzy lagers and so on. What's more, the drinks are the cheapest in town by quite a margin!

Branded Tee Shirts are there for those who wish to buy them, it's not compulsary.

Meic

 

No need to thank me for it, that was free. So there's no ''economic factors'' at the FR !! very strange. The point i was trying so hard to make is the understanding that not everyone can pay over inflated prices, people don't have money to throw away and it's the people in the north who have always had it the hardest, they know what poverty is all about that's why they don't over charge, hence the principle. A principle i agree with.

 

To be honest having been involved in orders for a wind band for similar sort of clothes it depends on a whole host of factors. £18.50 can be expected for such items. Using the wind band shirts cost £10 each in the end but this was only after an awful lot of debate with the supplier and the fact the design was more or less the same. As others have stated in the wind band case the order was done by volunteers in the band and partly subsidised by the society to get to £10. If you start to include wages and other overheads with running the shop you can see why its £18.50.

Regards
Duncan

 

There you go again. Do you think that Wales has had it easy or perhaps we don't count?

But more to the point, on the three occasions that I ate at Spooners last week, it was packed and very difficult to find a table. It was a case of standing at the bar and waiting to pounce as soon as anyone showed signs of leaving. The accents of those around me were, mostly, from the North of England and I heard no one complain about the prices or the quality.

Meic

 

''There you go again'' ?? Strange but i've always thought that the FR was run by people from the south !!

 

Seriously?

...regarding the FR (and most heritage lines, it should be said) there's a simple choice - would you rather they tried to raise maximum revenue from the shop and café, or increase fares instead to compensate?

As the latter has a much more serious reputational effect, hurting everyone who visits, i think the answer is obvious - after all, it wasnt long ago the FR was making a loss and laying off staff so making less money just isnt an option.

Chris

 

Either you are being deliberately obtuse or you have completely missed the point. The railway is where it is and, as such, supports a large full time staff, all of whom, by necessity, live in the immediate area. The Ffestiniog is an important employer and the area, and its economy, would be much the poorer without it.

Spooners is not a part time establishment which opens for a few weekends a year manned by volunteers. It is open every day of the year, apart from Christmas Day, and staff have to be paid in the depths of January and February just as in the busy times of High Summer. The price of food in Tesco is the same for railway employees as for everybody else.

Meic

 

I do get the general impression that both the FR and WHR are expensive, not only the shop but also the tickets. I wonder if the shop and the restaurant are simply over charging to get the money in. It will be interesting to see the annual figures for this year and the profit that has been made. It would also be interesting to see if we could have this discussion without pro WHR/FR supporters having to become aggressive or defensive again.