The weird world of Atlas Editions

Today's post focuses on a company with the strangest business practices I have ever encountered. You may have heard of Atlas Editions as they advertise extensively; their business model is offering subscriptions to collections of items, principally diecast models but also such other collectables as ornaments and plates, with much emphasis on them being exclusive to Atlas and not available anywhere else, which isn't always true. Each collection begins with a loss leader at a very low price but subsequent goods are more expensive, and they will continue to send items at regular intervals unless you choose to cancel. This all sounds quite reasonable but Atlas often go about their business in strange, disorganised and amateurish ways that have resulted in them not having the best of reputations.

In my favoured 1/76 scale, Atlas have produced a number of collections: Eddie Stobart, Great British Buses, Trams of the World, Fire Engines of the World, the Greatest Show on Earth (funfair and circus vehicles), the World of Stobart, and Classic Coaches. I am personally subscribed to two of these (Greatest Show on Earth and World of Stobart) and my experience so far has been satisfactory, but there is an Atlas Editions Collectors group on Facebook where complaints vastly outnumber positive posts, and numerous threads about the company on consumer advice forums. Read on for more about the weird world of Atlas Editions and their bizarre ways of running a business...

 

Subject matter

Atlas are purely a marketing company and don't actually manufacture anything themselves; models are made for them by a variety of firms and many have easily recognisable origins. All of the Great British Buses are Corgi Original Omnibus Company models, and the entire Eddie Stobart collection was made by Oxford Diecast, in many cases using new tooling that appeared here first before joining the main Oxford range later. The Greatest Show on Earth uses a mixture of Oxford and Trackside castings together with a couple of OOC ones, and the fire engines were mostly Oxford plus a couple by Ixo, but many of the World of Stobart models are made exclusively for Atlas and have no manufacturer's name.

Atlas don't seem to know a lot about the subjects they choose as there have been numerous errors and inaccuracies in the literature relating to the models, especially in the Greatest Show on Earth series. The old Trackside Scammell, which represents an early 20LA or 20MU, has been variously described as a Contractor or a Handyman, both of which are very different and much later vehicles, and there is a history of the Bristol L-type bus with the latest release, which is fine except that the vehicle they modelled is actually a J-type. Their most questionable decision was the inclusion of a steam roller in this collection: this is a piece of road construction equipment that would have no place on a funfair or circus so it just doesn't belong here.

Nothing to do with fairs or circuses so why is it in the Greatest Show on Earth collection?

Quality and accuracy of the models can be quite variable too. While those made by Oxford are authentic replicas of real vehicles to this company's usual high standards, some of the Corgi tooling dates from the 1990s and hadn't been used for many years so it is quite crude by modern standards. The oldest I have seen used so far is the Trackside Scammell R6 box lorry, introduced to the then Lledo 'Days Gone' range way back in 1991 and really showing its age as it is a cheap and simple model that doesn't even have cab glazing. The Stobart models all appear to be accurate, but some of those in the Greatest Show on Earth are basically fictional, loosely inspired by real vehicles but bearing little or no resemblance to them. Occasionally some odd duplication occurs: identical horseboxes are included in both Stobart collections, and given that World of Stobart is a logical follow-up to Eddie Stobart that appeals to the same customer base, most subscribers probably already have this model from the first series and don't want another.

The new UK coach collection introduced recently is especially peculiar as all models released so far have been copies of old Corgi tooling, not the actual tooling as used for the Great British Buses but the same subjects. Even more bizarrely, some are the wrong scale, being 1/72 and slightly larger than the accepted OO or 1/76 standard, and although clearly marked as 1/72 Atlas are most insistent they are actually 1/76 and advertise them as such! This makes no sense whatsoever given that Atlas have access to the existing Corgi tooling in proper 1/76 scale and diecast model tooling can cost a five or six-figure sum. Another scale peculiarity was the production of a 1/72 scale RTW bus for the European collection, an odd choice anyway as this type was unique to London and most mainland Europeans have probably never seen one, so they wouldn't have noticed the size difference if the existing 1/76 version was used instead.

A 1/72 copy of a 1/76 model, advertised as 1/76! I'm confused...

 

Availability

For reasons best known to themselves, Atlas have steadfastly refused to sell their collections outside of their designated target market, which is a source of great frustration. For instance, there are many Stobart fans in the Republic of Ireland who wanted to subscribe to the Eddie Stobart collection, but Atlas point-blank refused to allow them as they had decided this collection was only available in the UK. Similarly, I expressed an interest in the European bus and coach collection but was told quite bluntly that this was not available to UK customers and there was no way I could subscribe to it. Officially, Atlas claim these policies are because there is no demand elsewhere, but this is clearly not the case as there is a thriving international trade in Atlas models on eBay. All models are apparently despatched from Switzerland anyway, so why should the destination country make any difference? I'm no businessman, but turning down potential sales of well-stocked products seems a very odd way to run a business.

Apparently there is no demand for these in the UK, so why did the retailer I bought this from sell out very quickly?

Atlas's claims of exclusivity don't always ring true either. While some models are indeed only available from Atlas (at present anyway), many can be obtained from other sources. The Stobart Shop took stock of the Eddie Stobart collection, in some cases before Atlas's own release, and some of these models have also appeared in Oxford Diecast's standard range. Following the completion of this series, remaining stocks have been released to wholesalers and are now available in normal retail outlets, the only difference being that the retail models are in plain white boxes rather than Stobart-branded ones. Similar comments apply to the Greatest Show on Earth; in one case my local supplier had a whole box of a particular model in his warehouse several weeks before I received my example 'exclusively' from Atlas. As Atlas won't sell individual models and require customers to sign up for the whole series and receive goods in whatever order they decide to send them, many have turned to these alternative sources to acquire just the models they want, meaning Atlas are missing out on yet more sales.

Bought from the Stobart Shop - so much for exclusivity. Their gain is Atlas's loss.

 

Postage and packaging

For a mail-order company, Atlas's packaging leaves a lot to be desired. Models are packed in flimsy cardboard boxes with plastic liners rather than the rigid cases used by most manufacturers. They are typically posted in thin plastic envelopes that are very prone to crushing and tearing, although some have arrived in boxes instead and there is no apparent pattern; I once received a very large outer box with the much smaller model box right at the bottom and no packing to stop it moving around, and against all odds it somehow survived intact. On a couple of occasions I have received damaged models, and to Atlas's credit they immediately agreed to replace them without quibble, although the replacements were packed the same way and just as susceptible to damage. They wouldn't need to do so many replacements if their packaging was up to scratch though.

All models are fastened to their plinths using triangular-headed screws, and how to undo these is the single most commonly asked question on the Atlas Collectors Facebook group. Officially the models are not supposed to be removed from the plinths and this technically invalidates the warranty, but most collectors want this option and triangular screwdrivers are available. Many of the models themselves though, especially those made by Oxford, are held together with ordinary crosshead screws; it seems perverse that it is easier to dismantle the model than to merely remove it from the plinth.

Note the bent canopy supports. Not surprising thanks to the flimsy packaging.

Collections typically consist of twenty to thirty models and on average there is a new model once a month, but it is impossible to predict exactly which one will arrive and when, and different customers will receive different models at the same time. Often they will send out whatever model they happen to have the largest stock of at the time so there is no guarantee you will always receive the latest release. This is especially true if you sign up later to an established collection; a common pattern here is the introductory models, then the latest release and then older ones, and sometimes those released before you subscribed aren't sent until the end of the collection. While I quite like the element of surprise in receiving an Atlas package and not knowing for sure what it contains, it can be frustrating to see other customers receiving a model I particularly want, only for me to get a different one.

Customer service

Atlas customer service seems very inconsistent with satisfaction dependent on the individual who deals with your query, and some customers have nicknamed them 'Clueless Editions'. I have never used their telephone support, preferring email as it provides a written record of the conversation that is important given the level of incompetence I have heard reported. Customer service staff are often unable to answer even the most basic questions such as "What is the next model in the series and when will it be despatched?", and there have been occasions where customers have phoned to order a model, only for it not to arrive and on querying they find that the person they spoke to never actually placed the order on their system. Other examples of what can only be classed as carelessness include the model listed on the invoice not matching what is in the box, sending the wrong certificates with a model and then duplicates of the same certificates with the correct model, and specifying the invoice amount as '£XXXX.XX'.

Billing is rather haphazard too, although I must say I personally have never had an issue, perhaps because I signed up at the start of the collections and pay by direct debit, whereas customers who pay by cheque seem to have a lot more trouble. Problems have included demanding payment for the same item twice, invoicing goods never ordered or received, and their favourite trick: not cashing cheques, arbitrarily raising the cost due to supposed non-payment and then threatening the customer with a debt collection agency. There are countless threads about Atlas Editions on the various consumer advice forums, including some real horror stories from customers who have suffered through the company's own incompetence, so I consider myself very fortunate not to have had any problems.

Definitely not a Scammell Contractor, despite what all the literature says.

I note from Atlas's website that they claim to have "60 years expertise in the development of collectables and family reference material", yet they still don't seem to be very good at it so how have they survived that long? I know very little about business but even as a casual observer Atlas seem to lack an awful lot of professionalism and be an object lesson in how not to run a business. Don't be put off completely though as you may feel the models are worth the hassle, but don't expect things to always run smoothly, and sign up at your own risk with this in mind. I must repeat though, while others have not been so lucky, I have personally been satisfied in all my dealings with Atlas, so make of that what you will.

Pros:

• Mostly interesting and good-quality models
• Some exclusive models not available elsewhere
• Regular release of new products
• Ability to cancel and restart collections at any time
• No-quibble replacement of damaged goods
• Element of surprise when receiving a delivery

Cons:

• Inability to purchase individual items from a collection
• Geographical restrictions on subscriptions
• Some models available elsewhere at lower prices
• Some poor-quality models
• Some scale inconsistencies
• Poor packaging and risk of transit damage
• Haphazard delivery dates
• Poor customer service
• Billing issues
• Awkward triangular screws
• Large amount of junk mail included with every package