The Greatest Show on Earth

Atlas Editions 'Greatest Show on Earth' series review

 

I have previously written about Atlas Editions, so you should be familiar with their business model of offering subscriptions to collections of items. One such collection, announced in 2014, was 'The Greatest Show on Earth', a range of fairground and circus models in 1/76 scale, and as a collector of fairground vehicles in this scale I naturally subscribed to this series. Although I have not received any confirmation that the collection is complete and no further models will be sent, it has been over six months since anyone received a new model and I have exactly thirty so it seems as if it has indeed come to an end and thus I can do a review of the entire collection.

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...