 |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
Go
|
New
|
Find
|
Notify
|
Tools
|
Reply
|
|
Kind of scary...or is it normal these days to not go ahead with that many plans?
Mike |
||||
|
Boy! this is a "shocker"!  I guess all those that were drooling about this oversized loco esp on this forum were far and few to meet the production numbers.member: TCA |
||||
|
OUCH.... I hate it when that happens. Thankfully still on track for 2009v1. My last disappointment was with a D&H GP38-2. Was delighted with the unit as it's a really sharp looking legacy engine .... but the non-power unit was cancelled. Go figure ... guess I needed to ordered a few hundred more to meet the numbers :-)
|
||||
|
My heart grives for you Southern fans. You guys just seem to keep taking a hit over and over.
Yikes!!! Eagle I miss Wisconsin ! MTH/Lionel where is my S3 Milwaukee Road # 261? A slobbering Milwaukee Road freak!!  Member of the National Capital Trackers and representing the Milwaukee Road, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Montana Rail Link, BNSF, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Western Pacific, Soo Line, Wisconsin Central, Wisconsin & Southern, and Green Bay & Western Railroads!! |
||||
|
 |
I really wanted the SD40. Its a real Lionel with pullmor motors and toyish, yet somewhat scale looks. I was unable to get those in the early 80's...too young. And this was my chance to get one brand new with up to date quality.
~Michael TCA, LCCA, TTOS, NASG, LOTS, LRRC, MTHRRC. |
|||
|
When I first saw the Southern cars I instantly put them on my list. Then I saw the MSRP, which was utterly absurd. My guess is that others had the same reaction.
|
||||
|
 |
I wish that Lionel would put a little more realistic MSRP's in the catalogs, or no MSRP at all on the rolling stock. A simple statement saying "contact your official Lionel dealer for pricing, availability and ordering deadlines" would be all they need. I recently picked up two K-Line by Lionel preorders and paid significantly less than the MSRP. I knew that I would be paying less than MSRP, but the difference ended up being more than I had anticipated. I'm sure that there are people who are turned off when they see the overly-inflated MSRP's in Lionel catalogs and never find out that, if they shop a little, they can find much better prices than what is printed in the catalogs. Andy TCA, LRRC, LCCA, Atlas Golden Spike, MTHRRC - "Diesels represent the job, steam represents the adventure!" |
|||
|
I'll respectfully disagree regarding not having pricing info in the catalogs. While some of the the MSRPs may be viewed as too high, at least it gives you some idea of what to figure on for an actual price. While the "discount percentage rules" are not quite as well defined as they once were, it's possible to figure out roughly what to expect to have to pay for something. This varies a bit for LHS vs. Top Ten Dealer, vs. somewhere in between the 2. I'd rather not have to request pre-order price sheets from 10 different vendors to see what is reasonable. Lionel, please leave the prices in the book. -Dave |
||||
|
Well, just about everything I buy in "regular" O gauge these days, as opposed to tinplate O, is in Southern livery, and I sure haven't had much of a problem adding a dozen different Southern locomotives to my roster since late last year. Admittedly, none of them are from Lionel, but the point is there's still more than enough to choose from if one isn't sticking exclusively with a single brand. I added a Southern Trainmaster to the roster just a couple of weeks ago. Allan Miller, Editor-In-Chief O Gauge Railroading magazine |
||||
|
|
|
I think that having MSRP's that are too high can easily scare away customers. I thought long and hard about the two items I bought because the MSRP's were so high. When they finally arrived, one item was 16% less than MSRP and the other was 27% less than MSRP - and these numbers are after PA sales tax was added to the discounted prices (I added no tax to the MSRP). these two items were in the same catalog and on the same page, but they arrived a few weeks apart from each other. If I almost passed on these due to MSRP (and I knew there would be a discount), how many people did pass up on the items that were canceled? And of these people, would there have been enough orders to keep them from being canceled? I see your point about giving people some idea of the cost, but can't it be made a little more realistic? Scaring potential customers away does not help anyone stay in business. Andy TCA, LRRC, LCCA, Atlas Golden Spike, MTHRRC - "Diesels represent the job, steam represents the adventure!" |
|||
|
 |
Totally agree Andy. It's happened to me where I didn't consider buying items because of what was listed in the catalogue. I do understand that we typically buy stuff for less (not always though, right?) but it was SO high that I blew it off. - walt |
|||
|
While I thoroughly agree that Lionel's MSRP's are excessive and a disincentive to buying the product, I find it hard to understand why anyone would make a buy/no buy decision without knowing the best real-world price. I always get a guaranteed price before pre-ordering, and the only thing I pay list for is club issues. Lionel seems to want to preserve a high margin and MSRP for the benefit of some small, high-overhead dealers in small markets. That's their business model, so be it. But why would anyone who is sufficiently Internet-literate to be on this forum not check out the real price of an item before ordering it (or deciding not to)? I only have a couple of items on order from Lionel (some K-Lionel passenger cars) and I made sure I was getting 25-30% off list before I ordered.
Now, even with a big discount, Lionel's real prices are high enough that I will only pay them if I really, really want something - but that's another issue. |
||||
|
You have to remember that not everyone is a oldtimer and don't understand the game that is played....they flip through the catalog see $500 and believe that its going to be $500. I think the issue here is that the business model is flawed. I mean think of how every other retail business work, they show you what they have for the cheapest they can get it too you for....you typically shouldn't advertise something to your customers for 30% more than they really have to pay. That is wasted advertisment dollars and is stupid, PERIOD! Think about people looking for Christmas gifts...if they look through this catalog (and mind you these are not model train people) and they see the prices in them, they are likely to tailor their spending to what they can afford based on the catalog prices. Is it not also illegal to incorrectly represent the price-point on something?....now given we rarely see issues where people complain about being shown a price that is higher than what they eventually have to pay, but if they are knowingly shown a price that the product will never sell for - its misleading the consumer. -LV  |
||||
|
The only way to ensure that they are produced is to offer them through the historical societies.
Andrew |
||||
|
Not that they are a business model to strive for (especially right now), but doesn't this sound a lot like the auto industry? Ford/Chevy/Nissan/Honda, etc all have their factory MSRP. This is normally higher than you will pay when you see a dealer ad, I believe. And, no I am NOT suggesting we start trying to follow the auto industry model more closely, just pointing out the similarity and the obvious counterpoint to the "illegal representation of price point". I do agree that I have never ordered without knowing what my cost would be before the order. I am never "surprised" by what discount I end up with when I get the bill, I know what the cost is up front. I also don't understand why people would order when not knowing their true cost. |
||||
|
|
|
I don't really see the prices being that much higher than usual. The newest Catalog Art boxcar was only $2 more than last year. One can get a diecast Genset for $535...cheaper than the CSX AC6000 from last year. In 1991 the Pennsy Turbine was $1700 with Caboose. A PW style F3 set in 1990-93 was $1000. If anything, things are cheaper now. And costs in China have skyrocketed.
~Michael TCA, LCCA, TTOS, NASG, LOTS, LRRC, MTHRRC. |
|||
|
It's always a big disappointment when a item we are waiting for gets droped, especially when the item is for a RR that is seldom offered.
But that is the sad truth of the toy train world today. If they don't get the oders then it will not be built. I doubt very much that we will ever see the production over runs that where common in the late ninetes and 01 throuigh 06. Keep On Tracken, Mario E. |
||||
|
And normally that's precisely what I would do. But my LHS told me they now cannot tell me what the discount will be (or in this case would have been) due to changes in Lionel's pricing policies. So, rather than place a commitment to buy on a pig in a poke basis, I declined to do anything. Simply put, a K-line product that approaches in MSRP passenger cars from elite manufacturers isn't worth the nickel. |
||||
|
| View $GS_USERNAME's Public Profile |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Ignore List |
| View Recent Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
| Notify me of New Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
