Interesting thread here. FWIW, I stopped pre-ordering about five, maybe more, years ago. The waits were just too long and unpredictable. Not getting a specific locomotive is, as mentioned previously, a first world problem. If I obsessively want something, I search ebay for what appears to be a responsible seller. Also, I scour the web occasionally to see if any dealers have the item.
I am wary of Lionel products because they often arrive with quality control issues. MTH hasn't offered anything new for several years now. Consequently, as others have said, I don't read the catalogs carefully anymore. As it is, I have plenty of locomotives and rolling stock. I'm kind of put off by the manufacturers' entry into politically-oriented (Lionel and MTH products. I guess that I'd rather keep this hobby neutral.
Finally, during the past several years, I've been experiencing price resistance. For example, I just don't want to pay hundreds of dollars to a single MTH Premier A unit. Anyway, good thread here.
