HO has certainly come a long way in recent years. When we had our retail hobby shop back in the late 1980s/early 1990s we tried carrying some HO at the insistence of several clients/friends. I stocked up on some of the starter sets (Bachman- LifeLike) around Christmas but soon discarded that concept due to parents buying them for young kids who weren't able to enjoy them due to the poor quality and small size. Later we would recommend 3 rail O or G as we learned some of the different aspects of the hobby.
It was funny that customers would often ask for a discount on our good stock of Athern engines and rolling stock when an F3 or Alco PA or a Geep only retailed for $25, but what really made me laugh was asking for a discount on a freight car that retailed for a mere $3!
