Hello all,
I joined the OGR forum so I could inform my fellow train buffs about the latest information about my purchase of Ted Nyerges' screw business and news from YORK, but also to respond to fellow member Big0426's comments of a "smashing disappointment" and how he and his friend "made faces, rolled our eyes and walked away" - and his experience at my booth.
First, let me say that Ted and I were great friends for over FORTY YEARS, and his passing affected me deeply. Like almost everyone who knew Ted, I share the sentiment that he was one of the best guys in this hobby. Not only because of his calm and easygoing demeanor, but also because of his tremendous knowledge about LIONEL repair, and of course, his unchallenged experience with all the fasteners that held these great trains together. Saying Ted will be missed is an understatement; for me to try and fill his shoes, obtain and dispense all the knowledge he garnered about his business over the years, an impossibility. That being said, both my wife RuthAnn and I are working very hard to bring the screw business back up to speed.
While most of you know Ted only from York and his displays there, purchasing his business was a major undertaking and his stock exceeded over 2,000,000 items - yep. TWO MILLION. Now of course, Ted knew exactly where everything was, whether in his home or at the train shows, but unfortunately, he did not use a computer and there was no inventory list for us to follow. We spent months organizing and entering the entire stock onto computer; but before that we had to unload the massive inventory and re-box most of it; and please keep in mind, that we still needed to get out our restoration orders in time for October 2015 YORK!
With regard to Bigo426's comments, it was clearly impossible for us to set up Ted's entire display inventory in the short time we had since we purchased it, ; further, Big0426 may not be aware of this, but Lionel F3, FM EP-5 and GG-1 (among other) diesel and electric body shell restorations is our main business; (the "other stuff" he mentions) we could not possibly abandon our customers there and only sell screws; we only brought out some samples to let people know that we're up and running, and, like any business it will take time to become fully operational. We are also working with the meet directors to try and get more side by side space; after all, we are now essentially running two businesses.
I'm sorry Bigo426's experience with us was such a "smashing disappointment", but he can always send in an order to us and we'll fill it. Ted also did a lot of mail order.. but perhaps he will visit our booth in April and, with luck, we'll have more of Ted's screws and parts at that time. I cannot promise that we'll have more space, as that is up to the meet directors, who all do a tremendous job in getting the show to run smoothly, particularly for us vendors. It was our first time at the show with Ted's business, Bigo426, so please have a little patience with us while we get it fully operational.
I'm happy to say that 99% of the comments, and dialogue with members at York regarding our new venture was inspirational and extremely positive, and we sincerely hope to continue Ted's legacy with the very important service he provided our great hobby.
Lastly, thanks to my buddy, Lenny J, for the kind words.
-Len Carparelli
