Lionel's Next Catalog!

Just when I thought my money was safe.

 

  Thank you Charlie.

Wow......a change of heart?

Peter

I guess this begs the question whether it will be a 2013 vol 2 or a new trend whereby next year's catalog (Signature, Volume 1, or whatever they want to call it) is delivered around October York.

 

Lionel is SO far behind in shipping, I can't imagine them announcing more product -- much less attempt to deliver more product in 2013.  

 

David

The question is define "they will be made to order." 

 

I am pretty sure this means they will no longer build models and have them ready to ship, then advertise them.

Whoo HOO !

 

BREAK OUT THE PARTY Balloons! ITS TIME TO REJOICE!  

 

 

 

 

 

Build to order, something they should have been doing for some time. 

Matt Ashba and I talked about it last week and he said that it will not be a "traditional" volume 2 catalog. So nothing near as big as in years past, but he did say there would be some new product for 2014 in that catalog.

I believe the made to order makes sense from the manufacturer's standpoint. There are some potential buyers who may object as they would prefer to see the item first before a purchase. There is no perfect solution to the issue of over production, so I am sure that we will all adjust to this new policy from Lionel. Those who prefer to wait will probably just pay a higher price for the item on the secondary market.

It appears that those who say they wait for the engine to arrive first will go without. Or at best get some ones cancelled order.

>>>Build to order, something they should have been doing for some time.<<

 

The only thing I don't like is Lionel's tendency lately to reuse sounds. If they had a pre-production sample video available with the option to pre-order I believe they would be much more successful in securing orders. Not as much of a gamble at that point.

Or they will have to find a dealer who took a chance and ordered one for stock, or wait for one on the secondary market (which may take a long time) and compete for it with others of like mind (which may get expensive).

 

Andy

Stupid quexstion but what is the delivery date for the 2012 Vol II Tanktrain sets and 3 packs?

Exactly.  Build-to-order (BTO) will likely be at the "dealer- or distributor-level" -- not individual consumer orders.  This will move the risk-taking to the dealer/distributor-level -- much like the apparent Atlas-O model. 

 

Whether larger dealers like Charlie Ro will order "extras" beyond actual consumer pre-orders will largely depend on the times.  Currently, it's pretty clear there's a HUGE glut of inventory out there on the market.  So even the big guys may play it conservatively until they get a sense of how the BTO model suits them -- especially with the risk sitting largely in their lap.

 

I'm SO glad I've already built up a respectable inventory of trains to enjoy.  I'm not a BTO guy, so my days of being "an ideal consumer" are history for those importers who adopt that business model.  Oh well...  life goes on.

 

David

Online shipping schedule still says April 2013 (which has obviously come and gone) for the add-ons.    The SP Tank Train set now has been moved to August 2013.

 

But when the REAL shipping dates are???  I don't even think the manufacturers in Asia have a clue anymore -- much less the importing companies. 

 

David

Question. Does built to order mean if we dont pre order from our dealer we are SOL on that engine? Or do we take the risk that of some large dealers are ordering some extras to have in stock to sell to those of us who dont pre order?

"Made to order"? O.K. I'll take a Legacy J3A hudson with whistle steam and an optional PT tender please.

 

Having said that, I suspect little discount on prices. If you want something, "your gonna pay".

make that 2

Raise your hand if you want at least ONE Lionmaster steamer with some sort of deluxe feature like the last two did.

What's a "high end engine?"

I would guess one that costs $1000+.

Whistle steam will no longer be offered because of two reasons, too many issues of them working and space inside of locomotive shells. This was the reason I was given when talking to Lionel.

 

It does not mean that in the future that newly tooled locos in the higher end engines will not have them. But only in the most expensive of those higher end engines. 

The add on's and dummy are due in August, and the Set is now due in September according to one of the largest dealers in the US.

Would be nice if that were the case... and I sure hope it is.  However, it's not hard to wonder... Let's see... today is July 23rd.  An August delivery would most certainly mean that stuff is on the water -- perhaps even due into North Caroline any day now.  Maybe the September deliveries should be on the water already as well.  Yet we hear nothing from Lionel "officially" aside from their website's shipping schedule.  And we all know how well that's been maintained.    Amazing.

 

David

Oh, if only it were just like the Hong Kong Tailors "made to order" suits - I could just go in and order any type, model, and livery of loco: and just pay them to make it!   Oh, if it were only so . . .

Well, I guess you'll have to order two - you know, so you have a full set of spares? Speaking of the Hong Kong tailor - that's what I always did with the slacks for every suit I ordered.

Sounds like Guggenheim Capitol Managment's bean counters said enough is enough on the blowouts and start contributing to the portfolio.

NKP Legacy 765!

More like a change in the bank account Peter There are in the biz of selling trains so sell some north American trains. We are here waiting for some more goodies. Scale Budd cars, 44 tonner...

Great news! I'm all for the made to order plan. The more the manufacturers succeed the more we will continue to enjoy this great hobby!!

 

 

Ya that too! I am in for one if the engineer looks like Rich, or not. Idea, They can call it the Rich Melvin Edition! Why does ny get all the glory?

Allan Miller figure in the Fireman's seat, or the Dog House?

Oh yeah, please make a Ravens 2012 Superbowl Champion boxcar, and an Orioles boxcar too.

I'm in for 2 each.

It would just be great if somebody in the USA knew what version the ACF Center Flow Covered Hoppers were going to be made in China ahead of time, in order to match them with the railroad appropriate paint scheme. It seems like someone is  randomly applying railroads to what ever ACF Center Flow Covered Hopper is in production. The production companies must have a very large say in what actually gets made.

 

Andrew

I'll second the order for a J3a Hudson, though I want mine with the as built tender.  

Another Hudson and berkshires for Lionel to make. Can't we think of another engine to model? 

 

How about the 4 Ace's, NYC 2-6-6-2, or something else that has not been made. 

 

Please no more Hudson's Or Berkshire's

It is a changing world, that's for sure. I understand the need to change it up due to the glut of inventory, but I still don't understand the model. It was mentioned above that this moves the risk down to the Dealers. I disagree. I think that moves the risk to the customers. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time ordering a product sight unseen based on the catalog "art" that Lionel puts in their catalogs. Even if they use real photos of the actual models, what about operation? Sound? Smoke? Detail? They better have a no questions return policy if you order something and you don't like it when it arrives.

 

If you ask me what they need to do is relax the restrictions on dealer requirements. There are very few hobby shops that actually provide me with any value add these days. What they should do is give dealerships to people like Eric Siegel. He does great in depth reviews of the products. His Youtube page is the place I go to research every new O gauge train purchase I'm considering. If Lionel was smart and wanted to market their trains in a new way they would tap into that market IMHO.

I disagree with this:

 

What they should do is give dealerships to people like Eric Siegel

While Eric seems like a very nice fellow, and distribution is always key goal, I think most of the manufactures are in the boat they are in due to too many "non-dealers" being able to sell product, thus making the legit dealers weary of taking on too much inventory.

 

It is a fine balancing act for sure, but the days of the new product showing up at the local train meets did not help the hobby in the long run, it turned into a dumping ground.

 

Case(s) is point, Department 56, Lladro, and Rolex just to name a few, where the market grew and has now contracted. I don't like made to order either, but it was inevitable if you take a look at the history of other products.

 

Charlie