Love it or leave it, I guess BTO (Build To Order) is hear to stay -- at least for the higher-end toy train items. Just a sign of the times I guess.
Anyway, as we enter 2015, I couldn't help but notice on a recent Charlie Ro marketing email that several of Lionel's recent ES44AC roadnames are already "sold out". And sure enough, as I checked a few other well-known dealers' websites, the ES44AC pickings seem a bit slim for some roadnames. Fortunately I already had my early dibs in for a pair of CN ES44AC's, and it seems the UP models were the first to go... even though Lionel chose to go with the dull grey paint on the wheel-sets instead of the more eye-catching bright silver wheel-sets. I always thought the bright silver paint tends to highlight the details better than the dull grey paint.
To date, the saving grace about BTO seems to be the trend for large dealers to still order considerably more units beyond actual customer pre-orders. So as long as that's the case, folks can still SEE what's actually delivered BEFORE committing funds. The Big Boy was an obvious hit. The CZ passenger cars not so. But if you do choose to wait for delivery, it appears "some" items are disappearing rather quickly. No big surprise... we've seen the same phenomenon occur with popular MTH and Atlas-O items for years sans Lionel's big fanfare announcement that they were finally going BTO.
Thus far I've had absolutely no issues ordering a BTO item after Lionel's BTO pre-order deadline... further proof that dealers are ordering sufficient quantities beyond actual customer pre-orders. And I've even purchased a few BTO items after dealers took delivery... but I didn't wait too long doing that. The Gold-Edition Polar Express Berkshire and a bunch of gold coaches were examples of the latter. Gold coaches are still available, but sellers have pushed asking prices toward Lionel's inflated MSRP. Whereas with the ES44AC's, it seems most of the ones that "sold out" were gone pretty quickly upon delivery at the regular dealer selling prices -- although I'm sure we'll see a few of those "sold out" units appearing in the aftermarket at full MSRP (or more).
What's your experience been when ordering BTO items? Have you encountered a "sold out" situation with your favorite dealer when ordering after Lionel's deadline? Has anyone been shut-out of something they wanted by waiting for dealers to take delivery of the product?
David