AM Hobbies Update

I ordered stuff from Jeff. Great service

Bob,

We'll miss ordering from you but we'll want to stay in contact with you.

Please keep in touch with us and let us know if there is any help we can provide.

 

Vaya con Dios,

 

Eliot and Ginny

Bob, you will be missed as you were one of the best dealers and Ebay sellers I have had the pleasure of buying from. Your health is the most important focus of your life now--- get well and don't be a stranger--- please post when you can. God bless you and your family. Aloha-----

I received the same e-mail.

 

Bob was one of the best, I will really miss him. I hope that he continues to fight for his health. He is very honest and will try to help you no matter what.

 

I have ordered from Jeff also, and he is of the same material that Bob is....GREAT dealer.

 

I am really going to miss Bob.

90% of my Atlas and all of my Weaver came from Bob. I met him several times at York in the Atlas booth.

 

Bob, you will be missed. Take care and best wishes for your health.

 

Richard

Bob - Thanks for your years of service and contribution to the hobby.  Take care of your health and get back going again.  Hope to see you in York this fall.

Dan

I got the same e-mail as well.

 

Bob, take care and best wishes on your health issues.

 

Jim

Bob wish you the best.  Thanks for all the great service!

Very sorry for Bob  He was a great guy   Jeff Dobslaw on the other hand will not get a dime of money  All my Atlas purchases will be from forum sponsor Sean mArchev

I wrote a personal note to Bob this evening but I also wanted to join the rest of you here in this thread with good wishes and a positive outcome for Bob and his family.  I ordered quite a lot from him and ALWAYS was satisfied with his service and fair prices.  He is a great guy and will be missed....Bob, we luv ya buddy!!

 

Alan

I was very sorry to receive this email this evening. Wishing Bob the best. I will certainly miss doing business with him. 

 

I too enjoyed great service from Bob and wish him all the best.

 

Rick

I picked up many an Atlas-O reefer from Bob.  Very sorry to hear he had to sell the business.  He's a terrific guy... and I wish him all the best with family health issues.  They can be a real game-changer. 

 

Scary how the landscape continues to change over the past few years in our little corner of the world. 

Thanks for everything Bob.   Best wishes.

Mike.

I would have to agree with Ben’s choice.

 

The O scale market just took another hit in these tough times.

I thank Bob for fair pricing along with his knowledge of the industry.

He also was a successful spokesman between us and the suppliers.

 

I got sticker shock when searching for the latest batch of items and a new dealer.

Unless the suppliers can find a way to cut prices, future sales will be few & far between for most.

They are also hurting the few dealers we have left as well.

 

 

Too bad Bob is selling out. I always had good a good experience buying from him. I wish him the best in the future both healthwise and otherwise!

 

Just tweeted by Atlas:

 

June 14, 2012

Attention: Atlas and AM Hobbies customers.

By now you’re probably aware that Jeff Dobslaw of JD’s Train’s has purchased AM Hobbies. While these two fine Atlas retailers will work together in the immediate future for a smooth transition of customer care and product delivery Atlas will also be involved in this process as well.

For those of you that have the following reserve orders with AM Hobbies on the items in the first grouping below please contact either Jerry Kimble , Joe Kolnoski, or Gigi Kisling here at Atlas in regards to your orders. Jerry can be contacted at 1-908-687-9590 ext. 7118, or e-mail jkimble@atlaso.com , Gigi at 908-687-0880 ext. 7136, e-mail gkisling@atlasrr.com , and Joe at 1-908-687-9590 ext. 7017, e-mail jkolnoski@atlasrr.com. Click the link to display more information about the product.

CONTACT ATLAS FOR :

• Master Line GP-60 Locomotive - http://www.atlaso.com/ogp606.htm
• Trainman 52’6”Gondola -http://www.atlastrainman.com/Freight/tmogondola.htm
• Master Line Evans 53’ Double Plug Door Boxcar - http://www.atlaso.com/oevans9.htm
• Trainman PS-2 Covered Hopper - http://www.atlastrainman.com/F...tmo3bayps2hopper.htm
• Trainman 60’ Passenger Cars - http://www.atlastrainman.com/F...o60passengercars.htm
• Master Line 40’ Steel Reefer - http://www.atlaso.com/osteelreefer8.htm

In this next grouping of items that have just arrived at Atlas, any order that have been placed with AM Hobbies will be handled by Jeff Dobslaw who can be contacted at 314-409-4451 , e-mail amhobbies2@hotmail.com.

CONTACT JEFF AT AM HOBBIES FOR:

• Master Line 70 Ton Cover Hopper - http://www.atlaso.com/o70tonhoppers7.htm
• Trainman Sliding Door Boxcar -http://www.atlastrainman.com/F...t/tmo40sldboxcar.htm
• Master Line 5161 Trinity Covered Hopper -http://www.atlaso.com/o5161hopper2.htm
• Master Line 55 Ton Fishbelly Hopper - http://www.atlaso.com/ofishbelly6.htm
• Master Line 60’ Hy-Cube Box Car - http://www.atlaso.com/ohycube4.htm

Thanks for the head-up, Bobot.

 

George

Bobot,

 

Thanks for the update. I have two of those steel Reefers on order at AM hobbies and I was just about to give up on them.

I emailed Jerry and also left him a voice message. I hope to hear from him soon.

 

Thanks again,

 

Richard

I was able to get in touch with Gigi at Atlas today and she took care of my order, and got it out the door today. I had emailed Jerry the other day and he also contacted me after I had spoken to Gigi.  Joe Kolnoski   from the sales office also contacted me.

 

I just want to pass on my thanks to the folks at Atlas, AM Hobbies and JD's Trains for working tohether to ensure that Bob's customers are taken care of. I am sure it  is not easy tieing up all the lose ends when a business changes hands.

 

Best wishes for good health to Bob,

 

Thanks,

 

Richard Gonzales

Maybe I missed it but will Jeff be keeping the AM Hobbies website online or will he fold it over into his JD Trains website, so he'll have only one place we need to go to?

I don't think you've missed it Bob.  I'm still a bit puzzled how all the pieces fit together here too.  Just the other day there was a thread here explaining that the Public Delivery Track had purchased the inventory of AM Hobbies along with a few custom runs in the works.  None of this was mentioned in Atlas-O's own memo.    So it all just further begs the question, "What exactly did JD buy with respect to AM Hobbies?" 

 

David

JD took over everything related to AMHobbies, all the assets, except the inventory.... he probably didn't have the resources to buy it.... and Beth did..... No different than someone buying the business, then unloading some of the assets, like the inventory, to raise cash.... AMHobbies was the largest retailer / distributor of Atlas O in the country and I would speculate that Beth at PDT was already number 2....  

Am I correct in assuming that Bob gave some great deals because he was a "distributor" and had a little more "slack" to cut his customers? 

 

Did JD's Trains and AMHobbies retain that distributorship?  If JD didn't have the assets to buy the inventory...would he to maintain a distributorship?

 

Who are the remaining "distributors" of Atlas O equipment?

Just my opinion, from the various conversations i have had around the industry, but I remember back in 2002 or 2003 that Justrains was carrying Atlas and discounting pretty good, and AMHobbies didn't want to be undercut by Kirk's pricing. Bob went big into eBay and that was successful. LOL - i remember when i had more eBay feedback than Bob did. Justrains did not. I wondered if Atlas disapproved of Justrains dumping Atlas O stuff at York at very good prices - I bought cases of freight cars. IMHO, AMHobbies didn't need to discount quite so deep, but Bob did. Particularly on preorders. I think he was able to get his volume way up; was then important to Atlas; and when Atlas changed the deal with the dealers, Justrains, for one, couldn't get the same discount as AMHobbies any longer and that's why Kirk quit selling Atlas O. 

 

This will get interesting. Despite Jeff's best efforts, they aren't going to keep the market share Bob had, we already know that with some of the posts we have had, so that market share is going to get spread around some. IMHO, no one will end up with the volume Bob had. Very similar to when Jimmy retired - his customer base has gone to several dealers. 

 

In my experience, Beth has also always had pricing comparable to Bob's.... If not in her advertised price, certainly when asked she would do what she could. She is an excellent business person, no BS, and knowledgable. Historically, JDs pricing has been pretty good too. I don't think any of us will get hurt - we just may need to ask for the price we need when ordering. 

I think I bought a few things from PDT when it was an East Coast entity (please know I am very, very small beans compared to the Muffins).  Now that she's gone West Coast where I am...it's shipping and sales tax if I purchase from her...and that's makes it a no-win situation for me.

 

JD's...from whom I have bought things when I couldn't get them from AMHobbies...is probably my best bet.  I suppose I need to look at price + UPS shipping versus price + sales tax + UPS shipping.  Who knows...it may all be equal within a few pennies.

 

These days PDT prices seem high on Atlas O equipment.  I know...I have seen PDTs comments about trying to make money for food on the table.  I do not begrudge anyone making a profit...I just want to feel like I am getting the best deal.

 

Of course, with the way prices for Atlas O cars is soaring (IMO) the trinity hoppers may be the last Master Line cars I can (somewhat) logically afford.

 

It's probably TrainMan for me from here on out.  They are good cars.

Thanks, MrMuffin.  Sounds reasonable.  I was just surprised Atlas-O hadn't mentioned the piece about PDT in their tweet/memo.

 

So perhaps from JD's perspective, this transaction was all about "branding" then.  I understand that buyers don't always have the financial means to pull of the whole transaction (so to speak).  And while I seem to recall Bob had moved his business from Mullica Hill, NJ to Wellsboro, PA some years ago; I always purchased via mail order... so I don't even know if AM Hobbies had a "bricks-n-mortar" operation of any kind?  Or was it strictly online and mail order?  Just curiosity on my part.  But if it's the latter, then the assets (minus the inventory that went to PDT) fall more in the line of a warehouse facility of some type, client lists, future product items already in production, website-related technologies, and of course THE NAME (just to name a short list of items that came to mind quickly).

 

By the way... regarding the website... Visiting AM Hobbies website tonight, this is the welcome message that greets visitors:

 

Thank you for your patience as we transition the business from Bob Thatcher. As of 6/21/12 we have confirmed about 20% of Bob's pre-orders.

We expect to have the shopping cart functional for in stock items (including track) by 6/25/12. Shortly thereafter we will be adding a significant enhancement - the ability to place preorders directly on the site. By mid-July we will begin adding our in stock items to the site.

 

 

Can't say what all this means with 100% certainty, but perhaps this means plans are in place to move the existing JD's Trains inventory into the AM Hobbies website.  And at some point, perhaps the JD's Trains current website will just point to -- and become -- amhobbies.com?  I don't know.  Just sayin' that's a possibility... and that's what I meant when I said this part of the transaction was more about BRANDING than anything else.

 

Time will tell... until we hear something more official.

 

David

It certainly sounds as if Jeff D plans to transition his business into the time-honored name...AMHobbies and that JD's Trains may fade away.  That would make sense.

 

 

BINGO!!!  And that's what makes not having the resources to buy the inventory such a crucial piece of the pie.  Is owning rights to the name AM Hobbies (and the website and customer lists) enough to maintain customer loyalty and market share that AM Hobbies had? I suppose that's the million-dollar question... and that's where the gamble comes into play.

 

It would be similar to me saying, "Gee... I think I'll buy Charles Ro tomorrow" (ha! LOL), but I don't want to buy the physical store and it's inventory... just the website technology and the admittedly HUGE customer list -- along with of course, THE NAME.  But THEN what?  Am I now gonna be Lionel's largest dealer, simply because I purchased the name "Charles Ro" with none of the inventory to give folks a reason to call me everyday?   Just sayin... that without the right plan in place, there's always the awful possibility that when I throw my first party, nobody comes... 'cause they're gonna go to the other party down the street that has all the inventory! 

 

Now I'm sure Atlas-O will step in as much as possible to help all parties involved here to move forward successfully.  But still... there are no guarantees in life.

 

Should be interesting to see how this all unfolds.  Definitely a part of the changing landscape for sure!!!

 

David

 

They bought a lot more than the name, 'cause at the time... they also got all the resources (assets & liabilities) that went behind the name.  And what we're saying is that's not exactly the case here.

 

It all really boils down to how do you accurately place a value on the business NAME in and of itself.  We see similar types of "valuation" issues taking place each day with Internet businesses.  One day a company is worth $10B... then the next day it's valued at $2B.  Well, what just happened that they're valued at $8B less overnight???    I'm just saying it's very tricky territory when the buyer buys the name -- but NOT everything that goes behind the name.

 

Honestly, JD's Trains was never in my web-browser's favorites folder.  I was familiar with the name, but never had a reason to purchase from them in the past.  That's not meant to be a negative statement at all about JD's Trains -- just a fact that in my own admittedly limited world, they weren't a store I purchased from in the past.  And I suspect there are a few other folks out there like me, so that's a "business challenge" hurdle that JD needs to overcome.   Will becoming AM Hobbies change that?  I don't know yet.  Time will tell.

 

It's a gutsy move, for sure, on JD's part.  And I wish all the parties the very best.   

I hope JDs Trains keeps their own name and that Atlas will do right by them.  I also hope that PDT will hang in there with their pricing, competition is always a good thing for the consumer.

 

Both of these places have a good following from what I read into the comments here.  Once folks see they are/have taken over the AM Hobbies business, the "marriages" should use the name of the buying company, much like Jason's Train Shop did with Jim's Train Shop.  Let them stand up on their own merit.

How about the Weaver items? Did any of you have any of the Weaver items on order? I had ordered the Weaver sanding tower and emailed Jeff about my pre-order. He did not know what happened to my order.

 

Did any of you all get any sanding towers in the last 3 to 4 months?

 

I do not believe you can compare a Lionel inventory to an Atlas inventory, JDs made the right move , as for future Masterline cars considering the factory situations, it will be a long time before anything like the Trinitys will be produced, the coilcars do not look nearly as detailed, the Trainman line has become the main line.IMHO

I had both a sanding tower and the new gondolas on order.  Weaver does not list the sanding tower any more.  I've not heard anything about it being delivered or canceled.  The gondolas should have been delivered during the transition period like the GGD REA reefers.  I haven't seen either.

 

Jan

IMO Bob had a really good deal with Atlas as far as pricing was concerned. I don't see that continuing with PBT or JD's. Since I'm pretty much out of the buying game for the foreseeable future, it doesn't affect me. I've dealt with both for purchasing special run cars and all experiences were pleasant. Good luck to both.

Don't count Jeff out, just yet! IMO, he's a very savy young, experienced businessman who also likes trains. I wish him to be more successful than AM Hobbies. In perusing old OGR issues, it wasn't that long ago that AM Hobbies was a small entrant into the business. He started with Weaver and became the one to get Atlas from. PDT, Petersen, Diechman's, etc are also good sources. While price is important, SERVICE is also.

I just got back from the TCA Convention. Before I left JD sent me an email with a list of all my remaining Pre orders from AM Hobbies. The two weaver wood side gondolas were on the list. If I understand correctly the Atlas 70 ton covered hoppers were to be the first items out the door from JD. I did not recieve the promised email confirming the shippment.

 

Too bad JD could not pick up the AM Hobbies inventory.

 

Richard

 

 

Richard,

I thought that JD did get AM's inventory stock.

If, not, then what happened?!
RJL 

Based on information from previous threads...Beth Marshall from the Public Delivery Track in Paso Robles, CA actually purchased the inventory.  JD's Trains seems to have gotten the name, website, and pre-orders AMHobbies had in the works with Atlas O.