Just went to browse the monthly special from Jason's Train shop

I guess that answers these folks questions:   No answer fromJason's Train Shop

Wow!  (Really can't think of anything else to say.)

Too bad. We had all hoped that he would be another Jim Sutter.

Another great owner and shop gone. Darn it!!

I'll second Allan's "Wow"! 

I'm disappointed.  Jason was the only store I felt comfortable leaving my CC at so he could just ship when an item arrived.

Best wishes for the future Jason,

Ed

I too am very sorry to learn of this.  Best wishes in the future Jason.

Art

This is disappointing and sad news.  I hoped that Jason would have been able to carry on  Jim S's tradition of great sales and customer service.  I could only speculate that the combination of the change in the dynamics within the industry (manufacturer production/order fulfillment and the stronger secondary market of near new product on various auction sites), aging customer demographic and the personal resources expended related to his purchase/improvements/relocation to the Johnstown store were significant and unable to overcome by one individual.

Yes, sorry to hear this.  I ordered a few items from Jason several years back. Was very happy with the prices and service.

I am sure we all wish Jason the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his past services to our hobby.

It really is a shame.

Until more information can be confirmed from the source, we can only speculate.

However, let this be a warning flag to folks who insist on shopping around just to save a few dollars -- and I DO mean a few dollars -- and then brag about how little they're spending to purchase their trains.     I tend to roll my eyes when I see those posts on this forum, because I hate to see win-lose scenarios in play.  I've had a few instances where folks here have backed out on my OGR for-sale transactions, 'cause they claim to have found the item $5 cheaper somewhere else.    And how many times to we see threads started with the proverbial, "Where's the cheapest place to buy ... ?".  

True... Dealers and storefront owners are "big boys (or big girls)" and they need to guard their interests carefully to stay in business, 'cause nobody else will.  Moving to a new bricks-and-mortar storefront location in this economic environment is a HUGE commitment and carries ongoing obligations with it.  And if orders/revenue are down significantly, it doesn't change the ongoing requirement to take care of fixed obligations in the form of monthly rent, insurance, utilities -- not to mention floorplanning inventory that doesn't move right away.

I wish Jason the very best in whatever he does in the future.  He ALWAYS treated me professional courtesy and prompt shipments, and I was one of many who hoped he would have been able to make a go of the business in his new store-front location.

Best regards,

David

This is extremely sad!  I'm mainly a MTH guy and everything in the past six years of being back in the hobby came from Jim and then Jason.  I have no local hobby shop (nearest is two hours away) so I always relied on Jason.

I wish Jason the best and his customer service will be greatly missed!

It is the information age and the wave of the future.

In the future, if not all ready, most will be dealing with a machine not a person.

Wonder where it will all end

Jason's mainstay was MTH product, correct?  He was pretty much my "go to" dealer for MTH items, although MTH's focus in O-Gauge over the past few years didn't seem on par with that of years past -- especially with regard to steam products here in the US (although that's beginning to come back around now).

With Jason being so heavy into MTH product (almost exclusively so) -- and not stocking much if anything from Lionel and Atlas-O, I wonder if that left him particularly vulnerable.     Although to be honest, both those companies have certainly had their share of delays shipping product too.  Guess I'm just thinking out loud.  But it does make me seriously wonder how many dealers are digging deep into their own pockets to keep their business afloat when sales are down and they're waiting for product to arrive so they can fulfill pre-orders and generate cash flow.  After all, why do you think dealers have shipped the newest Lionel products LITERALLY ON THE SAME DAY THEY RECEIVED them last week.  Stuff was back on the UPS truck within hours!   These guys have to be starving for cash at this point.

There may be no ONE straw that broke the camel's back so to speak, but rather a combination of factors that worked against his business model at this point in time.    Still hate to hear this is happening.

David

I made a comment yesterday on another thread that talked about train store observations and some had mention about the brick and mortar shops might have to start getting more creative as in having some gimmicks like one poster may note of a shop by him who has a cappuccino machine.

I took it even further then that and mention possibly a massage parlor and or a hair salon and even some shoe shiners.  And I mention a high profile case in my area over the summer where this gal who own a dance/zumba exercise studio was running a bordello out of the back room.  And her list of clients where sealed in court except for the blue collar workers.

Now that's being creative uh.

Anyway, the internet can help you and indeed without a web presence you will not last in business selling trains.  However, there are just far to many now on the web selling trains.  And people are buying used without any hesitation.

It seems to me in order to survive it better not be because you have to rely on it to eat.

Doubtful that had anything at all to do with it.

There are three small hobby shops near me. One is mainly MTH, one mainly Lionel, the 3rd shop mainly ho and Lionel.

From the other Jason's thread

 K-Line had great prices too, crappy business model, but great prices

As was pointed out above, great prices are not going to keep your LHS alive. Fair prices and a realization from LHS's customers that the shop owner does really have to make a profit on those items he is selling you is the only chance that we will continue to have a LHS to visit

The "personal hardships" of his message leads me to believe that there are other challenges that Jason may be facing in addition to owning a train shop.  It was refreshing talking with someone who understood the hobby as well as the product.  I wish him the best...

Sunrise

However, let this be a warning flag to folks who insist on shopping around just to save a few dollars -- and I DO mean a few dollars -- and then brag about how little they're spending to purchase their trains.     I tend to roll my eyes when I see those posts on this forum, because I hate to see win-lose scenarios in play.  I've had a few instances where folks here have backed out on my OGR for-sale transactions, 'cause they claim to have found the item $5 cheaper somewhere else.    And how many times to we see threads started with the proverbial, "Where's the cheapest place to buy ... ?".  

 

Best regards,

David

I think you make some very good points here. If we want our LHS's to survive so we can have somewhere to go and look at and purchase the things we need, we need to support them. It's also something I have learned here from you all on the forum.

I started out a couple years ago with the "Where's the cheapest place to buy..." ideas myself. Started seeing posts here about LHS's going out of business because of various reasons, one being all the internet price shopping. Since then I have purchased almost everything I have from my LHS. I usually go there about once a week and visit with the owner about new items that came in etc. I enjoy doing this and want to be able to continue the visits.

The only things I have purchased elsewhere since then are things they could not get or some used items here on the for sale forum. If they don't have something, I usually always ask if they can get it before ordering elsewhere. I don't have a lot of money, and for that reason I decided to not buy steamers, went with only modern diesels. I do consider myself extremely lucky to be able to afford what I have.

My LHS offers a small discount on most items, some items are available online for quite a bit less. It's slightly painful sometimes when you see 4 switches you just bought for $20-$25 less per switch online, but I am supporting what I like to do and a place I like to visit. Just made up my mind I'm supporting a local business, local people, my community and to not let it bother me.  I do think they are very fair. They have a lot of overhead to keep the store open and stocked, and the owner has to eat too, just like the rest of us. 

Anyone care to guess what you would have to invest to operate a reasonably well stocked train store? Think about that one for a minute. I look around my LHS and sometimes wonder how much they have invested just to stock the store. They carry all scales, old and new. It's of adequate size, maybe 1000-1200 Sq Ft, but not a large store my any means.

Not that this is what happened to Jason's, I just hate to see any train store closing.  Sorry to be so long winded here, but I think it's important to support our LHS's, if we are fortunate enough to have one nearby. If we don't support them, someday we may not  have one nearby to visit.

I like others are already there, where I "do not have one nearby to visit".  And maybe

I have the wrong attitude, one left over from the time when they overproduced and

blew out product, but my feeling is that I am not running a charity, I have not won

the lottery, and I pass up a number of things I think are too expensive.  Therefore, I

am shopping for the best price.  Have that same problem on the internet auction, too,

where I watch as the affluent elevate the bids, and I pass.  I shop everything that way, autos, appliances, big box stores for groceries, etc.  Utilities, taxes, cost of living

go up, and I try to offset that, or find a cheaper hobby.  (I cut back on buying lottery

tickets to offset increased costs...they went up, greatly increasing the odds, so that

combination...greater odds and fewer tickets, mean less chance to pay those prices)

Jason was also active on the forum. I'm sure that he will be reading our posts. If he wants to share anything with us I'm quite sure he will.

It was nice to think that we had a dealer trying to fill the void left by, Jim Sutter. His exit from the business will be felt here on the left coast as well.

Jason, rest assured that you will be missed and in the thoughts of many.

Sorry to see another one go. Unfortunately with the manufactures pricing structure and the cost of commercial real estate it will be a challenging environment for all. It will thin out the anemic ones real quick. I also think the consumer is also challenged. I see both sides and think that this will be a pattern for sometime. But we all are going to see higher prices and less selection in my opinion. In the last 5 years my wife was laid off 3 times and is currently unemployed and everyone of my expenses has gone up. I am sure many share similar experiences.. Hobby dollars are tight and manufactures,and hobby stores cost continue to rise.

Going forward brick and mortar train only stores are going to be a tough road. 'MY' train store is a large hobby store that carries about all hobbies from model trains to needle craft, yarn, cloth, plastic models and R/C. So it becomes a destination for the entire family. A stand alone train store, but for a few of the mega guys, may be going away.

Good luck Jason.

I really liked Jason... one of the nicest guys I've ever met. This really took me by surprise. One of the things I liked most is that he was young in the business.

I guess we'll find out later when the dust settles what happened.

Fast track to success: Christmas season keeps train shop owner bustling

http://www.tribune-democrat.co...-shop-owner-bustling

I do not have anything against Jason and he maybe a great guy, but his business model was lacking to say the least and this method did more to work against him the help him.

I did one order with him which I find out after placing the full order online I still need to call the store.  This was a Sunday and he was closed so I had to wait until the next day.  So being Monday I had work today and couldn't get back to him until Tuesday only to find out several of the items which showed online to be in stock were in fact not.  He put those on backorder for me and guaranteed the same price he originally showed online.

2 weeks go by and now shipping notification and no order arrives.  I call back and he states he had to wait for some of the other items to come in.  These were in addition to the ones he told me were not in stock and he had on backorder for me.

Package finally arrives and 20 pieces of straight are in a shipping carton designed for 10.  Nothing damaged besides the boxes thankfully.  However, I notice on the shipping document the backorder has been canceled.  I look up online to see if the items are still listed.  They are and at a higher price than what I was guaranteed.

So all in all a poor practice in business model.  Maybe these are the type reasons he is closing?

Sometimes, real world demands intervene and cause major disruptions to one's dreams.

It's easy to be on the outside looking in and be critical, but most all of us, at some time or another, will face unplanned and unforeseen obstacles that turn our worlds upside down, at least for a time.

I have never met Jason, and really don't know all that much about him.  I do know that Jimmy Sutter mentored him (an excellent mentor by any measure), and I also know that my LHS owner, Dave Minarik, thinks highly of Jason.  In my book, those two recommendations and endorsements speak volumes.

I wish Jason the very best of luck in facing, dealing with, and resolving whatever obstacles he is currently confronting.

Jason...all of us at OGR wish you the very best.  We certainly hope that you continue to be part of the hobby in whatever capacity that you are able to participate...

Warmest Wishes....

Alan

 I've been thinking about what to post since I first read this when it was posted. I really couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound like I was complaining.

 Wow, summed up how I felt too.

I have to wish him well also. He gave me some great deals and bent over backwards when I went thru town to visit the store. Always seems like the good guys get burned. I hope whatever it is that caused this, he'll overcome and have a great life. Life is short, and you only meet so many good people! I truly hope it isn't something too serious.

 Good fortunes to you Jason!

I have stayed away from your posts, as I don't usually like anything you have to say. This one included, your timing is terrible. If he reads this and is upset by your honesty, I hope for you the same dish you deal.

Jason is a great guy and it was always a pleasure dealing with him.  I wish him well!

Dave

I hate to hear this.  He was really a pleasant and professional to deal with.  I just hope he can quickly overcome whatever obstacles are currently in his path.  His absence is a real loss to our hobby.

ed

So sorry to hear this news. He was very nice to deal with, and always got great customer service from him. I have a few preorders with him now. Guess those will be lost, but they are only trains. I just really feel bad for Jason and his situation. Good luck to a very nice person,

Bob

Sorry to see this happen to such a nice guy.  Good luck Jason!

That is very well-stated, Allan.  And Jason's recent website statement that alludes to "personal hardships" can refer to a complete range of issues -- none of which is our business.

However, suffice it to say, we're all guilty of taking so much of life for granted when everything is going A-OK.  But at any given point in time, our world's can be touched INSTANTLY.  And we can wake up to a completely different playing field of life that we didn't sign up for.  Could be our own health circumstances... could be the declining health of an aging parent (or both parents simultaneously) followed by ongoing care/support issues... could be a serious health problem of a child... etc...

Any of these (just to name a few) would reek havoc with any of us, most of whom are likely a full-time employee somewhere -- not to mention what it could do to us if we owned our own small business, and even worse yet as a one-person show.  Combine any of this stuff with the pressures of sustaining one's own business even on a good day, and you could easily be looking at a "perfect storm" analogy, where you just have to sit back... evaluate lots of options... and perhaps even hit the reset button to move forward.

Best wishes, Jason.  We're all thinking about you here.  Stay strong!

David

I wish Jason the best and I have purchased from him in the past. I probably will try and buy a few more items if possible. 

That said...let me point on one issue that I think he had. During the existence of Jason's Train Shop one thing I noticed that I believe hurt him is that he often let his web site stay stale. He didn't update the website with new prices or new closeouts. There were times when he didn't post new catalog updates or the new RTR or MTH catalogs. When MTH released their NS Heritage diesels other online hobby shops touted them online. I sometimes wondered if Jason even got them. 

Then when MTH was doing uncatalogued freight car announcements in Premier and RK...he posted those the first couple of months...then stopped. How can you sell product if you are not going to advertise it? The reality I am trying to get at is this....we are living in the 21st century. Consider we're talking about model trains on an internet forum. Other hobby shops know the power of technology today and build and maintain their websites. Look at Justtrains, Charles Ro, Eastside Trains, Grzyboski (sp?) Western Depot,  Stockyard Express, etc... 

Jason's Train Shop often let their website go by the way side. And I would suggest that deeply hurt him in the end. I know how many of you older guys feel but for younger people we check websites and look at what is new. Jason's website started out well...but eventually became stale.  And in the 21st century internet world you can't do that... 

If he was a one man shop like others have said, I doubt there was enough time in a day for him to do all that. The owner of my LHS is a one man shop and he is there many evenings until the wee hours just to maintain the store. He has no website to speak of. He is open 5 days a week and usually spends one of his off days ordering,  checking in and pricing things, moving seasonal items in & out, books, magazines, shipping things, cleaning and fixing trains. 

It would be very difficult to do all that by one's self especially for an extended length of time. I think there is a lot more work to running a train store than we all realize as casual visitors to the store. And then I go in about once a week and try to order something he doesn't have, causing him even more work.

rtr12-

First we need to remember we live in a cyber age. Society does nearly everything by internet -  from banking, to ordering groceries, pay bills, follow homework assignments, shopping for a car, ordering movie downloads, purchase from Amazon, etc... 

In today's world you either adapt or your perish and companies die or fail on a regular basis. If you are going to do business today you must have an active, and vibrant internet presence....otherwise why be open? In Jason's case it was especially crucial given the product he was selling and the geographic reach he needed to maintain. Jim Sutter did a good job maintaining the website for Jim's Train Shop...I used to cruise over their see the specials and purchase from Jim. Jason's Train Shop not so much...he was very sedentary on his website and it often went long periods of times - even months with no updates. You can't do that today. We live in a cyber world...it's a part of life. 

Not trying to be difficult, just calling it as I see it.