First, I want to give Lionel some Kudos. I recently acquired a brand new, never used Legacy #990 Command Set. Once it was delivered I found that it had version 1.0 of the Legacy software. Dreading the fact that it might be stuck there, I called Lionel support. After a little while on hold, a friendly representative answered and I asked about getting an upgrade. A few minutes later I had an email in my inbox with an RA# and a prepaid shipping label. They will update the base and remote to the latest version for free. For those unfamiliar, only Lionel can upgrade the base and remote from versions 1.0 and 1.1. After that you can do upgrades in the field using either the serial port or over Wi-Fi.
I have been critical of Lionel (though no one is exempt from criticism when I fork over hard earned cash for a product, toy, necessity, or otherwise). But that said, this is how you do customer service.
If they keep that up, I have a lot less trepidation about the higher prices. I also put in a pre-order for an F40PH shortly after.
As to the other part of my post title… Don’t pay the crazy auction site prices for the #990 or #993. I called around to about 10 dealers and finally found one in-stock. I didn’t pay a cent over MSRP either. I’m sure there are a few more out there. I bet that dealer was happy to finally sell the stock he’s had sitting there for 14+ years!
I still think discontinuing the Cab2 remote without a replacement ready to ship now to dealers was a huge mistake. The run on them and auction prices are evidence of that. In addition, I think this opened up a huge opportunity for another company to step in. I also question Lionels overall pricing strategy, not just for the original Cab2 and Base3, but overall. I know personally I would probably buy three times as many trains if prices were, lets say, half of what they are. I don’t pretend to know what there costs are, but for me, lower prices equals more trains. Not to mention, how many parents are scared off by the prices in the catalogs and then end up buying a cheap HO set. I really think they could make up the difference in sales volume. Again, I don’t have first hand knowledge of the business side of it, it’s just a gut feeling, but the fact that a #990 sat on a shelf in a store for 20 years says something to me.
Anyway, good luck on your hunt if you want a Cab2.
