LionChief Plus price increase

I have noticed that with items produced in China, you can reliably expect across the board price increases to occur between January 01 and the Chinese New Year. I don't think you can expect prices to drop for our holiday season, unless it's on items that are in stock and not selling, and the importer needs get rid of it. It also seems like not much is produced or shipped during that same time frame, probably due to the holiday.

Bill in FtL

You may be seeing the price jump between pre-orders and retail.  Many places will price it low when taking pre-orders to get people to buy it, then once they ship th eprice goes up to normal retail price.

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It seems to happen with everything good now and I don't think it has anything to do with China.  If Lionel, MTH, or WBB come out with something good, and it sells well, and the price goes up on the next batch.  It happened with the LC+ and I understand and expect it.  Frankly, if I owned those companies, it is what I would do.  

And it will happen again:  New WBB 44-tonners for $240 with shipping?  Probably a thing of the past once the current crop is all sold out, which I expect, will be very soon.  

It is what it is......

Just like the price of milk..... Just like model trains..........

Cheers from Michigan

Gary

One man's ripoff is another man's reasonable increase in profit margin for a wildly successful product.

I've got three more LC+ on order.  I think they are relatively speaking, the best value in locomotives, as a compromise between scale fidelity, sound quality, remote capability, reliability, effective command control-"lite" and price.  Your mileage no doubt varies.  And so will Lionel's sales, depending on how much they overreach, or not, in pricing increases.  $30-50 more than the introductory pricing does not seem all that out of line.  We'll see what they do in the next year or two and how it affects sales.  Right now, they're reasonably competitive,  or even better than that, with street prices for non-command locos from other manufacturers, and with lower-end command locos from their one competitor.

I also have some on order, particularly the A-B-A FA Warbonnet set, which seems quite nicely priced at what Patricks Trains priced them at. 

I think if you're patient and do a thorough internet search over a period of time you'll find a vendor with some pretty aggressive pricing, maybe someone who needs to reduce inventory for whatever reason. I was in the same boat recently but found LC+ steamers at $300 from a forum sponsor.

Speaking of increases, here's a view from across the border.  Last October I purchased a RTR Pennsy Flyer LC set.  The LHS price at the time, $279.99, seemed economical enough compared to other RTR sets with only conventional control. 

Skip forward to last weekend and the same LHS has new stock of the same LC set.  After our dollar taking a nose dive and whatever recent increase from Lionel, the price has climbed to $349.99.

Definitely, it's time to redirect funds when multiple influences change prices so drastically.

Bruce

I have one LC+ steam locomotive which I like very much.  The same engine is now priced around $50 more.  That seems to be a pretty steep increase in price in a very short time.  I'm more than a little disappointed.  At this rate, Lionel could price LC+ out of reach for many very shortly.  

Supply and demand.  It is a great product with an increasing market demand, so as the supplier, you raise the price.  If you price yourself out of the market by setting the price too high, it doesn't sell and you go broke.  But in this case I think Lionel has it about right.  

No one is forcing anyone to pay these new, higher prices, but LC+ is a good enough product I think people will.  I've already committed to buy the FA A-A and a B unit, and the Camelback.  I don't think I am along.  Even with this additional $50 of so, they seem like very good bargains.  LC+ and Menards - O gauge seems better than ever, frankly!

Hello guys and gals.......

I believe Lionel will drive themselves out of business in future if they keep doing that.

 If that happens so be it.  Not sure about the others..........

Tiffany

Supply and demand will determine what the market will bear.  Lionel will charge that price, whatever it is, because that is what firms need to do to stay in business.

My only concern with LC+ pricing is that, based on things I have read here plus two people I know, that there are some QC issues that are not uncommon.  Plus, at least when I have tried out the Thomas sets for the kids, the remote felt pretty light (i.e., cheap).  There is no faster way to damage your brand and kill a product than to charge a premium (or in this case, increased price) price and at the same time disappoint the customer.  Personally, I want to see all of the remaining O gauge manufacturers succeed so I am hoping that this is not the case with LC+.

It is a classic marketing strategy. Introduce a new item at low introductory pricing and once the brand is established and has a following raise the price. The initial purchasers take the risk of trying a new product and get a great price. Once the item gets good press (think of all the rave reviews on this forum), the price goes up. Lionel is doing what any business that invests in developing a new product would do.

Eventually, the market for Lion Chief + will be saturated and prices will drop. Lionel will counter that by offering new features to try to bolster the price. More rave reviews on the forum will help hold the prices. But along the way, some stores will overestimate demand and have excess stock that they will discount. So if one looks carefully and continuously at prices online, a bargain may be had. Whether the time spent checking prices continually to pick off the bargains is worth it is an individual decision.

I'm in the market for a Lion Chief + NW2 and will hold off until after they arrive. If I see an easy bargain, I'll go for it. If not I'll likely hold off until my freight yard is completed sometime late this year. If you aren't looking for a specific road (mine will be repainted) patience can be your most valuable partner.

Tiffany all the toy train company's follow that kind of pricing. Everybody's prices have gone up.

You can preorder for a better price and know you will get one, or chance waiting till the item is released and see what the marketplace does.

I'm not worried.  I figure maybe at the maximum, a 20% increase in price - although it looks like, with discounts from retailers taken into account, the difference is more like just a 12% to 15% rise.  

At 20% more, I would still buy, but instead of five LC+ steamers now, I'd have just four.  I'd prefer five, but I'd rather have four than anything else toy-train related I can think of that costs that much (i.e., a big Legacy loco).  

"I believe Lionel will drive themselves out of business in future if they keep doing that."

Alternatively, they can charge less than it takes to cover their costs and a reasonable return on equity, and go out of business for that reason.

Folks,

these are toys and toys are expensive. Just purchase what you feel you are able to afford & enjoy the item(s).

But to put the cost issue in another light...

remember when a gallon of gas went to $.50?  Or, a pack of cigs went to $.50?.

or closer to home, upon retirement 7 years past, a loaf of wheat bread approximately

30% less than what one would pay for it right now.

kinda takes the 'sting' outta it, huh?��

I remember when I bought a brand new Camaro V8 for just under $3,000.  I could fill up the tank for an entire Saturday night of cruising for $5.  Can you even get a Camaro V8 for $30,000 now?  I don't know.  I paid about $28K for one in '98, but that was 17 years ago (Wow, how time flies!).