Lionel'sFourth Annual Open House and Warehouse Sale

Given the proximity of these dates to October 22-24 in York -- less than 3 weeks prior, it's a shame Lionel doesn't just bring all this stuff to York!!!    Living where I do in PA, the chance of me ever driving to NC for this event is pretty close to zero.  But since this is the FOURTH one of these, I guess enough folks have attended in prior years to make it worth their while.  But just imagine the audience they'd have at York.  It would make excellent use of the old Yellow and Gold Halls beneath the Grandstands.   

 

The only downside for Lionel is hauling the stuff back and forth between NC and York (although the cost of returning items to NC could be mitigated with excellent pricing at York!) 

 

David

Is Lionel doing a parts sale in conjunction with this event?

In the past they did, and included mail order sales.

Very hard just to move a complete warehouse 400 , miles and bring the returns that are not sold in the same manner back where you just started.  This stuff will not fit in 2 - 53ft trailers. Oh, and pack the people as well.  They kept 6-8 cashiers busy all day long. Not to mention the hundred plus grocery carts. That is why it is called "WAREHOUSE"

Kinda like why don't they move York, up and down Hwy- 27 , in Americas longest yard sale during July.    This is an announcement of a super event, that has some outstanding pricing,  not to be confused with the manner or logistics in which a large corporation presents products to the buying public.  

I'm super excited.  Doubt there will be much for the serious modeler (editing to say Vision Line level fan here!)  there but for the hobbyist like me it will be once again great.  Enjoyed hanging out with folks after it was over and sharing a dinner!

It's worth the trip. I will be there once again helping out at the LCCA table. I spent over $2000.00 last year at this sale.

Scott Smith

It'd certainly be nice to see this return. Especially as I have a few items I need to order.

 

Yes this would be nice. have not seen the parts sales event in a long time.

'Ya mean prior to now??

If Lionel were smart, they would truck this up to York & start selling it outside at the Wyndham on Monday. or take it to the fairgrounds on Thursday. Just a thought. I'm sure I will get pounced on here.

I agree with you Eddie.  Good idea.

Would it make sense for Lionel have its employees sleep in hotels away from their families for several days, eat meals away from home, and haul tons of product to York while spending thousands on fuel in order to lose more money than they may already be losing at home? 

 

This is obviously a social as well as a marketing and sales event, and it belongs where the Lionel employees live, in my view.  At home.  I think it's terrific that they are willing to open up their warehouse to LCCA members and other enthusiasts when they could be watching Netflix in their living room. 

 

 

CW

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  This  is America.  The LCCA is Lionel's club of choice. Last year, the LRRC club merged into the LCCA.    I feel no shame and am very proud of our strong, close working relationship with Lionel.   The LCCA fully supports Lionel and Lionel supports the LCCA.   The Lionel CEO of the Day contest is another example of this mutually beneficial relationship  and another member benefit of belonging to the LCCA.  We appreciate Lionel inviting our members to this private sales event on Friday evening November 6.  This is just one more example of a benefit for belonging to the LCCA. 

 

This event is totally different than York.    This is a Free open house event held at the facility they own in Concord NC.   The public is welcome to this event, unlike York.  If people want to join the club and attend the Friday night private event, they can join the LCCA at the door for as little as $25 for a one year Electronic Membership.  We encourage the public  to attend.  If they choose not to attend the Friday's private, pre-event, they are welcome to participate on Saturday and/or Sunday.

 

The public can attend Lionel's 4th Annual Open House and Warehouse Sales Event on Saturday and Sunday (Nov 7 & 8) for FREE!   Again, no shame here.  We are proud  for being part of a free show that is open to the public.  Our club's purpose is to promote and foster an interest in Lionel trains specifically, and other train manufactureres in general.  This is another great opportunity to introduce Lionel trains and our hobby to new people of all ages.  We welcome all people.  We want to encourage new peope to get involved with our great hobby and experience the magic of Lionel trains.  This is a family friendly, interactive, fun, open to the  public, community event.  Typically, the local Charlotte NC  TV stations come to this event and cover it.  We welcome young family with strollers too.  We are proud for this opportunity to walk the talk and execute our club's stated purpose with tangible results.  Thank you Lionel!

 

I am a regular TCA member who attends almost every York.  I am a proud TCA member and appreciate the York meet.  This is not intended to bash York in any way, shape or form.  

 

CW, Are you a member of the LCCA?      I invite you to try the LCCA for a year.  You will be able to find out more of what we are all about and experience the many benefits of belonging to our club.    We have evolved and grown in the past several years.  We are not the same club that we were 10-15 years ago.  Let me know if you have an interest.   I welcome your further discussion.  We both appreciate our hobby and  I hope we can discuss this in a positive and constructive way. 

 

I am proud of Lionel and thankful for the LCCA having a supportive role in this great public,family friendly, fun, community event!  

 

Respectfully,

 

Al Kolis

President, CEO & Proud Member

Lionel Collectors Club of America

248 709-4137

agkolis@comcast.net

 

 

I so agree .. I need parts.. On a side note when I called Lionel the other day she told me there gonna do the classes for techs again after the new year.. I am so going 

I am a member of both the LCCA and TCA, so my earlier comments were in no way reflected at the relationship between Lionel and different clubs.  The LCCA continues to be a very forward-thinking organization worthy of both Lionel's special attention and our support/membership. 

 

But the real thrust of my comments were centered more around the simple fact that  both events are just gonna be two weeks apart this year.  So it's a shame Lionel can't leverage the nominal 13,000-14,000 attendees at York somehow.  Think of my suggestion more or less as brainstorming out loud a bit. 

 

I didn't say Lionel should move the entire warehouse worth of goods to York, and of course there are costs involved for transportation and lodging.  I alluded to those.  So perhaps there's a way to just bring a sampling of product that would be "reasonable and manageable".  Then take orders for the rest, and those customers would ante in a shipping charge for items fulfilled from the NC warehouse.

 

Lionel is clearly free to orchestrate this event any way they desire.  They have done so for three years to date, and they'll likely continue to so as they please.  It obviously has worked well for them, and I'm happy for those folks living within driving distance to Lionel's warehouse.  I'm sure it makes for a great event.  Just that with some folks having driven a good distance to York two weeks earlier, some of those folks may not be up for the ride to NC so soon.  It's 2015, and there should be a way to extend the reach of this event beyond the physical geography of folks who want to drive to North Carolina.  If Lionel is perfectly content with the way the event works to date, then so be it.  Last I checked, brainstorming didn't cost anybody anything though.  So take it for what it's worth.

 

And now for those folks who got their underwear all bunched up over this idea... please feel free to go back and watch a Netflix movie in your living room.  In fact, why not even make it a double-feature tonight!

 

David

Do you think the dealers at York want to compete with Lionel selling their products directly at the same time right next to them?

Scott Smith

Maybe not, Scott.  Good point.  But having an event so close to York may or may not cut into one's budget/planning anyway... for those folks planning to attend both events, that is.

 

I've never attended the warehouse sale... but from the threads posted in the past, it sounded like Lionel typically had great deals on refurbished product from warranty exchanges/returns, seasonal holiday items, and Lionel/NASCAR novelty items.

 

If Lionel is also selling factory new items currently in the dealer marketplace AND at prices competitive with dealers, then I can easily see where the geographic element of requiring buyers to physically attend the event AT THE WAREHOUSE is somewhat of a carrot to appease dealer concerns.  Dealers wouldn't necessarily be excited that Lionel is hosting this type of event.  But limiting the event to onsite attendees then acts as a governor of sorts.

 

David

WHAT--No NETFLIX--??

All I can say is thank goodness for the OGR Forum.  When I got transferred over to the LCCA last year when the LRRC dissolved it's been an interesting ride.  I kept the LRRC membership for the publication and current catalogs as well as email announcements.  I've gotten damaged catalogs that Lionel would be happy to replace for $25.00, the LCCA publication and random emails.  It's nice to get a heads up on the 4th open house with enough lead time to plan a visit.  Sounds good and the LCCA "Early Bird Special" may just fit in with an excuse for family visit now that my brother & I are both retired.  I really don't need any more trains...wait that's crazy talk!  I'm not dead yet.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Richard Snipes

It's not that you needed to point ANY of that out.  I mentioned in my original post there was a non-negligible downside to hauling lots of equipment to York and back, and Lionel would need to evaluate that -- which perhaps they already did a few years ago.  It was just an idea for Lionel to leverage the additional York audience somehow... whether it be refurbished product or a chance for folks to pick up additional parts while at York.  Had the Lionel warehouse sale not been so close in to York, I wouldn't even have mentioned anything.    Get it???

 

If the moderators want to clean up this thread and leave it as more of an announcement topic, that's OK... and it would be their call to do that. 

 

David

And now we're going to dissect every word of posts to prove your point.  Good gosh, man.  You would find fault with how somebody drinks a basic glass of water.  So let's just leave it at that. 

 

Moderators, please delete this entire discussion after Al's original post... so as to maintain the spirit of Al K's announcement.  Sometimes we can't always predict the way threads evolve, and I'm sorry if my idea took this thread in an unanticipated direction.

 

David

This is so typical.  An informative post is created.  Inevitably, someone (often the same few malcontents) post some negative or derogatory comment or tells the forum how something should have been done and then the discussion goes sideways and deviates from the topic.

 

Honestly, is really so hard to not post a comment that does not advance the original post? A select few grand-standers and chronic complainers really contaminate these waters.  

 

As far as the event goes, I attended the last Open House in Ohio and it was a lot of fun.  I drove 9 hours to get there and it was worth it to me.  I hope anyone that wants to go is able to do so.

Hey Rocky Mountaineer way to take the high ground....

 

Moderators, please delete this entire discussion after Al's original post... so as to maintain the spirit of Al K's announcement.  Sometimes we can't always predict the way threads evolve, and I'm sorry if my idea took this thread in an unanticipated direction.

 

It was very big of you to ask the moderator to clean up the mess you made.

Oh and by the way you will see dealers there restocking for the HOLIDAYS after he YORK MEET. 

 

GG1GUYY 

I didn't think my statement was that strong, negative or derogatory.

Since it was taken in a much more serious, negative manner than I had intended, I deleted it.

However it does live on because it was quoted in other people's responses.

CW, there was nothing wrong with my post, your post, nor Eddie's post.  We were just suggesting some possible way for Lionel to leverage the York crowd.  Bad idea? Maybe not the best. 

 

But some folks here take joy in jumping on the bandwagon to disagree, and personality conflicts (that are often the same predictable ones) ensue.  Eddie called it right when he said some folks would pounce.  And right on queue, they did... one even after I apologized if my "suggestion" sent the thread into an errant direction.   As I've said some days, sometimes the only point in common some of us here share is the love of this hobby.  Beyond that, some of us wouldn't even enjoy a beer together after work.  That's the way it is some days.

 

David

"That's the way it is some days."

 

Why not merely modify or delete your posts that give the appearance of finding fault with Lionel's or LCCA's intent or plans for this warehouse sale?  You're prolonging the irrelevant aspects of the thread.  Perhaps you might also refrain from commenting about other posters and how they do not please you?  No one likely needs or wants to read your opinions on other posters and their deficiencies.

 

It is impossible for him to do so.   He is the smartest businessman on OGR. Just ask him.

 

He takes some perverse joy in dissecting every single thing Lionel does, and usually pontificates about how it's not good.    That's why he's on my twit filter.

 

T4TT, you are correct.  It is the same few people who always take innocent, informative threads and turn them sideways to satisfy some self-aggrandizing agenda.  Mommy and daddy probably didn't love them enough, or they have low self-esteem, so they become keyboard warriors on the internet.  [sarcasm]They know all  [/sarcasm]

Uhhh... right.  Like my recent comments about how great a job Lionel did on the B6 locomotive... so much so that I bought two of them?   But oh yeah, you must have missed those posts, since you're such a big user of the "twit filter", as you call it.   Funny though, because you always seem to comment on posts of people you claim to block, whenever it suits your cause of playing forum policeman.

 

Nothing more really needs to be said...  Aside from the fact that the moderators must have been on vacation yesterday.  They're usually on top of quickly deteriorating threads like this within minutes.

 

Once again, Al.  Sorry things ran amuk here.  Who could have known?   

 

David

 

 

"Sorry things ran amuk here."

 

You have the ability to remove or edit your posts, instead of complaining about others or generally wringing your hands about what an awful place the world is. To his credit, that's what CW did. You also might want to listen to the feedback and consider what degree of merit it has.

I been to two of the Lionel open house / warehouse sales, the first one in NC and one in Ohio. They were great with a lot of good deals, especially the first one in NC. It gives Lionel a chance to clear out the dust collectors and improve the cash flow exactly what retailers want to do.

 

   Bill T.

I will have my eyes on legacy ," CANADIAN"  Something if available.

Thanks for posting Al.  I'm probably not going to be able to make it but hopefully they'll do some on-line parts deals.

Well this thread had developed into an amusing argument!

 

 

 

 

I am also a member of the TCA and LCCA.  I happen to live about 1 hour away from Concord.  So, I love the Lionel/LCCA warehouse sale.

 

To your point about extending "the reach of this event beyond the physical geography of folks who want to drive to North Carolina," I would counter with how about extending the reach of York beyond the physical geography of folks who want to drive to the York Fairgrounds.

 

I lived in PA for many years.  I could and did attend the York show as a day trip and avoided the inflated hotel bills.  Since moving to NC, I have been to York once. 

 

The Lionel warehouse sale and York are significantly different events.  Why not buy one less engine at York and use that money to come to Concord?

I was looking through some old electronic material related to the annual parts sale that Lionel had for a few years running.

I think the last one was in August 2013, and was a 50% discount for one day only.

It was part of a "Customer Service Open House".

(If there was a 2014 sale, I missed it)

It appears the parts sale is back!

From Lionel's Facebook page:

"To celebrate the annual Warehouse Sale, Lionel Customer Service is offering 50% off parts orders from lionelsupport.com beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday, November 6, 2015 until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, November 8, 2015. Mark your calendars!"

I just missed it last time so I will be marking my calendar for this one!

-Tom

Great news on the parts sale. I am going to mark my calendar, and put together a list of stuff to puchase.

This sounds like a fantastic event and I hope to make it this year or in the very near future.  Thanks Al and LCCA.