New Lionel Catalog MSRP Prices

Everything I wanted in the new catalog was discounted that much at Patrick's.  Legacy ten-wheeler, S-2, LC+ Camelback, Up water tender, etc.   All 30% off list.  

Life is good!

It's been quite a while, but I recall similar percentage discounts quite a while back on what were at the time high ticket items.  (there were of course far fewer choices back then)

The GE and SP Dash-9 (18226 and 18228) and the Soo SD-50 (I'm pretty sure it was a 50) (18232) were on the order of $600-$700 MSRP back around 1996 or 1997.

I seem to remember getting the GE and Soo for around $425 to $450, which is a higher percentage discount than what is described above.

-Dave

Nassau Hobby is listing the GP30 and S2's for 454.00., also an excellent price!

Bachmann has increased it's prices in the UK by 20% thise year due to cost increases in China. 

I do no think anyone at Lionel is getting a big raise over this as they must be well aware that sales will suffer with these new price schemes.

Fred

Yeah, but try and sell that gem today --especially here on the OGR Forum -- and see what price it'll fetch without giving it away after multiple price reductions.  

That's really the trouble I have with importers pushing the price envelope for new products.  Look... most folks here are big boys or big girls, and they can spend their hard-earned dollars however they darn well please.  But why trip over yourselves obtaining some of the overpriced new stuff when you'll never even come close to those prices on the selling block?    It's like throwing money away, while the importers laugh all the way to the bank.

David

Well I do not buy my trains as an investment, I buy them to run them. granted at this moment I could sell some of my stuff for more than I paid for it I have no plans on doing that. I am a big boy and I see that the prices on stuff is skyrocketing and I am less inclined to buy new stuff. I know that when I see the MSRP that is not the actual selling price but I also know that the selling price and the MSRP are linked by a ratio of profit margin and if the MSRP goes up the wholesale price goes up and the actual street price of items goes up.

That wasn't my point. In 1990 these engines were flying off the shelves even at a price that would be considered very high even at today standards. 

I don't know anyone who buys new trains today expecting them to go up in value. If there are I hope they don't make their living as an investment advisor. Pity their clients.

Pete

>>>That wasn't my point. In 1990 these engines were flying off the shelves even at a price that would be considered very high even at today standards. 

I don't know anyone who buys new trains today expecting them to go up in value. If there are I hope they don't make their living as an investment advisor. Pity their clients.<<

And my point wasn't about investments either, but rather the simple fact that people tend to fork over big $$$ just because something is the latest and greatest.  Yet less than a year later they may decide to sell a sealed NIB item for whatever reason, and buyers expect the seller to give it away.  There are always exceptions to this, like the Lionel die-cast ES44's for example.  Of course there's also no rational explanation why those gems command what they do now either.  But there are ALWAYS one or two items that generate market mayhem for a couple of years,  and those happen to be one of them right now.

Back to the grossly inflated MSRP's though...  Wasn't it interesting to watch dealers compete for orders on price -- even within hours of the products being unveiled?  

The earliest street-prices advertised for the grossly overpriced GP30's and S-2's were in the $468-$472 range.  Then somebody announced $454, causing one of the other dealers to lower their price to $448.  Others have left their price up around $470-ish.

Now in the former business model, I can better understand some dealers holding firm on their advertised prices.  But now that we're in BTO territory, holding out for a higher price could mean losing pre-orders to lower-priced dealers who are hoping to snag buyers shopping for the cheapest price.  After all, since it's a BTO item, buyers shouldn't be worried about even a smaller dealer having their order shorted by Lionel.

Interesting times for sure...

David

That was rather amazing.  Looked like a feeding frenzy.

Rusty

The same feeding frenzy occurred with the Vision Line Big Boys. I know for a fact some of those guys arent making anything on those big boy sales. I work at a local hobby store and I am telling you now that the stock of Lionel Locomotives will not get any from the last 2 catalogs.

Not 100% certain, but I think my LHS is doing the same as yours on the orders for stock.