Priced Out Of New Purchases

Don't forget that you can still buy a whole bunch of older MPC rolling stock  (1970s and 80s) for $30 or so per car on-line as well as at train shows. Often in Mint condition, too.

Try Joe Grzyboski Trains for this.

Now I know what gas to put in my car and what makes a honey bee fly..What about the best detergent to get out those stubborn stains? Or the least expensive sauerkraut in a can? Yes, I know.. go play with your trains kid... 

I remember well the disappointment that my parents never could afford to buy me a set of trains as a kid. I made up for it over time, but somehow that sad sensation of wanting but knowing it was beyond reach remains with me. I sympathize.  I also know that everyone finds a way to do something they enjoy if they put their mind to it.  If you like O27 there's plenty of inexpensive used or RMD, or Williams.  If you like scale, there's always scratchbuilding. Where there is a will, there's a way.  For me as a kid, it was ultimately HO Ambroid wooden kits.  But I can still remember the yearning for toy trains as a child half a century plus later.

electroliner, I Apologize, I did not expect or intend for my reply to lead to the hijack of your thread that insued.

 

 I Apologize and Wish You and your Loved ones a Happy, Healthy and Wealthy New Year,

 

Doug

Page 13 of this months OGR

No apologies required or solicited..it just got a bit odd.

quote:

No apologies required or solicited..it just got a bit odd.

 

Do you really think so?

I've been participating on this board for a long time, and I don't find it unusual for a thread to meander way off topic. Sometimes the threads eventually go back on topic, sometimes not.

 

ON TOPIC:  I don't have any interest in seventy dollar plain flatcars. If the price is driven by extra details, I guess they just don't mean that much to me. If I wanted more plain flatcars, I'd look for used postwar ones. Even at retail, they are less than twenty dollars each. However, I did order a Lionel reproduction 3413 mercury rocket launcher. Considering that I had to join the Lionel Railroader Club to get it, the car cost eighty dollars. I had an original years ago, but out it went in a thinning cycle. I want one to use.

 

Isn't nice that we have so many options!

Then you are all set! Go buy some trains!

 

Priced out of certain offerings is a way of life, there will always be something out of reach regardless of its commodity or non-commodity type, except for the upper 2% of society.

 

I would love to buy a Lionel Vision Big Boy, but unless my income goes up a lot more than the piddly raises most firms give, it aint gonna happen.

I would love to buy Premier instead of Railking...it goes on and on.

But you know what? 

The hobby does not lose its luster because of that, however...I am actually more happy with my Rail King Imperial purchases than Premier as I spent less and got a very comparable product.

I always buy Williams passenger cars instead of any other, as I am not about to pay more than $35-$50 for any car, regardless of my income.

 

When the day comes that a starter set is out of reach for the average household income, then I would worry.

 

As a baby boomer, with the threat of my future Social Security being adversely affected, I do have to try and save more money and spend less, as without any other type of retirement, I would be doomed.

 

In the meantime, we all know the prices of everything is going up, and what you cite, I fear, will be a ever growing trend for most items.

14) Use coupons for grocery shopping, as some kid in england bought 1K of grocerys for $16 !!!

 

Good luck with doing this! Easier Said than done! I still have yet to figure it out as many stores in my area do not double or if they do, limit you to 4 offers per trip!

 

The Best I am doing is using my Giant[PA] Gas rewards points and getting 30 gal of free gas each month. NO longer needing Costco, BJ's and/or Sam's club where I have to pay to shop!

 

17) Change your own motor oil.

Try to get rid of it around here...

 

and no longer cost effective as an Oil and filter costs as much as $20.00+ which is the same as getting your oil changed as well as ... "Try to get rid of it around here..."

No. 

 

But then I buy very, very, very few new items and feel absolutely no compulsion or obligation to be looking to see what new items are being offered.

 

And, when I do buy anything, and these days that item has to meet a lot of specifics related to appropriate prototype and era, I tend to also be selling off 5-10 items out of my inventory off the shelf that I have not even looked at for years, are no longer within my modeling interests, and as such no longer feel compelled to retain. 

I got into the habit of selling off items I know I will not use or like anymore.  This finances some of my purchases. I limit the type of rolling stock I buy now, just because it is new does not mean I need it. There are always things in life that are out of my price range, life goes on.  I learned a long time ago from Mick Jagger, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT. 

I have become very selective in what I buy new. I used to buy 3 or 4 new engines every year about 5 years ago. After watching the prices consistently creep up in each new catalog I just stopped buying. Stopping wasn't as hard as I thought due to the fact that when I would buy all those engines,1 or 2 out of the 4 would have to go back to the manufacturer for repair(MTH, Lionel). Disgusted with lack of quality control has greatly slowed my buying, not my income. I do tend to agree that it is becoming more and more hard to afford new anyways. I do a lot on ebay now. At least Ebay has buyer protection which will allow you to get your money back if the engine has issues. I have had to go this route and have been successful with getting my money back. No 8-10 week wait like you would have with the train companies. Just my 2 cents

I don't know if I would say "priced out". I see really high retail prices for some offerings like the locomotives and such. But keep in mind the "bells and whistles" for the electronics is costly. R&D costs money and the companies have to recoup their investment to manufacture more "stuff"and market.

 

There are a lot of factors at play today. Video games, MP players, play stations etc grab a lot of the kids attention and adults too!!

 

The kids today and myself included I like the attention to detail on the locomotives and rolling stock. As far as the "Legacy"( I use that term generically) I ffind I don't need it BUT when I was able to get my hands on one I was impressed and really like it.

 

I also like the new idea of the "Lion..something" from Lionel I think that has great potential now you can run 2 or 3 trains on the same track line!! How cool is that.

 

I have some post war stuff from my Dad's collection. I like it for sentimental reasons and my 10 year old likes it because it is his grandfather's but beyond that I wouldn't see my self pursuing picking up those items.

 

With e-bay and the likes "out there" stuff does come up that is affordable and I think the manufacturers are aware of price ranges at which  "product" will move.

 

The major manufacturers are well aware that not all of us can blow a lot of money whether we want to or not and I think they are trying to please all of us at the various levels. Sets sell and have the best chance to bring more folks into the hobby thus the major effort obviously goes there. Then there are the rest of us.

 

I hope this thread continues. With this hobby the manufacturers as well as we the customer/consumer have vested interest in each other and they know it. Many are in the hobby themselves and it's the "Passion and love" of it that will win out eventually.

 

My Father was an Engineer and part of his training taught him that once you can recognize what a problem is an answer can be found.

 

 

 Although, I think Mike Wolf has done a better job over at MTH than LIonel, here is why:

 

Lionchief remote is for that engine only.

DCS remote commander is for ANY PS2 engine and the remote retails for about $40-$50.

 

Not starting a us vs. them war but in my opinion, the remote commander is a far better remote for its use overall. A very good job on MTH's part to market a simple, small remote that works with every PS2 engine. The remote is like DCS on a diet!

 

Just my 2 cents and I am big fan of TMCC and Legacy but do own the remote commander and gives me the simple operation of DCS that I want.

 

This is why the majority of my buying is used or previously enjoyed. Often I will buy a used 3 rail Atlas car that has never been out of the box for less then half of retail or less. Every now and then I will spring for a a new car or engine.

I found the best way to save money is to only consider purchasing engines with the road names I want, in my case Erie and NYO&W this limits the number of available items I can consider. Williams is also out of the mix because they don't offer TMCC or DCS it's their loss, they had their chance (at least for TMCC!).

When the new cataloges come out, I sit around a table of O gauge club members and while we may like some of the items, one look at the prices and everyone says they won't be buying any of it.   If you want better pricing, you go to a swap meet or other second hand alternatives.

I rarely can afford to buy trains new. Most of the trains I have were bought used at train shows, from eBay and from OGR Forum members.

 

Railking is my brand of choice because of its lesser cost.

 

If there is a locomotive I must have, I wait until a used one pops-up for sale at an affordable price.

 

 

 

You people who think you're saving money by purchacing Williams should know that the $69.95 flatcar on page 13 of the Feb/Mar issue of OGR was a Williams and not an Atlas.

This flatcar does not even look scale it just looks like an overpriced toy traincar.

Priced out of new purchases?  Yes, and no.
Atlas freight cars have gone over my price limit, but some standard gauge items have not.

Many of the MTH/LCT items can be found in the secondary market for considerable discount.  The issue with not buying new is that they are made in such small numbers that some stuff is near impossible to find used.

Priced out?  No.

 

Not interested?  Yes.

 

Pete

 

 

Priced out?  No

 

Room on my layout?  No.

 

Martin

 

I agree that Williams rolling stock is way overpriced.

 

The value in the Williams brand is the deep discounts on the locomotives, both steam and diesel. 

How about the incoming rerun of TT flats at 104.99 3R/109.99 2R, this is basically a diecast car.

Plus, the new WBB 2-bay hopper and single dome tank car as shown of the back of the February 2014 Classic Toy Trains MSRP at $64.95 and $59.95 respectively.

 

Rusty

The MSRP of Atlas O Trainman freight cars is less than the MSRP of Williams by Bachmann O gauge freight cars.

 

It might be possible to get a larger discount on Williams by Bachmann O gauge freight cars at a high volume on-line train store.

 

Andrew

Page 13 of the February/March OGR shows a Williams by Bachmann traditional O Gauge flat car with decorated crates. The flat car is a reproduction of the 1940's-1950's Lionel Post-War Flat Car design. The crates appear to be what was used for the former K-Line Gondola with operating figures.

 

These have been in production for several years. Hopefully the new price is a reflection of Research & Development costs for upcoming O Scale items.

 

Andrew

Ok, but how often do you see Williams trains at full MSRP for sale? You can get cheap Williams trains from numerous places. Ignore the MSRP price. You rarely see that for other brands.

Rob

Exactly! Williams/Bachmann in most scale is very inexpensive.

purchased my 1st Williams engine last month. I couldn't be happier. The best $150 I have spent in a long time on trains. (Don't tell my wife I spent $150!)

Well, if you find trains and classic cars too expensive, you could attend a Sotheby's

auction and bid on a Van Gogh, Rembrandt, or other Old Master.  I once saw a painting auctioned  I thought would look great on my living room wall.  It was a snow scene from the top of a mountain of a farm down in the valley (it was painted in New England but looked like it could have been a painting of a ranch in the Rockies)  I followed that auction; it went for well into 5 figures.  (how many new cars could I buy for that?... a few) Hmmm....luckily, as recommended above, I stick to a few regional road names for which little is made, so I don't have to spend much on new items, and am a contrarian in that I don't think the biggest is the best, nor have to jump on the

latest electronic jimcrack.