What's Up With Lionel's Shipping Schedule in 2015?

Ten wheelers missing from the delivery schedule

a)they have shipped

b)they haven't shipped

c) they were canceled

d) there is a page missing from the delivery schedule

d) all of the above

e) none of the above

f) there are 2 ds listed

rat

It used to say shipped, when items were shipped. I don't understand why they changed it, seemed like a rather logical way to do it.

"Ten wheelers missing from the delivery schedule"

Those never made it onto the shipping schedule. Ro's shipping guesstimate is 6/2015 for what thats worth....probably not much.

If an item was canceled, leave it on the list for a while as canceled.

Few months ago there was much confusion with some items marked discontinued but yet they were in fact made.

I think even Charlie Ro has gotten tired of updating dates that continually slip.    I've been waiting for the CSX Heritage Boxcar 6-27092 for over 3 years now.  It's a simple car.  For most of 2014, Charlie's website indicated an ETA of 12/31/2014.  Well now that 2014 has come and gone, they finally decided to just list the product as "ON ORDER".    Can't blame them one bit.

David

David, I had noted after it was posted that the GP30s were off the list. Charlie and others have 10 March expected delivery. 

Several items I have on order are listed for "Nov 14." No one has seen them yet. I agree that their shipping schedule is now next to worthless.

...Well now that 2014 has come and gone, they finally decided to just list the product as "ON ORDER".    Can't blame them one bit.

 

...

O gosh, I stand corrected!!!  That's what it said when I checked last week.  Now it indicates March 10, 2015.    YIKES!!!  Makes me wonder if we'll EVER see this little gem.  I've got a bunch on order to make a long CSX unit train.  I really like that CSX intermodal logo, and these boxcars will make a great addition to the long train of CSX Gunderson's (from MTH) with the same logo that I purchased last year.

Patience is indeed a virtue.  I just wonder when Lionel actually knew the boxcar wasn't gonna make 12/31/2014?  And how confident are they that 3/10/2015 is really gonna happen?    I ain't holding my breathe too long. 

David

I have never found the GP30s on the shipping schedule.  If they are not going to make them, just tell us.

Ron

Its only hurting Lionel. Had to refrain from purchasing some items that were BTO, they were scheduled to come in all at the same time. Now they have been delayed and what I cannot afford I may be able to afford....

I'm not in a hurry to get my trains, just need to space purchasing them out a bit.

Lionel should just save themselves money, and just not bother with posting a shipping schedule.

We can rely on Nassau Hobby to let us know when it ships.

I agree with J Daddy on this. If you tell me everything I want to buy is being delivered this afternoon at 2 pm I can't buy it. But for some reason you issue a reliable schedule I can accurately forecast a train budget for 6-12 months going forward ...wow I could probably buy what I wanted.

This also holds true for MTH. They originally listed the 4014 Big Boy as being delivered 2/15. Well with Christmas cc's and another 1k in train deliveries this month I was going to have to pass.

But wait!!! This can't be reliable, so I emailed an unnamed and unreliable source who said no chance of a 2/15 delivery. That Big Boy is showing up 12/15. Good , put me down for 1 !! Only 11 1/2 months to go!!

rat

Hmmm... I think its safe to say their shipping schedule is about as reliable as their smoke units

.... or should I say too bad their smoke units don't "blow as much smoke" as the shipping schedule does 

I think Vince makes a very good point. I don't bother with the shipping schedule. Our friend Charlie Nassau does an excellent job in updating us on expected arrivals. That is better than any shipping schedule.

Lionel's shipping schedule is pretty much useless anymore.  I have items that still say Nov and Dec. 2014.

Me too....

Nobody here can help that David!

If you're that concerned just contact our friends at the big L! 

Very true, the problem is......in this case.......they don't even know

At York this spring, I will respectfully mention to a few of the Lionel reps that they need to: (1) get a better grip on the shipping schedule; (2) be transparent about what they know; and (3) be diligent about updating the shipping schedule and producing it in a more user-friendly form. 

They must want to fix this.  It cannot make sense for the firm to irritate its best customers. 

Oh sure they do! They just like doing stuff like this to cause forum hysteria! 

You are correct, Rick.  I had a momentary lapse in judgement earlier today, and thought somebody at Lionel might want to make a customer-facing document more accurate this year before the new catalog is published.   I'll take it up with a few Lionel reps at York (again), but I think we just may be hoping for too much.  After awhile, the fog begins to lift, and we realize that the importers really don't know when individual products are gonna ship anymore until China tells them.  I'm sure it's gotta be frustrating for the importers Stateside as well to operate this way.

When it takes 3 years to deliver a simple box car, maybe it's time to just produce a few brochures each year instead of a phonebook-sized catalog with too many products to mange.  Wait a minute... Do people even use phone books anymore???   Well... You get the idea.  Just catalog less... Produce products accurately... And deliver them in a timely fashion.  What's so hard about that, right?    

David 

I'm confused.  My Lionel N5B cabin car is listed as having shipped in November 2014.  Trainworld tells me it is on backorder. 

Can someone 'splain this to me? 

George

Why rant here?  What do you propose the OGR Forumites do?  Why not email Lionel directly?  

Slow boat from China! How ironic.

You guys really popped my bubble; I could just see the Pocahontas set on the tracks before Easter. Yeah... Easter what year?????

Glad I just try to remain ignorant of the schedule but I did get excited when someone said February.

There are always a few mystery items on the shipping list that have not appeared in any catalogs, maybe the folks at Lionel through in a few ringers to see if anyone even looks at the shipping schedule.

6-82068 NS Coal Dump Car  Jan, 15   
6-82072 Philadelphia Quartz 2-Bay Hopper #755  Jan, 15   
6-82073 CN Ore Car #82073  Jan, 15   
6-82074 SP Single-Dome Tank Car  Jan, 15   
6-82410 Virginian 2-Bay Hopper #13168  Jan, 15
6-81106 10th Anniversary Polar Express Transformer Set  Jan, 15

I'm not ranting.  I simply want to understand what's going on.  It would be nice if Lionel's (or any other manufacturer's published) shipping schedule reflected reality.  If the item is late, I can accept that.  I won't be happy, but at least I'll know.  I just want to know the straight story.

George

6-82073 CN Ore Car #82073  Jan, 15   

That is something I would like to see. I bet it is in the 2015 Ready-To-Run Catalog.

Andrew

why don't we just send this whole post to Lionel, or do they read this forum at all?

Wow! Can we be more negative on this forum? Last week a thread complaining about UPS, now complaining about Lionels shipping schedule. Just play with your trains and when the new trains arrive, we will have them.

A dead heat on a merry go round

They might only have 2 or 3 people to work the computers for the entire company. The Lionel Website only gets updated once or twice a month. They must have a small staff.

Andrew

wow!

In Sep. of 2014, I placed an order for a Lionel LIRR Cabin Car Road #2.

It was, SUPPOSED, to be in this last Dec. 2014,.
I called the LHS and I was told that in a few weeks the items will be shipped.

Then again, who really knows when?!!

Ralph

With all due respects GBW, you have a broad definition of negativism.  Quite to the contrary, I think we present a pretty balance picture of things here on the forum.  And when we do bring something to the front burner for some attention, it's often done in a way to help improve quality and professionalism.

Perhaps I'm old-school in my thinking, but a customer-facing document should be treated with the highest priority in terms of quality and accuracy.  Otherwise, it shouldn't be produced at all.

If that's being negative, then so be it.    I see it as bringing an issue to the forefront to make things better in the long run.  And as for "when the new trains arrive, we will have them", I agree.  It's just that after 3 years, some of the waiting gets old... and it becomes increasingly clear that the importers are no longer in control of what gets produced when.  It's very likely the nightmare that the brilliant minds who engineered moving production overseas nearly two decades ago never envisioned would happen.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, we have one forum sponsor who often posts a list of what Lionel is shipping to his dealership.  And another sponsor often posts MTH's release of what they plan to ship to dealers on a semi-monthly basis.  If those become the defacto lists that reflect the most accuracy, then Lionel can pull the shipping schedule if it continues in its current form.  But the big benefit behind an accurately maintained shipping schedule is that it has the potential to help folks PLAN and budget their spending 6 or 12 months out.  That's the piece that's missing if we simply rely on a monthly letter that lists the products shipping each month.  By then, it's too late to plan. 

I have no doubt that some folks spent between $5K-$10K in November/December 2014 among purchases like Big Boys, Cab Forwards, Berkshires and passenger trains.  And that's fine if they have the means to pull that off.  But it's also a ton of product compressed into a 6-week time period -- which admittedly is a whole other issue altogether.

David

Well put, David.

Nobody is asking for blood or a pound of flesh, just a clearer picture of what's taking place.

George

“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.”

Herman Melville

Hi Rocky (Dave),

After months of not looking at the shipping schedule, I did take a peak at it a week or so ago and was also surprised that it was not being maintained in the same fashion.  Perhaps, they assigned it to different people and each has their own way of maintaining it.  The only reason why I looked was to see when the 10 wheelers were going to ship, and found, like others, it was not on the list.  Basically, this list is a waste of time. THey would be better servered to 1) make sure everything is on the list, 2) if an item is canceled, note that and 3) keep the dates "TBD" or "to be determined" until they have some clairity on when an item is far enough along that a date becomes a reasonable expectation (say it should not change more than a few months). 

Hi George,

My comment was directed to the OP, not to you.  Sorry for any confusion.

Originally Posted by T4TT:

Why rant here?  What do you propose the OGR Forumites do?  Why not email Lionel directly?  

I'm not ranting.  I simply want to understand what's going on.  It would be nice if Lionel's (or any other manufacturer's published) shipping schedule reflected reality.  If the item is late, I can accept that.  I won't be happy, but at least I'll know.  I just want to know the straight story.

 

George

Figured that was the case... which is why I didn't respond back, since this isn't "ranting".   

I'm sure more than a few of us have already taken up the topic with Lionel reps at York, and will do so again.  But a broader number of Lionel folks also keep in touch on the forums here, so they should know by now from our comments that the shipping schedule is riddled with all kinds of inconsistencies.

Enough said... you either want to see the thing improved to better help consumers plan their purchases, or you're content with the status quo -- which in this case is mediocre on a good day.  Take your pick.

David