MTH NYC 4-4-0 new ship date

[wrmcclellan]

Well.

MTH's shipping schedule is finally working again on their web site. I did a check of when the NYC 4-4-0 (20-3154-1) I ordered via my local train shop is going to ship (was originally scheduled for June of this year). The date is now January 2006.

I am not sure of what causes things to slip so badly (cash, manf problems or quality) and I highly respect what folks like MTH go through to get a quality product out the door.

However, the problem this causes for me is the old game of "cash flow". When I plan to buy something mid-year and it does not show up, the cash went elsewhere and not always for a toy train. And when a manufacturer delays a product to later in the year (e.g. Christmas), guess what! - I cannot buy something else that manufacturer or others released for the Christmas season(i.e. from a later catalog).

The end effect of late releases is the manufacturer loses future sales from me due to my commitment to an earlier late product offering. If the delay is significant, it prevents me from making any commitments as I do not wi***o have 5 late items show up all at once (that happened to me back around 2000 or so - wow - huge financial outlay). And guess what - it all showed up at Christmas - not the best time to have a financial pinch.

I could cancel my order, but leaves my train shop friends out to dry and I try to stand by commitments I make (especially important in these times of slower sales for the hobby shops).

As I related above, back around 2000 or so, this problem got so bad by all manufacturers that I quit preordering anything for several years. I have many friends who did the same thing. Who did this hurt? The train manufacturers and the hobby shops. I hope I am not headed towards a repeat of no more pre-ordering. This hurts the entire hobby.

Regards,
Roy

[Odd-d]

Oh, come on, Roy. If you have the money simply it aside for when your model does come in. Odd-d

[Anonymous]

I share your feelings, Roy. In O gauge, at least, it has gotten to the point where I never get my hopes up that an item will actually be produced, and I never place a preorder. If the item I might want does eventually materialize, I just make a buying determination based on what resources I have available at the time. If I can afford it without making a sacrifice elsewhere, then I'll go ahead and buy it. If that's not the case, then I simply do without and/or wait for the item to be available again at some point in the future. It has been my experience that just about EVERYTHING in this segment of the hobby is available--and usually at a better price--if one is just willing to exercise some patience and conduct a diligent search.

[csxt30]

Roy: I think I know exactly what you mean. I often thought about trying to order an engine for at income tax time when I have the money, but was always afaid I couldn't hang onto it if it didn't come at that exact time. I did order a caboose that is due in around November. It's less than 60 dollars & I seem to be hanging onto that ok, for now ! I hope it comes early. Thanks, John

[spankybird]

Roy, I seem to remember reading (either other forum or new letter) that MTH was redesigning part of the casting and that is why the delay. Just trying to get it right I guess.

[Anonymous]

i remember when i preordered the railking general. there were the usual delays until it came in around christmas. of course that put a big dent in that christmas because this expense came on top of all the rest.

two years later, they couldn't be given away at half price. now due to design flaws, they are virtually worthless.

i've learned my lesson; i don't buy any of that stuff anymore. what i have will last me for the duration. i only buy used two rail now.

i have voted with my checkbook; let those manufacturers conduct their business any way they see fit.

-rrick

[dougdagrump]

I saw a posting on another forum that they cancelled quite a few items from, I believe, the 2005 catalog.

[brianel027]

Yes Roy I understand. On the other side of pre-ordering is the "trust" issue... that the namufacturer in the catalog has accurately stated the items features and accurately illustrated it. Although all the manufacturers state in their catalogs a disclaimer in this area, it is very frustrating to receive a train item that is so dramatically different from what was originally stated.

MTH in particular has made a lot of horrific mistakes on their Railking and Rugged Rails items over the years as far as the dimensions of the item go. This is a very ciritical area for me, as I want nothing I consider too large and want absolutely nothing that is full scale. This is just an imperative issue for me, and MTH gets it wrong an awful lot. For that reason I found I could not trust the information in the MTH catalogs to be accurate. Many times just looking at the info, common sense tells you the engine's height is more than 2-5/8 inches, so this is obviously a mistake. Therefore what is the real height. Or when the same model loco is listed in different places in the same catalog with differing dimensions.

On another note, I notice MTH has cancelled all but one of the Rugged Rails SD90MAC horn only diesels. The Norfolk Southern had no cancellation, but given they canned all the others I don't see it likely the NS will get made. Of course this is the only item in the entire MTH line of catalogs that interested me. I feel the $180 price is too high given that it is a $30 increase from 2 years ago, and that loco had all the extra electronics. Therefore these locos should have very easily been $30-50 less in price, more like $130-150 list.

And I would never pre-order an MTH loco without actually seeing it first. Same goes for Lionel these days since they also have a problem figuring out whether their budget engines will have one or two DC can motors. Engines that have one get listed as having dual. Engines listed as having dual motors end up with one.

And the companies don't understand why people don't preorder? I do, and the blame falls in their own court.

[winrose46]

I agree. I rarely pre-order. I did pre order the MTH Great Northern S2 and I have been extremely pleased; however, usually I wait to see what it looks like before I buy. They have been posting any changes to the catelogue descriptions on their web site and in the MTH news letter between the production and preproduction models so I think the complaints have been heard. The quality of the product has really made significant progress as demonstrated in the reefers from atlas, kline and lionel with each trying to outdo the other. I really liked the atlas caboose detail and the 2-8-0 MTH Premier steamer I saw at York Also I have an agreement with the three stores I frequent that if I do not like the product I will do not have to buy it even if it is prepaid.

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with other people preordering, and in this day of particularly finnicky toy train consumers, I don't fault the manufacturers for waiting for the orders to come in before they decide whether or not to make a product. As bizzare as the ty train market is these days, I don't know what other route the manufacturers might follow in making reasonable decisions about what items should actually be produced. And, it does make some sense to hold the increasingly demanding "I want it" consumer responsible for following through with his whining and pleading by committing, in some way at least, to his dealer..

But I've reached the point in my own hobby where I already have more than enough trains, so really don't feel the need, or urge, to preorder anything and then wait for however long to actually receive the product (sometimes well over a year or more). Although some folks may be able to stash a healthy amount of cash under their mattress waiting for an item to arrive, I don't have that luxury. Money that I may have available now for an entirely discretionary train purchase will likely not be available a month from now when other real-life situations and needs intervene.

So, while I feel for the manufacturers in terms of the problems they face today, I'm afraid that I just can't participate in the preorder game. I simply take my chances and wait until an item actually appears. If it's available then--and it usually is--I may buy it if I have the resources at the time to do so. If it's an out-of-the-gate sellout and not available. . . well, I just do without. Funny how life goes on in any case!