RMT and Aristo-Craft link up

[gunrunnerjohn]

I believe that RMT will be doing mostly direct marketing nowadays, not dealing with distributors or dealers.

[Curmudgeon]

And now, with Aristo going away, one wonders, aloud, if the entire RMT production will go back to Walter....take a bit of advertising...re-connecting with dealers.....doing something about pricing without the middlemen to feed.

Going to be interesting to watch over the next 88 days or so.

TOC

[trestrainfan]

 I've had a set of Peeps on order for a few years. I didn't look up the order, but I think it was $89.99 for a set of 3 (coach, baggage, and observation) cars. Looking at the web site, they now sell 2 car sets  (coach and baggage, or coach and observation) for $159.95.

 I wonder if they are going to honor the preorders, or if they are going to cancel them and say we can buy under the new arrangement if we want them?

 3 cars at $90 at the old price is $30 a car. 4 cars at $320 at the new price is $80 a car. That is almost 3 times the price. I won't be buying them at the new price.

[Andrew Falconer]

It looks like R-M-T has had to tightly focus on certain roadnames and paint schemes.

What I would get factory painted is a pair of Soo Line BEEPs numbered in the empty slots for the Soo Line GP7s or GP9s.

Andrew

[DMUinCT]

anjdevil2

And you can stick my name on that list as well.

It is and was a great valuce at $80, and you could find them for less on the 'bay and other places.

I have 2 and planned on buying more, but I'd just assume buying more Lionel/Williams/Atlas than Beeps.  And that's too bad, I really love the 2 I own.

In the statement, is seems that RMT & AC is being produced in the same house, as stated before, maybe with AC clout, the price may go down and product will arrive - but I'll wait on that before I make a move on the RMT stuff.

  The good news:  As a Lionel Collector, but also a G Gauge operator I am impressed with Aristo-Craft quality.  Seven of my "G" locomotives are Aristo-Craft and are very strong and dependable runners, beautifully detailed and even guaranteed for 5 years.

  The bad news:   Sanda Kan, now owned by Bachmann, not only builds Aristo-Craft and RMT but also Lionel and K-Line and others.   Shipping?   Price?

 

[anjdevil2]

And you can stick my name on that list as well.

It is and was a great valuce at $80, and you could find them for less on the 'bay and other places.

I have 2 and planned on buying more, but I'd just assume buying more Lionel/Williams/Atlas than Beeps.  And that's too bad, I really love the 2 I own.

In the statement, is seems that RMT & AC is being produced in the same house, as stated before, maybe with AC clout, the price may go down and product will arrive - but I'll wait on that before I make a move on the RMT stuff.

[challenger3980]

Buckeye Riveter

brianel027

There's been many a comment made that it was worth $60 but it is worth NOT $100.

Count me in on one of those making that comment. 

 

Add another name to that list, $70, I could accept, $100, I've bought my last new Beep.

If the price increase on the Beep wasn't bad enough, take a look at the as yet unproduced Beefs, they were, IIRC, originally $79.99 each unit, which quickly became $89.99, which looking at the pics and info on their website, was still reasonable. That changed to $189.99 for a PWD/DMY A-A set, which has now gone up to $299.99 MSRP, No Thank You Walt.

 I really like the Beeps I have, and if the rest of their products are of the same quality, I would have been interested in many more of their products, but their prices just are way too high now for what they are. Another is example is their Caboose, that is NOT a $50 Caboose IMHO. If their prices continue as they are, it wont matter if they ever produce/ship anything, they are pricing themselves out of business.

Doug

[Andrew Falconer]

I was told that mass production is supposed to drive down costs while increasing product avalibility.  

 

Now it looks like regionalized rapid prototype machines for various materials in one location might be just as cost effective as overseas mass production.

 

Andrew

[Buckeye Riveter]

brianel027

There's been many a comment made that it was worth $60 but it is worth NOT $100.

Count me in on one of those making that comment. 

[brianel027]

Well, that's news. I had already noticed the pretty hefty price increases on all RMT products across the board, whether they've been made or not. This would seem to indicate some truth in the rumors to some more hefty prices increases from Lionel also. As mentioned here elsewhere, the LCCA will discontinue offering the postwar replicas as they have now gotten too expensive for the club to justify. And the prior announced price increase for the BEEP has already caused some to lose interest. There's been many a comment made that it was worth $60 but it is worth NOT $100.

The BANG S-4 switcher increase shocked me, but I see it will now come with horn and bell sounds. But as I own and have worked on many a K-Line S-2, I'm wondering how they'll fit in the sound board and speaker with having to remove the essential weights inside the cab? I usually add a little more weight in addition to what was included.

Walter is a darn nice guy and an asset on the business-end of the hobby. But no question his company has suffered some from the lengthy product delays. The PEEP has got to be almost 5 years behind release. The BANG is going on 3 years behind. It's a tough sell to get folks to pre-order products that they may not see for some time.

Certainly this is not entirely the fault of RMT. But after the K-Line bankruptcy and the debt Sanda Kan was left holding, I've heard they are now requiring more money upfront for production... this could have been a problem for RMT. And RMT is a small company without a lot of pull at Sanda Kan (I assume that's where the RMT products are made, since the trucks on the rolling stock appear to be identical to the Train-19 trucks used by the original K-Line).

On the Atlas web site there is an apology from the CEO of Atlas explaining that the reorganization of Sanda Kan under Kader caused many delays but now those problems seem to be resolved, so product should be now arriving in a more timely matter.

It'll be interesting to see if Aristo-Craft has more pull in getting the product made in a timely fashion. I know Lionel's wholesale structure doesn't allow much margin for discounts, so any price increases from them will be felt by the consumer. I don't know about A-C's pricing structure, so it'll remain to be seen how those price increases playout on the retail end... and maybe soften the blow of the list increases.

[Bob Keller]

From the Ready Made Toys website:

March 8, 2010

Irvington, NJ. and Bloomsbury, NJ.

ANNOUNCING.... 'RMT BY ARISTO-CRAFT'

Lewis M. Polk, president of Aristo-Craft Trains (a manufacturer of G-Gauge Electric Toy Trains) and Walter M. Matuch, president of Ready Made Trains/RMT (a manufacturer of 3-rail 0-27/O-Gauge Electric Toy Trains today announced a joint marketing effort called 'RMT by ARISTO-CRAFT' , whereby RMT products will now also be offered to model railroad and toy train enthusiasts through ARISTO-CRAFT's worldwide distribution channels. RMT will continue to develop new toy train products says Matuch.

The well known RMT trademark has also been licensed to ARISTO-CRAFT and will be used to identify this brand of 'RMT by ARISTO-CRAFT' 0-27/O-gauge toy trains and accessories says Polk.

The original RMT product line has expanded greatly since inception and by joining with ARISTO-CRAFT, product availability, shipping and distribution will be streamlined to benefit the toy train hobbyist, retail stores and the distributor network in both the U.S.A. and European market with the same terms for trade customers already purchasing ARISTO-CRAFT TRAINS says Matuch.

In 2010 we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of ARISTO-CRAFT and I welcome RMT to our extensive line of model railroad and R/C products says Polk. In the coming weeks, 'RMT by ARISTO-CRAFT' will be issuing a brand new full color train catalog that will showcase many new-for-2010 RMT products and accessories says Matuch.

Prior to starting RMT in 2003, Walter M. Matuch was Product Manager at ARISTO-CRAFT...developing many of the G-gauge products offered today and was later Vice-President Operations/Licensing at Taylor Made Trucks...a manufacturer of quality promotional toy vehicles for major oil companies. Walter has over 40 years experience in both the model railroad/toy train, hobby and prototype railroad industry says Polk.

In keeping with the railroading theme, the 'RMT by ARISTO-CRAFT' agreement was signed on a 'full-size' Jersey Central Railroad caboose owned by Matuch, a former passenger and freight train conductor. ARISTO-CRAFT is a well-known hobby line that has always offered a quality product and I am excited about this new relationship that will strengthen and expand distribution channels and allow more products to reach train hobbyists from RMT and ARISTO-CRAFT says Matuch. Both ARISTO-CRAFT and RMT products are made at the same factory complex in China, so efficiency of shipping will mean that goods can ship in a timely manner when manufactured, rather than when a container-load quantity has been reached for either company says Polk.

The RMT website will remain the main marketing tool of the 'RMT by ARISTO-CRAFT' product line. ARISTO-CRAFT has a great-computerized ordering capability for the trade and RMT has a great consumer web site...www.readymadetoys.com

All in all it's a win...win for both ARISTO-CRAFT and RMT says Polk. These two non-competing train lines will be offered through ARISTO-CRAFT distribution channels as well as established RMT hobby distributors. Retailers can now order what they need in either G-Gauge or 0-27/O gauge trains and have it come in one efficient shipment from their favorite hobby distributor.

ARISTO-CRAFT and RMT...together they will expand the model railroading experience for the distributor, retailer and consumer with affordable quality products.