Williams Website

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with Jerry and his crew? Their website hasn't been updated in more than a year and there has been other stuff produced in the meantime. A lot of us depend on these websites for current information. www.williamstrains.com

Red[:(!]

[csxt30]

I see they have a phone # listed, plus they have catalogs. Also their products should be available from some of the hobby shops & mail order houses. Hope this helps. Thanks,John

[Anonymous]

Thanks John. Don't get me wrong, I like Williams but I thnk they should keep their website current like the other biggies do. Also, there's no hobby shop in my area so I have to depend on the internet and CTT for information.

[csxt30]

Yes, I know just what you mean! I only used to see Williams trains sometimes at train shows, Do you have any train shows that come to your location ? Thanks again, John

[Anonymous]

Williams is a small operation--about three persons, I believe. It's nice that some think of them as a "biggie," but they've never been that and have never aspired to attain that ranking. They just keep plugging along with a well-made and affordable product that is supported by "the rest of us" in the hobby (meaning those of us who just want trains that operate reliably, are reasonably priced, and are offered in a good number of popular roadnames). And, of course, they still offer the best warranty in the business, and back it with good service.

It would indeed be nice if they would update their web site from time to time, but my guess is that they have to rely on someone outside the organization to attend to that. And, even though they have a relatively small customer base, as compared with the true biggies in the hobby, they do a pretty good job of keeping their customer base well-informed with printed product and sales brochures and magazine ads on a fairly regular basis.

In short, Jerry Williams (who has other business interests) has, over many years, adhered to a prudent business plan that will likely leave him standing after some others in the O gauge arena fall by the wayside. Yes, he likely could aspire to much greater sales, expansion, and that sort of thing, and the Internet would likely help in that regard (although probably not all that much), but he is following a course that has apparently worked well enough for him and for those of us who consider themselves loyal Williams customers.

Give them a call early next week, and I'm quite sure they will be happy to place your name on their mailing list.

[Frank53]

I was talking to my local hobby shop guys about Williams. They were emphatic they wouldn't carry it. Reason being, according to them, Williams has no dealer pricing schedule. Dealers who want to buy the material pay the same price as the consumer off their wesbite.

On one hand, consumers get the best pricing (which is dirt cheap for the Williams material) without having the MSRP bloated to account for dealer discounts.

On the other hand, she wore a glove, no wait,

On the other hand, Williams is out of the dealer loop. The internet is great, but there's nothing like a local hobby shop. I believe we as hobbyists need to support our local hobby shops in as many ways as possible. If we don't, they're won't be any, and that would be a bad thing for both our current needs and the future growth of the hobby.

[Anonymous]

I see the local hobby shop as a disappearing breed in any event, as the result of what has trainspired in the hobby over the last decade or so on both the manufacturer side as well as the hobbyist side, not to mention the influence of the Internet. How some of these guys manage to stay in business, aside from the established and larger shops, is beyond me. Read these various toy train and model railroading forums and boards, and you continually see that nearly everyone wants--even demands--more, and they want it for less. No business in the middle of that can possibly survive for too long.

While some may not agree with the way Williams conducts his business (and I would expect some dealers to express a sour grapes opinion because every sale Williams makes is one they lose), his method appears to work well enough for him, and supporters of his products continue to reap the benefits of reasonable prices for very decent, basic products. Seems like something of a winning combination to me!

The beauty of this or any other hobby is that there are choices--and more of them in O gauge today than at any prior point in its history. Nobody HAS to buy a Williams train, any more than anyone HAS to buy one made by Lionel, MTH, K-Line, Atlas, or the others. So my feeling is that the manufacturers--all of them--are well advised to follow their own instincts and to serve the market as they see fit, and in a way that works best for them, regardless of some of the hits they may take from others.

Just my guess, but I fully expect the O gauge segment of the hobby to continue along a path of gradual shrinkage over the next decade, to the point where things stabilize into a more reasonable and responsible market. All the writing is on the wall, and one only has to take a cursory look to see the trend. And if/when the overall economy begins to sour, as there is every indication it might in light of soaring fuel prices and a $200 billion (at least) bill that taxpayers will pay for the recent Gulf disaster and who-knows-whatever future events, we'll see an even steeper decline, more consolidation, and even the loss of some providers. The survivors will be folks like Jerry Williams, who obviously takes a carefully measured approach in his dealings.

It's really time for ALL of the manufacturers to take a time out, step back a bit, and rethink the direction they are going. By thinking outside the box, instead of simply reacting to things on a short-term basis, they can probably make a go of it.

Simply my own opinion, but I have a hunch that I'll be proven right.

[Anonymous]

For $25.00 you can have all of Williams catalogs and flyers mailed to your home. Plus you have your choice of a freight car. Not a bad deal!

[ChiefEagles]

Amen to dtpowell's comments. Don't buy hardly any williams but I always rejoin the Platinum Club and, besides the fliers and catalogs, you get discounts if you do buy. [plus the car so its really free]

[Warburton]

Allan Miller has summarized my opinion of the O gauge future pretty well. Most of it is dictated by demographics, and the manufacturers have to adapt their strategies to them. I told everyone who'd listen back about 6 or 7 years ago that with MTH jumping into the market with both feet, something would have to give -- there was just too much new product coming out for the hobby to absorb. I believe we are really seeing the early stages of a hobbywide restructuring right now, and who the survivors will be is anybody's guess. I wouldn't bet against Williams, either, though, because he obviously doesn't get greedy, and greed is what seems to get businesses (not just trains!) in trouble time and time again. It works OK when the economy is good but almost always backfires when it tanks.

[Warburton]

P.S. And Lionel is no great shakes about keeping up their website. They are still showing their press release from Aug. 10 saying K-Line settled with them, etc. And, while they do update info on the various subsites, they haven't changed the overall look of the main site (with new graphics) in years.

[watinva]

In my opinion the only thing wrong with Williams Trains is their webpage is not always up to date. I just joined their Platinum club last week by calling the number on their webpage. An actual human being, not a computer, in the good old US of A, answered the phone and took my order..amazing in this day and age. This was on a Tuesday and the caboose I selected for the $25.00 platinum joining fee arrived on Thursday of the same week. It doesnt get much better than this. I would much rather have this kinda service than a up to the minute webpage. I agree they should probably get rid of the "Spring and Summer of 2004" on the page because someone just checking them out gets the wrong impression. Once you get past that, they are great at offering a cost effective alternative to Lionel post war and other great items. Ma & Pa Junction and Just Trains of Delaware are also great places to buy Williams. I have 2 of their diesels and 1 steamer and plan on buying more. I believe they run their business with no more than 7 people so based on that I think they are doing a great job. That's my 2 cents.

[Anonymous]

I forgot about that Platinum club so ol Red will call them Monday. It's a good deal for 25 bucks when they throw in a car for free. I like Williams because their locos are not loaded with that troublesome and expensive electronic stuff. I also buy from Just Trains and I know they carry the full line at great prices. But I still think Williams needs to update their website.[;)]

[Frank53]

I'm a die hard on this issue. I have the only hobby shop in town three blocks from my house. While HO is the obvious slant, they are a Lionel delaer and repair center and sell MTH as well. Anything I don't feel like tackling as a fix it job - I can take there and wait for it.

If I need paint, bulbs, balsa, glue, lamps, track, switches, just about anything that falls into teh category of layout building supplies or scenicing supplies, they usually have it.

If I want to buy some buildings, I go there and ask them to order them.

On the flip side, when someone stumbles in with a few boxes of post war trains to sell, after they leave, I get a phone call. When I need a minor repair, I can sit around and shoot the breeze with the folks there and ten, twenty or thrity minutes later, my train emerges - fixed, tes run on teh store layout and ready to go - along with a five or ten dollar price tag, at most. Every once in a while, I'll pay with a twenty and tell em to put the change in the beer fund.

I can read the "other" mag on the off chance there is something worthwhile in it, and put it back on the shelf when I'm done.

Bottom line - I want these guys to be in business. I spend more money than I would if I bought everything as cheap as I could on the internet, but in the grand scheme of life - who cares. I am doing my small part to make sure an important part of the hobby remains available to me.