Last years Union Pacific version was $675, this years NS version is $800, WOW, talk about inflation. What would cause such a gigantic increase in such a short window ? Is Lionel's new offshore manufacture causing the increase ?
Bill T.
Maybe Lionel is going after the Chief's deep pockets?
GREED!!!!
Ralph
Ditto ---> greed.
Wasn't moving manufacturing to the orient s'posed to keep costs down...?
Simple solution: don't buy an $800 engine.
Too rich for my tastes. I can think of several choice postwar pieces I'd rather have for that price of admission......but that's me.
Jack.
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Guys, if you go back and read the reports and press releases at the time, it was never said that Lionel's move to the orient was going to keep costs down. It was done so that Lionel could compete with the other companies (who were already in the orient) by intoducing more detailed, scale proportioned products from totally new tooling and dies.
It hasn't been discussed here at all, but earlier in the year it was announced that Sanda Kan was dropping over 50 companies and would no longer contract manufacture their products. For the remaining companies they would handle (including Lionel, Atlas, Aristo-Craft), hefty price increases were announced, which naturally get passed on to the consumer. Increased shipping, material costs and labor in the orient are all playing a part.
I won't defend all the prices of train products today. On the other hand, with a product like the Genset, you get what you pay for. This is a top line product with top line features. I myself am very happy with the "realism" of the K-Line S-2 switcher which I still think is the best train locomotive made in the past 20 years, but opinions differ greatly on my feeling. For well under $100 the standard Lionel 4-4-2 steamer is an absolutely fantastic buy. But then, some complain about the detail levels of these products.
There is a segment of the market that is not happy unless toy trains look and peform like real trains. They compare builders drawing to the model and check to see if the model is accurate in dimension and proportion. They listen to the sounds of the real thing, and compare them to the model. But this accuracy costs R&D time as well as increased pre-production costs as well as actual production.
So, no it isn't greed at all. On the other hand as Jack said, if you can't afford, simply don't buy it. There are plenty of lower cost trains out there, so long as the customer can accept "suggested" realism for a lower suggested list price.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
I'm not an MTH fan but just wait. I'll probably be buying an MTH NS one at a LOT cheaper price. Lionel has become a disappointment in its offerings and pricing.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
I agree. As a modeler of the Norfolk Southern and it's legacy lines, I was excited about the NS Genset. I do have to admit that the price is a bit daunting, and the fact that their high end engines force you to the larger track radii si disconcerting for those of us wiht only a 15x17 room. The latest catalog has about 2 years worth of train budget money in it for me....good thing it takes 'em a year to get to market.
Aside from the Sanda Kan effect, one of the things I've seen in recent months is the retailers are not offering up discounts as they were a year or so ago. My local store has pretty much gone to 15% off if you pre-order, and 10% off otherwise. I am all lionel, and nearly all true O scale, so I have to live high prices due to that choice. I try to stay loyal to my local guy, but it's tough.
Cheers!
With all the budget cutting going on; who can afford an $800.00 engine today??
It is true that manufacture's cost have gone up, but people's wallets have shrunk as well!! It's not just Lionel's prices going up but everybody else as well, even Bachmann!!!
Lee F.
To get back to my original question, was the 18.5% increase in one year for the Genset switcher a result of switching suppliers ? I know that we will not get the answer to the question but if that was the result of the manufacture change then I would suspect there will be other drastic increases.
If that was not the reason and the financial gurus at Lionel feel that the Lionel faithful would buy the NS Genset even with a gigantic increase that does not give you a warm & fuzzy feeling either.
Here are two budget solutions.
Buy one perfect $600 to $800 dollar loco model every year or two that you will operate frequently and enjoy like you are operating a real locomotive.
Buy four to eight cheaply made or no-frills or used $100 to $200 dollar loco models every year or two and run them until they have to be rebuilt.
Andrew Falconer
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
Andrew, are you stating that $600 to $800 locos never fail. I would say just the opposite, a $200 loco from Williams will outlast all $600 to $800 electronic wonders from Lionel, MTH, and Atlas.
Could it be that your LHS is not discounting as much because: Lionel forces them to go through a distributor thus adding costs; and Lionel has decreased the margine available to distributors thus LHS's?
At the high prices that these electronic wonders cost, it would be wiser to buy stock in an actual railroad!!!
One of the let downs is that you can't pick up the rolling stock and moved them around.
Train-O - I'd recommend Berkshire/Hathaway (BNSF) .
Sounds good enough to me.
Thanks,
Roger is right; due to volume restrictions, many hobby stores have to buy thru distributors. The manufacturers only build what the hobby stores order, and the distributors don't buy safety stock anymore. Hence, if you don't pre-order, you may miss out.
My local guy also said another factor is that new stock has about a year of shelf life, maybe two if he's lucky. After two years, product begins to show in the aftermarket at 30-50% off and he's stuck with expensive stock.
What it means for us, is we have to support our local guys in order to get what we want, and understand that unless you want to buy used with no support, you have to pre-order.
8ntruck Maybe Lionel is going after the Chief's deep pockets?
Chief's pockets are deep and EMPTY.
From all the comments about command versus conventional, some people do not like the extra price and pontential breakdown of the electronics for Legacy and the latest RailSounds
There might be a need for a Conventional model of the Genset Switcher from Lionel that is made in the United States.
Andrew
I would think that the Genset would be put on the priority list for Williams by Bachmann. Seems like there would be a lot of orders for a conventional version and Williams is the conventional big dog for locomotives.
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